[John Manrho]

I believe this is a more complex matter and we need to address it from several angles to come to the right conclusion. Let me share my thoughts how I look at this….

First, do these two picture`s belong to the location “Marshalling yard, S.E. of Naunheim”? The answer can be found in the combination of the presence of a Bf 109 “weisse 4”, a “weisse 6” (with black outline and green RVT Band) and the Fw 190 with markings <II + I of which the aft section can be seen in one of the pictures. Without a doubt these pictures are taken at Naunheim marshalling yards.

Which Naunheim is it? Well there are two losses in the A.I.2.(g) Report Serial No. 269 which give a clear indication;

• Fw 190A-8, 734392, 12./JG 11, lost 23.12.44. Ofw. Albert Holland was killed and last seen flying southeast of Lüttich. Not sure if he has a grave, but he must have crashed on German territory west of the Rhine.
• Bf 109G-14, 462912, 8./JG 2, lost 17.12.44. Gefr. Anton Brantner was killed near Weissenthurm (other sources say Raum Koblenz) and he is now buried at Kruft.

Both (and there are more losses in the list) confirm that the Naunheim in A.I.2.(g) Report Serial No. 269 is the Naunheim west of Münstermaifeld. This location must have been a collecting point for aircraft wreckage west of the Koblenz area.

Then we move forward to the “weisse 4”, Werknummer 785821, which clearly made a belly-landing and was recovered by the Germans.

In RL2-III-1170, page 30 & 31, there are three III./JG 6 losses mentioned for 18.12.1944, all without a location;

• Bf 109G-14, 784981, gelbe 2, III./JG 6, Uffz. Gerhard Döpke, vermisst
• Bf 109G-14, 784985, schwarze 1, III./JG 6, Uffz. Ernst Beiersdörfer, vermisst
• Bf 109G-14, 785821, weisse 4, III./JG 6, Fhr. Karl Jettner, vermisst

On 18.12.1944 III./JG 6 flew a mission in the Köln-Koblenz area, so the general area of these losses should be in that area. None of them are mentioned in the NVM, but unfortunately JG 6 NVM are known to be incomplete. However, we know that Döpke was later killed in January 1945 and Beiersdörfer in April 1945. Both still flew with JG 6 at that time. So it seems they bailed out of their a/c on 18.12.44 and returned to their unit.

Fhr. Karl Jettner is more difficult. I researched at every corner in the files of the WAST, VDK and the German Red Cross, but a pilot with that name does not exists. I also tried phonetic variants and there was no match either. I found one Karl Jettner, born 1925, but he was reported missing in November 1944 as a Panzergrenadier.

If we look at the NVM for Ofhr. Karl-Friedrich Fütterer, we note that he made an emergency landing near Weißenthurm after receiving hits in his cockpit. The damage was reported as 40% and he landed wounded in Lazarett Andernach. Handwritten it was added that he flew Bf 109G-6, Werknummer 18587.

After careful analysis I believe that with 99% certainty the loss of Jettner and Fütterer are the same. The RL-III-1170 files (Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt) reports are known to be full of errors concerning names, often misspelled. We also know that III./JG 6 flew only with G-14’s and a G-6 loss so late does not seem to be likely…..the location of the recovered 785821 matches with the location where Fütterer made his belly-landing (Note: also Brantner crashed near Weißenthurm and his a/c is also at Naunheim).

Concerning markings, we see that 785821 has no RVT-Band and no vertical III. Gruppe bar. Although I have considerable amount of photo material on JG 6, questions remain concerning their markings. First, we do know that RVT-bands were carried during Bodenplatte. We do not know when they exactly were applied. I have pictures of III./JG a/c with a III. Gruppe vertical bar, but they all come from the March-April 1945 timeframe. Of course I./JG 5 did not carry any bar and we simply do not know when III./JG 6 started to apply these. Was it right away in October 1944? Probably not.

So, finally, I believe 785821 is Ofhr. Karl Fütterer’s a/c…. I discussed this with Matti some time ago….actually he came up with the idea and I agreed.

Regards,

John