" I flew with my Schwarm (Fw. Stratmann, Uffz Rolly and Uffz. Mors) in a Ju to Pori to pick up our first Bf 109 Gs. Pori was a huge 'Luftpark' - a clearing centre - for all flying units operating in the Norway and northern Finland. Bf109s, Ju87s and Ju88s were flown here directly from the factories in Germany and then transferred onwards directly to the front. Ten brand new 109 Gs were waiting for us. We spent an entire morning air-testing them and generally putting them through their paces. Compared to our old F-4s the main differences lay in the armament; the G-2 mounted two additional 20 mm cannon slung under the wings in small gondolas - three cannon instead of one - das war schon was - that was some change ! We selected the four fastest machines, had them fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks and made serviceable. As the forecast was good we were soon airborne and headed along the coast in the direction of Oulu some 450 km distant and continued via Rovaniemi to Alakurtti which was a further 400 km away. The sense of anticipation at Alakurtti was palpable as we touched down and taxied in and our two aces, Ehrler and Müller, were keen to take up the new machines straight away. As for myself, I decided that I preferred the older Bf 109 F-4. It was somewhat faster and certainly more manoeuvrable and as our sorties invariably resulted in dog-fights with Russian fighters I tended to favour these particular qualities. As had been the case in Petsamo we were quartered in barracks around the base and we often received night time visits from ancient Russian biplanes intent on disrupting our rest. Their two or five kg bombs were hopelessly ineffectual for anything else and usually left nothing more than one or two craters in the snow which were soon filled in. We weren't far from the Murmansk rail line - just ten minutes flying time. Fifteen minutes away in the vicinity of Kandalakscha were two Russian airfields which were usually teeming with fighters - MiGs, Yaks, Laggs, British Hurricanes and several twin-engined Pe- 2 recce aircraft. Our night time visitors were also based here - nicknamed 'Nähmaschinen' - sowing machines- on account of their engine sound. One of our missions was to bring some relief to our hard-pressed ground forces defending an area of the front that lay between two lakes - the Russians attacked over the frozen and snow-covered lakes on skis and virtually every day we could be called on to fly a ground strafing sortie - shooting up any vehicles or men seen out on the frozen lakes. At this latitude - virtually on the Arctic circle- the days grew shorter and shorter as we went into winter which meant we could often manage just a single mission, while during the summer months it never grew dark and sorties were flown around the clock…"

Gefechtsbericht - combat report - Fw. Horst Rolly (6./JG5) 21 June 1943

The Expertenstaffel in spring 1943 in front of Weissenberger's Bf 109G-2/R-6, Yellow 4. The pilots are; (1) Fw. Hans Döbrich, (2) Lt. Horst Stephan, (3) Oblt. Heinrich Ehrler, (4) Ofw. Rudolf Müller, (5) Uffz. August Mors, (6) Oblt. Theo Weissenberger, (7) Fw. Horst Rolly (8) Ofw. Albert Brunner.

profile by Kjetil Aakra

"..At 19:04 I was airborne as Rottenführer in a formation of seven Bf 109 Gs assigned to fly a free hunt over the Murmank rail line. In the vicinity of Rutschi we ran into a formation of fifteen enemy Airacobras and Kittyhawks. During the ensuing dogfight I saw Fw. Döbrich hit a Kittyhawk with a short burst of fire that left it trailing a banner of black smoke. Moments later flames leapt from its fuselage. The enemy fighter went down, crashing in square 36 East 1723 some ten km west of Rutschi. The pilot parachuted clear of his stricken machine. Shortly afterwards I latched onto a Rotte of Airacobras and from a distance of about 80 m managed to squeeze off a burst at the rear-most machine. It went down trailing a bright flame and exploded on impact with the ground in grid square 36 East 2711 at 19:39 (four km west of Rutschi). At around the same time I saw Fw Döberich pounce down and come in behind on a formation of Kittyhawks shooting down the tail-end 'charlie' from a distance of 60m while pulling into a turn to port. Streaming a plume of dark smoke, the enemy aircraft immediately spun out of control and gyrated earthwards exploding on impact in the same grid square. After a long turning fight I saw Hptm Ehrler get onto the tails of three more Airacobras. One of the enemy machines took hits and dropped away. Hptm. Ehrler immediately gave chase and from a range of 80m shot it up. It smashed into some woods in square 36 East 2711.."

Although not witnessed by Fw. Rolly, Ehrler's 109 hat taken hits during his long dogfight with the Airacobras. With his temperature gauges rising alarmingly Ehrler had taken to his chute and made a safe landing. Gesticulating vigorously to his comrades circling overhead to indicate that he was unharmed he had then scuttled for cover. The unit immediately launched a rescue mission. At 21:08 Fw. Josef Berendes took off from Alakurtti at the controls of an Arado 196 accompanied by eight Bf 109s. The Arado put down on Lake Babjesero close to the point where Ehrler had come down but moments later came under fire from a Russian foot patrol sent out to bring in the downed ace - as it was, there was no sign of Ehrler who had undoubtedly elected to remain hidden up in the undergrowth. The Arado quickly got airborne again and took a number of hits. There was no question of allowing Ehrler to fall into enemy hands and at around midnight a renewed rescue effort was mounted. With Berendes at the controls of a second Arado - following the damage suffered by the first floatplane - the escort was furnished by no less than fifteen Bf 109s - this time the escorting fighters were assigned to keep the shore area and the routes to the waters of the lake clear of enemy troops. As the Arado touched down and approached the shores it again came under fire. Suddenly Ehrler appeared from under the trees and ran out into the lake, wading through the waves set up by the Arado. Climbing up on to the floats, he clambered into the rear cockpit. Overhead the Bf 109s flew strafing passes in trail along the shore line and with their massive firepower succeeded in keeping the Russians some two hundred metres from the scene. The Arado was able to take off unhindered. At around 01:00 Berendes' Arado - with Ehrler safely on board - touched down behind the German lines. The ace had experienced something of what it was like to be the hunted and not the hunter. During the course of the rescue operation - most probably on take-off from Alakurtti -the Bf 109 flown by Lt. Heinrich Schmidt crashed - the pilot escaped with only slight injuries

An extract from Bf 109 Vol II (Kagero) - Polish-English translation proofed, corrected and additional translated accounts by Neil Page

    The long polar summer was almost over. The sun, which for several months could be seen high above the horizon, now barely crested the hills. The sky was frequently shrouded with heavy, banked clouds.

18th August 1943 was such a day. That afternoon, the Kommandeur of III./JG 5 'Eismeer' flew into Petsamo to greet his former unit, 6./JG 5. Under his leadership it had become the famed 'Expertenstaffel', a nickname earned when half of its pilots had been credited with dozens of individual scores within a short time. Not surprisingly, Ehrler still liked to fly in their company, although such opportunities were becoming scarce. Several of its pilots had been wounded or killed in action- others had been promoted and had their own Staffeln to look after. The Kommandeur therefore decided that this was to be his last venture with his old comrades from 6./JG 5.

Mindful that Hptm. Ehrler still liked to fly with his old 'Expertenstaffel', his groundcrew kept a Bf 109G-6 marked "Yellow 12" combat-ready at all times. It had been Ehrler's machine when he was Kapitän of 6./JG 5. Ehrler unfolded a map on the wing of his favored mount and, with his wingman beside him, checked the shortest route to the target area. He decided they would stalk around the Soviet base at Louchi I, looking for prey.

They took to the air at 14:00 hours. The two Gustavs crossed the frontline and raced on at treetop level. Wide, dense forests, hiding patches of snow in their depths, covered the terrain they swept over. Here and there, silvery ribbons of fast-flowing streams or the dark shapes of huge rocks marked this otherwise barren and featureless terrain. From time to time, the roar of their engines flushed out a herd of reindeer, grazing among clumps of birches.

Oblivious to the raw beauty of the landscape, the two German pilots kept their eyes peeled for the presence of enemy aircraft in the skies around them. Ehrler was too good a pilot to allow himself to be caught off-guard. Suddenly, he spotted eight single-engined aircraft in the distance, heading off in the opposite direction- most probably Russians...

Approaching along valleys cleft into the surrounding rocky tundra, masking their approach, they closed on the Soviet airbase from the north-east. As they neared the base they climbed up to 700 metres to take cover in the clouds. They darted in and out of the clouds to survey the area, before sliding back into the murky overcast. They roamed the vicinity of Louchi for a while. There were no signs of activity. However, things changed quickly.

Ehrler caught sight of six aircraft approaching from the west. He flew into the clouds and positioned himself at the rear of the enemy formation. Now he recognized the portly biplanes with their landing gear tucked up : Polikarpov I-153s.

The Soviets, unaware of the two Gustavs in the vicinity of their airfield, casually lowered their undercarriages and dropped down on a landing approach. Hptm. Ehrler swung into a firing position behind them and lowered his flaps to reduce his speed. With a bit of luck, he would be in position to knock down several in a row. He lined up the rearmost Polikarpov in his gunsight and, from a distance of 70 metres, thumbed the trigger. The upper wing of the I-153 instantly sheared off and pieces of debris whirled off the fuselage. The burning aircraft tipped over to port and from 50 metres height plunged into the ground.

Ehrler let another I-153 fill his gunsight but before he could squeeze the firing button, his wingman had shouted a warning over the R/T: "Indianer on your tail!". Not wasting time to look behind, he retracted his flaps, slammed the throttle lever forward and whipped up into a full-power climbing turn. Then he saw them: four Kittyhawks, perhaps the section detailed to cover the airbase and now scrambled on alert. The Soviet fighters struggled to catch up with the Gustavs, curving after them, but they failed miserably. After a few seconds the Germans were able to roll over and dive upon their pursuers, firing as they went in a headlong pass. Hptm. Ehrler noted a series of impact flashes on the propeller disc and engine cowling of one of his adversaries. He saw the Kittyhawk spew a stream of smoke, before it disappeared under his wing. As he glanced back, he saw the stricken aircraft fall out of the sky and its pilot drop clear. It was 14:36 hrs - just one minute after he had destroyed the first Polikarpov.

Glancing around, Hptm. Ehrler noted that more and more Russian fighters were arriving on the scene. Several others had just taken off from the airstrip below. There was little point now in fighting the more numerous and fully-alerted enemy. But that didn't mean he would have to carry his remaining ammunition home with him. The two Gustavs streaked across the Soviet airfield, strafing parked aircraft and vehicles, before speeding off westwards without a second glance behind.

As soon as they touched down at Petsamo, Hptm. Ehrler ordered his "Yellow 12" to be refueled and re-armed. He gulped some coffee, chatted with his fellow pilots for a while, and by 15:30 hrs was back in the air. He again proceeded towards Louchi airfield. As he suspected, the Russians were still patrolling around the base. There were three groups of fighters circling the field. Over the past few months they had learned that intrusions by German fighters rarely ended in just one skirmish. The Gustavs usually reappeared before the day was over, to attack the gaggles of Russian aircraft, low on fuel, returning to their bases.

Hptm. Ehrler's experience had taught him to avoid risky, prolonged dogfights. On the other hand, he was not used to coming home empty-handed. On this occasion, he resolved to make only one pass at the enemy. After a while he noticed that one of the groups had formed a landing pattern over the airfield. Ehrler pushed his machine into a shallow dive and centred his gunsight on the aircraft flying to the left. He recognized a LaGG-5 with its radial engine. Before the Russian pilot caught sight of the German boring in, a devastating salvo of cannon and 13 mm heavy machine gun rounds ripped into the fuselage of his aircraft. Debris burst into the air and the LaGG-5's engine erupted in flames. It was exactly 16:13 hrs when the blazing LaGG hurtled towards the ground only 100 metres below.

At that moment the Russians scattered in panic. Their fighters were hurriedly touching down. Ehrler saw one of the LaGGs bounce off the ground in a botched attempt to land- and in the next instant, race off to the west, skimming over the sea of conifers. Looking back, he saw cascades of Russian fighters swooping in after him. He was confident, however, that they couldn't catch up with a Gustav.

When he got back to Petsamo, a cheering crowd of ground personnel welcomed him. "Yellow 12" waggled its wings for the third time that day. Its rudder was immediately marked up with a further three victory bars. By now, Hptm. Heinrich Ehrler had collected 115 of them