200th sortie of 4./Auflkl.Gr.33 Bf 110 C/D - daily ebay photo find #143

" Our boss Lt. Koehler " celebrating the completion of the 200th sortie of 4./Auflkl.Gr.33 - a recce unit formed in December 1940 coded H8. " Fabelhaft war der 200 sagte der Chef.."

"Rosch in 'Luftwaffe codes' remarks that the use of H8 code was exclusively for 4./33, since the rest of the unit used 8H+. Unknown location in Russia during 1941..note the worn fuselage theatre band under the Balkenkreuz in the second and third images..click on the images to view large..

Above; pre-sortie preparations and below, the return

 Below; seen prior to a flight back to Germany. Note the nose air intake of the Bf 110 E variant below.

Photo selection currently on offer here

Avions 'hors série' no 40 - " French aircraft in German colours " Volume 1 by Philippe Rico

New from Lela Presse, 112 pages, 250 photos, 30 artworks, French text. PDF extract on the Lela Presse website here

C 445 A-1 "SK+XR" WNr.467 der Flugbereitschaft des RLM, August 1941 currently on offer via Michael Meyer here
Photo selection of Goelands in German colours on this blog here

Gruppenkommandeur II./ NJG 3 Hptm Günther Radusch - daily Ebay photo find #142

Me 110 E of the Stab II./NJG 3 seen here probably during the early summer of 1943 in Schleswig. Warte are working on the machine assigned to the Gruppenkommandeur Hptm Günther Radusch - RK on 29 August 1943 and EL on 6 April 1944, victory total 65 Luftsiege, last office Kommodore of NJG 3. Seated on the cockpit sill observing the work of the mechanics is his Bordschütze/Bordmechaniker Ofw. Alfons Hundschell, the third member of Radusch's crew alongside his long-time BF Ofw. Erich Arndt.

Currently on offer at Michael Meyer's Ebay sales here

Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann ZG 1 Me 110 G Lippspringe - daily Ebay photo find # 141

Above; Bf 110 G-2 of 1./ZG 1 seen in Bad Lippspringe during August/September 1943 equipped with a BK 3,7 cm belly cannon. Left is Flugzeugführer Lt. Manfred Thewes, later Staffelkapitän 1./ZG 26 and then 1./JG 6 in the Reichsverteidigung. Next to him five victory ace Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann KIA on 08 October 1943 in combat with US Viermots 20 km east of of the Dümmersee at the controls of Bf 110 G-2 "S9+AH" WNr.120047.

Below; Me 110 G-2 "S9+.H" der 1./ZG 1. Fourth from the right with cap is Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann on the return of Bordfunker Fw Schieder from his 250th Feindflug seen in summer 1943 probably in Ledna. To his left on the sidecar is Lt. Manfred Thewes

Below; Me 110 F/G of 1./ZG1, right Lt. Manfred Thewes and on the left Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann. Poltawa, March 1943.

Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann being feted after his 250th combat sortie, summer 1943, probably in Ledna, his 1./ ZG 1 Me 110 G-2 "S9+.H". He had been awarded the DKiG (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 4 June 1943.

 Above; pilots of 1./ZG 1 in Bad Lippspinge in August/September 1943 behind Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann. After his death in combat his replacement as StaKa 1./ ZG 1 was Oblt. Peter Jenne

More images of Rossmann and ZG 1 in Russia on this blog here

 Me 110 G-2 of 1./ZG 1 in Bad Lippspringe in August/September 1943. Lt. Classen sporting the emblem of I./SKG 210 embroidered on his Fliegerkombi  (flight suit)

Below; Lt. Manfred Thewes in the cockpit of a Me 110 D of I./ZG 1, Russia 1942.

Michael Meyer's latest Ebay sales here

Bf 110 G-4 Lichtenstein Nachtjäger Hirschgeweih - daily Ebay photo find #140

A nice set of Nachtjagd images - Bf 110 G-4 with an unusual camouflage mottle finish; the Farbton 76 appears haphazardly sprayed over the 74/75. In the second image note the non-standard nose cannon. Thanks to Tomas for the link. Click to view large

Me 110 G-4 Nachtjäger mit der neusten Lichtenstein Radaranlage SN - 2 mit FUG 220 (Hirschgeweih). These images are available via this Ebay seller

Fw. Adolf Kalkum WNr.9659, "schwarze 4" of 8./JG 53 - daily Ebay photo find #139

Bf 109 F "Black 4" 11./JG51 Lt Schramm North of Smolensk 22 or 23 vics.... or not

" ... looks like Fw. Adolf Kalkum's WNr.9659, "schwarze 4" of 8./JG 53, with their typical broad Rumpfband and short-ish III Gruppe Balken. Ref. B.A.Nr.283-607-12, 13, 14, 17. Schramm, in his light-colored jacket, appears in three of the photos. But, as Montaigne asked, "Que sais-je? "

George Morrison on Franck Benoiton's Bf 109 from Anton to Toni FB page here


http://www.ebay.de/itm/Original-Fotoalbum-2-WK-Wehrmacht-Rusland-WW2-german-photo-album-Russia-/331719724138?hash=item4d3c094c6a%3Ag%3ANW8AAOSwbdpWWgug

CJE tire sa révérence - Aérojournal 'special issue' Fw 190 Jabos

New in French newsagents and hypermarkets - a top quality 'special' monograph devoted to Fw 190 Jabos from Christian-Jacques Ehrengardt (French-language text) which includes many previously unseen archive images from the ECPA-D in Paris.

The Aérojournal Facebook page recently announced founding editor Christian-Jacques Ehrengardt's impending 'retirement' here

The first Aérojournal magazine appeared in 1972, a 24-page quarterly on sale at a few select retailers in Paris. Back then Chris was one of the first to publish German photos from the ECPA-D archive in Paris. He wrote, produced and distributed the magazine virtually single-handed. His early titles featured 'specials' devoted to exotica such as Luftwaffe aces. Some twenty issues later, family and work concerns put a stop to the production of Aérojournal until 1996, when the title was resurrected as a 'real' bimonthly title available in newsagents throughout France. Some 48 issues were published - along with eleven 'special' issues before the 'Clostermann' legal case all but finished off the title. Then followed six issues of 'Dogfight' before Caraktère Editions exhumed the title and 'demumified' (in his own words) the founding editor for a fourth No. 1 of Aérojournal!

The current issue - No. 50.- is the 124th to carry the title 'Aérojournal' - and features plenty of Luftwaffe content including a 26-page feature on Luftwaffe heavy weapons written by Arno Dill (Jean-Bernard Frappé)

HS no. 19 from Aérojournal - a combat history of the Fw 190 A

A word of praise here too for the magnificent Jean-Marie Guillou artwork. Worth the price of admission alone

CJE's latest and possibly  last  work, the Aérojournal 'Hors-Série' devoted to Fw 190 Jabos currently on French newsstands - the second of two special issues on the Fw 190 - continues in the vein of the first German-oriented issues of Aérojournal with a marvellous selection of French archive images of Eastern Front Schlacht Fw 190s. These - for the most part unseen - ECPA-D images still have the ability to surprise and delight and are of a quality which you just don't see in your average UK, US or even German-language titles. So thanks for that CJE - best of luck for the future and any Luftwaffe enthusiasts reading this should go here to order their copy