Staged interception by JG 53 Bf 109 Es of a French Bloch MB.200 near Saarbrücken in 1939

At 0:07 Luftwaffe ace and Condor Legion veteran Werner Mölders can be seen climbing into his aircraft. At the outbreak of World War II on September 1st 1939, Mölders' Staffel of JG 53 was stationed in the west protecting Germany's border in the Mosel-Saar-Pfalz region. The "Pik As" or "Ace of Spades" squadron markings are prominent in the footage.
On September 8th, Mölders' fighter suffered an engine failure and he crash-landed, flipping the aircraft over and injuring his back. This injury kept him out of combat for several days. He returned to flying eleven days later and the following day, between Contz and Sierck, at the apex of the Dreiländereck over the three borders area, he shot down a French Curtiss P-36. This earned him the Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse.
On September 26th 1939, JG 53 was ordered to form its III. Gruppe. Mölders relinquished command of 1./JG 53 to Oberleutnant Hans-Karl Mayer and organized the formation of III./JG 53 at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim Airfield; within two weeks, Gruppenkommandeur Mölders reported that the Gruppe was conditionally operational with 40 pilots and 48 aircraft.
On December 22nd, Mölders, leading four Bf 109s from III./JG 53, engaged three Hawker Hurricanes over the Saar River, between Metz and Thionville, that were trying to intercept an unidentified aircraft.Mölders and Hans von Hahn shot down two Hurricanes flown by Sergeants R.M. Perry and J. Winn, becoming the first German fighter pilots to shoot down a Hawker Hurricane. Mölders shot down another Hurricane on April 2nd forcing Flight Lieutenant C.D. "Pussy" Palmer of No. 1 Squadron RAF to bail out, and on April 20th he destroyed a French Curtiss P-36 east of Saarbrücken.
Following this participation in the "Phoney War", he also took part in the Battle of France of May to June 1940 and the Battle of Britain from July 1940 onwards. With his tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, Jagdgeschwader 51, transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 for the opening of Operation Barbarossa. His tally had risen to 101 victories by July 1941.
Prevented from flying further combat missions for propaganda reasons, at the age of 28 Mölders was appointed Inspector of Fighters. While inspecting the Luftwaffe units in the Crimea he received orders to return to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet, a Luftwaffe general and World War I flying ace. The aircraft in which Mölders was traveling as a passenger to Berlin experienced an engine failure and attempted an emergency landing. It crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others on November 22nd 1941.
The French Bloch MB.200 featured in the footage does not appear to have any individual markings. The type had been acquired by Czechoslovakia with examples also built under license. Through German occupation of the latter nation, the bomber was already in service with the Luftwaffe. One wonders if it was not in fact a captured French aircraft but a Czechoslovak example that had been painted to appear as such.
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[@hw97karbine]

At 0:07 Luftwaffe ace and Condor Legion veteran Werner Mölders can be seen climbing into his aircraft. At the outbreak of World War II on September 1st 1939, Mölders' Staffel of JG 53 was stationed in the west protecting Germany's border in the Mosel-Saar-Pfalz region. The "Pik As" or "Ace of Spades" squadron markings are prominent in the footage. On September 8th, Mölders' fighter suffered an engine failure and he crash-landed, flipping the aircraft over and injuring his back. This injury kept him out of combat for several days. He returned to flying eleven days later and the following day, between Contz and Sierck, at the apex of the Dreiländereck over the three borders area, he shot down a French Curtiss P-36. This earned him the Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse. On September 26th 1939, JG 53 was ordered to form its III. Gruppe. Mölders relinquished command of 1./JG 53 to Oberleutnant Hans-Karl Mayer and organized the formation of III./JG 53 at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim Airfield; within two weeks, Gruppenkommandeur Mölders reported that the Gruppe was conditionally operational with 40 pilots and 48 aircraft. On December 22nd, Mölders, leading four Bf 109s from III./JG 53, engaged three Hawker Hurricanes over the Saar River, between Metz and Thionville, that were trying to intercept an unidentified aircraft.Mölders and Hans von Hahn shot down two Hurricanes flown by Sergeants R.M. Perry and J. Winn, becoming the first German fighter pilots to shoot down a Hawker Hurricane. Mölders shot down another Hurricane on April 2nd forcing Flight Lieutenant C.D. "Pussy" Palmer of No. 1 Squadron RAF to bail out, and on April 20th he destroyed a French Curtiss P-36 east of Saarbrücken. Following this participation in the "Phoney War", he also took part in the Battle of France of May to June 1940 and the Battle of Britain from July 1940 onwards. With his tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, Jagdgeschwader 51, transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 for the opening of Operation Barbarossa. His tally had risen to 101 victories by July 1941. Prevented from flying further combat missions for propaganda reasons, at the age of 28 Mölders was appointed Inspector of Fighters. While inspecting the Luftwaffe units in the Crimea he received orders to return to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet, a Luftwaffe general and World War I flying ace. The aircraft in which Mölders was traveling as a passenger to Berlin experienced an engine failure and attempted an emergency landing. It crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others on November 22nd 1941. The French Bloch MB.200 featured in the footage does not appear to have any individual markings. The type had been acquired by Czechoslovakia with examples also built under license. Through German occupation of the latter nation, the bomber was already in service with the Luftwaffe. One wonders if it was not in fact a captured French aircraft but a Czechoslovak example that had been painted to appear as such. If you would like to support the channel consider visiting www.buymeacoffee.com/hw97karbine

[@excelgazialimuhiddinhacibekir]

Werner Mölders -- the unbeatable badass Luftwaffe ACE who didn't even bother to carry a parachute on his back at the beginning of the WW II Blitzkrieg against France in 1939. I am also amazed by the use of a SELFIE CAMERA at *00:50* -- that was in 1939, 85 year ago! Oh Gosh!

[@fredkitmakerb9479]

Not quite unbeatable, he was shot down engaging bombers on 14 May, and in a dogfight on 5 June over France and captured. Wounded over England (possibly by Sailor Malan) and out of the war for a month. None of that should take away from his tactical genius, military accomplishments, and character. He still highly esteemed and he should be.

[@GannicusMisteriosdeHonduras]

Look at those early Bf 109s wow

[@feindkontakt5956]

yes, but look at this close shot of Werner Mölders, WOW!

[@jatisasmita4813]

The first pilot is Werner Mölders

[@sheepdip6452]

Staged or not, that is damn cool ... 85 years ago.

[@Dormidont882]

Кино и немцы ! Мельдерс , конечно был прекрасным пилотом , разработавшим тактику воздушного боя .

[@northernskys]

As you say, most likely this is a Czech MB.200 painted up to look like a French aircraft. Interestingly, the Luftwaffe camera plane, the biplane seen above the MB.200 at 1:04, appears in several shots, in this footage. No doubt the censor would cut or erase any vision of that aircraft in the final footage. Although it's hard to tell, I suspect it may be a Bucker Bu 131 trainer, or Arado Ar 68, or similar. Despite the fact that this is pure staged propaganda, there are some nice shots of the 109's flying, Luftwaffe Ace, Werner Molders, and especially nice shots of the MB.200. An aircraft you don't see much of in films like this.

[@hw97karbine]

It's certainly quite sloppily done as far as staged footage goes but I presume the audiences it was intended for would not have known any better. The biplane isn't shown very clearly but the most likely candidate in my view is a Heinkel He 45. Even if unconvincing I agree that the footage is still valuable and interesting.

[@pzdmc4d]

Yep, I think the same

[@northernskys]

@@hw97karbine having re-watched the footage, I think you could be right and this is an He 45, rather than the others. The funniest thing about this film is it's eight 109's against an ageing MB.200. One would have been enough! Cheers!

[@berteisenbraun7415]

Crazy how he died in a non combat crash

[@jean-claudemouille6500]

Vous semblez ne pas comprendre qu´il s´agit d´un film de propagande tourné avec un avion capturé

[@muzeoli2868]

​@@jean-claudemouille6500 Il a raison. Tu ne semble pas connaître l’histoire de ce pilote. Et son commentaire ne concerne pas directement ce film.

[@jean-claudemouille6500]

@@muzeoli2868 je connais parfaitement l'histoire de ce pilote mort accidentellement dans le crash d'un He 111. Il n'empêche que ce film est un film de propagande et que si Mölders y figure , c'est parce qu'il faisait partie des pilotes " en vue" de l'époque , avec Galland ou Wick. Marseille était encore loin d'être connu à l'époque... Pour la petite histoire , Marseille lui aussi est mort accidentellement...

[@58fins]

First image is reversed. Bf-109 canopies were hinged on the right side.

[@user-xt6cj6nk5s]

А Вы Лётчик

[@pzdmc4d]

Biplane - He 45?

[@kaiballay5895]

Was it Mölders? Without parachute?

[@tornadoman1054]

Yes. It was staged, all the pilots were running towards their aircrafts without parachutes.

[@allgood6760]

👍

[@pzdmc4d]

Moelders, nice

[@markingraham4892]

For your information, literally all ballistic research laboratories reports were destroyed in a single pile in 2001.

[@papaschlumpf2149]

another great channel: www.youtube.com/@Arma-Channel/videos

[@user-ut2le2ff6u]

Бубновые прибыли на фронт в июле 43 над Киевом получили по зубам , и быстро убрались с Восточного фронта , на переформирование. Больше на Восточный фронт они не вернулись.

[@SRS_BuHokyp]

Translate.Театральное шоу.

[@kaedsirb1944]

Propaganda!

[@hw97karbine]

Blatantly so, one can acknowledge that and still appreciate its historical value.

[@skynut38]

So?

[@l337pwnage]

lol, what do you think you watch every day on TV and youtube is?