Ju 88 1./Aufklärungsgruppe 121, Fw 189 Aufklärer, NAG 13 Fw 190s - ebay photo find #315

Ju 88 coded '7A + EM' of 1./Aufklärungsgruppe 121 with rudder damage caused by a so-called Taran Rammstoss or deliberate ramming - the rudder clearly shows the wing profile of the Russian machine that hit it..Sestschinskaja August 1943. The lower image shows a large section of the wing skinning torn off by the Russian fighters fire...

Above; Ju 88 Flugzeug Beladung auf Flughafen Charkow Ukraine 1943 3.(F)/Ob.d.L

Piloten vor Arado Ar. 240 Prototyp Flugzeug in Russland ! 3.(F)/Ob.d.L.

..the JG 27 and 53 photos currently offered by kuestenvolk-1 on eBay are actually some more very nice sharp and clear images on offer, all hitherto unpublished, from this seller who I have not noticed before. Of particular interest are the shots showing the aircraft of Hptm. Erich Gerlitz as GrKdr. II./JG 27 ( complete with victory tally ) and Hptm. Erhard Braune, GrKdr. III./JG 27, both taken in Sicily in early 1942.

" die Fw 189 Uhu der 1.(H).Aufkl.Gr.21 NAG 9, 1/21, zurück vom 2000sten Feindflug" - ebay photo find #253

Focke Wulf Fw 189 "Uhu" of 1.(H).Aufkl.Gr.21 on successful return from 2000th combat flight of Nahaufklärungsgruppe 9 seen on the airfield at Kertsch, Krim, 1943.

"Besatzung Oblt. Lüders, Fw. Has, Fw. Eickel, 1./21"

http://stores.ebay.de/crainsmilitaria

Luftflotte West no 5 February 1943- Fw 189 Aufklärer im Osten

JG 26 Eichenlaubsträger Major Priller in front of his FW 190 details his latest combat engagement to his fellow pilots; photo by PK reporter/war correspondent Doege.

Recently acquired a selection of these little 16-page publications via wartimepress.com.(link below) 'Luftflotte West' was a weekly and then monthly Zeitschrift or magazine for Luftflotte 3 published 1941-44 and intended for Luftwaffe personnel of Luftflotte 3 based in German-occupied areas of Northern France, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Vichy France. In this particular issue there is little of great interest for the blog, aside from a brief look at the work of Fw 189 "Aufklärer im Osten". Given the date this edition appeared, most of the text unsurprisingly refers to the 'heroic' defeat of 6.Armee at Stalingrad and plays up Germany's role as bulkwark against the Eastern (Mongolian) hordes; " Deutschland - Bollwerk Europas gegen den Osten ". Elsewhere a two-page travelogue about the Russian people describes a journey made by train and aircraft out to the Front in the East waxing lyrical about the great vastness and open space of the Steppe ; " Ich habe vergessen wie vielgestaltig, wie frei, wie lebendig Russland war.."  This edition also featured a full one page illustration given over to Arno Breker's work " Kameraden".

" ..every day in the East our Aufklärer face new tasks and challenges ....the Fw 189 - a weapon feared by the enemy because of its high speed, superior maneuverability and heavy armament....here the recce aircraft is at altitude, the crew have put oxygen masks on. While the pilot orbits enemy positions, the observer relays every move and deployment to our own troops on the ground..the type's twin boom configuration enables the three-man crew to be housed in a fully-glazed central nacelle affording all-round visibility.."

wartime press offers PDF issues of this and other German wartime publications
http://www.wartimepress.com/epier.asp

Focke Wulf Fw 189 & Bf 109 G Nahaufklärungsstaffel - daily ebay photo find #175

According to seller Heiko Fuchs the following images depict Nahaufklärer FW 189 Uhu of Aufklärungsstaffel 4.(H) 11 somewhere in the East. They are from the album of one of the unit's former pilots Heinz Haßler who was a recce pilot - Aufklärungsflieger - with Nahaufklärungsstaffel 4./H./11 and who also flew Bf 109s with 2.Tannenberg-Staffel  (on this blog here) before being KIA in Italy.

More from this 2.Tannenberg-Staffel sequence on this blog here
Below; the Staffel celebrates 1000 sorties. On offer here

Nahaufklärungsstaffel 1.(H)/11 photo album campaign in Poland and the West - Henschel Hs 126, Fw 189

Super album of some 670 photos currently at 1,600 euros (52 bids) and two days left to go, see link below;

Nahaufklärungsstaffel 1.(H)/11 was established on 1. November 1938 in Großenhain and underwent its baptism of fire in the Polish campaign (Polen Feldzug) under Staffelkapitän, Hptm. Kurt Friese (see signature above). In the winter of 1939/40 the Staffel moved to the Eitel region and flew in support of  Rommel's 7. Pz. The campaign in the West took 1.(H)Pz/11 under their new Staffelkapitän, Hptm. Richard Heuser all the way down to Bordeaux. With 'Sealion' then cancelled the unit moved to winter quarters at Feldflugplatz Moiselles, 16 km NNW of Paris. Under Staffelführer Oblt. Karl Euler the Staffel was reorganised with two new Staffeln created. On 10 January 1941 the new Staffelkapitäne Oblt. Jobst Zibell   und Oblt. Ludwig v. Wittich took command with the Staffel becoming from 12 January 1941 :
1.(H)Pz/11 Oblt. Zibell in Moiselles
5.(H)Pz/11 Oblt. v. Wittich in Dijon
6.(H)Pz/11 Oblt. Fleischmann in Dijon

The emblem of 5. Staffel was introduced by v. Wittich in February 1941 - der rote Teufelskopf or red devil's head - although adapted with a monocle as a representation of the unit's recce mission. The unit flew the Hs 126 in the East and converted to the Fw 189 during February 1942 at Stalino and on 29 March 1943 flew its 1000th sortie..(info via www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de)

Currently on offer here

If you missed it, a small selection of the images follow here;