This a Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 of the airfield protection flight of JV 44, based at München-Rein in April of 1945. This flight was tasked with protecting the Me 262 jets when they were taking off and landing, the jet’s engines reacted poorly to sudden throttle inputs rendering them vulnerable to prowling Allied fighters. The undersides of the Doras were painted red with white stripes as a quick recognition aid for Luftwaffe flak gunners surrounding the base.
Red 1 was the mount of Lt. Heinz “Heino” Sachsenberg, who was the leader of JV 44s airfield protection flight. You could say that being a fighter pilot was in his blood, his father was Gotthard Sachsenberg, a First World War fighter ace with 31 victories and holder of the Pour le Merit. The younger Sachsenberg scored his victories on the Eastern Front with 6./JG 52 and was a Knight’s Cross holder. After scoring his 104th victory, he was shot down and wounded over Romania by USAAF Mustangs. He was assigned to JV 44 after his release from hospital. He survived the war, but succumbed to complications from his wounds in 1951. The slogan on the fuselage side reads “Verkaaf’s mei Gwand ‘I foahr im Himmel!” which translates as “Sell my clothes I’m going to heaven!”.
This is the excellent Tamiya kit. I rebuilt the wheelwells and the exposed engine accessory section from plastic card. There is some dispute concerning the uppersurface colors, the JaPo book shows the upper wings and tail surfaces in the 82 / 83 scheme as modeled here, Crandall shows them in 74 / 75. Decals are from EagleCals sheet #14.
Inch High Guy 