This repaint is for the payware FlyingIron Simulations Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 trop. It depicts "Rote 13” W.Nr. 27169 Feldwebel 11./JG 27, Kalamaki, Greece, November 1943 flown by Heinrich Bartels.
Born in Austria in 1918 and working as a baker to his late teenage years Bartels joined the Luftwaffe after Germany’s union with Austria in 1938. Bartels completed his training as a pilot in 1941. He was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter” (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) on the Channel Front which was tasked with intercepting Royal Air Force (RAF) incursions over occupied France and Belgium. He achieved his first aerial victory in August 1941. Bartels was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) on the Eastern Front where he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross for 46 aerial victories. In 1943 Bartels moved to Jagdgeschwader 27 “Afrika” (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) to serve in the Mediterranean and Balkans theatres and by the years end had 73 victories. In 1944 he returned to the Western Front and fought Normandy Campaign in June to August 1944. Bartel’s personal tally rose to 96 and he was nominated for the Oak Leaves of the Knight’s Cross.
On 23rd December 1944, while supporting German forces in the Battle of the Bulge Bartels was shot down by United States Army Air Force (USAAF) P-47 Thunderbolts belonging to the US 56th Fighter Group after achieving his 99th aerial victory and he was posted missing in action. On 26th January 1968, 23 years later, Bartel’s fighter and remains were found near Bad Godesberg, Germany.
Career
Bartels was born on 13th July 1918 in Linz, Austria. Prior to his military service, Bartels was working as a butcher. During his combat career, he frequently had his wife’s name Marga painted on his aircraft. World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1st September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Following completion of flight and fighter pilot training, Bartels joined the Ergänzungsgruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter” (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) in the summer of 1941. The Ergänzungsgruppe of JG 26, a supplementary training group, was formed on 22nd June 1941 in Wevelgem under the command of Hauptmann Fritz Fromme. The Gruppe was made up of two Staffeln (squadrons): The first squadron was the operational squadron and designated 1. (Einsatzstaffel) or 1. Erg./JG 26, while the second squadron was the training squadron referred to as 2. (Schulstaffel) or 2. Erg./JG 26. Serving with the 1. Erg./JG 26, Bartels claimed his first aerial victory on 19th August, a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire shot down at the English Channel. On 27th August, he was credited with another Spitfire shot down. On 1st February 1942, 1. Erg./JG 26 was renamed and became the 11. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) under the command of Oberleutnant Hermann Segatz. The unit then participated in Operation Donnerkeil. The objective of this operation was to give the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fighter protection in the breakout from Brest to Germany. The Channel Dash operation (11th–13th February 1942) by the Kriegsmarine was codenamed Operation Cerberus by the Germans. In support of this, the Luftwaffe, formulated an air superiority plan dubbed Operation Donnerkeil for the protection of the three German capital ships. Following the German ships, 11. Staffel arrived in Jever Air Field on 14th February and in Trondheim-Lade on 6th March. There, on 21st March, the squadron was re-designated 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing).
War on the Arctic Front
On 20th April, 8. Staffel moved to an airfield at Petsamo, present-day Pechenga in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. On 26th April, the Staffel escorted Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers to Murmansk. The flight was intercepted by Hawker Hurricane fighters from 2 GvSAP (Gvardeyskiy Smeshannyy Aviatsionnyy Polk—Guards Composite Aviation Regiment). In this encounter, Bartels claimed one of the Hurricanes shot down, his first on the Arctic Front. JG 5 flew numerous fighter escort missions on 10th May resulting in aerial combat with the Soviet Air Forces (VVS). The VVS lost eight aircraft plus further two were severely damaged that day, including a Hurricane fighter shot down by Bartels. On 14th May between 17:55 and 19:03, eighteen German fighters flew on a Ju 87 escort mission to Murmansk. They encountered twenty-six Hurricanes, eleven Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and six Polikarpov I-16 fighters. Soviet reports indicate that one Hurricane and one P-40 was effectively lost with a I-16 and a further P-40 damaged. German pilots had claimed five aerial victories, including a I-16 by Bartels. The following day, in combat over the Liza Bight, Bartels shot down a Hurricane fighter. On 17th May, he increased his number of aerial victors to seven when he again claimed a Hurricane fighter shot down. On 29th July, on a Ju 87 dive bomber escort mission to Murmansk and Murmashi, Bartels claimed two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighters shot down north of Murmansk. According to Soviet records, no aircraft of that type were lost in that area that day. On 10th August, 8. Staffel had combat with 20 Hurricane fighters near Ura-Guba during the course of which Bartels claimed three Hurricanes shot down.
Bartels became an “ace-in-a-day” on 22nd September. He claimed six aerial victories on two separate combat missions, including four Hurricanes and two MiG-3 fighters in the vicinity of Murmashi. Following his 40th aerial victory, he received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 20 October. Bartels shot down three MiG-3 fighters during the third mission on 29th October, a fighter escort mission for Ju 87 dive bombers. On 5th November, 8. Staffel flew a combat air patrol to Murmansk. During the course of this mission, Bartels claimed the destruction of a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter. He received the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) after 46 aerial victories on 13th November 1942. That day, Leutnant Theodor Weissenberger from 6. Staffel of JG 5 was also awarded the Knight’s Cross. The presentation was made by Generalmajor Alexander Holle on 30th November at Petsamo.
In early 1943, Bartels was transferred due to disciplinary reasons. According to Walter Schuck, the events leading to this disciplinary measure were made under the influence of large quantities of alcohol. Bartels, Schuck, and Kurt Dylewski had consumed three bottles of cognac. The intoxicated Bartels then attempted to drive a truck, was caught in the act by a fellow soldier who hit Bartels in the face. Bartels pursued the soldier only to get into a fight with another soldier. The events pinnacled when Bartels made a donkey empty its bladder into the company sergeant major’s bed.
Greece and the Balkans
From August 1943, Bartels served with 11. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 27 “Afrika” (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). This Staffel was subordinated to the newly created IV. Gruppe of JG 27. The Gruppe had been formed in May 1943 at the Kalamaki Airfield in Athens, Greece under the command of Hauptmann Rudolf Sinner. 11. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Alfred Buk. On 17th July, IV. Gruppe moved to Tanagra Airfield. Bartels claimed his first aerial victories with JG 27 on 1st October. Flying from Gadurrà Airfield on Rhodes, he claimed two Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers, also known as Bostons, near of Kos. In early October, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) flew many missions in support of British forces fighting in the Dodecanese campaign. On 5th October, IV. Gruppe intercepted a flight of Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers over the northern Attica. In this encounter, Bartels claimed the destruction of two B-24 bombers. Three days later, 105 USAAF aircraft attacked German airfields in Greece. IV. Gruppe encountered the escort fighters and shot down three Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters, all of them credited to Bartels.
On 18th October, IV. Gruppe command was passed on to Hauptmann Joachim Kirschner after the former commander Sinner had been transferred on 13th September. In the intermediate period, two officers had led the Gruppe, Oberleutnant Dietrich Boesler, who was killed on 10th October, and by Burk, the commander of 11. Staffel. Bartels claimed a Supermarine Spitfire shot down on 23rd October. Two days later, IV. Gruppe claimed seven aerial victories without loss. Between Stari Bar and Cape of Rodon the Gruppe engaged in combat with P-38 fighters of which Bartels shot down four of the USAAF fighters. On 31st October, 11. Staffel lost its Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) Burk who was shot down over sea near Cape of Rodon. In this encounter, Bartels shot down two P-38 fighters. Command of 11. Staffel was then briefly led by Leutnant Wolfgang Hohls until he was killed in action on 10th December. The Staffel was then led by Leutnant Rolf Heissner until 17th December when he was also killed. The next Staffelkapitän was then Leutnant Paul Becker. On 17th. December, the Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) Kirschner was also shot down in combat and later killed. He was replaced by Hauptmann Otto Meyer.
Bartels claimed his 70th aerial victory on 15th November 1943. That day, he shot down four P-38 fighters southeast of Kalamaki. At the time, he was assigned Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/R6 (Werknummer 27 169—factory number) “Red 13” bearing the name of his wife Marga. Two days later, he was credited with two North American B-25 Mitchell bombers and a P-38 fighter following an USAAF attack on the Kalamaki Airfield. These were his last claims in the Mediterranean theatre. On 27th January 1944, IV. Gruppe began relocating to Graz Airfield, at first the ground personnel followed by the flying elements on 16th March. During its ten-month tenure since its creation in May 1943, IV. Gruppe pilots had claimed 88 aerial victories, including 24 by Bartels alone. During this period, the Gruppe lost 27 pilots plus further seven were severely wounded and one was taken prisoner of war.
Defence of the Reich
Based in Graz, IV. Gruppe, along with the Stab (headquarters unit), I. and III. Gruppe of JG 27, then fought in Defense of the Reich (Reichsverteidigung), defending southern Germany and Austria. IV. Gruppe became the Höhengruppe, the high-altitude group responsible for fighting off the escort fighters. Bartels claimed his first aerial victory in this theatre on 11th April when he shot down an P-38 fighter 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Graz. On 23rd April, Bartels shot down three Spitfire fighters in combat near Celje, approximately halfway between Maribor and Ljubljana, in Slovenia. The following day, the USAAF Eighth Air Force targeted German airfields in southern Germany as well as the aircraft factories in Oberpfaffenhofen. The attack on Landsberg Airfield and Oberpfaffenhofen was headed by 281 bombers of the 1st Bombardment Division escorted by North American P-51 Mustang long-range fighter aircraft. IV. Gruppe intercepted this flight east of Munich. In this aerial battle, Bartels claimed three P-51 fighters shot down. On 28th April, Bartels shot down two P-51 fighters northeast of Ljubljana. The Eighth Air Force targeted Berlin on 19th May. Near Zerbst, IV. Gruppe encountered a formation of B-24 bombers escorted by escort fighters. The Gruppe was unable to break the escort screen and attack the bombers. In this battle, Bartels shot down three of the escort fighters.
On 6th June, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-occupied Western Europe in Normandy, France. IV. Gruppe was immediately ordered to relocate to Champfleury-la-Perthe, an airfield approximately 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Reims. Bartels claimed his first aerial victories on the invasion front on 14th June. That day, IV. Gruppe encountered USAAF fighters in the vicinity of Argentan. In quick succession, he shot down three Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, followed by a fourth P-47 on the return flight. Three days later, he claimed two further P-47 fighters shot down west of Dives-sur-Mer. On 22nd June, Bartels shot down a Spitfire fighter and a P-51 fighter southwest of Caen. Two days later, he was credited with the destruction of two further P-51 fighters near Flers. He claimed his eleventh and last aerial victory on the invasion front on 25th June, a P-38 fighter shot down southeast of Blois. For these achievements, he was nominated for Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). On 16th August, IV. Gruppe was withdrawn from the invasion front and ordered to Hustedt, north of Celle. During its eight weeks of combat on the invasion front, the Gruppe was nearly annihilated and lost 25 pilots either killed or missing in action with further 15 pilots severely wounded. In total, 98 aircraft were destroyed, 71 due to combat and 27 in flying accidents. Pilots of IV. Gruppe claimed 60 aerial victories, including eleven by Bartels, making him the most successful pilot of the unit.
As part of the group expansion from three Staffeln per Gruppe to four Staffeln per Gruppe, Bartels’ 11. Staffel was re-designated and became the 15. Staffel of JG 27. In mid-November, the Gruppe was reequipped with the Bf 109 G-10 fighter aircraft. Bartels claimed the destruction of a P-51 fighter on 8th December. Ten days later, he again shot down a P-51 in the combat area near Cologne. On 23rd December 1944, Bartels took off for his last and fatal mission. After he shot down a P-47, he was most likely shot himself down by P-47 fighters of the USAAF 56th Fighter Group. His victor may have been Colonel David C. Schilling who claimed five aerial victories that day. Some 24 years later, on 26th January 1968, Bartels’ Bf 109 G-10 (Werknummer 130 359) “Yellow 13” was found near Castle Gudenau in Villip, close to Bad Godesberg. In its cockpit was Bartels’ remains and his intact parachute, which is currently on display at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin. His last rank was Oberfeldwebel (technical sergeant (E-6/OR-6)).
(copy/paste from the net)
NOTE
This repaint features historical tail markings.
There is no optional replacement file.
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