Origin of 2 Bücker Bu-181 Bestmann's

[Thermal]

Not sure if this belong here but here goes;

I friend of mine who normally collects old WW2 vehicles was offered 2 wrecks of Bücker Bu 181 Bestmann aircraft.

(The Bu-181 was a trainer aircraft and was extensively used by the Luftwaffe with around 2750 built during the war.)

Both A/C are in bad shape but my friend still wants to see if he can restore them. But he needs to know how legit these wrecks are. There are still many license built Bu-181 around but not many that were actually in Germany. The paint has faded but does seem to indicate they are both German but this could be fake of course.

He sent me some details of the serial plate.

The plate reads:
Gerät Nr: 800 B1 (so I assume it is a B-1 model, not sure what the 800 means)
Werk Nr 021 / 1077 (the " / " could also be a letter or number, its very faded)
Hersteller: JAG

As far as I can see Bu-181's were only made by Bücker, Fokker in Holland and Zlin in the Czech Republic (during the war). Can anyone explain the name JAG as manufacturer?

And are there also Bu-181 production lists available online? I can not seem to fin any. Can anyone help with the origin of this specific A/C?


Thanks for your help.

T.

[S Sheflin]

Hersteller jag = Cochius, Max GmbH, Berlin SW 68, Alexandrinenstr. 35 [b].
Apparently they were makers of pumps.
Respectfully,
Steve Sheflin

[Thermal]

Thank you. So I guess this serial plate is not from the aircraft itself?

[paulmcmillan]

It is possible that the serial number is from the Aircraft - it is just that it is from a part of the aircraft (a pump of some type) rather than the main airframe plate

[Thermal]

Yes sorry that is also what I meant. I know the plate came from the aircraft but it apparently is not the plate for the aircraft frame. Where would this aircraft frame serial plate be located on a Bu-181?

[richdlc]

a book that might help you is 'Fascination Bucker Aircraft' by Rieger & Rieger. It lists what seems to be every Bu-181 ever built - at least 60 pages with hundreds of entries. Unfortunately the werknummer you have given doesn't seem to correspond to any particular style listed in the book. Could you post a photo of the data plate?

I would also suggest that 'Die Bücker-Flugzeuge' by Erwin König has the data you need, but I can't easily check at the moment, and the copies of these books that I have are slated to be auctioned off in my monthly e-Bay sales soon... If you get back to me quickly I can check these books before they go

[Thermal]

@richdlc Thank you for the idea for the book. As for the plates

he found another plate on the frame:





This is the one I mentioned earlier:

[Merlin]

The first photo shows the main plate of the aircraft: WNr. 110258 manufactured at Bücker Rangsdorf around September 1943 and flown as SJ+SD by FFS A 12 at Prenzlau during spring and summer 1944. I have no later history of that aircraft.

[richdlc]

agree with Gerhard, Bu-181 B-1, W.Nr. 110258, with FFS A12 from April 1944 to July 1944 according to the Rieger & Rieger book

[richdlc]

If you could find the werknummer plate for the other aircraft I or someone else could tell you all about it