Gunther Rall celebrates his 250th Aireal Victory.

Gunther Rall of the Luftwaffe

German Junkers (Ju 87) dive bombers and ground-attack aircraft fly along the Azov sea coast of Crimea, USSR; 1942.

German Luftwaffe over the Sea of Azov

Transport aircraft Junkers Ju.52/3m, delivering reinforcements to Wehrmacht units in Norway, is landing; April-May 1940.

Junkers aircraft landing

This is an extremely rare of image of Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders (with Oberstleutnant Friedrich Beckh walking behind him) taken just a few weeks after his appointment to Commanding Officer of JG51, at Saint-Inglevert Airfield, in the summer of 1940. He is seen standing in front the groups Fieseler Fi 156 Storch 'N + W' moments after landing.
Mölders joined the Luftwaffe, in 1934. In 1938, he volunteered for service in the Condor Legion, which supported General Franco in the Spanish Civil War, and shot down 14 aircraft. With the start of World War II, he took part in the "Phoney War", the Battle of France, and the Battle of Britain. With his tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51), were later transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 for the opening of 'Operation Barbarossa', he then achieving 101 victories by mid-July 1941.
He was then prevented from flying any further combat missions, being used constantly as a highly decorated propaganda image, despite his objections. Thus, at the age of 28 Mölders was appointed 'Inspector of Fighters' to keep him in a safe active role, and to maintain morale. He was inspecting the Luftwaffe units in Crimea when he was suddenly ordered to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet, a Luftwaffe general and World War I flying ace. He was to be part of an Honour Guard that was full of elite pilots, including Adolf Galland. On the flight to Berlin, the aircraft in which he was travelling as a passenger attempted an emergency landing in bad weather due to an engine failure. It crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others.
On 22 November 1941, Mölders travelled as a passenger in a Heinkel He 111 of Kampfgeschwader 27 "Boelcke" from the Crimea to Germany to attend the funeral of his superior, Ernst Udet, who had committed suicide when his girlfriend left him. 
Attempting to land at Breslau during a heavy thunderstorm, the aircraft crashed. Mölders, pilot Oberleutnant Kolbe and flight engineer Oberfeldwebel Hobbie were all killed. Major Dr. Wenzel and radio operator Oberfeldwebel Tenz survived the crash landing. Dr. Wenzel sustained a broken arm and leg as well as a serious concussion, and Tenz a broken ankle. Mölders' fatal injuries included a broken back and a crushed rib-cage. Accident investigators then and since have speculated that Mölders would have most likely survived the crash if he had used his seat belt.
The Wehrmacht and the West German Bundeswehr both honoured him by naming two fighter wings, a destroyer, and a barracks after him. In a cynical move 1998, the German Parliament decided that members of the Condor Legion such as Mölders, should "no longer be honoured" despite being national heroes, superb pilots, and not being members, of, the then, National Socialist Party. In 2005, the German Ministry of Defence shamefully decided to also remove the name "Mölders" from the remaining fighter wing still bearing his name in his honour!
taken from fb/Official world war 2 historians & buffs

Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders

A Luftwaffe airman stands guard over several Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers and ground attack aircrafts, with bombs laid out in the grass near them; circa 1940.

Guarding the planes

Native locals sit on the tail of a Messerschmitt Bf. 110 (aka Me 110) fighter-bomber as it gets a wheel replacement at a base in North Africa; 1941.

Photo op for locals

A group of pilots from the German fighter squadron JG53 at an airfield in France next to a Bf. 109E fighter aircraft; November, 1940.

Luftwaffe pilots

Funeral procession of the German ace pilot Werner Mölders (18, March 1913 - 22, November 1941 - plane crash) in Berlin. The coffin is being transported on a carriage of a 105 mm leFH 18 (10.5 cm leFH 18) howitzer. Immediately behind the gun is Reich Aviation Minister Hermann Göring, white coat (12, January 1893 - 15, October 1946). 

Funeral of Lufwaffe Ace

Pilot and the navigator(?) in the cockpit of a German twin engine bomber Junkers Ju-88.

Crew in the cockpit

A Luftwaffe Ju-52 loads supplies to be dropped to encircled troops in the Demyansk and Kholm areas, south of Leningrad. The two pockets needed 265 tons of supplies daily; 8 February-21 April, 1942.

Airlift of supplies

Three German female members of the military, captured by the US Forces. They are sitting at the Panzerfaust grenade launcher boxes. At the center is the Luftwaffe flight support operator, others also, presumably, from the Luftwaffe; April 1945.

POWs from the Luftwaffe

A Luftwaffe’s ground crewman installs an Zeiss Ikon ESK 2000 B aircraft camera on the wing of a Messerschmitt Bf 109.

These cameras were initially mounted on the wings or fuselage of aircraft and used in the training of future pilots. Later, during the war, they were mounted on the nose of aircraft such as the Me 110 and 210 and used as gun cameras.

Given the position of the fuel filler point below the cockpit, the shape of the later and the absence of an opening on the upper panel (near the glove), I believe this Bf 109 to be an early B-1, one of only 30 B-1 built.

The photo is undated and it can be either pre-war or war period given that outdated aircraft were often used by training units.

Original: unknown/taken from fb/WW2 Colourised photos


Camera mounting

The pilot and navigator of the German medium bomber Junkers -88 in the cockpit for the final preparations before the upcoming departure.

Ready for takeoff

Various World War II Planes from Germany.

German Aircraft

Refueling of a German Messerschmitt Bf.110E-1 fighter-bomber from the 6th squadron of the 26th Horst Wessel heavy fighter squadron at the Dugino airfield, just west of Rostov on the Don, USSR; Winter 1941 - 1942.  

Getting ready to fly

Loading the wounded into a German Junkers 52 (Ju 52)  transport aircraft at an airfield near Stalingrad; January 1943. 

Save the casualties

German Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine heavy fighter, fighter bombers, often known unofficially as the Me 110, are in flight over Paris, France; 1940. 

Flyover of BF-110s

Final moments

A V-2 rocket is prepared for launch in Cuxhaven, Germany. 1944

V2 1944

Wounded German soldiers are brought to in front of a Messerschmitt Me-323 "Gigant" transport plane, to be flown out of the war zone for treatment.


Wounded to be evacuated

Pilots in the cockpit of a German Heinkel He-111 medium bomber, during combat mission.  Presumably the action takes place during the Battle of Britain; 1940. 

In the Heinkel cockpit

German Junkers Ju-52 transport plane at an airfield in Tunisia during the unloading of supplies.


Supplying the Afrika Korps

German dive bomber Junkers Ju-87 (Ju.87R) "Stuka" flying at low level over the Mediterranean Sea. 


Dive bomber over water

German seaplane Heinkel He-59 rescues the crew of the Luftwaffe bomber shot down over the English Channel; 1940.
During the Battle of Britain Heinkel He-59C-2 and Heinkel He-59D-1, completely painted in white, with red crosses on the sides and civil registration, carried out rescue operations in the English Channel. The British claimed that the aircraft were also used to install mines in the Thames delta and the landing of German agents on the British Isles. Later, several similar aircraft were shot down, and they again repainted in military camouflage.

Rescue mission

A full size truck is loaded into a Messerschmitt Me-323 "Gigant" transport plane.

German Air Force

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