Attack of the 109s, Pt. 6 1/32 Bf-109G-6

The Hasegawa Bf-109G-6 "kannonen boot", with Eagle Cals decals to do Heinrich Bartels' airplane from late 1943, flown in the eastern Mediterranean. Among the pilots assigned to IV Gruppe when it was activated in Greece in May 1943 was Feldwebel Heinrich Bartels, who flew with 11 Staffel. Bartels had first established his reputation as an experte with JG5 in the far north of the Eastern Front before being transferred to JG 27 just before the Geschwader left Africa. By the fall of 1943, when IV/JG 27 was based at Kalamaki, near Athens, he was the leading ace with 70 victories. JG 27 was transferred to Hungary in March 1944 to face the 15th Air Force's offensive. Bartels scored there to, before the unit was finally transferred to Germany for Defense of the Reich duties in the summer of 1944. With his score at 99, Bartels was killed in combat with P-47s in the vicinity of Bonn, Germany, on December 23, 1944. His remains were found, still strapped in the cockpit, in 1968.

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.