23 year old German fighter pilot Alfred Michel of JG 53 stands beside his downed Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-14 after being shot down near Waldweisdorf in 1944, surrounded by soldiers of the U.S. 90th Infantry Division. This mission marked both his first and final combat sortie, a brief and abrupt end that reflects how unforgiving the air war over Europe had become by the final year of the conflict. #ww2 #aviation #aircraft #pilot #military | Jets 'n' Props