Hello everybody,

 

Today we’ll tell you a bit what is our game is based on rather than how it works from the technological point of view - history.

 

Our community enthusiasts III/JG2_Gustav05 and I./ZG1_Panzerbar were making official skins for Bf 109G-6 for several weeks. Since this Messerschmitt model was the most mass-produced one, there were many possible candidates and their thorough research yielded some interesting ones. These paint schemes are interesting not only on their own but because of the stories tied to these particular aircraft.

 

So, today’s Dev Diary is dedicated to various Bf 109 G-6 fighters and their pilots. Later we plan to do the same for La-5FN.

 

We’d like to say that studying history is required to learn its lessons and move forward. This study should be omnifaceted to lead to objective conclusions. Nazism wasn’t an abstract entity that came from nowhere, it was people with their own history and motivations. If we want to understand the real price and importance of the Allied victory, it is important to know the story of their enemies as well.

 

These screenshots also show the new graphics features we told you about earlier - increased landscape and clouds rendering distance, improved clouds and the new winter lighting.

 

The following paint scheme descriptions are prepared by III/JG2_Gustav05 and I./ZG1_Panzerbar.

 

 

 

This is a standard factory camo for Bf109G-6's assembled on Erla Maschinenwerk GmbH in Leipzig. Top surfaces are painted light green RLM74 and violet-gray RLM75 with a distinct saw-toothed style characteristic for this factory. Sides and bottom are painted light blue (RLM76). There are irregular blots of gray RLM02, gray-green RLM74 and violet-gray RLM75 on fuselage and surfaces. Engine bottom and fuselage band are yellow RLM02 for easier recognition.

 

 

 

 

During Winter 1943-44, most of the German Bf109G-6 fighter squadrons used a temporary winter camo. One of the ways to apply it was to cover the aircraft sides and top with washable paint, leaving only the tactical symbols and national markings. For instance, it was used in JG51.

 

 

 

 

Joined the Luftwaffe from February 1939, as part of in I./JG20. From the end of 1939 Langer served as an instructor in fighter schools. In May 1941 he was transferred to a training and combat group as part of JG3, and on May 26 Lieutenant Langer was appointed as adjutant III./JG3. However, he met the beginning of the campaign against the USSR as part of 7./JG3, scoring his first victory on the July 17.

 

As part of 7./JG3 "Udet", Langer took part in the most important battles of 1941-1942 on the Soviet-German front - the encirclement of Soviet divisions in Kiev, the battles near Moscow in 1941, and the offensive on the southern sector of the front from Kharkov to Stalingrad in 1942.

 

In December 1942, Oberleutenant Langer fought as part of the Pitomnik air defence squadron under Soviet encirclement. On January 1, 1943 received the title of Hauptmann. In the spring of 1943 Lager fought in the Kuban air battles. On June 1, 1943, shortly before the Battle of Kursk, he was appointed commander of 7./JG3.

 

From July 1943 Lager served as commander of III./JG3, after Major Ewald was shot down and taken prisoner.

After the failure of the operation "Citadel", III./JG3 was transferred to Germany and included in the so-called "Defense of the Reich", focused on intercepting American four-engine bombers. Lager took part in countering both Schweinfurt-Regensburg raids. During the second, on October 14, 1943, Langer was shot down by the bomber defensive fire and seriously wounded.

 

After a lengthy healing process lasting until January 1944, he was appointed commander of the squadron in the training and combat groups "East" and "South". On 21.05.44 Hauptmann Langer returned to his "native" group as a commander, succeeding Major Walter Dahl at the post. Throughout 1944 Langer led his group in battles against the armada of American heavy bombers and their fighter escort. He also participated in the fateful operation Bodenplatte on January 1, 1945. In the spring of 1945 Lager returned to the Eastern Front, and on April 20, 1945 he was awarded the Knight's Cross.

 

Langer survived the war, but died suddenly on May 6, 1955 in Remschied.

 

He flew 486 combat sorties and scored 30 victories, including 3 B-17s and 7 Il-2s.

 

 

 

 

 

Since early summer 1941, Bartels participated in the battles over the English Channel as part of the training and combat Erganzungsgruppe / JG26.

 

On January 27, 1942, when Erganzungsgruppe / JG26 was disbanded, Bartels was transferred to 11./JG1. Already on March 10, 1942 in Trondheim 11./JG1 was transformed into 8./JG5. Bartels was destined to become one of the most successful pilots 8./JG5. On November 13, 1942 Bartels was awarded the Knight's Cross for 46 victories.

 

In the spring of 1943 Ober-Feldwebel Bartels was once again transferred, now as part of 11./JG27, just formed at the Greek airfield of Kalamaki

 

From the end of March 1944, IV./JG27 joined Reich air defense duties. In April and May 1944, Bartels scored 12 victories, and in June - 11 more. On June 25, 1944, Bartels' account reached 96 victories. For these achievements he was recommended for the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross, but never received them in the end. On June 12, 1944, 11./JG27 was renamed to 15./JG27.

 

Like many fighter pilots, Bartels had his lucky number adorning his aircraft - "13". However, luck could not continue indefinitely. On December 23, 1944 Bartels took off at 11:00 on what was to be his last flight. His wingman was Ober-fähnrich Rolf Brand. Having gained altitude, they headed towards Cologne-Bonn. 7500m above Bonn, they saw in front of themselves fuel tanks dropped from the P-47 from the 56th FG, USAAF. The Thunderbolts were chasing Heinz Rossinger’s plane. Bartels quickly intervened and shot down one of the American fighters – it was his 99th and final victory. He did not return from this fight. His Bf109G-10 (W. N. 130359) "Yellow 13", together with his remains, was found 24 years later on January 26, 1968.

 

In total, Henry Bartels made about 500 sorties and claimed the destruction of 99 aircraft, 47 of them on the Eastern Front.

 

 

 

 

 

In 1932 he was engaged in flying gliders, and in 1935 Graf joined the Luftwaffe. Upon completion of the studies in May 1938, he was sent to 2./JG51. In the autumn of 1939 Graft carried out patrol missions on the Western Front, and in January 1940 he was transferred by an instructor to Erg.JGr. Merseburg. In May 1940 Graf was promoted to Lieutenant. In October 1940, he finally returned to the front, at 9./JG 52.

 

In the spring of 1941, together with his group, Graf was sent to Romania and from there to Greece in support of the invasion of Crete. In June 1941 the unit returned to Romania for patrol flights without proper contact with the enemy. In August III./JG52 flew to Belaya Tserkov’, and on August 4 Lieutenant Graf scored his first victory. Until the end of the year, his tally rose to 45, and on January 24, 1942 Lieutenant Graf was awarded the Knight's Cross. In March 1942 he was appointed commander of his squadron, fighting in the area of the Barvenkovskiy protrusion towards Kharkov. Due to his rapidly rising number of victories, on May 17, 1942 Graf was awarded the Oak Leaves for a total of 104 air wins. Two days later he was promoted to the Oberleutenant and received the Swords to the Knight’s Cross. In the summer of 1942 he fought over Voroshilovgrad and Rostov, before heading to Fighter Command in Stalingrad in August. During August and September Graf successfully operated over Stalingrad, scoring 62 kills in September alone. In the same month he promoted to the Hauptmann rank and awarded the Diamonds to the Knight's Cross. On September 26, Graf became the first Luftwaffe pilot to claim his 200th victory – this came with a ban on combat flights and a leave home.

 

In the spring of 1943, Graf took over Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a training unit engaged in the preparation of pilots for the squadrons of the Eastern Front. In May 1943, Major Graf led Jagdgruppe Süd der ObdL, a fighter group specializing in the interception of British Mosquitos in reconnaissance missions. In August, the group was renamed JG50, but the insufficient performance of the Bf109G-6 forced the the group to be used against American four-engine bombers instead. In October the group was disbanded, and Major Graf was appointed commander of JG 1 to replace the late Oberstleutnant Hans Philip. November 11, 1943 Graf was appointed commander of JG11. Until the spring of 1944 the squadron few as part of the Reich air defence. On March 29, 1944, during a fight against P-51s north of Hanover, Graf was shot down and seriously wounded, requiring six months of recovery in the hospital. In October 1944 Graf was appointed commander of JG52 on the Soviet-German front. He fought in Poland and Czechoslovakia until the end of the war in Europe.

 

Graf was captured by Allied forces in Czechoslovakia, and was sent to the Soviet side where he spent five years in captivity. Graf was collaborative with the Soviets, and became one of the leaders of the anti-fascist movement among German prisoners. This led to Graf being severely obstructed by the Association of Luftwaffe Veterans, which in fact disowned him.

 

After his release, Graf started working in the sales system of an electronic company in Bremen and after a while became the head of the sales department for this company. In 1965, Herman was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He died in his hometown of Engen on April 11, 1988.

 

Graf flew about 830 sorties and scored 212 air victories, including 6 four-engine bombers.

 

 

 

 

 

After completing flight training in the spring of 1942, Unteroffizier Kühlein was sent to 4./JG51, operating on the central sector of the Soviet-German front.

 

Around the Rzhev-Vyazma area in the summer of 1942, he scored 10 victories, 4 of which were Pe-2s and another 3 Il-2s.

 

In the autumn, II./ JG51 was withdrawn from the front to reequip with the new Fw-190A. However, the critical situation in North Africa required the transfer of the group to a new theater of operations. Those pilots who had already managed to master the Fw-190 were reduced to Stabstaffel./JG51 and sent to the Eastern Front. The rest of the group, with the exception of the 6th Staffel, received Bf109G-2 and went to North Africa.

 

During the battles on the Mediterranean theater, Kühlein was shot down 4 times and claimed 3 victories - one Spitfire and two P-38s.

 

In the summer of 1943 he fought over Italy, before transferring to the Reich air defense in Austria. There, Kühlein shot down his first four-engine bomber.

 

In the spring of 1944 II./JG51 was transferred to the Balkans to engage American four-engine bombers over Yugoslavia and Romania.

 

From the autumn of 1944, Kühlein found himself on the Soviet-German front again, this time in Hungary.

 

On November 16, 1944, Lieutenant Kühlein was named as acting commander of 7./JG51, but already in December transferred to 6./JG51, and commanded the squadron until April 1945, when he was transferred to JG7.

 

Kühlein flew more than 600 sorties, scored 36 aerial victories including 13 four-engine bombers as well as one Romanian Bf109G. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold.

 

Unfortunately, little is known about Kühlein post-war life. Since 2011 there has been no information on the life of Elias Kühlein including reports that he had died. It is possible that he is still alive.

 

 

 

 

 

He is a great example of the ordinary Luftwaffe fighter pilot. Dreesmann did not shine in the cameras of reporters and he did not receive high awards. Instead Dreesmann was leading pairs and flights, and without  efforts of such pilots  the careers of many better-known aces would not have happened.

 

Part of the Luftwaffe since 1940, after completing the flight training in May 1943 he was sent to 12./JG51, armed with Fw-190As.

 

The unit took part in the Battle of Kursk, after which it was converted to the Bf109G-6 due to heavy losses. By September 1943 Dreesmann had 11 victories in his account. In autumn and winter he fought in the southern sector of the Soviet-German front, covering the breakthrough of the surrounded German troops from the Korsun-Shevchenko's cauldron in February 1944.

 

In the spring of 1944 Dreesmann fought in Western Ukraine, in the Lvov area. In June, his squadron was transferred to Hungary and renamed to 4./JG302, engaged in the Reich air defense system. Dreesmann was repeatedly shot down during this period, but got away unscathed every one of them.

 

On July 7, 1944 luck finally turned away from him. During a combat mission in difficult weather conditions at an altitude of 9000m, Dreesmann transmitted to his wingman that he had problems with the engine and began to descend into a thick cloud layer. This was the last sighting of Rudolf Dreesmann. It is most likely that he, like hundreds of fighter pilots on the Western Front, crashed in the fog while trying to make an emergency landing.

 

His final tally included 28 aerial victories, including 9 Il-2s and 4 P-51 Mustangs. He was awarded with the Iron Cross, 1st class.

 

 

 

 

 

In 1937, Gerhard Barkhorn joined the Luftwaffe and after completing flight training in the rank of lieutenant in September 1939 he was sent to 3./JG2. In April 1940, Barkhorn was unexpectedly transferred to an instructor's post in a flight school, and only returned to the front on 01.08.1940, as part of 6./JG52. During the Battle of Britain, Barkhorn carried out 100 sorties but he did not score a single victory while he himself was shot down twice.

 

Barkhorn’s first success came in Eastern Front after shooting down a DB-3 bomber on July 2, 1941 during his 120th combat sortie. At first his tally grew very slowly, victory number 10 came only on November 30. However, on 03.01.1942 Ober-lieutenant Barkhorn was appointed commander of 4./JG52.

 

In the summer of 1942, his score began rising steadily. By July 25, this number reached 64. However, that same day his Bf109F-4 was also hit, and Barkhorn himself was wounded and sent to a hospital. On August 21, he was first awarded the Iron Cross in Gold, and two days later the Knight’s Cross.

 

After recovering, he returned to the squadron at the beginning of October and resumed flying. On December 19, 1942 Barkhorn scored his 100th victory, and on January 11, 1943 he was awarded the Knight's Cross with the Oak and Leaves (No. 175). Barkhorn participated in the spring battles in the Kuban, and later in the Battle of Kursk in the summer. In August, he briefly acted as commander of I./JG52. On September 1, 1943 Hauptmann Barkhorn took over II./JG52, and on November 30 he passed 200 victories. From the autumn of 1943 until the spring of 1944, Barkhorn fought over Kuban and Crimea.

 

On January 23, 1944, Barkhorn became the first Luftwaffe fighter pilot to carry out 1,000 sorties, and on February 12 he became the second pilot to reach the 250 victory line. For his achievements, on March 2 Barkhorn was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Nr.52).

 

On May 31, during his sixth flight of the day, Barkhorn’s Bf-109G-6 W.Nr.163195  was severely damaged by an Airacobra. Due to injuries to his right arm and leg, Barkhorn spent four months in the hospital. In October, he returned to his group and for the next 3 months fought over Hungary. On 01.05.1945 he shot down an La-5 - it was his 301th and last victory. On January 16, Major Barkhorn took over JG6 "Horst Wessel".

 

On April 10, he resigned this post and joined the JV44 commanded Lieutenant-General Galland. He managed to accomplish only two combat sorties on the Me-262. On April 21, the right engine of the airplane quit, and he was subsequently attacked by P-51s. Barkhorn made a forced landing, but was injured by the canopy sliding into his neck after he had opened in the air to quickly leave the plane. As a result, he met the end of the war in the hospital.

 

In total, Barkhorn made 1,104 sorties, during which he himself was shot down nine times.

 

From 1955 onwards, Barkhorn served in the Bundesluftwaffe of the FRG. In the early 60's Oberst Barkhorn commanded JG31 "Boelcke". On 19.03.79 he retired with the rank of Major-General.

 

01.06.1983 the car in which he was traveling with his wife Christl suffered an accident on the highway near Cologne. His wife died on the spot and Barkhorn was taken to the hospital, but despite all the efforts of doctors, on January 8 he passed away as a result of his injuries.

 

 

 

 

 

He joined the military aviation world in October 1940. On March 1, 1941 Hartmann was sent to the air school in Berlin-Gatow  and from November 1, 1941 he began training as a fighter pilot.

After graduating on October 10, 1942, he was promoted to lieutenant as part of 7./JG52 on the Eastern Front. His first victory was scored on November 5, 1942. Compared with other famous fighter pilots, at the initial stage of service Hartman did not particularly shine. After 100 sorties, he had only 7 victories until mid-April 1943. By May 18, 1943, he flown 158 sorties and had only 17 air victories.

 

His star began to ascend during the battle in the sky over the Kursk Bulge in the summer of 1943. On the morning of August 20, the Luftwaffe ace shot down two IL-2 and reached the turn of 90 wins, but his Bf-109G-6 W.Nr. 20485 had to make an emergency landing in the location of the Soviet troops in the vicinity of the Donets River, and Hartmann was taken prisoner. After a desperate escape, after 2 days he reached friendly positions on the other side of the front line.

 

On September 2, 1943, he was appointed commander of 9./JG52. October 17, he was first awarded the Iron Cross in Gold, and on October 29 came the Knight's Cross. Hartmann received a month's leave, then continued combat missions in early December.

 

In three sorties on February 26, Hartmann announced the destruction of ten P-39s, increasing the score to 202 wins, and on March 2 he received Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross (Nr.420).

 

On May 8 Hartmann and his unit left the Crimea, and he evacuated two mechanics in the fuselage of his Bf-109G. By this time Hartmann's account had risen to 223 air victories, 6 of which he won on May 5 and 7, 1944. In Romania, Hartman first became acquainted with the American fighters covering the 15th Air Force, claiming a Mustang on June 24.

On July 1, Hartman was given the title of Oberleutenant, and on the same day his score of victories reached 269. A day later Hartman received "Swords" for his Knight's Cross (Nr.75).

 

On August 24, in two sorties, Hartmann claimed the destruction of eight La-5 and three P-39s, and became the first Luftwaffe pilot to overcome the 300-victory line. The next day he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Nr.18), and on September 1 was awarded the title of Hauptmann. After a month's holiday (during which he married) on October 1, Hartmann headed 7./JG52 and, starting from October 27 in Hungary, continued to build up his score of victories.

 

In January / February 1945, Hartmann was appointed acting commander of I./JG53. The group had been badly mauled in previous battles, and the Luftwaffe command hoped that Hartmann would be able to rally people, raise morale and lead the pilots into battle. However, this did not work out. After the experiment, Helmut Lipfert was given command of I./JG53, and Hauptmann Hartmann was appointed commander of I./JG52 instead, based in Upper Silesia.

 

On April 17, 1945 he achieved a tally of 350 air victories.

 

On 24.05.1945, Americans handed Hartmann to the Soviet authorities. Hartmann spent ten years in the USSR, first in the prison camps, then in prisons and colonies, and only returned home on October 15, 1955.

 

From 1956 Erich Hartmann served in the Bundesluftwaffe of Germany, and from 09.09.1959 to 29.05.1962 he commanded JG71 "Richthofen". In January 1963 he was appointed Inspector of the Fighter Aviation for the Bundesluftwaffe.

 

On October 30, 1970 Hartmann retired in the rank of oberst and settled in Weil im Shonbuch, 20 km south-west of Stuttgart, where he died on September 19, 1993.

 

In total, Erich Hartmann made 1,428 combat sorties and scored 352 air victories. He made 14 forced landings.

 

 

 

 

 

The career of Wilhelm Schilling was unusual - it's rare that one of the Luftwaffe pilots was able to stay in the same squadron for 4 consecutive years.

 

After completing flight training, Schilling was posted to 3./JG21 in early 1940 and scored his first 4 victories in the skies of France and Britain. In the summer of 1940, his Staffel was renamed 9./JG54, and Schilling fought in this lineup first as an ordinary pilot, then as a flight commander. He fought battles in the western Soviet borders in the Baltic, then in the Leningrad region, and above the Demyansk pocket. Schilling was seriously wounded in September 1942 after being hit by anti-aircraft fire, and his Knight's Cross was presented to him in the hospital. 

 

After the battle for Velikie Luki, the tattered III./JG54 was taken to the Western Front and attached to the Reich air defense. From that moment until the end of his flying career, Schilling was engaged mainly in intercepting American heavy bombers. In September 1943, Oberleutnant Schilling was appointed commander of 9./JG54. He said goodbye to his native squadron in the summer of 1944 due to heavy wounds sustained during an intercept, and finished the war in training units.

 

In total, Wilhelm Schilling made 538 sorties and scored 63 air victories, being awarded the Knight's Cross.

He died on 14.03.2000 in Ashenberg, Schleswig-Holstein.

 

 

 

 

 

Weiss met the beginning of the war as an anti-aircraft gunner, but in 1940 he managed to get a transfer to an aviation school, which he finished in December of the same year. On January 1, 1941 he was sent to II./JG26, where he spent a year and a half gathering experience. In this unit he flew the aircraft "Yellow 10", and from then on "10" became his permanent, "happy" tactical number in all the units in which he served.

 

In September 1942, with three aerial victories to his name, Weiss was transferred to I./JG54 on the Eastern Front. However, new victories came to him only after the unit adopted the Fw-190A. During 9 months of fierce fighting, Weiss scored 94 wins and became squadron leader (first 3rd then 1st squadron). In September 1943, he was appointed commander of 10./JG54 in the newly formed IV./JG54, and was again "moved" to the Messerschmitt Bf-109. Together with the group, Weiss participated in fierce battles in the Leningrad area and in Estonia in early 1944. In May, just before IV./JG54 was sent to Romania, Weiss was transferred to the Western Front as part of III./JG54.

 

III./JG54, rearmed the day before on Fw190A-8, was transferred to Normandy in June. Weiss, as the most senior in rank, led the Group instead of the hospitalized Major Schroer. During the intense engagements over Normandy, the Group suffered terrible losses, but shot down more than 100 enemy aircraft and became the most effective fighter unit of the Luftwaffe on the "Invasion Front". In early September, III./JG54, under the command of Weiss, finally received a well-deserved "rest", as well as the honor to be the first Luftwaffe fighter group armed with the Fw190D-9. On the new fighters III./JG54 was engaged in the interception of recon aircraft, as well as covering the take-offs for the new Me-262. In December 1944, III./JG54 supported the offensive in the Ardennes.

 

On December 29, 1944 luck changed for Weiss. III./JG54 received orders to attack the Allied fighter-bombers operating in the Osnabrück-Münster-Rhein area. Due to the error by the ground-based Focke-Wulfs guidance operators, the group clashed directly against a large group of English fighters, which included Spitfires from 331 and 501 Sqdn. RAF, as well as Typhoons from 168 and 448 Sqdn. RAF. In this black day in the history of JG54, 17 Fw-190D-9 were lost immediately with 13 pilots killed and two more wounded. Fw-190D-9 W.Nr. 210,060 “Black 10”, flown by Hauptmann Weiss, was shot down by Flight Sergeant Haanes from 331st (Norwegian) Squadron RAF. Weiss was killed in the crash.

 

In total, Hauptmann Robert Weiss flew 471 combat sorties, during which he won 121 air victories (40 of them were IL-2s). On 12.03.45, Weiss was posthumously awarded the Oak Leaves to the Cross of the Cross.

 

 

 

 

 

Very little is known about his flying career. In 1942 and early 1943 Dieterle served as an instructor across various aviation schools, including the School of Blind Flight. In the summer of 1943, Dieterle volunteered to join division of night fighters known as "Wilde Sau", as part of 3./JG 300. Until the end of 1943 he performed mostly night combat missions intercepting bombers.

 

In March 1944, Dieterle became commander of I./JG300. Later that spring the unit began to be employed in daylight missions, and in July Dieterle was transferred to 2./JG300. He was shot down twice during this period, but escaped without injuries both times.

 

On September 28, 1944 Dieterle was wounded while intercepting bombers, and had to parachute. After recovering, he was appointed commander of the combat training squadron 2./Erg.JG 2. In February 1945 Dieterle returned to the front as commander of the 2./NJG 200.

 

In total, according to diverging sources, Dieterle scored 10 to 13 victories, all of them assumed to be four-engine bombers (three British, with the rest American). He was awarded the 1st grade Iron Cross.

 

Unfortunately, nothing is known about his post-war life.

 

 

 

 

 

He joined the Luftwaffe in 1938. From 1940 to the spring of 1943 Stamp flew Ju-88A bombers with I./LG1, and for his successes he was awarded the Knight's Cross. After a brief stint at the headquarters of the Inspector of Bomber Aviation, in August 1943 Stamp was transferred to the “Wilde Sau” night fighters group and appointed commander of 8./JG300. At that time, the group did not have their own planes, instead they flew on borrowed fighters from III./JG11 during the night.

 

In November, Stamp was appointed commander of I./JG300, and at the end of the war he headed an experienced group of jet night fighters.

 

Stamp made about 300 sorties aboard the Ju-88 and about 100 on Bf-109s. He scored 5 air victories, sank ships with a total tonnage of 35,000t, and also damaged ships with a tonnage of 45,000t (including 3 destroyers).

After the war, Stamp joined the Bundeswehr and served across many administrative positions before retiring in 1978. He died on May 21, 1998, in Nassau.

 

 

 

 

 

Heimo Emmerstorfer studied in the air school when the war started and became a flight instructor. In early 1943, Oblt. Emmerstorfer joined NAGr.12 which was equipped mainly with recon Bf109s, soon becoming a technical officer.  He flew recon flights at the Western front till Autumn 1943 and has been awarded the Luftwaffe Honor Goblet on June 5th, 1943.

 

After a brief visit to the Eastern front in Orsha area in November, NAGr.12 moved to Balkans, Mostar airfield. He flew long range recon missions to the eastern shores of Italian peninsula. After serving in 2./NAGr.12 during Spring 1944, he moved to Hungary and stayed there until 1945, hopping from airfield to airfield as the German troops withdrew. In March, Emmersdorfer went on recon missions in lake Balaton area. On May 9th, 1945, Oblt. Heimo Emmerstorfer flew to austrian airfield Haibach, and continued on foot to his home town Hoersching.

 

His post-war life is unknown.

 

In total, he flew 217 recon missions (1134 flight hours). Awards: Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class, Gold Buckle for recon pilots, Black wound badge, German Cross in Gold.

 

 

 

 

 

In 1942, Hadnagy (Lieutenant) Molnar graduated from the academy and was sent to the Soviet-German front to the 5/2 V.Szd., in which he took part in the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 and in autumn during defensive battles as part of Army Group "South". That winter the unit was renamed 102 / I Ö.V.Szd.

 

In February 1944 the group was transferred to Hungary to act against American strategic bomber raids, and entered the newly-formed 101 V.Osz. "Puma".

 

On August 7, 1944 the pilots 101 V.Osz. rose to intercept another raid of American heavy bombers. The task of the Hungarian pilots was to cover German Messerschmitts from I./JG302. In the area north-west of Lake Balaton, near Vas, the package rushed to attack the bombers, but they themselves were intercepted by a large group of P-51 from 31st F.G. The Hungarians managed to warn their German colleagues about the threat, but they were not able to defend themselves - eight of 18 fighters, including Bf109G-6 V8 + 48 flown by Molnar, were shot down. He managed to leave the plane, but was killed by American fighters while descending on a parachute. In that battle, P-51 pilots mashinegunned another Hungarian pilot who had parachuted, János Nyemecz.

 

In total, Hadnad Laszlo Molnar performed 132 combat sorties and scored 25 aerial victories, including 7 Il-2s and 6 B-24s. He bore the highest Hungarian award for bravery in battle, the Knight's Cross with Swords and Ribbon. Molnar was posthumously promoted to the rank of Főhadnagy (Senior Lieutenant).

 

 

 

 

 

After completing flight training in the july of 1941, Lansivaara was sent to 1 / LLv 26 for active duty. Until the march of 1943, he flew aboard Fiat G.50s and managed to score two victories - one I-16 and one Il-2.

 

On 26 March 1943, Ylikersantti (Sergeant) Osmo Lansivaara was transferred to the newly formed 3 / LeLv 34 equipped with Bf-109G-2. Until next spring, Lansivaara claimed Pe-2 and damaged a La-5.

 

Lansivaara was transferred to 1 / HLeLv 34 in the spring of 1944. During the Soviet strategic offensive on the Karelian Isthmus in the summer he scored two victories - Yak-9 and  Il-2 (the latter aboard MT-453), and damaged another Il-2. Osmo Länsivaara survived the war.

 

After the war, Osmo Lansivaara remained in active service. On 10/18/1947 he received the title of Lentomestari (Sergeant). After his discharge, he lived his life in Pori. He was alive at 2007 but has died later in Pori.

 

In total, ylikersentti Lansivaara scored 5 victories.

 

Medal and awards: Order of Liberty bravery medal 2nd class (29.01.1942); Order of Liberty bravery medal 1st class (09.11.1942); Order of Liberty Cross 4th class (25.11.1942).