[Andre Stewart]

Hi focusfocus,

Referring to your photo of a Bf 110 rudder with two claims

7/9/39 1 polish
15/4/40 1 br

I./ZG1 scored 3 victories on 7 Sep 1939, these being claimed by Oblt Ehle, Oblt Molders and Lt Wilhelm Spies. And since we know that both Ehle and Spies had 2 claims in Poland, the only one with 1 claim on 7 Sep must be Oblt Molders.

We also know that Molders' claim on 7 Sep is his first, as he himself mentions it in the old book "Bf 110 At War" by Armand van Ishoven. So my own 'theory' for this rudder is that he made another [previously unknown] claim on 15 Apr 1940, but this was not confirmed. But I have no way to validate this.

Uffz Helmut Eberlein is not listed as one of the pilots with Polish claims. He had one other claim on 14 May but was then KIA on 15 May 1940.

So from what I know --

- Photo no.1 = Molders
- Photo no.2 = unknown
- Photo no.3 = unknown but very likely a pilot in II./ZG1
- Photo nos. 4 and 5 = already identified as Falck and Spies respectively.

Can you attach a scan of Photo no.2, or give me a url where I can find it? I ask 'cos I've not seen this particular rudder before and it's a mystery I'd like to investigate. Thank you.


Hi Johannes,

Regarding your question on roundels, the black and white films of that time generally showed red as a darker shade than blue, so in close ups or clear photos one usually can distinguish between the British and French roundels, though in distant or poor quality pictures this is pretty difficult to do. To cite one example, though not for a ZG pilot -- recently eBay sold a photo of Wolfgang Lippert's rudder [attached here]. If you zoom in on those dates that can be seen, and compare them with the types in Woods' lists, you'll find that the rudder clearly differentiates between the French and British types.

And I don't think the ZG pilots were 'not accurate' in their claiming -- theirs is simply a case of records being lost or not surviving the war. ZG2 is a good example -- after they were disbanded end Sept 1940, the unit made a short re-appearance for about 6 months in 1942, then disappeared altogether. No unit means no claims, so no documents to be micro-filmed! But that does not mean there were no aces, Eduard Tratt being a good example.

rgds
andre