In March of 1945, most of the Jagdwaffe was fighting in the Eastern Front with JG 4 based around the Oder River. The I. Gruppe was based at Guben with 35 Bf 109 G-10s and K-4s on strength and with them the full complement of 35 pilots.

In mid-March the Gruppe was ordered to dissolve with immediate effect with the General der Jagdflieger ordering on 19 March that 40% of the pilots be made available for transfer and conversion training to operate the Me 262. The remaining 60% were to be distributed within the Geschwader.

Of these 18 pilots ordered to join EJG 2 in Lechfeld was their Gruppenkommandeur Major Steinmann. The remaining I Gruppe aircraft were evenly distributed between JG 4's III. and IV. Gruppen with the transfer taking place on 30 March.

During the fighting in the East JG 6 is known to have claimed 62 victories against their own losses of 41 Bf 109s and Fw 190s in air-combat. It is interesting to note that when the Red Army pushed towards Berlin on 19 April the Geschwader was forced to relocate to a new base to the northwest, ending up at Rechlin-Roggethin.

However, many JG 6 pilots acknowledged the inevitable defeat of the Wehrmacht and instead took the opportunity to fly out and surrender to the western Allies or seek refuge in neutral countries. One to the most prominent pilots was none other than Major Gerhard Michalski, the Geschwaderkommondore, who together with a Leutnant from the Stab flew out with their Fw 190 Doras and landed at the Frankfurt am Main base that by this time was under American control.

Another escaping pilot was Ogfr. Kassel who landed in Sweden. It is also possible that the pilot flying this Bf 109 G-10 did, like his commander, fly towards Frankfurt and the Americans to surrender, and landed some 70 km north of Frankfurt at KG 55's original home base at Giessen.

Note that this Erla-built, grey-camouflaged Bf 109 G-10 is devoid of any personal or unit markings save for the JG 4's designated black-white-black Geschwader identity band. Note that this machine was originally a 2. Staffel aircraft that was one of the I. Gruppe's Bf 109s transferred to III./JG 4 in late March 1945.

Following its surrender 'Black 10' appears to have been maintained for a time US Army personnel at Giessen, by then classified as "Advanced Landing Ground Y-84" by the Americans. The machine was later photographed in a derelict state plundered of parts for use as souvenirs.

Please note that the front part of the spinner is in Yellow, seen on other Bf 109 from III./JG 4. Unfortenatly intreped as the color Rust Red primer color iin my resent book, my misstake and a melancolic fact that when new phots and infromations pops up one have to refine ones work.

This profile is included in my new Profile Book No 16, published on 28 April as profile No 116.