About Aircraft

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid-1930s. It was one of the first truly modern fighters of the era, including such features as metal construction, a closed canopy, a retractable landing gear, and was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.
 
The G series, or "Gustav", was introduced in mid-1942. Its initial variants (G-1 through G-4) differed only in minor details from the Bf 109F, most notably in the more powerful 1475 PS (1,455 HP) DB 605 engine. Odd numbered variants were built as high-altitude fighters with a pressurized cockpit and GM-1 boost, while even numbered variants were non-pressurized, air superiority fighters and fighter-bombers. Long-range photo-reconnaissance variants also existed.

Pilot & Markings

JG-3 Battle of Stalingrad, Russia 1942
Flown by Lt. Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke

 

Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke (11 March 1913 – 23 March 1944) was a German Luftwaffe pilot during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 162 enemy aircraft shot down in 732 combat missions. He claimed the majority of his victories over the Eastern Front, and 25 over the Western Front, including four four-engined bombers.

 

German 6th Army on 23 November 1942, the Geschwaderstab was moved to Morozovskaya-West, outside the Stalingrad pocket. Wilcke organized fighter escort missions for the transport aircraft delivering supplies for the 6th Army and flew with this aircraft during this time.