Luftwaffe Ace Hans Galubinski

Feldwebel Hans Galubinski of 7.Staffel / III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) was credited with eight aircraft destroyed (and a ninth unconfirmed) between 12 May and 6 June 1940, although he was himself shot down on the latter date by Adj Jean Crocq of GC II/1. Assigned to 7./JG 53, Galubinski and his Staffel had taken on 12 MB.152s near Soissons. Three Bloch fighters were destroyed, although Galubinski was in turn shot down after claiming two of his French opponents. The ace was fired on by furious civilians as he descended beneath his parachute, being seriously wounded by shotgun pellets prior to his capture! Galubinski would received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 2 July 1942.

Source :
"Jagdgeschwader 53 'Pik'As' Bf 109 Aces of 1940" by Chris Goss & Chris Davey
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/23112/Galubinski-Hans.htm

Luftwaffe Ace Kurt Sauer and His Aircraft

 

 

Unteroffizier Kurt Sauer of 9.Staffel / III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) is sat on the wing leading edge of a Bf 109E from his Staffel that has just been adorned with the ‘Pik-As’ badge. Sauer shot down three aircraft in 1940, and his tally stood at nine by the time he was made a PoW on 16 July 1941. The ‘Pik-As’ emblem was applied to all of JG 53’s aircraft following its adoption by the unit’s new Kommodore, Generalmajor Hans Klein (himself a 22-victory Word War 1 ace), upon him taking over from Oberstleutnant Werner Junck in late October 1939.

Source :
"Jagdgeschwader 53 'Pik'As' Bf 109 Aces of 1940" by Chris Goss & Chris Davey

Unteroffizier Gerhard Proske from Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54)

This picture show one of the pilots who flew in the shadows of the aces. He is Unteroffizier Gerhard Proske of 1.Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) near the tail of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 “Weiße 7”, Werknummer 10411. Note Gruppe and Geschwader emblem under the cockpit. Picture taken on 1 October 1942 on Krasnowardeisk airfield. Until this day Unteroffizier Proske, who had joined I.Gruppe/JG 54 during spring of 1941, accumulated 20 claims. Some of them while flying as Katschmarek (wingman) of Gruppenkommandeur Hauptmann Erich von Selle (2 July 1941 – 14 December 1941) and Hauptmann Franz Eckerle (14 December 1941 – 14 February 1942. KIA). Gerhard Proske was awarded the Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse and Frontflugspange in Bronze. Also note the fur lined trousers. On 30 January 1944 Feldwebel Gerhard Proske (take-off 08:30 hours with Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 “Gelbe 1”, Werknummer 550899) was shot down by Russian fighters together with newcomer Obergefreiter Helmut Wilhelm (Fw 190 A-5 “Gelbe 2”, Werknummer 304719) during a familiarisation flight over the front area of Vitebsk-Boburisk. He was taken prisoner and return to Germany after the war. He accumulated a total 29 victory claims.

Source :
Luftwaffe im Focus - Edition No.1 2002

The Greatest Fighter Ace in the World

    During the Second World War, one German Luftwaffe pilot compiled a combat record so remarkable that he earned the distinction of becoming the most successful fighter pilot in the history of humanity. Erich Hartmann, called the Blond Knight of the German Luftwaffe, achieved the staggering total of 352 confirmed kills. Hartmann’s incredible combat record earned him the coveted diamonds to his Knight’s Cross from Hitler personally. He was never shot down or forced to land due to enemy fire.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/149147882742/5sswiking-during-the-second-world-war-one

Officers of JG 1 at Leck Airfield

Pilots of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1). In front of a partially painted Heinkel He 162 are, from left to right: Major Werner Zober (Gruppenkommandeur I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 1), Oberst Herbert Ihlefeld (Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 1), Hauptmann Heinz "Heinrich" Künnecke (Staffelkapitän 1.Staffel / I.Gruppe), Oberleutnant Karl Emil Demuth (Staffelkapitän 3.Staffel / I.Gruppe), Hauptmann Bernhard "Bernd" Gallowitsch (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe), Hauptmann Gerhard Strasen (Gruppenkommandeur III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 4), and Hauptmann Wolfgang Ludewig (Staffelkapitän 2.Staffel / I.Gruppe). When this photograph was taken at Leck, Schleswig-Holstein, towards the end of the war, there were about 45 Heinkel He 162s of I.(Einsatz)/JG 1 in the background.

Pilots of JG 1

Three Staffelkapitäne of I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1). From left to right: Hauptmann Wolfgang Ludewig (2.Staffel), Hauptmann Heinz "Heinrich" Künnecke (1.Staffel) and Oberleutnant Karl Emil Demuth (3.Staffel). When this photograph was taken at Leck, Schleswig-Holstein, towards the end of the war, there were about 45 Heinkel He 162s of I.(Einsatz)/JG 1 in the background.

A Focke-Wulf Fw 190 of Walter Oesau (part 2)

Walter Oesau, Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1), with his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 'Grüne 13' (Werknummer 1230). He reached his 100th victory on 26 October 1941

Oberst Walter Oesau

Oberst Walter "Gulle" Oesau, Geschwaderkommodore for Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) and for whom it was named after his death on 11 May 1944. Oesau scored 127 victories in over 300 combat missions. 9 victories were scored during the Spanish Civil War, 74 were scored on the Western front including 14 four-engined bombers (one B-17 as engültige Vernichtung) and 44 over the Eastern front

Luftwaffe Ace Erich Hartmann in the Cockpit of Bf 109

Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 "Gelbe 1". With this aircraft he made his 300th victory on 25 August 1944. Also seen is his trusted mechanic and best friend, Heinz 'Bimmel' Mertens

Luftwaffe Ace Erich Hartmann with his Trusted Mechanic

Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann, the world's most successful fighter pilot with a tally of 352 victories. He is seen here with his mechanic, Heinz 'Bimmel' Mertens, and his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6