Hans Breger joined flight training in LKS 3 in 1942. Thereafter after he was posted to Erg.JGr. West on 21 June 1943. Here he would have a promising start already the next day of his arrival, on the 22nd when Ofhr. Berger would file his first victory, a HSS outshooting of an USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress.

After receiving his training as a fighter pilot in the west he was posted to the first Staffel of JG 1 on 17 August promoted to Leutnant. Here, typical of Hans Berger he would score right away, as his next abschuss would be claimed the same day, another B-17 HSS.

However after running ut of fuel when landing at the Ödheim airfield after this engagement his "White 10" his Fw 190 A-4 overturned, however luckily he walked away from this incident without a scratch.

And on 3 November 1943 when opposing the Wilhelmshaven USAAF raid, tragedy would struck as he witnessed the death of his good friend Johannes Rathenow. After entering combat with the US bombers and P-38s over Bad Zwischenahn, being just to his left of Rathenow´s Fw 190 A-6 when it exploded.

On 29 November he would end up on the receiving end when he was wounded by the return fire from the B-17 "Susan Ruth" near Delmenhorst, Lt. Berger however manage to leave his crippled Fw 190 A-6 "White 1" by parachute.

Then during 1944 he would add another five victories, His 3rd, a B-17 on 11 January, 1944. His 4th, a B-17 (HSS) on 24 January, 1944. His 5th, a B-17 10 km S of Chimay on 8 February, 1944. His 6th, a B-17 on 6 March, 1944. And Bergers 7th, a B-17 North of Kaiserslautern on 24 April 1944.

Lt Hand Bergers lfinal and eight abschuss would be filed during the Bodenplatte attack on 1 January 1945, as he was one of few successful during this operation, a Spitfire downed in the Ghent area.

He would end his WW II war career flying the Heinkel turbin jäger, the He 162 while in 2./JG 1 from March up to the capitulation in the West on 5 May 1945.

It interesting to note that this machine "Yellow 8" the personal machine of Lt Hans Berger was in September 1944 damaged while it was flown in a training flight by Ofhr. Hans Caris, and the left undercarriage collapse at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim airfield.

This profile was one of five Fw 190s made during the week, I must confess that I had been tie-up with some serious model building!