Back to Start                         

               Horst Petzschler flew with the 2nd Staffel of  I./JG 3 from April 15 to May 31, 1944 in this all blue  Bf 109G-6/AS, a high altitude performance variant. I./JG 3 was a designated high altitude cover protection unit for the Sturmbock Fw 190s of IV./JG 3. The radial engined Focke Wulf 190 was not a high altitude fighter and its performance was further impaired by the weight of the Sturmbock armour and cannons. This particular aircraft had a black/white spinner and a yellow under-engine cowling and yellow wing tips and carried the JG 3 winged U Udet emblem. The 2./JG 3 aircraft were all blue ( Farbton 76 ) with black numerals and the exhaust grime on the fuselage was very noticeable. Petzschler himself confirmed that this aircraft did have the yellow cowl and wingtips.  It is likely that Petzschler flew high cover for  the Fw 190s of Sturmstaffel 1 prior to its integration into IV./JG 3.

            The AS version of the Bf109 could fly at 30,000 feet. They were to bounce the P-51 bomber escorts enabling the Sturmbocks to form their Angriffskeil and approach the bomber fleets unmolested. The G-6/AS had a supercharged DB605 engine with methanol injection for extra speed at 5 to 10 minutes of flying time......pilot's usually "pushed" it for a longer duration but this could damage the engine.

   Horst Petzschler was brought  in mid April 1944 from JG 51 on the Eastern Front where his primary mission had been Jabo tank busting in the Focke Wulf 190 . He flew with 2 Staffel of I./JG 3 until May 31  1944. Walter Bohatsch was Staffel leader of 2./JG 3.

Petzschler had several kills in schwarze 14. On May 12 1944 Horst shot down a B-17 and a P-51 in a frontal/side pass and on May 19 he shot down a B-24 over Braunschweig/Brunswick . On this raid some 8 B-24's were lost from the 492nd B.G. On May 28 Horst's Staffel escorted Bf 110's armed with Br 21 rocket launchers on the 8th AF raid over Magdeburg, Petzschler shooting down a P-51 of the 352nd F.G. This P-51 pilot shot down Petzschler's wingman, and was in turn despatched by the all blue 109 . Petzschlers aircraft had taken hits in this combat forcing him to bail out. In total Petzschler flew 14 missions with 2./JG 3.

Virtually all the 2./JG 3 pilots were killed in action before D-Day. Petzschler went back to the Russian Front with JG 51 and survived the war with a total of 26 victories.