Heckmann's stay was short as he was transferred to Jagdverband 44 at München-Reim on 14 April 1945, serving with the unit until the end of the war.
Late in the war the "protection squadron" that covered the elite German jet fighter squadron as it landed or took off were brightly painted to distinguish them from raiding Allied fighters.
He transferred to Jagdverband 44 in March 1945 and claimed a final victory flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.
After service with Sonderkommision Kleinrath, an experimental operations unit, he joined Adolf Galland's Jagdverband 44 (JV 44) in April 1945.