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Re: Bf 109G-6 WNr. 164 979
Hopefully the final notes to this interesting thread. It seems that at the end of June 1944 the situation both in Germany due to Normandy landing and in Finland due to the Russian strategic offensive at the Karelian Isthmus was at least confusing. RLM had signed with Finland a contract to supply Bf 109 G-6 aircraft fitted with DB 605 A-1 engine and those aircraft were flown from Insterburg airfield to Finland by Finnish pilots. One of the Finnish fighters very obviously was to be WNr. 164979 (NS+XQ) with standard engine 00201904. For some unknown reason the Finnish pilot received on 27 June 1944 another aircraft, WNr. 163979 with an AS-engine 00707759, which in Finland got registration MT-463. The Finnish Air Force pilots wondered at its performance and engine type, but because there was shortage of fighters, this plane was not returned as happened once before, when a Bf 109 with MW 50 –system was erroneously received and sent back.
In Finland, when aircraft data was written to the aircraft card, a typo was made in engine number, when it was written 00708859 instead of a correct one, 00707759.
Very probably JG 3 in the west was not very happy, when they received Bf 109 G-6 with A-1 engine to fight against high-flying B-17s and B-24s.
Learning of this case today is that you can never trust any document without confirming its content with a second source.
Please, have a look and the scan of the aircraft card and the transfer document of 164979, which Pentti Manninen found in the Finnish National Archives among other documents of the real MT-463.
Matti
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