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Signatures on this item | |
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
Name | Info |
Hauptmann Claus Semmelhaack *Signature Value : £55 | Claus Semmelhaack was a pilot and captain with the Luftwaffe's KGrV106, flying the Junkers Ju52. He took part in the airborne invasion of Norway during April 1940, including the Narvik Campaign. He flew on the Eastern Front, flying in the Smolensk region. Later in the war he became a flight instructor. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. |
Leutnant Herbert Kaiser (deceased) *Signature Value : £55 | Herbert Kaiser joined the Luftwaffe before the war, and by 1938 he was a fighter pilot with II./JG186. He flew in the invasion of Poland and then during the Battle of France, scoring his first victory in May 1940. He took part in the Battle of Britain before transferring to the Balkans. In August 1941 he was posted to the Russian Front, then North Africa followed by Italy and the Dolomites. In March 1944 he joined JG1 in the defence of the Reich. Seriously wounded in a parachute jump in August 1944 he was hospitalised until February 1945. he then joined Adolf Galland's JV44. He flew over 1000 missions and achieved 68 victories. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1943. He passed away on 5th December 2003. |
Major Werner Roell (deceased) *Signature Value : £75 | Werner Roell flew initially in Norway, and was one of the first pilots to land in Norway during that campaign. He later flew operations in Yugoslavia and Crete as Staffelkapitan of 4./St77, subsequently flying in Russia. Transferring to the Ju87, he flew over 400 combat missions in the Stuka, destroying a Soviet cruiser near the Crimea. In early 1945 he was summoned by Adolf Galland to join his famous Me262 Squadron of Experts in JV44, where he served until the end of the war. Werner Roell flew a total of 477 combat missions, and was awarded the Knights Cross. Passed away 10th May 2008. |
Oberfeldwebel Alexander Uhlig (deceased) *Signature Value : £65 | Alexander Uhlig joined the first German Parachute regiment in 1937 and saw action during the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and the Polish Campaign. In May 1940 he jumped during the Battle of Narvik in Norway after which he transferred to flying duties with the Ju52. Between 1941 and 1943 he took part in over 170 Ju52 operations including the landings on Crete. In June 1944 he was again in action on the ground commanding the 16 Kompanie Parachute Regiment 6. Ordered to lead a small company of 30 Paras against positions of the US 90th Infantry Division, Uhlig's company defeated the entire US battalion taking over 230 prisoners, including the battalion commander. For this he was awarded the Knight's Cross. Uhlig was eventually taken prisoner of war and taken to England. In April 1947 still under guard despite the end of hostilities, he escaped and made his way back to Germany. He was never recaptured; so at least one German did escape from a POW camp and made it back to Germany - even if the war was over. After the war, Alexander Uhlig was involved with the activities of veteran associations, including those of the American 90th Infantry Division and FJR.6. After the battle for which he was awarded his Knights Cross, he had helped to persuade his superiors to hold fire on the Americans retrieving their wounded from the battlefield. Sadly, Alexander Uhlig died 1st November 2008. |
Oberfeldwebel Theo Gerling *Signature Value : £55 | Theo Gerling was born in 1916. During the war he flew the Ju52 with the Luftwaffe's Transportgruppe, taking part in combat operations in virtually every theatre, first as an observer and later as a pilot. In January 1943, flying a Ju52, he undertook one of the very last flights into Stalingrad, before the capitulation of General Paulus and the 6th Army garrison. He flew a total of 528 combat missions during the war and was awarded the German Cross in gold. |
Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | In February 1940, Gunther Seeger was an Unteroffizier with 3./JG2, scoring his first victory in the early days of the Battle of Britain. he served on the Channel Front until December 1942, including several months with the Geschwaderstabsschwarm. He transferred to the Mediterranean theatre with II./JG2 before joining 6./JG53. In February 1943 he joined 7./JG53 becoming Staffelkapitan in September 1944. Awarded the Knight's Cross, Gunther Seeger scored 56 victories. |
Oberleutnant Helmut Schwarz *Signature Value : £55 | Helmut Schwarz joined the German Armed Forces in September 1939 becoming a Leutnant in 1941. From April 1941 as Staffelkapitan of the Sonderstaffel (Special Staff), to October 1944, by then Oberleutnant, he commanded transport planes in action over the Mediterranean flying Ju52 and SM92. From then until 1945, he was involved with night fighter training. With around 1500 flying hours to his credit, Helmut Schwarz flew in more than 300 missions, and was awarded the Iron Cross Class I. After the war he was involved with the air defence sectors. He retired as Brigadegeneral. |
The Aircraft : | |
Name | Info |
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. |
Ju52 |
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