1/48 Eduard Bf 109F-2, flown by Hptm. Hans Philipp, CO of I./ JG 54, Krasnogvardeysk,  Soviet Union, March 1942.

Hans ‘Fips’ Philipp, an ace with 206 kills to his credit over the course of some 500 sorties, was born on March 17th, 1917 in Meissen. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1936. At the beginning of the Second World War, he served with I./JG 76, redesignated II./JG 54 in July 1940. As a member of this unit, he participated in the fighting over Britain, the Balkans and Operation Barbarossa. In April 1943, he was named CO of JG 1, and in this capacity he was shot down on October 8th, 1943, and did not survive his attempt to take to his parachute. For his combat successes, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The aircraft flown by Hans Philipp was camouflaged with white over the upper and side surfaces to better suit the conditions of the winter of 1943 around Leningrad. The Gruppe Commander marking was carried on the fuselage, as were the II.Gruppe and JG 54 (Green Heart) identifiers. Both sides of the rudder carried Philipp’s kill markings. The landing gear covers were removed due to their tendency to accumulate snow.