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Repro 1x aus dem Nachlass der Jagdflieger Ofw. Erwin Leibold der 3./ Jagdgeschwader 26, Ass mit 11 Luftsiege, später gefallen in 1942

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Gruppencommandant JG26



 
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Egon Mayer (19 August 1917 – 2 March 1944) was a German fighter pilot during World War II. He was credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down in over 353 combat missions. His victories were all claimed over the Western Front. Mayer was the first fighter pilot to score 100 victories entirely on the Western Front.

Born in Konstanz, Mayer, volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe (air force) of Nazi Germany in 1937. He was posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 (fighter wing, JG 2) in 1939. He fought in the Battle of France and claimed his first aerial victory in that campaign on 13 June 1940. Mayer was appointed squadron leader of the 7th squadron of JG 2 in June 1941. Two months later, following his 21st aerial victory, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 August 1941. In November 1942, Mayer was appointed commander of the III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 2.

Mayer claimed his first victories over United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) four-engine bombers on 23 November 1942. Together with fellow pilot Georg-Peter Eder, Mayer developed the head-on attack as the most effective tactic against the Allied daylight heavy combat box bomber formations. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 16 April 1943 after 63 victories. On 1 July 1943, he was appointed commander of JG 2. On 5 February 1944, Mayer became the first pilot on the Channel Front to reach 100 victories. He was killed in action on 2 March 1944 while leading an attack on a USAAF bomber formation; he was shot down near Montmédy, France. Mayer was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

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Flight Lieutenant Robert William Foster(left) chats with 49239 Flying Officer Michael Charles Hughes as he climbs out of the cockpit of his Spitfire Mk Vc following a Japanese raid over Darwin, Australia, on 22 June 1943. Both pilots had 'kills' during the raid.

The two pilots were serving with No. 54 Squadron Royal Air Force (RAF), which had joined No.1 Wing (Spitfire Wing) of the Royal Australian Air Force in mid-1942. The unit was responsible for the air defence of the Darwin area following the initially Japanese bombing of the city on 19 February 1942, weeks after their entry into the conflict through the surprise attack on US forces at Pearl Harbour in December.

No. 54 Squadron arrived in Australia on 7 September 1942 and was initially based at Richmond, New South Wales, before moving north to Nightcliff, Darwin, on 17 January 1943.

Foster got the squadron's first victory on 6 February, a Japanese Mitsubishi Dinah. Between 15 March and 6 July 1943 he destroyed four Mitsubishi Bettys, probably destroyed two others and damaged a Betty and a Zeke. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), gazetted on 13 August 1943.

He returned to England in early 1944 to take up various roles, and was released from the RAF in February 1947 after which time he resumed his pre-war career with Shell and BP. In 2009, he became Chairman of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association.

Foster died on 30th July 2014 after several months of illness. His funeral in Hastings was overflown by Hurricane R4118, which he had flown in action in the Battle of Britain.

Michael Hughes remains much more of an enigma. He survived the war and a notice in the London Gazette in 1959 suggests he had remained in the RAF until that time, at which point he relinquished his commission.

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Two little Chinese boys were been adopted by a R.A.F. Spitfire Squadron stationed at Kaitak airfield, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

When the squadron took over the airfield from the Japanese, the children, who are brothers, presented themselves at the orderly-room. One could speak English, and he informed the corporal that his father had been murdered by the Japanese, and his mother was seriously ill. A visit was made to the mother, and she was told that her children would be "adopted."

She was delighted, and the station medical officer who examined her said that the news may speed her recovery. The children have been named "Big Wings" (aged eleven) and "Little Wings" (aged eight).

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Waiting instructions in the briefing room, pilots on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier relax by playing with the ship's mascot.

Shortly after this picture was taken, they were flying far above the Atlantic on a battle-mission.

Probably the USS Ranger (CV-4), July 1944.

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Ardon R. Ives escaping from his burning Grumman F6F-5 'Hellcat' of VF-9 fighter carrier group.

His fighter burst into flames when it hit a barrier and other planes while landing on the USS Lexington (CV-16) on the 25th February 1945.

Ardon Ives was KIA in a dogfight with Japanese fighters just a few months later on the 22nd May 1945, aged 23.

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