Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

Gentlemen,

Bf 109 G-10, 491404 - Does anyone know the fate of this plane or can at least confirm its affiliation with III./JG 6?

Source is a photo from Jet&Prop Foto-Archiv 10 (I think)

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

WNr.491404 was with the II./JG 11 Bruchlandung 23.March 1945 at Strausberg due to pilot error (damaged 15%) according to Gen.Qu.6.Abt.-BA-MA Signatur RL 2 III/1199, p.95; Prien & Rodeike’s JG 1 & 11, III, p.1647 states 22.March.

GRM

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

Thanks for the info! And this is interesting - so no III./JG 6. Perhaps 491404 was relegated to II./JG 11 after it served with JG 6 - or the plane in the photo isn't actually 491404. I have never seen the last digit of its Werknummer anyway. Could "9+I" be a different plane from the 49140x range?

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

You're welcome.

As you probably know, records from this period are fragmentary. I have:

491404 - II/JG 11, described in my reply.
491405 - II/JG 77, lost 14.Jan. 1945
491407 - 3º/I.Gr.C, coded "3-5" (this is an RSI unit)
491409 - 2º/I Gr.C, coded "2-4"

Thus you can see plenty of "holes" in this series of machines; others may have more. Research is ongoing.

Good luck in your hunt, GRM

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

I have a better picture and this is 491404 of III./JG 6. Probably the II./JG 11 is incorrect in RL2-III-1199/95 although it is clearly mentioned there as 491404 too.....maybe a clerical error???

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

Clerical error(s)? We see them with regularity; transposed Werknummern, misspelled names, OMISSIONS of known incidents, etc. One of the benefits of sorting (Bf 109) 30,000 records is a 'sore thumb' sticks out plainly, and sometimes can be corrected by looking at the others in a series.

GRM

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

Thanks George for the additional info and John for the visual confirmation - Guess my question for the fate of this plane remains a tough one to answer. John - why is it certain that 9+I belonged to III./JG 6? Is this a photo from an album or from a former unit member?

Cheers,
Christian

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

Christian,

Former unit member.

John

Re: Story of Bf 109 G-10 491404 ?
 

I see, thanks for clarification! :)