Photos and History of the German
Luftwaffe from Bf 109G-4 Reconnaissance Pilot - Lt. Hans Buchwald
Provided by his nephew Chris Gilbert
The three photographs above show Lt. Hans Buchwald who was a Luftwaffe photographic reconnaissance pilot
with the Nahaufklärungsgruppe 4 (1./N.A. Gr. 4, or Close Clarification Photographic Reconnaissance Group 4) of 1. Fliegerdivision /
Luftflotte 6 / of the German Luftwaffe stationed at Pankowo near Kursk, Russia in the Spring of 1943.
Lt. Hans Buchwald piloted a Bayerische Flugzeugwerke Messerschmitt Bf 109G-4 "Gustav." I'm not sure, but in the
photo on the left Buchwald appears to be wearing the Knight's Cross, Second Class.
Lt. Hans Buchwald standing by a Bf 109G-4 with another officer and apparently two ground crewmen.
Lt. Hans Buchwald and some Bf 109G-4 "Gustavs." Flowers seem to be a key feature of many of the photos on this page.
I am not sure if the flowers were given to the pilots for good luck, as a sign of a happy return from a mission, or perhaps to display from the cockpit as a sign that they
were noncombatants, since I believe the Bf 109G-4 R2 and R3 models had no machine guns or any
other armament - only cameras.
Buchwald is on the right with his head down, holding something white.
Soldier presenting flowers to Lt. Hans Buchwald, presumably just before or after a reconnaissance mission. (Apparently,
flowers were customarily awarded after a pilot's first mission and then upon the completion of every fifth mission thereafter.)
