Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 – Yellow 5, 111./JG 54 Grunherz, Luftwaffe, Russian Front, Winter 1942

Gemini Aces 1/72 scale GALFT3001: Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 Yellow 5 of 111./JG 54, Luftwaffe, Russian Front, Winter 1942. The models are amazingly detailed with exquisite panel lines and have metal propeller blades, moving Ailerons and rudders, plus optional undercarriage positions and stand. They come complete with a card giving the individual limited edition number, one of only 2,000 of each. Now almost impossible to find; essential to any WW2 collection.

Length 5 inches Wingspan 5.5 inches

Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) Grunherz (Green Heart) was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during the Second World War. It was known as the Green Hearts Wing, and it was the second highest scoring wing of all time, JG 52 being the highest. JG 54 flew on the Eastern Front, racking up over 9,600 kills, with aces such as Walter Nowotny, Otto Kittel, Freiherr Peter Grunhertz, Hans “Phips” Philipp, Gunther Lutzow, Emil “Bully” Lang (Lang holds the record for most kills in a day; 18!), Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, Dietrich Hrabak, Werner Schroer and Hannes Trautloft being the most famous Experten.

Having enjoyed initial success over the Channel and South-east England during the summer of 1940, the unit was transferred to the Eastern Front in the spring of 1941 for Operation Barbarossa – the German invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 54 would remain a Jagdwaffe stalwart in the east, flying firstly Bf 109Fs and then the Fw 190.

JG 54 was known for its non-standard camouflage schemes, similar to what most Luftwaffe medium bomber (Kampfgeschwader) wings already used from early in World War II. For example, Bf-109F-4’s on the Leningrad front 1941–42 were painted in black-green/dark-green splinter finish with yellow under cowling and under the wing tips.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 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 true modern fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, a retractable landing gear, and was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.

The Bf 109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force. From the end of 1941 the Bf 109 was supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

Originally conceived as an interceptor, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-fighter, night-fighter, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to and operated by several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 was the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced from 1936 up to April 1945.

The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring German fighter aces of World War II, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, mainly on the Eastern Front, as well as by Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest scoring German ace in the North African Campaign. It was also flown by several other successful aces from Germany’s allies, notably Finland, including the highest scoring non-German ace Ilmari Juutilainen, and pilots from Romania, Croatia and Hungary. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.