Star of Africa

Star of Africa
by
Julius J. Cassani
On September 1st, 1942 at 17.00 hrs. flying his famous "Yellow 14 BF-109F (trop.) Hans-Joachim Marseille, taking off on his third mission of the day, led 3 Staffel on escort to a JU-88 Group of Lehrgeschwader 1. A formation of 15 Curtis fighters tried to attack the German bombers, but the JG-27 pilots acted faster. At 17.47 hrs. the first Curtis P-40 was falling and at 17.53 hrs. The fifth. On the evening of September 1st, 1942, 17 British planes littered the desert, smashed of burnt out, in the vicinity of Alam El Halfa and Imayid, all victims of one German fighter pilot, an accomplishment unprecedented and only surpassed by one fellow Luftwaffe pilot on the Eastern front, Major Emil Lang, who scored 18 victories in a single day. Against the RAF, Marseilles had reached a score of 128 victories. He was awarded the highest German decoration, the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. (Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub Schwertern und Brillianten.) Depicting Marseille, the man and his aircraft, new AV artist and long time professional illustrator Julius J. Cassani captures the moment the "Star of Africa" claimed his final victory over the RAF on the historic day.