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Ace with 61.00 Victories

Hannes Trautloft

Hannes Trautloft is one of the Luftwaffe's great fighter leaders, scoring his first air victory in the Spanish Civil War in August 1936. Returning to Germany in 1937 he joined the national aerobatics team flying the Me109. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, Hannes took command of I./JG20 taking part in the Battle of Britain, before moving to the Balkans as Kommodore of JG54. Now leading the group on the Russian Front, JG54 took part in the heavy fighting, first in the Me109, then the Fw190. In the summer of 1943 Hannes Trautloft joined General Galland's staff. As a 'mutineer' he was sacked by Goering, thus ending an illustrious combat career comprising 550 combat missions and 57 aerial victories. he died 11th January 1995.

Hannes Trautloft - Signed Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Military and Aviation Signatures

The End by David Pentland. 8 editions. 3 of the 8 editions feature up to 5 additional signatures. £2.90 - £600.00

The Last Patrol by David Pentland. 16 editions. 11 of the 16 editions feature up to 3 additional signatures. £2.50 - £500.00

Ikarus Downed by David Pentland. 4 editions. All 4 editions feature up to 5 additional signature(s). £75.00 - £400.00

Text for the above items :

The End by David Pentland. An abandoned Me262 shown in 1945 at the end of world war two.

The Last Patrol by David Pentland. A pair of ME109 G-14s of 9th Staffel, Jagdgeswader 54 (Greenheart Wing) make a final sortie during the last days of March 1945.

Ikarus Downed by David Pentland. Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 9th April 1941. An afternoon raid by III/Jg54 developed into a massive dogfight between the Greenhearts Me109Es and a squadron of Hurricanes and Ik3s. At the conclusion of the dogfight the Lufftwaffe had downed 3 aircraft, for the loss of 2 of their own. Oblt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob, claimed one of the indigenous Ik3 Ikarus fighters as his 21st victory.

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.

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Hannes Trautloft Squadron details

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JG54 Country : Germany

JG54 I./JG 54 was initially formed as I./JG 70 near Nuremberg in July 1939, just two short months before hostilities broke out. As was to become tradition within Grunherzgeschwader, the Gruppe took the Nurember coat-of-arms (a veritcally divided shield with a black heraldic bird on the left, and red and white diagonal stripes on the right) to represent the region the unit came from. On September 15, 1939, I./JG 70 was redesignated I./JG 54 The initial unit designation for II./JG 54 was I./JG 138. This unit was raised in 1938 after the Austrian annexation. Naturally many Austrian nationals were recruited when I./JG 138 was formed. The Aspern coat of arms (black lion's head surmounting a white cross on a red field) was taken by the Gruppe for its identity. I./JG 138 was briefly designated I./JG 76 before finally becoming II./JG 54 on April 6, 1940. The III./JG 54 has its roots in Prussia. Initially I./JG 21, the members were drawn from the Jesau region in Prussia. The modified Jesau coat-of-arms (a shield with a Jesau cross with three diving aircraft on a red background, with a white outline on the shield) was adopted as the Gruppe's own. On July 15, 1939, I./JG 21 was redesignated III./JG 54. However, the bureaucratic nature of the young Luftwaffe was such that it was over a year before records would reflect the new designation. Consequently, III./JG 54 fought in Poland and France as I./JG 21. Kommodoren of JG 54 : Major Martin Mettig; 2 Feb 40 to 25 Aug 40. Oberst Hannes Trautloft; 25 Aug 40 to 5 Jul 43. Major Hubertus von Bonin; 6 Jul 43 to 15 Dec 43. Oberstleutnant Anton Mader; 28 Jan 44 to Sep 44. Oberst Dieter Hrabak; 1 Oct 44 to 8 May 45.

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Known Victory Claims
DATE	PILOT	UNIT	JG	CLAIMED	LOCATION	TIME	FRONT

25/08/1936	Oblt. Hannes Trautloft		J/88	Breguet 19	-	-	Spanish Civil War
30/08/1936	Oblt. Hannes Trautloft		J/88	Potez	-	-	Spanish Civil War
01/09/1936	Oblt. Hannes Trautloft		J/88	Nieuport 46	-	-	Spanish Civil War
30/09/1936	Oblt. Hannes Trautloft		J/88	Potez	-	-	Spanish Civil War
08/12/1936	Oblt. Hannes Trautloft		J/88	Rata	-	-	Spanish Civil War
05/09/1939	Hptm. Hannes Trautloft	Stab I.	JG 77	PZL P-23	Warta 15km NW Sieradz	8.2	Western Front
29/05/1940	Hptm. Hannes Trautloft	Stab I.	JG 20	Spitfire	SE Dünkirchen	18.4	Western Front
31/05/1940	Hptm. Hannes Trautloft	Stab I.	JG 20	Spitfire	N. Dünkirchen	18.06	Western Front
19/07/1940	Hptm. Hannes Trautloft	Stab III.	JG 51	Defiant	S. Folkestone	13.42	Western Front
08/08/1940	Hptm. Hannes Trautloft	Stab III.	JG 51	Spitfire	Dungeness	12.48	Western Front
25/08/1940	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Spitfire	Ärmelkanal	20.2	Western Front
07/09/1940	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Hurricane	Maidstone	19	Western Front
27/10/1940	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Spitfire	Ashford	15.05	Western Front
22/06/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	DB-3	NW Mariampol	16.48	Eastern Front
23/06/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	SB-3	Kussen	10.15	Eastern Front
24/06/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	DB-3	N. Tauroggen	19.3	Eastern Front
25/06/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	DB-3	S. Schaulen	9.3	Eastern Front
30/06/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	DB-3	N. Dünaburg	15.1	Eastern Front
30/06/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	DB-3	N. Dünaburg	15.3	Eastern Front
06/07/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	SB-2	SE Ostrow	19.1	Eastern Front
13/07/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-18	NE Šoltzy	17.34	Eastern Front
14/07/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-18	SE Kingisepp	18.12	Eastern Front
21/07/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	SB-2	Waluj	21	Eastern Front
24/07/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	SB-3	E. Porchow	19.52	Eastern Front
24/07/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	SB-3	-	-	Eastern Front
24/07/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	SB-3	E. Dno	20	Eastern Front
17/09/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-18	-	-	Eastern Front
04/10/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-26	Leningrad/Ljuban	10.4	Eastern Front
07/10/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-16 Rata	Smolino	15.1	Eastern Front
07/10/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-18	Smolino	15.15	Eastern Front
25/10/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Pe-2	Budogoschtsch	9.38	Eastern Front
25/10/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	SB-2	NE Oskuje	14.26	Eastern Front
29/10/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-26	vor Tichwin	11.07	Eastern Front
08/11/1941	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	I-26	-	-	Eastern Front
09/05/1942	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Jak-1	-	15.5	Eastern Front
09/05/1942	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Pe-2	-	16.1	Eastern Front
30/05/1942	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	MiG-3	-	9.24	Eastern Front
05/08/1942	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Pe-2	SE Shimsk: 6500m (Novgorod)	18.35	Eastern Front
09/08/1942	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Pe-2	NE Reschew: 1000m (Reshew)	10	Eastern Front
22/08/1942	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	LaGG-3	N. Uljanovo	10.15	Eastern Front
28/08/1942	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	LaGG-3	N. Rschev: 800m	5.12	Eastern Front
17/01/1943	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Il-2	N. Mga: 200m	10.01	Eastern Front
14/02/1943	Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Il-2	10 523: 300m	14.1	Eastern Front
14/02/1943	Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Il-2	10 562: 200m	14.15	Eastern Front
14/02/1943	Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Il-2mH.	10 524: 300m	14.3	Eastern Front
15/02/1943	Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Mustang	00 444: 1000m	9.28	Eastern Front
17/02/1943	Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Il-2mH.	10 522: 400m	15.02	Eastern Front
18/02/1943	Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Il-2	10 382: 400m	9.5	Eastern Front
07/03/1943	Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	Il-2	18 324: 200m	14.1	Eastern Front
30/05/1943	Major Hannes Trautloft	Stab	JG 54	MiG-3	-	9.24	Eastern Front

Known Claims : 50

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