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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Squadrons Germany JG1 to JG54  JG27 |
[UP] - JG1 - JG2 - JG3 - JG4 - JG5 - JG7 - JG11 - JG21 - JG26 - JG27 - JG50 - JG51 - JG52 - JG53 - JG54 |
| JG27 Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Desert Sharks and Eagles by Nicolas Trudgian. The air war fought in the skies above the inhospitable wastelands of the North African desert were among the most hotly contested of the war. The outcome of the bitter land war raging below largely depended upon who controlled the air space above, and both sides knew it. JG-27, having cut its teeth in the battles of France and Britain, was the first Luftwaffe unit to arrive in North Africa. Commanded by the mercurial Eduard Neumann, its Me109s were superior to the Hurricanes and P-40 Kittyhawks flown by the RAF pilots and, without the restriction of close escort duties dictated on the Western Front, the JG-27 pilots roamed the desert skies, closing in combat with the British fighters at every opportunity. The North African air campaign spawned many fighter aces, including Hans-Joachim Marseille who claimed more than 150 victories in his short career - more than any other Luftwaffe ace flying against RAF pilots. The scale of the desert air war is highlighted by raw statistics: 1400 British aircraft lost; over 1200 Luftwaffe destroyed. A dog-fight between Me109s from JG-27 and P-40 Kittyhawks of the RAFs 112 Squadron, led by Killer Caldwell, and later Billy Drake, 112 Squadron were in constant combat with Edu Neumanns fighters as they jousted for air supremacy above Rommels advancing Afrika Korps tanks. Below them, the desolate beauty of the Libyan desert stretches as far as the eye can see. Published 2001. Signed by two RAF and two Luftwaffe pilots (both of whom did not sign many art prints) who fought in the desert campaign, sadly all of whom have since passed away. This is a sought after art print and well worth adding to your collection. |
One to One by Ivan Berryman. A Messerschmitt BF109 E of JG27 closes on a 501 squadron Hawker Hurricane during the typical combat in the skies over southern England during the Battle of Britain, in the summer of 1940. |
Star of Africa by Ivan Berryman. Hans-Joachim Marseilles lines his Bf109 up on Hurricane of No.73 Sqn over North Africa on 17th June 1942. |
Kannonenboot by David Pentland. Adriatic coast, Greece, 20th Dece,ber 1943. 20mm cannon armed Messerschmitt 109G-6/R6 trop, flown by Oberleutnant Josef-Emil Clade, Staffelkapitan 7/JG27 White 9 and his wingman White 7. |
Messerschmitt Bf109E-7/Bs by Jerry Boucher. Messerschmitt Bf109E-7Bs belonging to III./JG27, during the Balkan Campaign of 1941. The yellow and white painted areas were used as recognition markings, so that they were not fired upon by friendly ground units during their low-level sorties. |
Victory over Africa by Ivan Berryman. The 73 Sqn Hurricane of Sqn Ldr Derek Ward is shown having received fatal strikes from the guns of Bf 109 F-4 flown by the 'Star of Africa' Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseilles of 3/JG27 on 17th June 1942. Ward was Marseilles' third victim in this single action when he returned to the combat zone to cover the safe descent by parachute of the German ace's first two victories, both of whom had been shot down within seconds of each other. |
Hand of Fate by David Pentland. South of Alexandria, Egypt, 7th August 1942. When a pair of Me109Fs from JG27 unexpectedly encountered a lumbering Bristol Bombay and downed it, they were unaware of the full significance of their action. It was only on their return to base that Emil Clade and Bernd Schneider heard that Lt. General Strafer Gott the formidable new commander of the 8th Army had perished on the fallen transport. His death opened the way for his replacement, General Montgomery. |
Desert Victory by Nicolas Trudgian. Nicolas Trudgians painting Desert Victory recreates all the atmosphere of the North African desert war with a stunning portrayal of the Me109s of 3./JG-27. The wing is depicted being led by Staffelkapitan Gerhard Homuth as they escort Afrikakorps armor heading for the front line at Gazala, Libya, on February 21, 1942. Flying alongside Homuth, the great Luftwaffe Ace Joachim Marseille scored his 49th and 50th victories on this day, earning his Knights Cross. Below, the crew of an SdKfz 10 light half-track stop to investigate a crashed P-40 Kittyhawk belonging to No 112 Squadron RAF, brought down during an earlier contest. |
| JG27 Aircraft details |
 Me109 Manufacturer : Messerschmitt Built : 33984 | Me109 Willy Messerschmitt designed the BF109 during the early 1930s. The Bf109 was one of the first all metal monocoque construction fighters with a closed canopy and retractable undercarriage. The engine of the Me109 was a V12 aero engine which was liquid-cooled. The Bf109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and flew to the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons. During the Battle of Britian the Bf109 was used in the role of an escort fighter, a role for which it was not designed for, and it was also used as a fighter bomber. During the last days of May 1940 Robert Stanford-Tuck, the RAF ace, got the chance to fly an Me109 which they had rebuilt after it had crash landed. Stanford-Tuck found out that the Me109 was a wonderful little plane, it was slightly faster than the Spitfire, but lacked the Spitfire manoeuvrability. By testing the Me109, Tuck could put himself inside the Me109 when fighting them, knowing its weak and strong points. With the introduction of the improved Bf109F in the spring of 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the invasion of Yugoslavia and during the Battle of Crete and the invasion of Russia and it was used during the Siege of the Mediteranean island of Malta. The Bf109 was the main fighter for the Luftwaffe until 1942 when the Fw190 entered service and shared this position, and was partially replaced in Western Europe, but the Me109 continued to serve on the Eastern Front and during the defence of the Reich against the allied bombers. It was also used to good effect in the Mediterranean and North Africa in support of The Africa Korps. The Me109 was also supplied to several German allies, including Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia. The Bf109 scored more kills than any other fighter of any country during the war and was built in greater numbers with a total of over 31,000 aircraft being built. The Bf109 was flown by the three top German aces of the war war. Erich Hartmann with 352 victories, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories and Gunther Rall with 275 kills. Bf109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen Luftwaffe Aces scored more than 200 kills. Altogether this group of pilots were credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills, of which the Messerschmitt Bf109 was credited with over 10,000 of these victories. The Bf109 was the most produced warplane during World War II, with 30,573 examples built during the war, and the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945. Bf109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf109s until 1955. The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s. |
| JG27 Pilot and aircrew signature details |
Oberleutnant Joachim Berking Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Oberleutnant Joachim Berking Joining the Luftwafte in November 1939, Joachim Berking was commissioned and trained as a pilot on Ju52s and He111s as part of KG53 based at Lille in northern France. In May 1942 he was posted to KG55 Grief in Russia, joining the 4th Staffel based in Djepropetrowsk, where he completed 291 combat missions, of which 60 were night operations. In November 1943 he returned to France to become head of training of 1 L/KG5 5 at Dijon. After this posting he converted to fighters, training on the Me109, and in April 1945 was posted to command 4./JG27 Marseille. He received the Iron Cross I and II, the German Cross in Gold, and a special honorary trophy from Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering for outstanding services in air combat. |
  Hauptmann Emil Clade Our estimated value of this signature : £70 Died : 2010 | Hauptmann Emil Clade Born 26th February 1916, Emil Clade joined the Luftwaffe in April 1937. At the outbreak of war he was with 1 Staffel JG27 and took part in the Battle of France, the fighting over Dunkirk and then in 1940, based in the Pas de Calais, in the Battle of Britain, where he scored his first victory flying the Me109E. In early 1941 Emil was posted with JG27 to North Africa where he flew continually until the German forces were eventually defeated at the end of 1942. By the end of the war he had survived 6 bail outs and scored 26 air victories. He was awarded the German Gold Cross, and Iron Cross 1st Class. Sadly, Emil Clade passed away in May 2010. |
Ambassador Franz Elles Our estimated value of this signature : £60 | Ambassador Franz Elles Franz Elles began operations in 1940 with 1 Staffel, I./JG-27 and saw action in the Battle of Britain under the command of Edu Neumann. Transferred in early 1941 to North Africa he flew as wing-man to the famous Knight's Cross holder Karl-Wolfgang Redlich. He had scored 5 victories flying Me109s. At the end of that year, Elles, defending his leader's tail in a close air combat, was shot down behind enemy lines and taken prisoner. He spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war in Canada. After the war Elles joined the German diplomatic service and rose to become German ambassador to Central America. |
  General Adolf Galland Our estimated value of this signature : £80 Died : 1996 | General Adolf Galland Adolf Galland fought in the great Battles of Poland, France and Britain, leading the famous JG26 Abbeville Boys. He flew in combat against the RAFs best including Douglas Bader, Bob Stanford Tuck and Johnnie Johnson. In 1941, at the age of 29, he was promoted to Inspector of the Fighter Arm. In 1942 Hitler personally selected Galland to organise the fighter escort for the Channel Dash. He became the youngest General in the German High Command but open disagreements with Goering led to his dismissal at the end of 1944. He reverted to combat flying, forming the famous JV44 wing flying the Me262 jet fighter, and was the only General in history to lead a squadron into battle. With 104 victories, all in the West, Adolf Galland received the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Born 19th March 1912, died 9th February 1996. Born in 1911, Adolf Galland learned to fly at a state-sponsored flying club in the early 1930s. In 1933 he was selected to go to Italy for secret pilot training. Galland flew for a brief time as a commercial airline pilot prior to joining the clandestine Luftwaffe as a Second Lieutenant. In April of 1935 he was assigned to JG-2, the Richtofen Fighter Wing, and in 1937 he joined the ranks of the Condor Legion flying the He-51 biplane fighter in support of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. Despite flying 280 missions, Galland attained no aerial victories, a rather inauspicious start for a pilot would go on to attain more than 100 aerial victories - the highest for any pilot who flew on the Western Front. During Germanys invasion of Poland, Galland was assigned to an attack squadron and he flew over fifty ground sorties. He was promoted to Captain for his efforts, but Galland was anxious to return to a fighter squadron, and he got his wish in October of 1939 when he was transferred to JG-27. It was with JG-27 that Galland first learned to fly the Bf-109. In May of 1940 JG-27 flew in support of the invasion of Belgium, and Galland achieved his first combat victory on May 12. Two months later his score had risen to more than a dozen, and at this time he was once again transferred to JG-26 situated on the Channel Coast. Engaging the RAF on a daily basis during the Battle of Britain, Gallands score rose steadily until it exceeded 40 victories by September. After a short leave Galland rejoined JG-26 in Brittany, where the squadron played a defensive role. Following Germanys invasion of Russia in June of 1941, JG-26 became one of only two German fighter squadrons left on the Channel Coast. This resulted in plenty of flying, and by late in 1941 Gallands victory totals had reached 70. Following a near brush with death when the fuel tank of his 109 exploded, Galland was grounded for a time, and sent to Berlin where he was made the General of the Fighter Arm, reporting directly to Goring and Hitler. Galland spent most of the next few years carrying out inspection tours, and was at odds with his superiors about the need for an adequate fighter defense to negate ever-increasing Allied bombing of Germanys cities. He continued to fly combat missions when the opportunity presented itself, despite Gorings orders to the contrary. In January of 1945 almost 300 fighters were lost in an all-out attack on Allied airfields in France, a mission Galland did not support. He was dismissed as General of the Fighter Arm for his insubordination, but reflecting his flying abilities Hitler ordered Galland to organize JV-44, Germanys first jet-equipped fighter squadron. By March of 1945 Galland had recruited 45 of Germanys best surviving fighter pilots, and this new squadron was given the difficult task of trying to counter the daily onslaught of 15th Air Force bombers coming at Germany from the South. Gallands final mission of the War occurred on April 26 when he attained his 102nd and 103rd confirmed aerial victories prior to crash landing his damaged Me262. Several days later the War was over for both Galland and Germany. General Galland died in 1996. |
  Generalmajor Friedrich Korner Our estimated value of this signature : £65 Died : 1998 | Generalmajor Friedrich Korner Born 24th January 1921. Friedrich Korner joined the Luftwaffe in November 1939 and after training joined II/.JG27 in North Africa. On 19th March 1942, over Tobruk, Korner claimed his first victory, and with his 10th victory, over an RAF P-40, he claimed the 1000th victory for JG-27. He scored a further 20 victories in June 1942, including 5 in a day where he shot down three South African Air Force P-40s and two RAF Spitfires. He became the 7th most successful Ace in North Africa, but was shot down in his Bf-109 while taking off to intercept a bomber group. He was taken prisoner, and sent to Canada as a PoW, released in 1947. He recorded a total of 36 victories flying the Bf109, was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 21st August 1941, and the Knights Cross on 7th September 1942, after his capture. After the war, he conitnued in the post-war Bundesluftwaffe, retiring from military service in June 1979. He died on 3rd September 1998, in Paris. |
  Oberst Eduard Neumann Our estimated value of this signature : £70 Died : 2004 | Oberst Eduard Neumann A veteran of the Spanish Campaign, Edward Neumann, at the start of the war, was leading 4./JG26 in France, later promoted Adjutant of I./JG27. He took part in the Balkan Campaign before moving in 1941 to North Africa, where I./JG27 was the only German fighter unit for the first nine months. In 1942 he became Kommodore of JG27, a position which he held throughout the remainder of the Desert Campaign. He was credited with moulding the careers of many outstanding pilots, the best known being the young Hauptmann Marseille. Following the defeat of Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein JG27 covered their retreat back to Tunisia. When his wing left the desert, 'Edu' Neumann was transferred to the Staff of General of the Fighter Arm, where he remained until 1944. Promoted to Oberst in the autumn of that year, he took over as Fighter Commander of Northern Italy. Edu Neumann ended the war as one of the Luftwaffe's most highly respected Commanders. Died 9th August 2004. |
