FW 190 A-8 W.Nr 171 789 'Black << + -' of Major Karl Kennel, Gruppenkommandeur of II./S.G. 2, Kitzingen, Germany, 8 May 1945 (N. Page)
Karl Kennel was one of the most successful of the Luftwaffe Schlachtflieger (ground-attack pilots). In nearly 1,000 operational flights with Z.G. 26, Z.G. 2, Sch.G. 1, and S.G. 2, Kennel won the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub (Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves). He rose to command II./S.G. 2, and at war's end the unit was flying with Luftflotte 6, covering the tank-busting Ju 87s of 10.(Pz.)/S.G. 2 and Stab S.G. 2. Kennel also claimed 34 Allied aircraft shot down in his career.

Kennel's last aircraft, depicted above, was one of a number of S.G. 2 aircraft (FW 190s and Ju 87s) to fly westwards on 8 May 1945, landing at the American-occupied airfield at Kitzingen. Kennel deliberately crashed his heavily mottled FW 190 A-8, ripping the undercarriage off. The aircraft was built by Focke-Wulf at Cottbus in August or September 1944, and the only notable features of its camouflage scheme were the yellow lower engine cowling and the Gruppenkommandeur markings. To read the story of the S.G. 2 landing at Kitzingen on 8 May 1945, please follow this link

---

Back to Profiles