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JG53 - Squadron Profile.

JG53

Founded : 1937
Country : Germany
Fate :

Pik-As was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated in Western Europe and in the Mediterranean. Jagdgeschwader 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) Geschwader - was one of the oldest German fighter units of World War II with its origins going back to 1937. JG53 flew the various models of Bf-109 throughout the second world war.

JG53


Latest JG53 Artwork Releases !
Scoring his first victories on the Eastern Front with JG53, Franz Schieß was posted with his squadron to the Mediterranean from December 1941. He shot down aircraft consistently through 1942, operating from Sicily then Tunisia. He achieved his 50th victory in May 1943, claiming one of his eventual unsurpassed tally of 17 P-38 Lightnings. Awarded the Knight's Cross in June 1943, he was sent on leave for two months but returned in August, claiming 12 victories in 11 days. On 2nd September 1943, he was killed when his Me109 crashed into the sea during combat with P-38 Lightnings. He was credited with 67 victories in more than 650 missions.

Tribute to Franz Schieß by Ivan Berryman.		 Credited with more than 130 victories in World War Two, Alfred Grislawksi scored 24 of these on the Western Front. He is depicted here flying his Me109 with JG53 in what would be his last combat on 26th September 1944. Having shot down a P-38 Lightning earlier in the day, he was shot down in the combat shown by the P-51 Mustang of American Ace Hub Zemke and bailed out. Opening his parachute very low for fear of being shot at, he landed hard and damaged vertebrae, and did not recover before the end of the war. Awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, he died in 2003 aged 83.

Tribute to Alfred Grislawski by Ivan Berryman.		 It is a record likely to stand for all time, Erich Hartmann's tally of 352 victories is more than any other pilot in history. Posted to JG52 over Russia in August 1942 his new Kommodore, Dieter Hrabak, placed the novice pilot under the guidance of Paule Rossman, one of the unit's most experienced and respected Aces. However, during his very first combat Hartmann became so disorientated that he got lost in cloud and ran out of fuel. His undoubted skill as a pilot enabled him to survive the inevitable crash-landing, but a few days later and just minutes after scoring his first ever victory, he was shot down - again crash-landing. This time he only just escaped from his burning aircraft before it exploded. Any other new pilot might have succumbed but Hartmann was made of sterner stuff and , with Rossman's help and guidance, it was not long before everyone in JG52 realised that he possessed exceptional skill. By the summer of 1943 <i>the Blond Knight</i> and his colleagues were flying up to six missions a day and having now perfected his technique, it was unusual for him to finish a day without a victory. Never claiming to be an expert marksman, his approach, which took nerves of steel and great flying skills, was to get as close to his enemy as possible before opening fire at the last minute. Often flying head on, the risks of collision and damage were great - of the sixteen times Hartmann was brought down, eight were as a result of flying into the debris of his victim! Hartmann's 352 victories were achieved with JG52 - all except one. It happened during a brief two week spell at the beginning of February 1945 when the top Ace was placed in temporary command of I./JG53. His new unit were based in Hungary where German Army Group South was in bitter retreat and the fighting was as tough and relentless as ever. <i>The Blond Knight</i>portrays Erich Hartmann climbing out of his Bf109 G-6 at Weszperem's snow-covered airfield after returning from another arduous mission leading Stab I./JG53 with whom, on 4th February he downed a Yak-9. It was his 337th victory.

The Blond Knight by Robert Taylor.		 Messerschmitts from Stabb 111/JG53 patrolling over Germany in the last days of WW2, piloted by Lt. Bernard Ernst Dieter April 1945.

Bf109 K-4 by Randall Wilson. (GL)

JG53 Artwork Collection
Click the images below to view the fantastic artwork we have available to purchase!



Clipped Signature - Helmut Bennemann.


Clipped Signature - Helmut Ballewski.


Bf109 K-4 by Randall Wilson. (GL)


Angels Three Zero by Robert Taylor


Special Duties by Robert Taylor.


The Blond Knight by Robert Taylor.


Tribute to Alfred Grislawski by Ivan Berryman.


Tribute to Franz Schieß by Ivan Berryman.


Eagles at Dawn by Robert Taylor.


Malta - George Cross by Robert Taylor.

Aces for : JG53
A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name.
NameVictoriesInfo
Helmut Lipfert203.00
Kurt Hans Friedrich Brandle180.00
Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke162.00
Friedrich-Karl Muller140.00
Adolf Dickfeld136.00The signature of Adolf Dickfeld features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Alfred Grislawski133.00The signature of Alfred Grislawski features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Wolfgang Tonne122.00
Werner Molders115.00The signature of Werner Molders features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Wilhelm Crinius114.00
Josef Wurmheller102.00
Herbert Rollwage102.00
Rudolf Muller101.00
Helmut Bennemann92.00The signature of Helmut Bennemann features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Walter Zellot85.00
Hans Grunberg82.00
Alexander Preinfalk76.00
Hans Roehrig75.00
Gerhard Michalski73.00
Gunther Freiherr von Maltzahn68.00
Fritz Dinger67.00
Franz Schiehs67.00
Jurgen Harder64.00
Franz Gotz63.00
Alfred Franke59.00
Heinrich-Wilhelm Ahnert57.00
Herbert Broennle57.00
Adolf Kalkum57.00
Eduard Isken56.00
Gunther Seeger56.00The signature of Gunther Seeger features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Helmut Wick56.00The signature of Helmut Wick features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Franz Barten53.00
Julius Meimberg53.00The signature of Julius Meimberg features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Rudolf Schmidt51.00
Rudolf Ehrenberger49.00
Klaus Quaet-Faslem49.00
Heinz Golinski47.00
Erich Schmidt47.00
Werner Stumpf47.00
Hans-Karl Mayer46.00
Herbert Schramm42.00
Hermann Neuhoff40.00The signature of Hermann Neuhoff features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Heinz Bretnutz39.00
Stefan Litjens38.00
Ludwig Reibel38.00
Helmut Belser36.00
Hans Kornatz36.00
Hans von Hahn34.00
Harro Harder33.00
Wolfgang Lippert33.00
Rolf Pingel30.00
Hans-Joachim Heinecke28.00
Hans Galubinski28.00
Otto Russ27.00
Emil Babenz24.00
Paul Pausinger24.00
Heinrich Leschert23.00
Willi Unger22.00
Hans-Jurgen Westphal22.00
Ignaz Prestele22.00
Franz von Werra21.00
Rudolf Täschner21.00
Erich Gerlitz20.00
Hermann Staege19.00
Georg Claus18.00
Karl Leonhard17.00
Erich Mix16.00
Hans Ohly15.00
Jakob Stoll14.00
Ernst-Albrecht Schultz14.00
Eduard Koslowski12.00
Franz Kunz12.00
Ernst Klager10.00
Wilfried Balfanz9.00
Hans Kunert9.00
Jens Bahnsen8.00
Erich Kuhlmann8.00
Hans-Georg Schulte8.00
Herbert Kaminski7.00
Werner Kauffmann7.00
Karl Kolb7.00
Otto Boehner7.00
Fritz Muller6.00
Franz Kaiser6.00
Heinrich Höhnisch6.00
Rudolf Goy5.00
Albrecht Baun5.00
Eduard Schröder5.00
Frank-Werner Rott5.00
Franz Gawlick5.00