Messerschmitt 109E Werner Schroer Afrika Corps 1/48 Scale Airplane by Carousel 1

Messerschmitt 109E Werner Schroer Afrika Corps 1/48 scale Airplane by Carousel 1. Each airplane comes with a history of the pilot. Werner Schroer was one of the few German aces to achieve more than 100 victories against the Western Allies, yet he is probably best known as the pilot of "Black 8" in a much-published German color publicity photo. Schroer joined Jagdgeschwader 27 in August 1940 and flew with them in the Battle of Britain. While in France, JG 27 acquired their famous "Leopard over Africa" emblem, which reflected a determination to re-take the former colonial territories Germany lost in the First World War. When Hitler decided to send General Rommel and the Afrika Corps join Italy's North African campaign against British Egypt, JG 27 was the fighter unit selected to support them. They landed at the Ain-el-Gazla airfield in Libya on 18 April 1941. The next day JG 27 shot down four British Hurricanes, one of which was Leutnant Schroer's first kill. In the next few days Schroer added three more victories. In late April several JG 27 109's, including Schroer's, were cleaned and photographed for home front consumption. White wall tires shown on several 109's were not a decoration, but an attempt to protect rubber tires from desert heat. On 30 August 1941, Schroer and his wingman attacked RAF Tomahawks over Tobruk, setting one on fire and claiming a victory. Unfortunately for the Axis powers, Schroer's victim, Australian Clive Caldwell, although wounded and nursing a crippled aircraft, did not crash. Caldwell not only limped back to base, he shot down a 109 on the way, and ultimately was credited with 20 victories in the North African fighting. Schroer had scored 11 when he was appointed Staffelkapitane of 8./JG 27 in June 1942, then tallied another 11 victories in two weeks. Schroer's 61 victories in North Africa with JG 27 made him the second leading ace of the Mediterranean Theater, after Hans-Joachim Marseilles. After rising to command II./JG 27 in April 1943, Schroer was sent to lead III./JG 54 in March 1944. In July 1944 he was taken out of a combat role to lead the Unit Commander's School. Schroer was named Kommodore of JG 3 'Udef in February 1945. His final score of 114 included 102 RAF and USAAF opponents (including 26 American four-engine bombers) and 12 Russians in only 197 missions. Werner Schroer died in 1985.