The Stab JG26 Ritter emblem and the 1939 a/c of Gesch Kde Oberst Eduard Ritter on Schliech

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Am working on the 1939 EoE Profile project for the Gesch Stab of JG26 during 1939. The Kde of JG26 at the beginning of the war until almost the end of 1939 was Oberst Eduard Ritter on Schliech, a WWI fighter "ace" with 35 victories to his credit. He was a winner of the Pour le Merité as a result.

I know of no photos of v. Schleich's a/c as JG26 Gr Kde during the last four months of 1939. By the beginning of the WC some five months after v. Schliech had turned command of the Gesch over to Maj. Hans-Hugo Witt, two photos of Witt's a/c show a mounted medieval knight insignia (Ritter) on the fuselage of his a/c and that of another member of the Gesch Stab. So the Ritter insignia was presumably the insignia of the JG26 Stab at least by circa April 1940. Intuitively it would make sense for this knight insignia to have been originated by and carried first on the a/c of Ritter von Schleich when he was Gesch Kde, although no photography exists to confirm this.

Does anyone know of any evidence to indicate that this knight insignia was ever carried on Schleich's Bf109E?

Who can help?

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator