A friend of mine and regular blog reader Laurent Freidine from Paris is slowly assembling a very large Luftwaffe airfield diorama and over time has collected a large number of airfield scene photos as reference for his buildings and airfield vehicles as well as ancillary pieces such as walls and aircraft shelters or 'hides'. We thought it might be a good idea to share some of these here for those looking for ideas when considering how to pose their finished models whether on a stand or in a diorama. Note that many of these images were taken in France, although the KG 40 airfield facilities and hangars in Bordeaux for example (see dispersal scene above) were largely redeveloped by the Germans. The relative paucity of pictures of hangar scenes here is perhaps an indication that the Luftwaffe did not always have the possibility of operating from 'fixed' installations at least during the early part of the war when the Wehrmacht was on the offensive.
-This page last edited and updated February 2020 with some more fire engine and refueling tanker shots -
Above; a French-built Lorraine 24/58, with Granges bowser/tank bodywork in German service. There were two types of tanks on this truck, Grenchen or Satam. In pre-war France there were three manufacturers, LATIL, LAFFLY and LORRAINE, whose vehicles equipped the Liquid Fuel Companies in charge of refuelling French air force aircraft. It is not clear what became of these trucks after the armistice following the Battle for France. Some, in the 'free zone', remained in the Vichy army, others were used by the German army. The vehicle was heavy and consumed 90 litres of petrol per 100 km! Caption by Laurent Freidine.
Below; selection of Opel Tankwagen shots
At the bottom of this page some images of the Luftwaffe SIG Sturmstaffel hangar diorama as displayed at the IMPS Nats, Telford, England, November 2016
Below; Flugzeughallen Flugplatz KRAKAU, Polen 1942
Cazaux near Bordeaux in south-west France
Josef Wurmheller mit Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (verliehen am 4. September 1941) und Schwimmweste und Wart auf Feldflugplatz vor seiner Messerschmitt Me 109 des Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2)
Above; KG 55 at Chartres and below, a VIP seen at Fliegerhorst Buc also in France
Below; a Tankspritze TS 2.5 Henschel 33 Feuerlöschwagen fire engine truck, a rare sight in an ebay auction..
The Tankspritze TS 2.5 or Ts 2.5a (Kfz. 343) based on the Henschel type 33 FA 1 was frequently seen on front line airstrips. It had a water reserve of 2500 litres. The Ts 2.5 had a folding top while the Ts 2.5a had a hardtop as seen on the photo above. Below via fire-engine-photos.com
From the excellent kfzderwehrmacht.de site
Henschel 33 Feuerwehr in service at Flugplatz Manching here
Below; a French farmyard barn hiding a Bf 109 Friedrich of JG 26. All these airfield buildings appear to have received some sort of camouflage finish although we have very little idea of the colours or paint used. Laurent's French barn is carved from a soft white Tuffeau stone..
Below; Arsenal VG 33 at Rechlin
Below Luftwaffe SIG Sturmstaffel hangar diorama as displayed at the IMPS Nats Telford November 2016, pics courtesy of Kev Wilson of the Luftwaffe SIG. Hangar built by Mitch Thompson
More Luftwaffe airfields at Andreas Zapf's site Flugplätze der Luftwaffe site with details of the Zapf's Luftwaffe airfields book series here
Wiener-Neustadter-Flugzeugwerk WNF Werk 1 (Me109Produktion) Halle 58
(NB: most of these pictures are sourced from expired ebay auctions. They can be removed or added to by emailing me at falkeeins at aol dot com.)