VE Day - Last bites of the Luftwaffe

May 9

I'm a little bit late for this but i'll do it anyway.

Although the 8th May 1945 signalled the end of the war in Europe, the surrender was only effective from 2301hrs. Fighting still took place, inlcuding in the air. And even on VE day, the Luftwaffe fought back. A couple of aerial victories were scored on that day. I tried to recreate them with Il-2 and took some screenshots, I hope you like them.

08/05/45 - 0754hrs - Baltic Sea - Oberleutnant Gerhard Thyben (7./JG54 - 157 victories) shot down a VVS Pe-2 while flying a Fw-190 with his mechanic in the radio compartment. He then landed at a British airfield and surrendered. This is the most realistic claim of the day.

08/05/45 - after 0830hrs (approx) - Czechoslovakia - Major Erich Hartmann (I./JG52 - 352 victories but i don't believe it), likely flying his Bf-109G-10, or another G-10/K-4 stationed on the same airfield, shot down a Yak-9 and left the area after the appearance of USAAF P-51D's. This claim could very well be unfounded, Hartmann overclaimed a lot and there is no matching loss in the Soviet records (from my little internet research)

08/05/45 - approx. 1600hrs - near Fassberg - Oberleutnant Fritz Stehle (2./JG7 - 26 victories) flying a Me-262A-1a (W.Nr. 111690) shot down a VVS P-39 Airacobra. He then landed his plane at an airfield held by the Western allies and surrendered. Apparently Soviet records show two P-39's lost, so the claim is somewhat realistic.