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Me-109

Erich Hartmann - Ace of Aces

Erich Hartmann joined the Luftwaffe in October 1940 at age 18. He entered flight school in March 1941, and graduated as a fighter pilot in October 1942 at age 20. He was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG52) which operated Me 109 fighters in southern Russia. He remained in JG52 until the last day of the war, and scored 352 aerial victories, making him the all time ace of aces, the most successful fighter pilot in history. All his victories were in the Eastern Front. Most of them were Russian aircraft. Near the end of the war Erich Hartmann briefly flew the Me 262 jet fighter, but then returned to his trusted Bf 109. His last base was in Czechoslovakia. His last victory, a Russian fighter, was on the last day of the war. When the war ended, at age 23, he was turned over to the Russians and spent 10 years at hard labor. In 1955, Erich Hartmann returned home, to his wife Usch, and joined the new West German Luftwaffe. He said that of all his achievements, he was most proud that in over 1400 combat missions he never lost a wingman. He died in 1995. The aircraft above is a full scale model depicting a Bf 109G-6 flown by Hartmann in February 1945 in Veszprem, Hungary while serving briefly as Gruppenkommandeur ofI./J G 53. It is painted in the winter white camouflage applied to Luftwaffe machines on the Eastern Front using temporary washable paints.

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