A chance purchase of a German photograph album for sale in Italy revealed more than 100 photographs of a Luftwaffe pilot - identity unknown - between 1936 and 1945. It starts with his time in training, then flying training in Weimar from 1938-39, after which he joined the Dornier Do 17-equipped Kampfgeschwader 76 (KG 76). He flew in the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and on the Russian Front before becoming an instructor in Toulouse and going back to Germany until the end of the war. However, what is of particular interest to readers and historians alike are the unique photographs from the ground and the air of his unit, 1. Staffel/ KG 76, in the Battle of Britain, a selection of which are presented here. By the end of the Battle of France, 1./ KG 76 - part of I Gruppe/KG 76 - had moved from Cambrai to Beauvais in France in preparation for attacks on mainland Britain. I./KG 76 was temporarily commanded by Hptm Theodore Schweitzer who had taken over from Maj Ludwig Schulz after he had been shot down and wounded on 3 June 1940. Schulz's Do 17 on this day was flown by the commanding officer of 1./KG 76, Hptm Wolfgang Riedinger, who was killed in the crash. Command of the 1. Staffel was now given to Oblt Hanns Heise. The remaining two other holders of the Staffelkapitan position in I./KG 76 were Oblt Rudolf Hallensleben with 2./KG 76 and Hptm Eberhard Woehlermann of 3./KG 76. Heise and Hallensleben would be awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) and all three Staffelkapitanen would receive the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (German Cross in Gold). Hallensleben was the only one killed in the war.
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