Friedrich Eberle, the commanding officer of III. Gruppe of JG 1, was downed in this Bf 109G-6 on January 30, 1944. The man who recorded the kill was a P-47D Thunderbolt jockey, Lt. Robert Booth, of the 369th FS / 359th FG, a fighter ace with a total of eight kills to his credit. Booth himself was downed a few months later, on June 8, 1944 and became a POW. Eberle was injured but survived the encounter with Booth and led III. Gruppe until April 27, 1944. In July 1944, he was appointed the CO of III./JG 4. Eberle led his unit in Operation Bodeplatte, the attack on Allied airfields on January 1, 1945. He was court martialled for cowardice but finally was acquitted of the charge and survived the war with 33 kills. Eberle´s aircraft had been marked with a double chevron but in accordance with temporary orders, this marking was painted over and the commander´s aircraft was marked with a number. The JG 1 crest was painted on the left side of the cowling only. The rear part of the fuselage was partially overpainted with RLM 76 to tone it down.