This skin is an adoption of the original done by Treize69.
Bf 109E-3 flown by Ioan Di Cesare of
Escadrila 57, Grupul 7 Vanatoare of the Royal Romanian Air Force (ARR) in November 1942.
Grupul 7 was based at Karpovka, Russia and was participating in the battles near Stalingrad. The ARR was in action with their Emils from the beginning of Barbarossa invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, operating in Bessarabia and southern Ukraine into the fall of 1941 before returning to Romania for R&R. The second campaign in the east began in September 1942 in support of the German 6th Army's drive on Stalingrad. During the Soviet counter-offensive in November 1942, the Romanian Army units along the norther flank were targeted and ultimately broken. Despite fierce air support from
Grupul 7 Vanatoare, the Red Army eventually overran Karpovka airfield on November 23. Seven unflyable 109E's were left behind, their guns used in improvised ground gun emplacements to hold off Soviet ground troops. The remaining Emils attempted to fly out in the midst of a Soviet artillery barrage, five being damaged or destroyed in the attempt. Only eight reached the fall back airfield at Tachinskaya, each with ground personnel stowed in the fuselage.
This aircraft was painted in the typical scheme of overall RLM 71 green over 65 light blue. Romanian colors were painted on the rudder with the "Saint Michael's Cross" insignia painted in six positions. Eastern Front IFF markings consisted of RLM 04 yellow painted on the engine cowl, lower wing tips and a band around the fuselage - RLM 04 being slightly more orange than the Romanian insignia yellow. The Donald Duck emblem of
Grupul 7 Vanatoare is painted just ahead of the tail band. Personal markings consist of the inscription of
"Hai Fetito" "C'mon Little Girl" on both sides of the cowl and a "DIC" monogram under the canopy on the port side. Seven slashes on the fuselage indicate ground attack victories and the two bars on the tail indicate a pair of air victories.
