 Having joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and completed his pilot training , when war started in September 1939 Specht was a Leutnant in 3 . / ZG 26 " Horst Wessel " ( the 3rd squadron of the 26th Heavy Fighter Wing ) . Supposedly equipped with the new , twin @-@ engine , Bf 110 heavy fighter , its production was so far behind schedule that 7 of the 10 <unk> ( including Specht ’ s I. / ZG 26 ) had to be equipped with old Messerschmitt Bf <unk> and D single @-@ engined fighters . They thus took no role in the Polish campaign , instead based on the North Sea coast near Wilhelmshaven . 
