more Schlacht Bf 109 & Fw 190 -Luftwaffe ebay photo find

Nice image of an LG 2 Schlacht 109 - note the rather rare 'bear-wielding-axe' emblem of 5.(Schlacht)/LG 2 on the cowling plus the Schlacht triangle. The 'bear' is actually depicted on the emblem chopping up an umbrella (presumably Chamberlain's?), a throw-back to LG 2's Jabo Battle of Britain campaign...

currently on offer here from Zurich-based ebay.de seller sturmvogel1, the Fw 190s are probably machines belonging to Schlachtgeschwader 1

More Schlacht Bf 109s and Fw 190s on this blog

http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/eastern-front-jabo-bf-109-emil-of.html

Wespengeschwader Jabos

http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/photos-of-wespen-bf-109e-7-jabo-sub.html

Dornier Do 26 Norwegian campaign; Nahaufklärungsgruppe 13 Fw 190 - Ebay Luftwaffe photo find

Below; seen during the Norwegian campaign -possibly after landing Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) for operations around Narvik- the photo below probably shows the Do 26 V-1, coded P5+AH. For the invasion of Denmark and Norway, launched on 9 April 1940,  the five Do 26 seaplanes (V-1 to V-5) were brought together in the so-called Transozeanstaffel incorporated in 9./KGzbV 108. Among the pilots flying these machines were the 'cream' of the Lufthansa fleet : Rudolf « Miesi » Mayr, the Graf Schack von Wittenau, and later night fighter ace Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow among others. The Staffel was tasked with transporting troops, munitions and mail with particular responsibility for re-supplying the Narvik area which saw hard fighting between the Allies and  General Eduard Dietl's Gebirgsjäger.  

This particular aircraft was shot up by Hurricanes of N° 46 Sq. in the Rombaksfjord on 28 May 1940, an attack in which the pilot Fw. Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow was wounded. It may well be Modrow standing on the nose of the aircraft in the photo above. Note the emblem of the Transozeanstaffel under the cockpit. After convalescence Modrow became an instructor but during April 1942 he flew the first of over one hundred sorties at the controls of a BV 222. During 1943 he was on the flight roster at the Travemünde test centre before joining the Nachtjagd. He was quickly promoted to Kapitän of 1./NJG 1 and ended the war with 34 confirmed victories.

 Wilhelm Küppers, radio operator on Do 26 V-2 P5+BH recalled ; 

" during the Norwegian campaign we flew an almost constant round of sorties bringing in anti-tank guns, munitions, mines and mountain troops for Narvik. These flights were combined with reconnaissance along the Norwegian coast. The more perilous moments of any such sortie were the landings on the narrow fjords around Narvik  and the subsequent takeoffs. We skirted along neutral Swedish airspace to avoid anti-aircraft fire before diving down almost vertically  - almost helicopter-like- for the surface of the water with our engines throttled back. The aircraft had to be rapidly unloaded, but it was amazing what could be achieved with the threat of death so close - we expected naval or artillery fire to come crashing down around us at any moment. Two tons of equipment could be off-loaded under such circumstances  - with much sweat and cursing - in under twenty minutes. Takeoffs were just as 'suicidal'  especially in the narrow Beisfjord with its high cliffs. Taxiing out into the middle of the fjord was often done under fire from British ships. Our takeoff runs had to be finely judged in order to avoid the cliffs. Engines were run up to full power and we were lucky if we managed to pass more than ten metres over the these obstacles. Each successful takeoff under such circumstances represented a considerable feat of airmanship for such a large and heavy seaplane weighing up to twenty tons ".

Extract from "Luftwaffe Seaplanes Vol II" ('Hydravions de la Luftwaffe' - Roba, Ledet, English-language section by Neil Page, published by LeLa Presse in 2010. Volume 3 in this series is published in February 2014)

ebay.de image currently on offer here

Below; pilots of Nahaufklärungsgruppe 13 probably at St. Brieuc, France celebrating a milestone 500th mission during 1943. Note the Gruppe emblem on the distinctively marked cowling of these Fw 190A-4/U4s fitted with Rb12,5/7x9 cameras

Merry Christmas to all Luftwaffe blog readers !

Photo courtesy of Marco at koelsch333 ebay.de sales and currently on offer here

Les Hydravions de la Luftwaffe. Vol. 3. - Luftwaffe Seaplanes Vol 3 published by Lela Presse April 2014

... a magnificent third volume in the Luftwaffe Seaplanes series from Jena-Louis Roba, Hans-Werner Neulen and the team at Lela Presse - 410 hard-back A-4 pages with some 850 photos and 50 large scale Thierry Dekker artworks...

Authored and compiled by Jean-Louis Roba and Michel Ledet in collaboration with Jean-Pierre Dubois, Hans-Werner Neulen and Juan Arraez Cerda

Volume 3 of the Lela Presse series devoted to Luftwaffe Seaplanes is published during April 2014. This promises to be another magnificent volume comprising nearly 500 glossy A-4 pages and replete with some 850 photos and technical drawings and is now due with us in April 2014. The major part of the book covers the Dornier Do 24 in Luftwaffe, Dutch, French, Swedish, Australian and Spanish service. Other chapters are devoted to lesser known Luftwaffe seaplane types such as the Bv 238, Ju 52, Ju 34, He 42 and Arado Ar 199. A further chapter is devoted to foreign seaplane types in Luftwaffe service including the Fokker T. VIII, Breguet Bizerte and the Cant Z. 506. The book features over 50 profile artworks and extensive English-language captions adapted from the French-language text by this blog author - easily the most comprehensive and detailed publication yet on these types.

http://www.avions-bateaux.com/produit/souscriptions/2083

Order your copy now from the publisher and make savings on postage

Search Luftwaffe Seaplanes on this blog

Aces and pilots of JG 51 continued ... (Part 17) Lt Horst Haase

Courtesy of Michael Meyer, more aces and pilots of JG 51 including two images of a pilot identified as Horst Haase (above & below)

According to the seller these two images show Lt. Horst Haase dismounting from his Me 109 Friedrich of 10./JG 51 during the summer of 1942 in Russia. AFAIK these are the first two images of Haase to surface - other than the standard studio portrait. Haase is a pilot I've always had a particular interest in, having written and published articles on IV(Sturm)./ JG 3. (the resemblance though to the "Haase" in the photo at bottom seems rather dubious..? ) Haase was awarded the RK on 24 October 1944 and achieved around 55-60 Luftsiege including around 12 Viermots. As Staffelkapitän of 2./JG 51 he had achieved 46 victories when he was posted back to the West during May 1944 with 2. Staffel being incorporated into IV.(Sturm) / JG 3 at Salzwedel becoming the new 16. Staffel./JG 3 in August 1944. He thus features in Prien's IV./ JG 3 Gruppe history - although not photographically IIRC. Flying a heavily armed and thoroughly unmanoeuverable FW 190 A8-R2 Sturmbock in close formation must have been a world away from the low altitude turning dogfights or Kurbelein that characterised  air combat over the Russian Steppes. Yet Haase and other JG 51 aces such as Klaus Neumann and Oskar Romm were to become leading bomber killers and Knight’s Cross winners during the summer and autumn of 1944  in the Reichsverteidigung - defence of the Reich. Over Oschersleben on 7 July 1944 he claimed two B-24s and achieved victories during most of the Sturmgruppe actions that summer. Over Kassel on 27 September 1944 he downed a 445th BG B-24 for his 55th victory, while Oskar Romm brought down three B-24s in the same action. From 16 October 1944 he flew as Kommandeur of I./JG 3 but collided near Erkerlenz with his Rottenflieger on 25 November 1944 shortly after getting airborne in poor weather conditions and was killed in the crash. He was posthumously promoted to Major.

Below and bottom left; three images of  Lt. Bernhard Vechtel seen here in the East during the summer of 1942 . Vechtal was awarded the RK on 27 July 1944 and claimed in total some 108 Luftsiege, surviving the war. During April 1945 he was Staffelkapitän of 14./JG 51, seen below climbing out of a Me 109 Friedrich of 11./JG 51

Below; Fw Herbert Friebel returned 58 Luftsiege and was awarded the RK on 24 January 1943. KIA on 15 May 1944 as Staffelkapitän of 10./JG 51 - after downing a  Jak-9, hitting the ground and bursting into flames while chasing a La-5 (Bodenberührung mit Aufschlagbrand ) in the region of Horodyslyce south west of Tarnopol.

Below; 10./JG 51 pilot Ofw. Franz-Josef Beerenbrock seen during the summer of 1942. Awarded the RK on 6 October 1941 and the EL on 3 August 1942, claiming some 117 victories in total. Put down behind Russian lines on 9 November 1942 after shooting down three Russian machines north of Welish and was taken prisoner and survived the war.

Above, from left to right; Lt. Rolf Kickert, 6 Luftsiege as Staffelkapitän of 10. Staffel MIA on 17 December 1942, Lt. Bernhard Vechtel, Lt. Horst Haase (?) and Lt. Wolfgang Böwing-Treuding, awarded the RK on 24 March 1943 posthumously for 46 Luftsiege, KIA on 11 February 1943 while strafing a Russian transport column near Dubnitza west of Welikje Luki, hit by anti-aircraft fire.

Much more like this from Michael Meyer here 

More pilots and aces of JG 51 on this blog
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/JG%2051

Emils over the Med JG 27 & 7./ JG 26

During early February 1941 the 'red hearts' of 7./ JG 26 deployed to Sicily to combat the RAF over Malta under Staffelkapitän Oblt. Joachim Muencheberg. It appears that there is a metal pennant on the aerial mast of this Bf 109 E-7 (obscured by the seller) so that this may have been the machine flown by the Staffelkapitän. Click on the images for a full-screen view

Inscription on the reverse dated 20 April 1941. Courtesy lohrleerblatt here

Fw 190s of I./JG 51 Heinrich Krafft - Ebay Luftwaffe photo find

Selection of I./JG 51 Fw 190s via Manuel Rauh at engelbubu-fotos . Above, original caption reads "Wartungsdienst" (servicing..) on "Yellow 9 " and "Yellow 10", 3. Staffel Fw 190 A-3s ( note the small round bulge on the MG cowl cover). The images on offer feature Hptm Heinrich Krafft who was awarded the RK on 18 March 1942 for 78 Luftsiege. On 14 December 1942 Gruppenkommandeur Krafft  was brought down in his Fw 190 A-3 (WNr 539) by Russian anti-aircraft fire and killed on the ground by his captors. Below; Krafft (according to the inscription on the reverse of the pic but ??) at the controls of a Emil/Friedrich of the Stab./JG 51 prior to a sortie..

Late in August 1942 Hauptmann Heinrich Krafft’s I./JG 51 became the first fighter  unit to re-equip with the Fw 190 on the eastern front having converted onto the Fw 190 A-3 at Jesau near Königsberg (photo left). The unit’s arrival at Lyuban airdrome, south of Leningrad, caused great concern to the Soviets. Introduced into the theatre when the German armies in the East had been all but checked, the robust new fighter was superior in most respects to the Bf 109 especially with regard to weight of fire, engine reliability in cold weather conditions and its relative invulnerability to combat damage. The wide track undercarriage came into its own on difficult terrain and of course facilitated the carriage of ordnance on the under fuselage ETC 501 carrier pending the widespread introduction of a dedicated fighter-bomber or Schlacht (Battle) variant. The aircraft of  I./JG 51 were finished  with two tone dark green 70/71 upper surfaces sprayed in a ‘splinter’ type scheme over pale blue-grey 76 undersides. The combat environment in Russia would dictate the use the use of shades of green, brown and greyish-green. In addition, as units moved further from Germany, shortages of materials, local needs and individual initiative would come to directly affect combat colours. Incidentally the image of Oskar Romm’s A-3 ‘white 9’ in Meyer and Stipdonk’s JG 51: eine Bilddokumentation indicates that this scheme was applied prior to the move to Russia. The individual Staffeln continued to be identified by coloured numbers, white for the first, black for the second and yellow 27 for the third. The only unit to remain on Fw 190s throughout JG 51’s time in the East was the Stabsstaffel. 

Above; also reproduced on page 104 of Rodeike's "Jagdflugzeug 190" 'chevron bar' of the Stab I./ JG 51 is also finished in dark greens. Note the yellow fuselage band under the Balkenkreuz
Below;  according to the inscription on the reverse of this image this is " Hptm Kraft pictured just prior to his last flight ".....

Below; not in the current auction, but three nice views of a 1.Staffel and Stab I./ JG 51 machine.  Note the Geschwader emblem was carried on the cowling and the Gruppe badge, a stylised Chamois on a rock, under the cockpit, although unit badges were dispensed with relatively quickly in Russia.

More JG 51 Fw 190s on this blog
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/fw-190-8-stabstaffel-jg-51-michael.html

Below; selection of "Aeroplane" archive images via seller "gerbeltom" here  including Junkers Ju 352, G 38, He 100, Hs 129 etc

Hartmann's last Erla-built Bf 109 G-10 Revell new-tool box art

Box-art for next year's new-tool 1:32nd Revell Bf 109 G-10 based on a photo that first came to light a couple of years ago. This was a new view of Hartmann's last Erla-built Bf 109 G-10 and showed a little more of the aircraft than the red heart and part of the Gruppenkommandeur's Doppel-winkel-  this G-10 apparently featured the tulip marking..however everything aft of the Balkenkreuz is still guess work although we can be pretty much certain that there would be no fuselage band or yellow rudder.  The second image is 'well known' and was taken directly after the sortie resulting in Hartmann's 350th claim. Note the camouflage tunic worn in the air over the front to facilitate evasion should the pilot come down behind enemy lines.

This is the last known Hartmann machine for which there is photographic evidence apparently taken in mid-April '45 on the occasion of his 350th Abschuß. The G-10 variant was the "hottest" Bf 109 then available, so no surprise that Hartmann flew one and that it was in fact most likely to have been his last aircraft..

More on Hartmann's G-10 and discussion of his 'mythical' Bf 109 K-4 on this blog here

Anders Hjortsberg's updated artwork for this machine is here

http://theprofilepaintshop.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/JG52

recent & latest Ebay Bf 109s - daily Luftwaffe photo find, JG 26, JG 54, JG 2, JG 53

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Orig-Foto-Flugzeug-Me-109-Tarnanstrich-Punktarnung-Reparatur-/141126323875?pt=Militaria&hash=item20dbc8cea3

 Another view of Hans von Hahn's Stab I./JG 3 Friedrich. Two more images of this machine here

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Pik-As-Jagdgeschwader-Luftwaffe-Bf-Me-109-Pilot-comiso-Italien-Afrika-Fighter-19-/400611462764?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1120

Latest selection of ebay.de Bf 109 finds, including 'Red 1' above, an Emil of 2./ JG 26  - note the Teufelskopf devil's head emblem under the cockpit. This appears to be the earlier "rounded" design of the emblem, the machine is an E-3 so this is probably a pre-Battle of Britain shot. Staffelkapitän Fritz Losigkeit flew 'Red 16'- this may or may not be one of his machines. Also in this post, "white 11" a 1./ JG 2 Emil with bonzo dog emblem on the cowl, a JG 26 Emil down on the Channel coastline, I./ JG 54 with Stadtwappen Nürnberg (city of Nuremberg coat-of-arms) and JG 3 and JG 53 aces.

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151168591458&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1120

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Foto-Messerschmitt-Bf-109-Flugzeug-Wrack-weise-5-Kennung-Tarnanstrich-Me-109-/310798977587

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390704614228&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1120

http://www.ebay.de/itm/notgelandetes-Jagdflugzeug-Me-109-mit-11-Abschussbalken-/360794474978

offered again by dw-auction. Previously seen here in July 2013 this is a II./JG 3 Bf 109 Gustav..(a G-2?), displaying 11 Abschussbalken evidently assigned to the Gruppenstab. Note the yellow frame-width theatre band directly aft of the fuselage Balkenkreuz. Long-time Gruppen-Adjutant of II./JG 3 was Ltn. Max-Bruno Fischer who achieved around 12 victories..

 http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=121215923113&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1120

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Foto-Flugzeug-Me-109-Bf-109-II-JG-3-Jagdgeschwader-3-Udet-G-/111217375442?pt=Militaria&hash=item19e51278d2

 http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380772777717&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1120

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=141117824736&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1120