German Air Force

The Gruppenkommandeur and his airplane

Hptm. Jürgen Harder, Gruppenkommandeur of 1./JG53, on an Italian landing strip on the foot of the Apennines during maintenance works of his Messerschmitt Bf 109G, early 1944. Note the fairing of the under wing 20 mm cannon removed and the weapon itself taken out for cleaning. The belly auxiliary tank has clear signs of a heavy leak of oil from oil cooler. Victor Sierra