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

Stukageschwader 77, summer 1940 - archive photo scan #25

 

" ..Zwischen den England-Einsätzen in Maltot, Caen. Die Rumpfbombe hängt schon. 1.Staffel St.G. 77..".  Pilot Fw. Knauer (left) and Bordfunker Uffz. Sellhorn.

Ju 87 B of 1./StG 77 bombed up and ready for another sortie against England. From the Sellhorn archive.

"..Wartungsarbeiten an der Ju 87 B bei der 1. Staffel in Maltot.."

Click here for all images scanned/copied exclusively from a number of archives/collections for this blog. Click on the images to view large.

And published in October 2023 and still available from Lela Presse, two volumes entitled "Stukas in the Blitzkrieg" by Marc Hazard. These are 96-page A-4 soft covers filled with artworks and photos. French text. Vol I covers Poland and Scandinavia, while Vol II deals with the campaign in the West, May-June 1940. Only 13 euros per volume. Top quality and recommended by this blog! To order, go here. English spoken.

JG 54 Friedrich -archive photo scan #24

 

From the same sequence as the well-known Mütherich and Pöhs Ritterkreuz presentation series. Generaloberst Keller of Luftflotte 1 who made the presentation in August 1941 is seen (left) in conversation with Maj. Trautloft. The II./JG 54 Friedrich in the background  -  possibly 'black 1'- was apparently not the aircraft flown by the Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 54, since Mütherich reportedly flew 'black 10' and was pictured leaning on the horizontal stabiliser of that machine when awarded his RK. According to one author 'black 1' was being flown by Richard Hausmann, StaKa of 8./JG 54. Mütherich was shot down and killed on 9 September 1941. Click on the image for  a 'wide-screen' view. 

Dora-9 im Einsatz - Fw 190 D-9 in service with III./JG 54 -ebay photo find #375

 

The dispersal of the Peter Petrick archive continues apace via Oliver Rogge's ebay auction pages (Kurmark Antik). While published in many books that feature the D-9 (since Lorant's 'Focke Wulf Fw 190' first appeared in the early 1980s) this selection features one or two 'new' images. Two of my purchases from Oliver's offers have just arrived and they are pretty decent quality - in fact I'm told they are prints from Ungar's original negatives.

The Fw 190 D-9 entered service with III. Gruppe of JG 54 'Grünherz' during October 1944 at Achmer (12. Staffel) and Hesepe (9. Staffel), where they were deployed to cover Me 262 Kommando Nowotny 'Turbos'. While the first Doras in service undoubtedly piqued the interest of their pilots, according to Fw. Fritz Ungar of 9./ JG 54,  the sole reason for this picture series was to record the Staffel fox terrier mascot 'Struppi' for posterity. There is unfortunately no complete view of either "White 2" or "White 3". "White 2" was WNr. 210015 which was lost over Hesepe on 15 October 1944 after being shot down by 83FS T'bolts. Lt. Fritz Bartak  was wounded but managed to bail out.

Below; another view of 'Struppi', this time in the cockpit of  9./JG 54's 'white 3' with Fritz Ungar. "White 3" was the eighth series production machine (Wnr. 210008). Note the reinforcing strip required by the installation of the Jumo 213 to the 190 fuselage.

'Struppi'  enjoying the attention of the mechanics of 9./JG 54 perched on the horizontal stabiliser of  "White 3". Note the jack/support under the rear fuselage keeping the tail wheel just off the ground.  The aircraft finish again appears highly polished. Note that 'white 2' and 'white 3' have different style fuselage Balkenkreuze..

Lehrgeschwader 1 Junkers Ju 88 - archive photo scan #23

 

During May 1941, Gruppen of LG 1 were supporting the DAK in north Africa and then flying against shipping around Crete. During this period they were based in Krumovo, Bulgaria and then Eleusis, Greece.  'L1+AH' was lost on August 5, 1941 over Egypt. Note the yellow rudder and the 1000 kg bombs, almost certainly destined to be dropped on shipping. Click on the image to view in 'wide-screen' mode.

Loss data via Peter Taghon's LG 1 history;

1./LG 1. Ju 88 A-5 'L1+AH' (WNr 6220). 100%. Combat over Ismaïlia. Fw Erich Mager (FF), Fw Otto Mann (B), Fw Robert Daig (BF) and Ofw Fritz Kitzelmann (M) killed.

Me 410 A-1/A-2 U2/U4 fixed forward firing armament configuration

Me 410 A-1 and A-2 fixed forward-firing armament (starre Schusswaffen) comprised two MG 17 machine guns (ea with 1000 rounds ) and two MG 151 20 mm cannon (ea with 350 shells). Additional MG 151 (with 400 shells) or two Mk 103 ( ea with 100 shells)  and of course the larger BK 5 cannon (A-1/U4, 22 shells) could be mounted in the bomb bay. In the case of the MGs spent ammunition casings/belt links are ejected downwards and out. These are represented on the new Airfix kit by two small gaps near the wing roots  - do not fill them. 

Note the blast tubes/forward vision slots underneath the cockpit floor/pilot's seat. Both ammunition boxes sit approx behind the seat, one in front of the other - see diagrams below. The two trays connecting to the weapon and feeding out into the open air are marked by the red arrows.  In the next images there are exterior views of the chute openings. Note also the 'cut-out' in the bomb bay doors - the ejector openings for the weapons packs fitted into the bomb bay

 overview of the MK 103 installed in the bomb bay (below, empty) 

Matt at 'Model Minutes' covers this neatly in his recent YT build. Thanks Matt!

Uffz. Karl Richter 8./JG 77 - archive photo scan #22

 

Uffz. Karl Richter of 8./JG 77 seen in Mizil, Romania during April 1944. Perched on some mortar shells destined for the rocket launchers toted by the Bf 109s of his Staffel, he is proudly sporting his recently awarded EK II for bringing down an American bomber. He would be seriously injured in combat on April 21, 1944, just days after this photo was taken. Note yellow fuselage band and drop tank alongside the mortar shells. Photo previously published in "La Chasse de jour allemande en Roumanie " by Jean-Louis Roba (Bucharest, 1994)

special weapons for the Fw 190 (1) - ebay photo find # 375

 

The General der Jagdflieger looks on dubiously as he is shown the SG 'Harfe' - unguided 20 mm missile launchers mounted in the rear fuselage on both sides of a Fw 190 - during a visit to Jagdgruppe 10 in Parchim during November 1944. At least one prototype machine had such armament as here presented to Galland.