Eduard 1/48 Bf109G14 German Fighter Profi-Pack Kit

Rolf Schlegel was born on June 14th, 1922 in Saxony. After his successful passing of the training, he was sent to serve at 11./JG 2 that fought British pilots above the English Channel. He and his unit were soon moved over to African battlegrounds. Over there, Schlegel suffered injuries. After his recovery, he continued at EKdo 16, which was a tester squadron testing the rocket-powered Me 163 aircraft. In summer 1944 he started to serve at JG 4, namely at its Sturmgruppe. This unit flew heavily armed Fw 190A-8/R2s. Later, he flew Bf 109s at III. Gruppe JG 4. Prior to the end of the war, he was transferred to JG 7 flying jet-powered 262 Messerschmitt’s. He shot down two enemy aircraft in combat. The aircraft is bearing a typical camouflage of the later 109s produced in Erla factory in Leipzig. The plane’s original marking is covered by fresh RLM 74 paint and the nose of the plane has JG 4 emblem. Wide stripes around the tail of the plane were typical for JG 4 fleet. These aircraft served as Defence of the Reich (Reichsverteidigung).

308th Fighter Squadron was armed with P-39s and P-40s. The performance of these fighters was not enough to keep up with German opponents, which led to a relatively quick rearmament to Spitfires Mk.V. The Spitfires were used by 31st Fighter Group in two-month heavy fights above northern France. Later the group was transferred to Gibraltar to use the base for take-offs for Algeria as part of the disembarkation of the Allies in North Africa (Operation Torch). What followed were the fights against the forces of the Axis in North Africa. In May 1943 the 308th Fighter Squadron received Spitfires Mk.VIII, which were then used in the fights above Sicily and Italy. In March 1944, the Spitfires were replaced by P-51 Mustangs, which were used by 308th Fighter Squadron pilots till the end of the war.