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Old 3rd August 2013, 23:41
Larry Hickey Larry Hickey is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Boulder, Colorado USA
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Larry Hickey
Re: Seeking photos and ultimate fate of 2./JGr152 Bf109D-1 flown by Gefr A. Hesselbach SD & POW on the German-French border near Sarreguemines on 24.0

Hello,

With his posting above, Peter Cornwell has confirmed that there will be no photos of a force-laned Bf109D-1 "Red 9," from 2./JGr152 (ex 2./ZG52). Since the pilot parachuted the plane would have been smashed to pieces. As I suspected, part of our information was confused with the intact Bf109E-1 of 2./JG51, "Red 9" that landed intact in France on 28.09.39, and which disappeared in Britain (from available records) before it could be tested. Since both planes carried the a/c number, "Red 9," can it be determined where the information on the 2./JGr152 a/c "Red 9," comes from? If the plane was smashed to pieces, was sufficient wreckage found to determine this? Or did this come from the interrogation of the captured pilot? Who knows this? I want to be sure that we still aren't confusing the markings of these two aircraft.

Second, I'm still looking for additional photos of the a/c of Lt. Rosenkranz, "Yellow 12," of 3./JGr152, that was shot down intact near Obergailbach France, on 24 Sept 1939. I particularly need a photo of the markings carried on the prop spinner, as this has never been documented or illustrated for this unit during 1939. There have to be more than the one known photo of the side of the a/c showing only the "Yelllow 12" in existence somewhere, probably in some French collection. A crashed German fighter at this period of the war was a sensational event, and surely was well photographed. I've been through the ECPA-D and SH-D photo collections in Paris and haven't yet located anything further on this a/c.

There were also two other Bf109D-1s from 3./JGr152 that made good belly landings in Germany following this air battle, one near Weilerbach with Lt. Horst Elstermann, and another near Bingen, with Lt. Hartmann Grasser. Both pilots were unhurt. It seems likely that photos exist of one or more of these a/c in some local German collections, but they would only be identifiables by their yellow a/c numbers with thin black outlines. Neither a/c would have carried any unit insignias.

I know that both of these are very tough questions, but I'm hoping that someone out there, probably in France or Germany, can come up with some further information or photos.

Thanx for your help.

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator
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Larry Hickey
Eagles Over Europe Project Coordinator
http://airwar-worldwar2.com
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