Bf 110 C/D Kommandeur I./ZG 76 II./JG 77 Emil in Norwegen - ebay photo find #222

Kommandeur I./ZG 76 until his death in combat on 30 April 1940 was Hptm. Günther Reinecke who flew Bf 110 C 'Doppelwinkel M8+AB'. Reinecke was brought down off the coast of Norway by the defensive fire of the Blenheim he was attacking (on 24 April according to Geirr Haarr). Note so-called 'Dackelbauch' belly fuel tank..presumably this airfield scene was taken at Stavanger-Sola..

Interim Kommandeur was Hptm. Werner Hansen until replaced by Hptm. Werner Restemeyer who was lost in Bf 110 D "M8+AB" over the North Sea off Newcastle on 15 August 1940.

On offer here

decals for this machine are available on John MacIllmurray's AIMS "Stab Bf 110s" sheet which is reviewed on this blog here. Go to John's site

One of Hptm. Karl Hentschel's II./JG 77 Emils in Norway also via Marco at koelsch333 Ebay sales

forthcoming AIMS Bf 110 F/G conversion set for the Dragon 1/32 kits from John McIllmurray

" ..Hello everyone, I am pleased to let you know progress on my AIMS Bf 110 F/G conversion set for the Dragon 1/32 kits. Gun pack and spinner have been 3D designed and await printing, rudder and upper engine cowl and upper and lower nose finished, rear canopy and exhausts under way, MG 81Z already done, cockpit ammo boxes still to do and revised exhaust stubs done. Still have to do straight late exhaust damper. All going very well. Just got all the decals finished and they will go off to printers any day now. Hope you like the selection. I am doing two boxings - 200 units each and both will be available at the same time - perhaps as soon as Christmas depending on how long it takes to get decals printed. One boxing is the F-4/G-2 day fighter / bomber and includes 2x F-4 options and 2x G-2 options plus 1x national insignia and full stencil set plus and everything needed to make what can be seen in the profiles. Other boxing is for the G-4 night fighter and includes 5 options plus 1x set of insignia and stencils and all what is needed to do the options As I do everything by email naturally I can tailor make orders so if you are using E-2 Trop kit and have some of the parts or if you are set on doing the F and do not need the G parts in the day fighter boxing I will remove them and lower the cost. £ TBC. Lower cowls will be split so they can hang open - still have to do the interior detail. Likewise the nose gun bay will be open. Hope you like the profiles......"

John's AIMS site is here

Me 110 D "3U+.T" Wappen 9./ZG 26 in Trapani Sommer 1941 - ebay photo find #216

on offer here

Kommandeur I./ZG 76 Hptm. Günter Reinecke - Jever, German Bight, Marienkäfer ladybird emblem 2./ZG 76

Established in Pardubitz in May 1939 I./ZG 76 was re-named as II./NJG 1 in September 1940. Kommandeur I./ZG 76 until his death in combat on 30 April 1940 was Hptm. Günter Reinecke (below, middle) who flew Bf 110 C 'Doppelwinkel M8+AB'. Reinecke was brought down off the coast of Norway by the defensive fire of the Blenheim he was attacking. He was replaced by Hptm. Werner Restemeyer (lost in Bf 110 D "M8+AB" over the North Sea off Newcastle on 15 August 1940) (via the Luftwaffe officer career summaries resource here)

Based in Jever in late 1939 the crews of I./ZG 76 - including Helmut Lent, Gordon Gollob and the Staka 2./ZG 76 Wolfgang Falck - were successful over the German Bight on 18 December 1939 against RAF medium bombers.

Below; a pre-sortie briefing in front of the Bf 110 C assigned to the Gruppenadjutant Oblt. Hans Jäger in Stavanger-Sola, April 1940. This aircraft, on the strength of the Stab I./ZG 76, wore the code (Kennung) chevron M8+CB



via Michael Meyer's Ebay sales here

Below;  a 2./ZG 76 Bf 110 C displaying the unit’s Marienkäfer ladybird emblem seen in Jever in December 1939. In the cockpit is Lt. Maximilian Gräff, who returned his second victory during the German Bight raid of 18 December 1939, claiming a Wellington 25 km. NW. of Borkum. Gräff was KIA that same month.

72nd scale Luftwaffe aircraft news -Eduard Kora Fw 190s, Owl decals, new Printscale decals, RS Models Me 309

New Luftwaffe subjects in 72nd scale via Adam Garrett's 72nd scale blog include more Eduard Fw 190s in the Sturm A-8/R2 variant including II.(Sturm)/JG 4 Kommandeur von Kornatzki's 'green 3'  and new decal sheets from Owl. Especially interesting are the 2./JG 2 nightfighting Fw 190 subjects as depicted in Erik Mombeeck's most recent 'Luftwaffe Gallery' including ace Lt. Detlef Grossfuss' Fw 190 A-6 'black 13'. Finally some Kora re-boxings of the Fw 190 plastic and a quick look at the new RS Models Me 309 already added to the stash.

The Kora Models kits are 'upgraded' versions of the Eduard plastic with a price tag to match. Probably pass on these. Kora Models web site is here

Recent Printscale.org sheets include Aces of the Condor Legion and Bf 110 night fighter aces featuring some great subjects to add to my collection of black Bf 110s. A reference page of black Bf 110 images can be found here.

Also recently added to the stash is  the new RS models Me 309 - two options of the prototype V1 GE+CU are in the box including the enlarged and re-designed empennage of the 'late' variant (November 1943). The Me 309 was conceived as a possible replacement for the Bf 109 powered by the new liquid-cooled DB 603G and featured a nose-wheel patented by Messerschmitt and at the time of the first flight in July 1942 not yet seen on the Me 262 V2. RS Models are also planning a twin fuselage Me 609 box.

And finally, my latest finish, the Academy G-14 (1/72nd) as Hartman's G-6 February 1945, Kommandeur I./JG 53. More on this machine here

Messerschmitt ME110 II./ZG 76 Haifisch-Geschwader im Flug M8+C -daily Ebay photo find #207

Super selection of shark-mouth Bf 110s on offer from Marko Auer - Messerschmitt ME110 II./ZG76 Haifisch-Geschwader im Flug M8+C

on offer here

and via the Archiv KH, this ZG 76 'ace' presumably flying M8+ZC seen on reel 78. Note the mottled finish, yellow rudders and line of white victory markings on the tailfin.

These stills were captured from footage made available via the Agentur Karl Höffkes film archive AKH and are reproduced here with the kind permission of Karl Höffkes.

Bf 110 Pulkzerstörer 'bomber destroyers' -daily ebay photo find #205

A well-known image currently on offer here that dates from the Defence of the Reich period of autumn 1943 to spring 1944. While a heavily tinted view of the same shot featured on the jacket of Don Caldwell's superlative 'Day fighters in Defence of the Reich' the image was not captioned and does not appear inside the book. Bf 110 Pulkzerstörer (lit. 'formation destroyers') in action over a snow-covered landscape. These are Bf 110 G-2/R1 sub-types. The aircraft appear to be toting the imposing 37 mm Bordkanone Flak 18 cannon under the fuselage. This large-calibre weapon was trialed and briefly employed against USAAF bomber formations, first equipping ZG 76 in early 1944, so these machines may be on the strength of that unit. However the close-up view on the Caldwell book jacket appears to show an aircraft coded "2N + BP" - presumably of ZG 1. (ZG 76 used the M8 code through 1944-45). Bf 110 G-2 sub-types could mount various armament kits -the M 1 conversion kit (2 x MG 151/20) under the fuselage, the M 5 kit comprising two BR 21 double pipe 21 cm Raketenwerfer grenade launchers (as here) and the M 3 armament kit of two MK 108 30 mm cannon. Aircraft such as these were heavily armed for the bomber destroyer role but particularly ill suited for combat with enemy fighters.

Pilot Flugzeugführer Uffz. Herbert Weiner of 1./ ZG 26 seen wearing his EK I in Wunstorf in late 1943 in front of his Me 110 G-2 toting the BK 37mm Flak 18 cannon.

A line-up of Me 110 G-2 37mm Flak 18 cannon toting Zerstörer of 1./ZG 1 in Wunstorf in August 1943.

On offer here

 More on the BK 37mm Flak 18 cannon equipped Bf 110s in the Defence of the Reich on this blog

http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/bf-110-g-with-37mm-flak-18-cannon.html

more Wespengeschwader Bf 110s -daily Ebay photo find #194

Two views of Me 110 E "S9+MN" of 5./ZG in Brijansk Frühjahr/Spring 1942. following the re-designation of  5./SKG 210 in 5./ZG 1 on 4 January 1942

 Me 110 C/D "2N+BN" 5./ZG 1 vermutlich Gelsenkirchen-Buer im April/Mai 1940

Me 110 G-2 in Trapani Sicily during April/May 1943

Me 110 G-2 der 5./ZG in Trapani im April/Mai 1943. Am Cockpit der 1 Wart Erich Bierwirth.

Currently on offer here

Also on this blog " Sting of the Wasp!" -  Wespengeschwader photo selection
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/me-110-e-zg-1.html

Bf 110 night-fighters of NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 3, NJG 4 - early 'black' schemes for modellers - daily Ebay photo find #193. Post updated December 2016 Bf 110 C-6 30mm cannon

offered via Marco at koelsch333 Ebay sales in November 2016 and sold for 420 euros! Amazing especially given that the image was previously published in Volume I of the Stipdonk/Meyer series. Note the machine in the middle - closer view below - an NJG 1 Bf 110 C-6 coded "G9+EH". The barrel and housing of a MK 101 30 mm cannon installation can just be made out under the fuselage. The photo was taken in early 1942 during a sortie from Venlo in the Netherlands. Three victory markings can be discerned. The Czech firm Eduard produce a limited edition kit of this rare variant with a neat resin reproduction of the cannon and belly fairing.

Below; a selection of  images of early Bf 110 Nachtjäger in the overall black finish. A special article for modellers.

Up until around 1943 all night-fighters were painted black - 'black' was generally considered to be a 'non-reflective colour' and indeed special non-reflective pigments were used. However these resulted in increased drag. In addition 'black' aircraft were vulnerable to observation from above, especially when silhouetted against clouds illuminated from the ground - indeed this was one of the the prime factors behind the establishment of the wilde Sau being trialed at the time of the Hamburg raids of July 1943.


G9+EN  Köln Ostheim

Below; Two views of Me 110 C/D "G9+DR" of 7./NJG 1 displaying the Nachtjagdwappen seen during 1940/41. According to the inscription on the image bottom somewhere off the "coast of Norway"..

Bf 110 C-4 (L1+DH) from Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 under maintenance at Derna during the summer of 1941. Note the port gear door, the underside of the tailplanes and most of the fin still in RLM 65, possibly spare parts from another machine..

below; Me 110 Kennung L1+CH, NJG 3, April 1941

Messerschmitt Me 110 Kennung 3C+AR, Staffelkapitän Oberleutnant Hans-Karl Kamp of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 (7./NJF 4) im Flug

A relatively rare 'early' black Bf 110 with radar. Published in LiF 4, this is Bf 110 D-3 (G9+FM) of 4./NJG 1 equipped with FuG 202 radar. This may have been one of the first four FuG 202 units delivered to II./NJG 1 and entered service in February 1942

Bf110E coded G9+GP belonging to Lt.H.Niklas 6./NJG 2 at Deelen in 1942