I went back through my files on Friedrich Tober to see if I have overlooked something, and sure enough I did:
This is an excerpt of Tober's flight log. And sure enough, on 24 March 1944 Tober made an emergency landing outside of Erfurt-Bindersleben airfield as a result of engine failure and enemy fire! This seems to match the photos of (assumed) 4R+AS a lot more and a more logical time frame for the Lichtenstein SN-2 radar. Note also the tactics of that night's flight: guided hunt ("Tame Boar").
The scenery near Erfurt-Bindersleben is indeed very rural, with large open fields. It's nearly as flat as Holland though, but looking at the photo from the In Action book more closely, there actually appears to be a shallow hill in the background.
So could this then be the actual date of the photo? (next day 25 March 1944 most likely)
Does anyone know of any losses for NJG 2 for 24 March 1944?
And in all fairness, the In Action book never linked the photo of Tober's crashlanding to Tober's crash on 30 January. Not sure where this link originates from but it's clear that the winter of 1944 was an interesting one for Herr Tober (who, by the way, is still alive, I believe). And it also suggests Ed was right that they didn't send a Lichtenstein SN-2 equipped fighter on a daytime hunt. Hopefully this ghost hunt will produce some answers eventually!
