Fighter Sweep Over Kent depicts the air fighting of 27 November 1940, when Messerschmitt Bf 109s of JG 51 encountered RAF Spitfires over southeastern England. Its relic comes from one of the German fighters lost that day.
The Relic from Brown 2
Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 W.Nr. 6218, coded “Brown 2,” was flown by Gefreiter Joachim Hergesell of 3./JG 51. The aircraft was hit during combat and crashed near Iden Green, Kent, at approximately 4 p.m.
Much of the wreckage remained buried until excavation work in 1978 recovered identifiable airframe and engine components. Material from that recovery provides the relic associated with the artwork.
Recovered material associated with Bf 109E-4 W.Nr. 6218, “Brown 2.”
Air Combat After the Battle of Britain
Although the major phase of the Battle of Britain had passed, fighter operations over the Channel and southern England continued. German units conducted fighter sweeps intended to draw RAF fighters into combat while British squadrons remained active defending the region.
The surviving wreckage turns the broader story into a specific event: one aircraft, one pilot and one combat loss over Kent in November 1940.
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