Focke Wulf Fw190A-9/R11
W.Nr. 206085 (Cottbus production), 5./JG301
Uffz. Siegfried Baer - Sunday, 26 November, 1944

Not every Luftwaffe pilot who took to the skies was an Experten.

Uffz. Siegfried Baer had completed a total of one operational mission when an attack in the vicinity of Hannover was reported on 26 November 1944.

Taking off with much of the Geschwader in his “weiße 2”, Baer and Staffelkapitän Alfred Vollert in “weiße 1” made a diving attack on the Liberators of the 491st BG. Their attacks may have been successful; six out of ten of the 491st’s Liberators were downed by JG301’s attack. Immediately after passing through the bomber stream, JG301 was set upon by the escorting P-51s. Vollert was pursued and downed, most likely by Lt. Bert Stiles in P-51D 6N*X “Tar Heel”, but Stiles was struck by target fixation and impacted the ground not far from his victim, instantly killing the young author of “Serenade To The Big Bird”.

Baer was himself shot down and killed southeast of Hannover near Peine, downed either by the fierce defensive fire of the bombers or 339th FG Mustangs. His grave marker is seen to the left. Many years later, a friend of mine learned that Baer was his third cousin, which launched an effort to learn more of his life and demise…his last day is covered in detail on Neil Page’s Sturmgruppe site at:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/neilpage/JG301.html

It is important to remember the machines we replicate in scale were flown by men who often lost their lives in them.