Arado Ar 196 in the harbour at Kos -archive photo scan #26

 

Arado Ar 196 in the harbour at Kos town, on the Aegean island of Kos. The Neratzia castle ramparts are visible in the background. The Bundesarchiv image is dated October 1943, shortly after the island was 'captured' following the Italian change-of-sides.  Bottom, a modern image by way of comparison.

A reminder that BATAILLES AÉRIENNES N°100 covering the air battles over and around Kos and Leros entitled " La dernière victoire de la Luftwaffe en Méditerranée - Les combats du Dodécanèse (Sept-Nov. 1943)" by Shores and Roba is still available from the Lela Presse website here 

yet more late-war Gustav profile artworks from Angantyr

 

 A third installment of late-war Gustav profile artworks from Angantyr.

First out is a WNF Bf 109 G-6/U4 WNr 441744. Flown by 11./JG 27 -  it was lost (31.07.1944) in Saint-Germain-d´Elle near Saint-Lô in Normandie, captured by US troops. The original Staffel was back in Dortmund by this time. 

Next is a WNF Bf 109 G-14 of Stab I./JG 4 as seen in Babenhausen in April 1945. WNr 510XXX. The fuselage seems to be covered with something, as the Balkenkreuz cannot be seen. By this time, I Gruppe personnel was being drafted as infantry. (source MAH)

Next, the speculative aircraft last flown by the German cousin of the French fighter ace Pierre Clostermann, namely Bruno Klostermann of 11./JG 300 who was KIA on 14 January 1945 in a Bf 109 G-10 manufactured by Erla. There seems to be some disagreement as to whether he flew “Green 2” or “Green 12” . Erla production G-10's lacked the black cross on the fuselage, only showing the white outline, sometimes “filled in” by the ground crew(as here).

 

Lastly I have reworked a profile presented in Falcons Messerschmitt website depicting a Bf 109 G-10 produced by Erla, which, in my opinion, is grossly inaccurate, more resembling a Bf 109 G-6/AS than anything else. It also carries the camouflage that was used by 460XXX series G-14:s, ie “spotted dog” pattern. Anyhow, this is WNr 491 375 flown by Uffz Franz Keicher of 3./JG 4 who was lost on 11 February 1945 in air combat over Lübben/Steinau. Pilot was declared MIA.

The last two are both from JG 300, one from 3 Staffel, flown by an unknown pilot in the summer of 1944, the last one is a G-14 flown in the winter of 44-45 by Gefr Ernst Sharf of 16 Staffel.

More late-war Gustav artwork from Angantyr on this blog here

Me 163 BV45 'PK+QP'

 

One reason for re-posting some of the better images from Peter Petrick's archive is that they can be displayed at a much larger size than they were ever published  - and usually without the 'moire' pattern too. Presumably one reason why they are also selling for large amounts. 

The following photo of the Me 163 B V45 'PK+QP' just sold for 80 euros. Here it is having its C-Stoff tank filled. Franks states that this was the first pre-production Me 163 airframe known to have been fitted with the MK 108 cannon. Note the retractable tailwheel fairing. According to Ransom it was re-painted in August 1944 as C1+05 and later went to Brandis for armament trials.

Fw 190 A-6s Gruppenstabschwarm III./JG 11, Oldenburg, March 1944 (Hackl)

 

JG 11 ace Hptm.Anton Hackl (left) preparing for a sortie with the Gruppenstabschwarm of III./JG 11 during March 1944 in Oldenburg. The Focke Wulfs appear to be lined-up prior to engine start. The Fw 190 A-6 in the background is 'chevron 2 + I' and the 'Drache' (dragon) Wappenschild can be seen under the cockpit. The Kommandeur of III./JG 1 Hptm. Friedrich Eberle is an interested spectator. As the machines prepare to start their takeoff runs (below), Hackl's Kommandeur machine ('chevron triangle') can be seen far left with the all-white tailfin. See pages 225-227 'Jagdflugzeug 190' (Rodeike, Struve)

Oblt. Hans Kriegel, Lt. Felix Brandis, 'German eagle hunting the British lion' - ebay photo find #378

 

Note the 'Dita 13' on the nose above - usual marking of Oblt. Hans Kriegel, StaKa of 7./ZG 76 who was WIA in Bf 110 C-4 "2N+DR" in combat with a 252 Sqd Beaufighter on 28 June 1941. Kriegel was later Kommandeur IV./JG 5  (thanks to regular blog visitor Mr. Davis for spotting this one)

Emblem of 7./ZG 76 on the nose of the Bf 110 flown by Lt. Felix Brandis - image below shows him dismounting after his 3rd victory on June 1, 1941 and previously published in the JG 5 Special album ('Luftwaffe Gallery')

Peter Neuwerth's site has a page of photos of Kriegel's Bf 110s and Bf 109s here

Bf 109 aces - Hptm. Paul Schauder JG 26

 

Born in Munich on 27 April 1921, Paul Schauder was studying architecture when he was called up for the army. Like many of his comrades, he wanted to become an aviator. After training as a fighter pilot he was posted to 3./JG 26 at the beginning of 1941. He took advantage of the RAF's so-called 'Non-stop Offensive' of 1941 to open and then build up his score (9 victories). In December 1942 he was promoted to Kapitän of 11./JG 26. His command lasted only a month, however, as he was called up to the Stab II./JG 26 before taking over command of 9./JG 26 in May 1942. On the 23rd of that month, III./JG 26 shifted to northern Germany, where Schauder shot down his first first B-17. Back in the Netherlands and then to France, Schauder scored another victory over the RAF before seeing his 9./JG 26 renamed 10th Staffel. 1944 saw him fighting over France and, in the weeks following the landings in June 1944, he was one of the pilots to be credited with three air victories over Normandy, including a 354th FG P-51 on 17 July. Having taken temporary command of III./JG 26 at the end of 1944, Hptm Schauder was officially promoted to Kommandeur, claimed his 21st and last victory over Germany on 21 April 1945, a 3 Sqd Tempest near Perleberg. On 1 May 1945, he was shot down and captured. According to one source, he was a victim of anti-aircraft fire; he also claimed to have hit a P-38. In June 1945, he took advantage of a passing truck loaded with liberated POWs to clamber into the vehicle. Having ‘escaped’ in this way, he was soon reunited with his family. After the war, he resumed his pre-war activity but eventually joined the Bundesluftwaffe. Paul Schauder died in his home town on 22 January 2004.

Lt.Paul Schauder (3./JG 26) supervises the application of a victory bar on the rudder of his Friedrich.

There are currently 182 Bf 109 ace biographies on this blog, most featuring rare photos and personal accounts.

Fw 190 Dora 9 'blue 12' by 'kov1985'

 

Fw 190 D-9 "Blue 12" WNr. 500570 of II./JG 6 surrendered to elements of the U.S. 10th Photo Reconnaissance Group at Fürth, near Nürnberg on 8 May 1945

" ..This one is finally off my bench after a few months of work, my rendition of the 'famous' “blue 12” which surrendered at Fürth in May 1945. I used the Hasegawa 1/32 Dora -9 with Quickboost cowling, spinner and prop, Quinta studio cockpit interior, Hgw seatbelts, eduard brassin flaps, 1 Man Army stencil masks. Some small bits I took some artistic license, but I’ll get into that later...".

"..there are plenty of pics of this aircraft that are available, as well as a few that come with the Eaglecals decal set. However I’m less impressed with the Eaglecals set as I intended to only use the serial number, the “E9”, and the “12”. However for some reason, the “1” is smaller than the “2” in the 12. It makes no sense why they’ve done that as every photo I’ve seen of the thing doesn’t show this. Hence I made my own mask for that by painstakingly drawing and cutting it out of paper, tracing onto masking sheet and cutting that out. To make things worse I botched its placement on first go and had to use the mask 3 times…"

"..The colours of blue 12? Experts on the subject lean towards the top of the wings being 77/81, or 76/81, however in my honest opinion that may have well been the case for later Mimetall machines. My theory is that early ones such as 570 here had the standard grey wings, which were then painted 81 on the underside, either by factory or at unit level until Mimetall found their “groove” and painted the whole thing in 81 etc. My source for this theory being machine 581 (only a few airframes from blue 12) clearly having the grey tops, but notice landing gear doors being that dark colour still indicating to me RLM 81, which can clearly be seen also on the famous colour photo of blue 12.."

Thanks to Casey for his superb model images!

Bf 109 Gustav WNr. 20790 in Wunstorf - not a 'one-off'

Captured G-6s in unusual camo finish - possibly late-war 'greens' with an RLM 02 mottle. Below; WNr. 20790 visible on the tail fin of the machine closest to the camera with a second similarly camouflaged machine behind. These are 'rebuilds' of older airframes.

See pages 84-85 of 'Bf 109 - the latter years' (Goss) for more pictures of these machines. Seen at Fassberg according to the book caption, although A.I.2(g)/131 via Michael Balss states Wunstorf.

Anders Hjortsberg profile and camouflage comments here

Heinkel He 219 detail images by Mike Milbourne

 

NASM He 219 detail images posted by Mike Milbourne on FB and available to 'share', so re-posted here so that they can be easily located when I need them for my ZM build. FB is great ..but just try looking for something specific at a later date. All He 219 images on this blog can be easily located in one place at the link below...

All He 219 images on this blog are here;

https://falkeeins.blogspot.com/search/label/Heinkel%20He%20219

new from Claes Sundin - Luftwaffe fighter aircraft Profile book No. 14

 

A new profile book from Claes Sundin is always an 'event'! Fighter aircraft Profile book No. 14 is just released and pre-orders are shipping. My copy - with 'Jutta' Fw 190 cover artwork - has just arrived ;

- 136 full color pages with 130 aircraft profiles
- Features all-new profiles of fighter types flown by Luftwaffe Experten, with many surprises!
- 140 additional illustrations of unit insignia (Wappen) and personal markings
- Detailed captions for each profile with expanded descriptions of each individual aircraft's markings and camouflage. Text proofed and corrected by experts in the field!

- Historical and descriptive information of the pilots, including many lesser-known airmen
- A pilot and unit index for all Claes' Luftwaffe fighter artworks published to date
- Exceptional high-quality paper and print quality and glossy hard-bound cover

Click on the low-res image of Claes' profile (from book No. 11) of Arnulf Gottschall's G-6 below to go directly to the Centura Publishing web site to order the book. Claes has now self-published a phenomenal 18 titles. 

Me 110 G heavy weapons - ebay photo find #377

Me 110 G of ZG 1 Bad Lippspringe, early 1944. Caption reads, (I think..), 'upper nose cannon have been removed and openings faired over to enable installation of GM-1 ..' Note the folding upper section of the canopy serving as a makeshift deckchair..

Bottom;  ZG 1 Bf 110 with Flak 18 3,7 cm cannon installation.

Ju 88s of KG 66 - ebay photo find# 376

 

some nice KG 66 Ju 88s on ebay at the moment. ('archive being broken up following the death of a collector') Ju 88 S-3 with wing-mounted FuG 217

Below; identified as a T-3 coded '6M' from the 2. Staffel of Aufkl.Gr 11 - the last recce version of the Ju 88, only some 23 examples of this type were constructed by Henschel. FuG 101 beneath the port wing, FuG 217 on the upper wing. Camera ports visible. 

Go to AIMs site for decal options for some of these Ju 88s of KG 66. Link in the side panel, right. Thanks to John/Marc for ID info.

" Unsere Kondor, unser Pilot " - Fw 200 Condor KG 40 RK winner Jope and the sinking of the Empress of Britain

 KG 40 Fw 200 on an Atlantic-coast Flugplatz  'F8+EL'. 

Condor 'F8+DL' flown by Oblt Bernhard Jope and seen at Mérignac in late February 1941. Jope spent a short spell during early 1941 in Stavanger, flying several sorties against British convoys. Jope was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 30 December 1940 for his attack on 26 October 1940 on one of the biggest liners in the world at the time, the 42,500 ton "Empress of Britain" being used as a troopship and cargo vessel;

In his book on the Fw 200 Condor Jean-Louis Roba wrote;

" ..On 21 October, Major Edgar Petersen (Kommandeur of I./KG 40) was awarded the Ritterkreuz for his effective command. Another would soon be awarded when, on 26 October, a Fw 200 struck a blow against the Royal Navy, an episode that would forge the reputation of the Condor and prove to be a coup for the German propaganda organs. That day, Oblt Bernhard Jope's crew on patrol spotted an imposing-looking ship off the south-west coast of Ireland. Jope turned towards this potential target while his men went to their battle stations - the ship was the Canadian Pacific Airline luxury liner 'Empress of Britain', leased to the British Ministry of Transport. It had left Cape Town several days earlier and was approaching Liverpool, its destination. On board were some four hundred servicemen and twenty-three passengers, as well as seven hundred tonnes of various cargoes (including sugar). Relying on the ship's speed, British officials had neglected to provide an escort (which would probably have had difficulty keeping up). The ship was of very modern design and offered its passengers a high level of comfort (including a swimming pool, sumptuous Renaissance-style lounges and radio in the cabins). Jope wasted no time identifying his target as an enemy transport ship, dropped his bombs accurately while his machine gunners emptied magazine after magazine (there was only one bullet wound sustained on board!). As fire broke out in the ship's holds, Jope set course for Mérignac, the nose of his Condor having been damaged by return fire. As the Empress of Britain was quickly evacuated, there were few casualties. With the fires contained, the stricken liner was taken in tow but was finished off virtually the next day by a torpedo fired by U-32 (itself sunk two days later). This loss struck a chord with public opinion on both sides. The daily Völkischer Beobachter, the official organ of the NSDAP, even went so far as to write: "Das Schiff der Plutokraten schwimmt nicht mehr" (The ship of the plutocrats will sail no more). For this action, Jope was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 30 December 1940..."

Like many enthusiasts no doubt we are looking forward to Chandos Publications' forthcoming history of KG 40 due later this year. In the meantime the large volume on the Fw 200 authored by Michel Ledet and Jean-Louis Roba and published by Lela Presse is still available from the Lela Presse web site (320 pages, 600 photos, 28 Thierry Dekker artworks, only 55 euros). Given that the Classic Crecy tome on the Fw 200 costs a small fortune if you can find one, the Lela Presse book is a bargain!

Also on this blog;

Fw 200 Condor of the Fliegerstaffel des Führers - Adolf Hitler's visit to Finland, June 1942