This is an adoption of Bubi's original skin.
This was Hartmann's personal mount as Staffelkapitan of 9./Jg 52 in the autumn of 1943. He was given command of this squadron on Sept. 2, having achieved 90 victories thus far. This aircraft was photographed on Oct. 2nd at Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine with a total of 121 kills marked on the tail. By August 27, 1944, Hartmann would be the first pilot to down 300 aircraft, with 304. At this point he was barred from flying in combat and transferred from 9./Jg 52 to Erprobungskommando 262 to train on the new jet fighter. In October, he was able to be put back on combat duty and transferred back to Jg 52 in Hungary. There, he would achieve his final 48 victories before the end of the war, finishing with 352 confirmed downed aircraft - the all-time highest scoring ace.
This aircraft features some unique paint work. The camouflage pattern is non-standard on the wings, and the insignias partially filled with sprayed lines in a light color, I used RLM 76 light blue - the same shade as the underside. The fuel grade triangle is missing from under the filler hatch, possibly the result of repainting after a repair. The yellow theater markings are reduced on the fuselage with only the forward chin and lower half of the tail band being painted. The rudder shows 121 claimed victories.
