After recovering from injuries suffered in North Africa as 5./JG 77's commander, 124 victory ace Anton Hackl was given command of III/JG 11 on October 1, 1943. Based in Oldenburg, in northwest Germany, III/JG 11 was tasked with attacking the American bombers of the 8th Air Force. Initially flying Bf 109G-6's, the group would transition to Fw190A-6's in January 1944. Hackl would prove to be exceptionally adept at downing the heavy bombers, as he would have 25 confirmed victories of B-17's and B-24's while in command of III/JG 11.
Hackl's time as
Gruppenkommandeur of III/JG 11 would finish at the end of May 1944 when he was promoted to the position of
Kommodore of JG 76. He would also command II/JG 26, JG 300, and in February 1945 make his return to JG 11 as it's new
Kommodore. Hackl would survive the war with a total of 192 confirmed victories and another 24 claims remaining unconfirmed.
Bf 109G-6 Oldenburg, Germany. January 1944.
Of note on this plane are the victory markings on the rudder. Photo reference is only clear enough to know that some number of bars exist under a crest. Artwork depicting this plane all show the total tally equaling 132 - which is probably not correct as a list of Hackl's victories show that he scored 132 and 133 on the same day - a pair of B-17's on January 11, 1944. I therefore elected to show 133 victories on the rudder. Other features of this plane are the white vertical stabilizer for quick identification of the leader's plane and a broad yellow band around the tail as the indication of the plane belonging to JG 11.
Fw 190A-6 Oldenburg, Germany. April 1944.
Unlike the 109, Hackl's 190 has no ambiguity in it's rudder markings as this plane was photographed with victory 141 being painted on the rudder after a confirmed victory of a B-24 on April 11th. Markings are similar to the 109, but the III/JG 11 crest is displayed on both sides of the fuselage.
Both of these skins are adopted from Fencer's originals.
