In late September 1942, After Obfw. Alfred Grislawski had given free rein of his anger to his Gruppenkomandeur Major Hubertus von Bonin following a messed up combat sortie over the front lines, the newcomer Lt. Erich Hartmann was greeted by his commander at the Soldatskaya Airdrome: "Welcome, Leutnant Hartmann," von Bonin said.

Then slightly embarrassed he added: "You see, here in the first line, ranks and such privileges don't count, only experience. On combat missions, the most experienced pilot is the commander, and we all have to obey his instructions, including myself, as you just have seen. Oberfeldwebel Grislawski, whom you met, is one of my best men. Usually, the pilots utilize either mainly their skills, or simply their physical strength to exhaust their enemy in the air, but Grislawski is one of the few who carries out air combat with both his head and his muscles. He also seems to have a "nose" to find Russian aircraft in the air, and that's why I asked to accompany him on this mission. Unfortunately, I made a mess out of myself, and Grislawski was right to tear me up like that".

The twenty-year-old son of a military doctor, now a freshly-minted Leutnant, Hartmann, shortly to be nick-named "Bubi (baby), would soon learn the ropes the hard way under the leadership of harsh no-nonsense non-commissioned officers like Alfred Grislawski and Edmund Rossman.

Lt. Hartmann's first period with III./JG 52 would not in any way be characterised as a success, with multiple crashes and few victories under his belt such that Major von Bonin decided it best to send him away on a forced leave.

This Bf 109 G-4 is interesting as it must be one of the first machines flown by "Bubi" during his time with the 7. Staffel from 24 March to 30 April, when he added another five victories reaching a total of ten Abschüsse.

"White 2" was a WNF-produced G-4 completed in February 1943. It displays JG 52's characteristic small size numerals that were seen on its aircraft right to the end of the war.

Its RLM 74/75/75 gray camouflage scheme was modified with irregular mottling and large patches of a dark green paint, possibly RLM 70 black-green. Note what appears to be a replacement rudder with repaired patches painted with the red-brown primer used specifically for fabric-coated control surfaces.

Please note that during the last week I have been able to make five new profiles. This Harmann profile was included in my latest Profile book, the Limited Edition profile book No 15 as profile No 130.