Viktor Bauer joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 with the rank of Fahnenjunker. Following the completion of his fighter pilot training he was posted to I./JG 2. On 1 March 1940, Leutnant Bauer was serving with 2./JG 77. Bauer participated in the French Campaign with this unit and gaining his first aerial victory over Belgium on 15 May when he shot down a RAF Hurricane fighter near Brügge.

Transferred to 1./JG 77 he gained a second victory when he shot down another Hurricane near Cambrai on 18 May. Bauer was active in the Battle of Britain serving with 9./JG 3 from November 1940. He gained one victory during the aerial battles over England to raise his victory total to three. On 5 February 1941 he claimed his forth, a RAF Hurricane, over the Channel, this being his last victory gained over the Western Front.

Shortly before the invasion of Russia commenced Bauer was appointed Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 3. In June 1941 he claimed 15 Russian aircraft shot down, including five Russian SB-2 twin-engine bombers claimed on 26 June for his 7th through 11th victories.

He claimed 17 victories in July, including five Russian DB-3 twin-engine bombers on 12 July. Oblt. Bauer was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 30 July for 36 victories. On 23 July, he was badly wounded in aerial combat with Russian bombers but able to make an emergency landing in his Bf 109 F-2. He was to spend many months in a hospital before finally returning to combat duty in February 1942.

Bauer recorded his 40th victory on 18 February followed by his 50th on 4 April. After rest and refitted in Germany with 32 new Bf 109 F-4s the III. Gruppe returned to the East flying their first missions in the Charkow area on 19 May 1942. This date was also the day Oblt. Bauer downed his 52nd adversary, claimed as an I-61 though in fact it was a MiG-3. This would be a start of a very successful period for him claiming no less than 12 Soviet aircraft thereby reaching 64 Abschüsse.

On 30 June Bauer was spectacularly successful with four more claims made during a morning mission, all shot down within a five minute period. In July he chalked up another 33 victories. Five times he shot down four enemy aircraft in a day and twice recorded five victories in a day.

On this day, on 25 July, he claimed four victories, two Hurricanes and another two Il-2s, all within four minutes, hereby one of the Hurricanes was filed as his 100rd abschusse thereby reaching 102 confirmed victories. The next day he was awarded the Eichenlaub, the 107th recipient of this honor.

On 9 August he claimed his 106th victory but one day later this Bf 109 F-4 (W.Nr. 13241) was damaged by enemy fire and though wounded, Bauer successfully carried out an emergency landing. Following his recovery, Bauer was transferred as a Staffelkapitän to Hermann Graf´s Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost. On 1 July 1943, Major Bauer was appointed its Gruppenkommandeur, a position he was to hold until 4 November 1944.

On 1 December 1944, Oberst Bauer was appointed Kommodore of EJG 1 and served in this role until the end of the war. Oberst Viktor Bauer is credited with 106 victories in approximately 400 missions. He recorded 102 of these in the East including 27 Il-2 Sturmoviks.

'Yellow 7' well illustrates the distinctive camouflage of this unit's aircraft. This Messerschmitt was originally camouflaged with the for III./JG 3 typical sharp-edged splinter scheme are interpreted as RLM 79 sand yellow with segments of RLM 75 gray-violet and RLM 70 black-green. Its undersides were RLM 78 sky blue as fitting for a tropen version of the BF 109 F-4. Its fuselage sides were later heavily modified with an overspray of RLM 76 blue-grey with a fine stippling of a dark color, possibly RLM 70 black-green.

Another earlier version of this Messerschmitt is published in my Profile Book No 14 as profile No 47, this profile version would be publish in my upcoming Profie Book No 16.