Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/R6 of Leutnant Walter Krupinski, 6. /JG52 Russia, OCT 1942. Kit is from Fine Molds.
This model depicts the Bf 109G-2/R6 of “Graf Punski” early in his career, at the that time he had amassed fifty victories. Subsequently he was brought down by a Taran (ramming) attack by a Soviet pilot in an I-16. He was promoted to Staffelkapitän of 7. Staffel, where Erich Hartmann, who was to become the world’s highest scoring ace, flew as his wingman. Krupinski was promoted to Hauptmann and took over command of II./JG 11 in the West. The Gruppe was active over the invasion front in France, where Krupinski scored ten victories before he was wounded for the fifth time in August. After recovering, he commanded III./JG 26 until that Gruppe was disbanded in March. Krupinski finished the war flying Me 262 jets with JV 44, where his final two victories brought his total to 197. Walter Krupinski survived the war.
Inch High Guy 
The pilot’s history behind the model is always interesting.
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Great stuff Jeff. I’ll echo Pierre’s comment about the history snippets you always include too.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Jeff,
Two things:
– I *ALWAYS* enjoy reading the story of the man behind the weapon or machine.
– You are one prolific modeler, seems you’re completing at least one a week?
Warren
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Thanks Warren! I’m running just a little under one a week this year. Many of the models I’ve shown here are older builds from the display case.
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30 mm cannon in those under wing nacelles must have severely limited maneuverability; strictly for bomber interception.
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Increasing weight and operating above optimum altitude are a recipe for disaster.
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Why do you think that none of the top aces on the Allied side achieved anything close to the top aces of the Luftwaffe? Is it because there simply weren’t as many enemy targets for Allied pilots to shoot down, due to the imbalance in numerical strength? No Soviet airforce to rack up victories against? I’d wager you have a good idea about the reason for this discrepancy! 🙂
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You could write a book on this topic! One of the more important factors was the Luftwaffe was forced to keep their fliers in combat units while the Allies could rotate their aces back to training commands to instruct others. Related to this is the Luftwaffe was often fighting over their own territory, fliers who survived being shot down returned to combat whereas downed Allied airmen became POWs. Several Luftwaffe Experten were themselves shot down more than a dozen times! 5 – 6 years of combat experience allowed them to get really proficient – even Pierre Closterman (top scoring French ace) spoke about disengaging when the Luftwaffe opponent was obviously a top pilot. The Luftwaffe always had good equipment too. Just a few factors off the top of my head.
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Makes sense!
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