Oblt Albrecht Bellstedt - a novice Fw 190 pilot in III./JG 2 ..and an ace in V./KG 40

For a brief period during September and October 1944 the 22-year-old Albrecht Bellstedt from Bremen was Staffelkapitän of 9. /JG 2. He had been posted to the newly reconstituted III./JG 2 – sent to Königsberg/Neumark (Poland) for rest and refit after heavy losses in Normandy. Here he converted onto the Fw 190 and was appointed to lead 9. Staffel on 17 September 1944. But Bellstedt flew just a handful of sorties in the Fw 190 - he would be shot down and killed over the Rhineland/Palatinate on 21 October 1944 in combat with US fighters.

But Bellstedt was no novice aviator - in fact he was a leading fighter ace on the Ju 88 C-6. He had made his ‘name’ with V./KG 40 and during the course of 1943 had claimed around 10 aircraft downed over the Bay of Biscay. His most ‘notorious’ victory (participation) was returned on 1 June 1943 - a KLM DC-3 flying civilians between Lisbon and Whitchurch, Bristol in England. Seventeen passengers including women and children and the famous American film star Leslie Howard were killed. The Ju 88 crews were apparently not aware this was a regular 'civilian' service - it would perhaps have been a better option to escort the DC-3 into a French airfield.

 Below; 500th Feindflug in 14./KG 40,  - Obslt Kurt Necesany (left) and Albrecht Bellstedt, 21 May 1943.

Bellstedt’s 14./KG 40 was re-designated I./ZG 1 in October 1943. The ace flew his last sortie over the Bay of Biscay on 16 May 1944. With the Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June I./ZG 1 along with III./ZG 1 was hastily deployed to fly strafing attacks against the beaches, for which neither the aircraft nor the crews were prepared. Losses were heavy. In the space of just four days, 33 ZG 1 airmen were killed, three captured and five wounded. Among those killed were Oblt. Ulrich Hansen (Gruppenadjutant III./ZG 1), Lt. Kurt Löw (Staffelführer 7./ZG 1) and Lt. Knut Gmelin (Staffelführer  1./ZG 1). Bellstedt flew his fourth and last mission over Normandy on 10 June 1944. He was fortunate that for the rest of the month I./ZG 1 was withdrawn from the front and Bellstedt recorded seven so-called Bandbekämpfung or ‘anti-partisan’ missions against the Resistance in southern France. His last flight of the month took place on 30 June 1944. It was his 116th Feindflug.

The date 5 August 1944 marked the end of I./ZG 1. With its disbandment,its members were posted to other units. Until then, Bellstedt had only flown the Ju 88 and was now sent to Königsberg to retrain on the Fw 190. On 17 September 1944 he began flying fighter missions as the Staffelkapitän of 9. / Jagdgeschwader 2. Mombeeck published a poor quality image of Bellstedt and his new Staffel in his JG 2 history (volume 6). It is presumed that he did not survive his third mission after clashing with US fighters. He may have fallen victim to the 365th or the 368th Fighter Group. His Fw 190 crashed in the Limburg-Montabaur area (north-west of Frankfurt). Still only 22 years old, he was buried in Neuwied. To paraphrase Chris Goss, his 'successes', just like those of many of his pilot comrades in V./KG 40, have mostly been forgotten. 

new from Chandos - KG 40 - the Luftwaffe's multi-role strike Wing 1940-45 - A History

 

" ..Drawing on many years of research including interviews and correspondence with former aircrews, private accounts, unit records and reports, aviation historian Chris Goss presents the history of Kampfgeschwader 40 (KG 40), the Luftwaffe’s principal maritime anti-shipping unit and multi-role strike wing. KG 40 was formed in 1940 and operated successfully in the campaigns in Norway, the seas around Great Britain, over the Bay of Biscay, the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean, including missions over North Africa,and for a short time the Soviet Union. At various times the unit was equipped with the He 111,Fw 200, Ju 88, Do 217 and He 177. During the first half of the war, its four-engined, long-range Fw 200 Condors operated far out into the Atlantic, attacking merchant shipping and accounting for thousands of tons damaged or sunk. The unit also operated the Do 217 and He 177 bomber types, the latter armed with the latest, state-of-the-art guided bombs against maritime targets in Great Britain and the Mediterranean. Its Ju 88 C-6 ‘heavy’ fighters patrolled the waters of the Biscay from 1942-1944, protecting U-boats and Axis shipping and taking a heavy toll of Allied aircraft. This is the first time the complete operational record of this renowned bomber unit has been told, Gruppe by Gruppe, in the English language. The Geschwader’s story is enhanced through many personal accounts, archival research, some 600 photographs depicting the various aircraft types, their crews, the anti-shipping ‘aces’, the weapons and their Allied opponents, as well as many colour aircraft profiles. The appendices include valuable information such as officer lists, award lists and tables of known losses..."

Contents: 312 page hardcover, 560+ photos 29 colour profiles (11 Fw 200, 1 Bf 110, 4 Do 217, 3 He 111, 3 He 177, 7 Ju 88) 

Head over to the Chandos web site for page views,  pre-orders ,and more..

new from KP - early Fw 190s in 1:72

new-tool early Fw 190s in 1:72nd from KP due imminently. I built the Zvezda A-4 some time ago, but that one was a little disappointing in the area of the cowl exhausts, especially the lower cowl. More on that one here - and Peter Rodeike's article re the JG 1 'devil in the clouds' emblem, research which KP appear not to have seen...

II./JG 3 over Canterbury on 26 August 1940

" At 11.30am on Monday August 26, 1940, a large raid, including 12 Dornier Do 17’s and 40 Heinkel He 111’s, escorted by over 80 Messerschmitt Bf 109’s and Messerschmitt Bf 110’s approached Dover. While around 70 Hurricanes and Spitfires fought the Heinkels and their escorts, from Dungeness to Maidstone, the Boulton Paul Defiants of No.264 Squadron were directed alone onto the Do 17s, in the vicinity of Herne Bay. As they attacked the bombers from below, the Bf 109s immediately dived to protect the Do 17s..." (Hawkinge Battle of Britain museum FB page)

Among the Me 109 escorts over the coasts of north Kent was II./JG 3. Uffz Willy Finke of 4. Staffel JG 3 pressed home an attack on a Defiant but was spotted by P/O Kenneth Marston of No.56 Sqd. Marston opened up from close range (70 yards) sending Finke's Me 109 E-4 down. Finke crashed on the Chislet Marshes, south of Grays Farm near Reculver at around 12:30. In fact Finke was Marston's second Emil that morning - he had already also shot down Uffz. Fritz Buchner of 6./JG 3. Most sources have Buchner coming down in the sea (see below). Posted missing over the Thames estuary on 26 August 1940, Buchner's fate was only confirmed 44 years later when his Emil was excavated at Westgate on the north Kent coast..

"..During 1984, this crash site was the subject of a major excavation. The main wreckage was discovered at a considerable depth (between 35 and 40ft) and within the compacted tail section and cockpit were found the remains of the pilot. Evidence from the excavation, in the form of Uffz. collar tabs found on the uniform, an embroidered handkerchief with the initials "FB", a lucky charm and serial plates indicating the identity of the aircraft, seemed to provide compelling proof that the pilot was Unteroffizier Fritz Buchner, who had been officially listed as missing 44 years previously. However, it took a further two years for British and German authorities to agree on his identity. He was finally laid to rest, in the presence of surviving members of his family, with full military honours in the German War Cemetery at Cannock Chase on the 8th May, 1987.."   (dunkirk1940.org)

 Now that certain relics of Buchner's E-1 have been given to my local museum I was asked if I knew anything about his machine. The quick answer was not a lot! The loss listing does not reveal much about his Bf 109 aside from the variant and Werknummer. No Kennung given. Extract from the now-digitised Bundesarchiv "GQM Verluste und Unfälle" file RL 2- III/1574-75 covering the period Jun 40-Jan 41. See line 11. (Click to view full screen)

From the Breuer/Waiss " Heinz Sannemann -Ein Jagdfliegerleben in Berichten, Dokumenten, Fotos" (Helios, 2018)

 " Flug 924 am 26.08.1940. Start mit Bf 109 um 12:25 Uhr in Wierre au Bois. Landung um 13:50 Uhr in Wierre au Bois, 'Begleitung Do 17 Sauterborg, Defiant abgeschossen.."

On 26 August 1940, II./JG 3 were up from Wierre au Bois (12 km south-west of Boulogne on the Channel coast) to escort bombers raiding London. Gruppe TO Lt. Heinz Sannemann flying as Rottenflieger to the Kommandeur recorded in his 'Gefechtsbericht' that he shot an RAF fighter off the tail of his Kommandeur as the latter was downing a Defiant. It was Sannemann's second victory claim. A trail of white smoke streamed out behind the British fighter as it dove away heading back over the Kent coast. In a letter to his wife sent the next day, Sannemann wrote;

" Gestern haben wir über der Themsemündung eine Mords-Luftschlacht gehabt. Berstende Maschinen, Rauchsäulen und Fallschirme über Fallschirme!. Es is schon schoen, nur die armen Bomber sind dabei zu bedauern. Die müssten alle das EK I haben. Wir waren schon wieder in unserem Wigwam!  " 

.." Yesterday we had a hell of an air battle over the Thames estuary. Exploding machines, columns of smoke and parachutes upon parachutes! Everything's fine now, but the poor bombers are having a hard time. They must have all earned the EK I. We were already back in our wigwam!.."  (pilots accomodation 'Villa Wigwam' in Le Touquet that Sannemann shared with von Werra, until 5 September of course..)

After the chaos of the clash over the north Kent coast/Canterbury area that morning Sannemann spent the afternoon paddling a dinghy in the canal in Le Touquet and swimming with Simba the lion cub. Pfundig! ..just great!

Oblt. Heinz Schmidt 6./JG 52 - ebay photo find #386

 

This next 'find' is arguably more 'rare' than the previous image but 'only' sold for 121 euros; Heinz Schmidt, StaKa 6./JG 52, on the cockpit sill of his Gustav after returning with his 150th 'kill' on 12 August 1943 barely one month before he was posted missing. He had been awarded the EL for 102 vics in September 1942 at Pitomnik during the assault on Stalingrad - raising his 'score' from 50-100 in less than one month that summer. On the morning of 5 September 1943 he 'scored' victories 172 and 173 according to the Abschussliste in Barbas ('Geschichte der II. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 52') but failed to return and was reported 'Nach Luftkampf vermisst, bei Kotelwa-Senkow, SU'. According to Barbas he was likely flying a 'yellow 7'. Lipfert replaced him in charge of 6. Staffel from mid-September 1943

Fw. Eugen Wintergerst 4./JG 77 - ebay photo find #385

 

Expired ebay auction

Bf 109 E  "white 8" belonged to Fw. Eugen Wintergerst, ace of II./JG 77.  Note 'Seeadler' emblem just forward of the cockpit. This image dates from August 1941 and shows his rudder scoreboard with some 14 Abschussbalken. He had filed seven claims following a single sortie on the early evening of 12 August 1941 on what was supposed to be a straightforward Werkstattflug or air test from Zebrikowo, north-west of Odessa. Wintergerst subsequently found himself single-handedly pursuing a Russian bomber formation of nine SB-3. When he returned to Zebrikowo, a 'higher-up' was waiting to congratulate him. Wintergerst was reluctant to get out of the cockpit of his Messerschmitt because of his (lack of) attire -  he had got airborne clad only in swimming trunks...(see Jochen Prien's JG 77 Vol 2, p 749 pp). He quickly gained six further victories before colliding with Lt Zuzic's Bf 109 to become a POW on 24 September 41. 

This image sold in December 2024 for nearly 500 euros...

Luftschraube Uhrzeit 12:30 - setting the propeller pitch in the Bf 109 Emil

 

In his 'Inside the cockpit - 'Messerschmitt Bf 109 E' video, Chris from the 'Military Aviation History' channel describes the dials on the instrument panel of the Deutsches Museum Emil. One small 'clock-like' indicator on the bottom right of the panel is marked "Luftschraube" - 'propeller'. All we see is a clock dial with no numerical markings but divided into hours and minutes.  This simple instrument relates to engine management in a 109 by aiding the pilot in selecting propeller pitch. This is the propeller pitch control indicator on early Emils - in early Emils there was no automatic propeller pitch control.

Simply put, the pilot set the pitch manually  - degrees of either 'fine' or 'coarse' according to the rpm - by selecting a 'clock time' - the  "Luftschraube Uhrzeit " as seen on performance charts. The Luftwaffe fighter pilot would have to learn the rpm and associated 'clock' settings to manage the engine at its most efficient settings and avoid 'over-speeding' the engine.

 Below; an extract from a wwiiaircraftperformance Bf 109 engine settings chart for 'Sperrflug'  or 'patrol'. From left to right , 'Altitude', 'RPM' 'Manifold pressure' and 'Prop pitch time' (Luftschraube Uhrzeit). Note the low rpm settings for increased endurance (lower fuel consumption).

Note: the sentences under the 'Sperrflug' table refer to later Bf 109 variants with auto pitch control and/or earlier variants with retro-fitted auto pitch control - which could be disengaged as required, eg takeoffs, landings or as here, when in the 'Sperrflug' regime - 'switch off' (ausschalten) the 'autocontrol' and adjust (einstellen) pitch either using the thumb control (Daumenschalter) on the throttle or the lever on the instrument panel' . The power settings given in the table give very low fuel consumption, perhaps about 100 ltr/h.

The electric VDM system was produced to compete with the American Hamilton standard 'hydramatic' pitch propeller control system and was different from most other propeller hub and pitch control systems - the centre of the hub was hollow so that it could be fitted to engines with centrally mounted engine armament such as the DB 600 series of engines. This resulted in the need for the propeller pitch control system to be remotely located as opposed to being located in the hub as it was in most other systems. 

 Below; prop pitch control mechanism on the side of the DB 601 engine in the Emil.

Prop pitch control lever on an Emil instrument panel

 When flying the Me 109 the pilot did not really need to know the exact degrees of the propeller's pitch, just what indications on the instrument related to the selection that was required; there were essentially two options, to 'coarsen' or to 'fine' the pitch. This corresponds to the two options available - "größer" moving the lever up and "kleiner" moving the lever down (in the same way a modern Airbus pilot does not need to know what exact degrees of flap and slats he is selecting - he just needs to know when he needs flaps one or flaps two) 

In early 109s (including the Emil) the control 'switch' was a lever attached to the instrument panel but as it became clear that flying an aircraft in combat and having to move your hand off the throttle (or the stick) to change the prop pitch was not a good idea, a rocker thumb switch was added to the top of the throttle. From this point on all the pilot had to do was move his thumb up or down to increase or decrease the prop pitch. 

A decrease in engine rpm means an increase in propeller pitch or coarsening the propeller blades and an increase in engine rpm means a decrease in propeller pitch and a 'fining' of the propeller blades. Thus there are no markings on the face of the 'Luftschraube 'clock'. It is read just like a clock - higher rpm means that the clock needs to rotate clockwise to its maximum reading of 12:30 which is fully fine on the prop pitch ( about 22 degrees). For lower rpm the clock should be rotated all the way round anti-clockwise to 4:30 which indicates the propeller is now fully coarse. (blade pitch about 70 degrees) .. 

The "Bf 109 Mecanik" youtube channel explains how this worked in both early (DB 601) and later (DB 605) variants of the Bf 109 in this short video.

Also on this blog

Contending with engine torque in late-war Bf 109s