Bf 109F-4 flown by Herbert Rollwage of 5./Jg 53 in October 1942. Rollwage downed his 30th enemy on October 24 (on his 300th mission) and he was photographed standing near the tail with the 30 victory marks on the tail. Of those 30, 19 came after II/Jg 53 deployed to Sicily from Russia in December 1941. More impressive still is the fact that 16 of the 19 were Spitfires. He would add another Malta based Spitfire on October 26. Soon afterward, II/Jg 53 would move to Tunisia in response to the Allied landings in North Africa. Rollwage continued to score against the Americans and British as the Axis retreated from Africa back to Sicily. He was wounded in July 1943 and spent the next few months recovering. He returned to his unit in December in Vienna, Austria after they had transferred there to bolster the defense against American bomber raids. Herbert Rollwage survived the war with 71 official victories, although it is believed that an additional 10-15 are likely.
This Bf 109F-4 features the iconic Ace-of-Spades emblem of Jg 53 on the nose and 30 victory markings on the rudder. The white Mediterranean theater ID band is much wider than usually seen on most other Jg 53 109's. The camouflage pattern is mostly speculation due to the nature of the reference photos not showing much beyond the cockpit and tail. In my opinion, the heavy splotchy mottle seen on the fuselage sides most closely matches other 109F's built at the Erla plant and I have finished the scheme in that pattern.
