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In the closing months of World War II, Germany was rapidly losing its war footing and momentum, and faced total collapse of just about all infrastructures necessary for a country to wage war. The Allied war machine, in the air and on the ground, was advancing into Germany from the west, led by the British and Americans, and from the east by the enormous Russian Army. The latter were seeking revenge for the betrayal Germany had earlier plotted in Operation Barbarosa, the ill-advised invasion of Russia.
Germany was running on 'empty,' with destabilizing shortages of fuel, planes, pilots and anything necessary to carry on air combat missions in defense of the Reich. Airfields were full of non-operational planes, grounded due to these shortages. Those few planes which were available were pressed into service with tired air crews.
In Robert Bailey's dramatic aerial combat canvas, two Me 262's (night fighters of 10./N]G-II, Kommando Welter), based at Burg bei Magdeburg, rise to do battle with an incoming RAF Lancaster raid, targeting a nearby city. With only half their tanks filled and with less than full gun bays, they will have to make every pass count, unsure if their base (now observing blackout conditions), will exist when they return. That is, if they survive. In this picture, a mechanic hastily closes a workshop door, lest the light be seen by marauding Allied night fighters. Runway lights were turned on only for the few minutes that a Luftwaffe plane took off or landed. Locked in this desperate struggle, they press on, hoping against hope that their actions will hold back the approaching juggernaut.
Each print in Robert Bailey’s Limited Edition, Dark Defenders is signed by:
Leutnant Jorg Czypionka
Leutnant Hans H Busch
Oberleutnant Kurt Schulze.
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