Which airfield?
 

Hi there Gang,

I just chanced on an unknown to me pic of a German airfield, taken sometimes in the summer of '45. Although I'm sure I saw already some other pics from this particular airfield and its heap of Ju 88 G-1's and Bf 110 G-4's, it is to my knowledge not yet identified:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/espress...57633240192623

The only identifiable machine is Bf 110 G-4 "G9+BT", from 9./NJG 1. The last airfields from which III./NJG 1 operated were Husum, Störmede and Krefeld. Any base for ID'eing this particular airfield?

Thanks in advance
Marc

Re: Which airfield?
 

Hi Marc,

I believe this was taken at Fritzlar.

Steve Sheflin

Re: Which airfield?
 

Yep, that's Fritzlar. Seemingly every single American soldier took snapshots at this base ;)

Re: Which airfield?
 

Marc,

I concur with Steve's opinion that this picture was taken at Fritzlar. That particular Bf 110, coded G9+BT, clearly shows Werk-Nr. 180535 on yet another photograph from a different angle that is published in the book "Flieger über Fulda, Schwalm und Eder" (Konrad Rudolph) on page 388.

Best Regards
Norbert

Re: Which airfield?
 

Steve, Christian and Norbert,

Many many thanks for identifying this location! It also solve one of my pendant Bf 109 G-10 "location unknown";-)).

Cheers and thanks
Marc

Re: Which airfield?
 

Out of interest, is the location positively identified as the main Fritzlar airfield?

The reason I ask is because on 24 March 1945, III./NJG1 had 27 Bf110s and one Ju88 at Fritzlar-Nord, which was a few kilometres NNE of the main airfield.

The Ju88G-1 seen immediately behind G9+BT is W.Nr. 714401, which was previously 3C+FN of II./NJG4. This G-1 was collected from Gelsenkirchen by II./NJG4 in late January 1945, but struck off strength on 26 February 1945, when transferred to the "Air Ministry Works Inspectorate".

Cheers

Rod

Re: Which airfield?
 

Hello Rod,

I do agree with your assumption, also because the main Fritzlar airfield was in a flat area, whereas the photo shows a small village on a hill near the place where these wrecks have been photographed. Therefore, Fritzlar-Nord (must look for the exact spot) with nearby hills seems more likely.

Best regards, Marcel

Re: Which airfield?
 

Hi Marcel,

thanks for the reply.

I do know for sure that the 9th Armored Division captured the main Fritzlar airfield on the afternoon of 30 March 1945, but the Air Technical Intelligence report for Fritzlar doesn't mention the presence of any captured Ju88s, as seen in photos. Although III./NJG1 had aircraft at Fritzlar-Nord, many were at the main airfield on 30 March.

As you point out there are many Fritzlar photos showing the very flat airfield area, but the photo in this thread shows hilly terrain. Thus, I was wondering if some photos actual show Fritzlar-Nord.

Cheers

Rod

Re: Which airfield?
 

This is stated as Fritzlar, with hills in the background. P-47s from 404 FG.

https://www.usarmygermany.com/Commun...1945%20600.jpg

Re: Which airfield?
 

Thanks Kutscha,

I've had a look again at the photo from the first post of the thread, and compared it with what appears to be an even earlier photo. In both photos, the Grauen Turm in Fritzlar is visible (i.e. the tower-like object in the photo from the first post), and in the second photo the Dom St. Peter in Fritzlar is also visible.

From what I can gather:

1. the camera is facing a north to north-north-west direction, and it is at the main Fritzlar airfield

2. other versions of the scene shown in the photo from the first post indicate that the camera is positioned right beside a paved road

3. there are no airfield structures visible between the aircraft and Fritzlar town in the background.

I now think the photos with Bf110 G9+BT show aircraft dispersed either alongside the western/north-western perimeter of the airfield or possibly outside of that perimeter, possibly between the airfield and the Eder river.

Cheers

Rod

Re: Which airfield?
 

Hi, guys.
It is in fact Fritzlar airfield and definitely not a Fritzlar Nord dummy variant.
When you have a look at the Grauer Turm - the highest point of the tower is slightly off centre to the left hand side. The cathedral - Fritzlarer Dom has two towers on the left and a small one on the right. The photographs we know are not mirrored because the Verbandskennzeichen (German plural) can be read normally.

When you draw a straight line through both towers of the Fritzlarer Dom - you'll get a line which has a 175º direction. When looking back - you'll have to turn around, which is a 355º direction - a northerly direction - which is the direction you would be looking in when you were at Fritzlar main airfield as Rod states...

The problem with the aircraft in question is that they have been moved around over time and these aircraft have been tampered with a lot - pieces of these aircraft disappeared (Motorenverkleidung of D5+KT, e.g.) and the direction in which these aircraft were parked - changed too... Various photographs can be found in the internet to back up this statement. But... in all of these pictures the background (read: the position of both Grauer Turm and Fritzlarer Dom) does not change... And you'll see the highest point of the Grauer Turm a bit to the left as well - compared to the rest of the building...

I agree with Rod that the aircraft were parked on the northern side of Fritzlar airfield...

With kind regards,
Piet Bouma
The Netherlands

Re: Which airfield?
 

Hi Piet.

thanks for the comments.

While the photo at the start of the thread is definitely at the main Fritzlar airfield, I am not convinced that all of the photos in circulation are neccessarily at the main airfield.

As mentioned, III./NJG1 had night fighters at Fritzlar-Nord (the landing ground, not the dummy airfield) throughout March 1945, and ULTRA also shows that Luftwaffe Reich ordered the installation of FuG.218 into 20 Bf110s in mid-February, with the work to be carried out by the "Workshop Fritzlar North".. Having said that, the night fighters could have transferred to the main airfield just prior to the evacuation in late March 1945, but many of the photos don't provide enough background detail to positively identify locations.

And, of course, there is the discrepancy between the Air Technical Intelligence report for Fritzlar airfield compared to the photo evidence, i.e. no Ju88s mentioned in the former, but plenty in the photographic evidence.

Cheers

Rod