Like most of the Luftwaffe's fighter arm, Jagdgeschwader 53 was posted to the Eastern Front in June 1941. I and III Groups were to support the central thrust through Belarus and into central Russia while II Group was supporting the campaign in the Baltics and Northwest Russia towards Leningrad. Collectively, they would claim 762 Soviet planes destroyed between June 22 and December 5, 1941 for just 35 losses in aerial combat. This thread has skins for two Jg 53 aircraft from the Barbarossa campaign.
Bf 109F-2 Jürgen Harder of Stab. III/JG 53 in June 1941. This aircraft photographed at Vilnius, Lithuania on June 25th. Despite Harder's relative inexperience, he was posted to the command flight of III/JG 53 in March 1941 serving as the group's technical officer. He scored his first victory on June 22, a MiG-1 on the opening day of Operation Barbarossa. He would score 9 more on the Eastern Front before III/ JG 53 was transferred to the Mediterranean in October. He would score another 54 before being killed in February 1945, serving as acting Kommodore of JG 11.
Harder's machine was painted in the early scheme of RLM 71 and 02 with the port wing being almost entirely 02 with the tip and root getting some RLM 70 black-green. The yellow cowl was over-painted with mostly 71 and some splotches of 70 to tone it down, but the broad tail band is untouched. A single victory mark is painted on the rudder. The spinner was painted all black with a thin ring of yellow. The inscription of "Harro" under the windscreen is in honor of Jürgen's brother, who was also a pilot. Harro was killed in August 1940.
Bf 109F-4 flown by Fritz Dinger of 4./JG 53 in October 1941. This aircraft was photographed after it crash landed near Shlisselburg, Russia (About 25 miles east of Leningrad) on October 5, 1941. It was to be the last day for II/JG 53 in Russia before being rotated back to Western Europe. Fortunately for Dinger, where he came down was inside German lines and he was able to rejoin his squadron. He would eventually take command of
4./Jg 53 a year later and hold that position until his death in a bombing raid July 1943 at his base in Italy. He had 67 total victories.
Dinger's machine was painted in the RLM 74/75/76 grays with the pattern typical of the Wiener-Neustadt factory. Yellow theater marking are not toned down at all, with the cowling, tail band and lower wings all receiving the treatment. 10 victory marks are painted on the rudder, even though, Dinger had 11 at the time this plane was ditched.
