Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series
HA8719BF 109E-7 'Jabo' 7./ZG1. Ribia, 1942
General Background
The first German mass produced 109 fighter was the Bf-109E that has been mistakenly referred to as the Me-109. The Bf is the designator for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian Aircraft Works) that produced the original aircraft. In 1938 Messerschmitt took over BFW but throughout WWII German handbooks and documents referred to the aircraft as the Bf-109. By the end of 1939 the Bf-109E (Emil) had replaced all other 109 variants and equipped 13 Gruppens with 40 aircraft each. The Bf-109 was the main single-engine aircraft until the Fw-190 came along.
The Aircraft
In August 1942 7./ZG 1 was re-deployed from Russia to Egypt to assist General Rommel after his first attempt to capture El Alamein failed. Upon their arrival each aircraft was given a quick new sand colored paint scheme. For some unknown reason the right wing of Bf-109E S9+DR was left in the original green color, perhaps they ran out of paint, time or the wing had been replaced. Later S9+DR was shot down during a strafing run on Fuka, Egypt. In October 1943 7./ZG 1 became 4./ ZG 26.
