Messerschmitt Bf109G-2 (Trop) ‘Yellow 14’, Hans Joachim Marseille, 3./JG27, Quotaifiya, Egypt, 30th September 1942

Regarded by many of his contemporaries as the most naturally gifted fighter pilot ever to take to the air, Hans Joachim Marseille would make the clear blue skies of North Africa his hunting ground and the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter ‘Yellow 14’ his feared mount. Claiming 158 victories from 382 sorties flown, 151 of these were scored over the deserts of North Africa, making him the top scoring Luftwaffe ace in the Mediterranean theatre, gaining more victories against Western Allied airmen than any other pilot. Tragically, as was the case with so many of the young men who fought during WWII, the ‘Star of Africa’would not survive the conflict and indeed would not live to see his 23rd birthday. On 30th September 1942, Marseille was leading his Squadron on a mission to support a flight of Stukas when his new Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 fighter developed engine problems. With the cockpit filling with noxious fumes and unable to see out of the canopy, he relied on his wingman to guide him over friendly lines, before he could attempt to bale out. Once over German held territory, with the effects of smoke inhalation now causing disorientation, he turned the fighter on its back and rolled out of the cockpit. With the aircraft now adopting a nose down attitude, Marseille struck the tail of the Messerschmitt, probably killing him instantly and sending his lifeless body tumbling to the desert floor – the‘Star of Africa’had fallen. A significant turning point in the car