Need ID of this Bf110 with 10 victory tabs

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Can anyone ID this Bf110, which seller describes as a nightfighter with W.Nr. 2638 and the code ??+FM. It carries 10 victory tabs.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Foto-Me-110-N...item43b35deb00

This is probably outside the limits of the EoE Project (31.12.40), but I want to be sure before I ignore it.

Who can help ID this plane?

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

[Khorat]

2638 find 2 times in our Database:

24.09.1940 4./ZG76 "Bruchlandung infolge Jägerbeschuß" Abbevile -Drucat damage 10%
Pilot not given WOp Uffz. Kühn, Otto WIA

02.10.1941 22./So.St.(GS) near Orscha "Absturz infolge Flakbeschuß" damage 100%
Fw. Marks.- KIA Uffz. Hellmuth, Wilhelm DOW

both times no markings.

khorat
Michael Balss

[Andreas Brekken]

Hi.

Markings fit 4./ZG 76

Individual aircraft letter White F - (1., 4., 7. etc Staffel before Gruppe expansions)

Staffel letter M = 4. Staffel

My first bet would be that this is a 4./ZG 76 aircraft from the autumn 1940 - as indicated by the September 1940 incident also.

Regards,
Andreas B

[Merlin]

Larry,

this seems to be the aircraft of Oblt. Walter Borchers, who had achieved his 10th victory an 11.Sep.40. All other pilots of 4./ZG 76 were less successfull until that date.

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

The W.Nr. and the "FM" of the code are not in dispute, but what bothers me about this image is the absence of any shark's mouth design on the nose. I suppose that this could be a newly assigned a/c that in the heat of operations during the Battle of Britain had not yet had this applied.

I have another series of photos of a fairly badly crashed M8+FM, WNr.3129, a C-2 that I think crashed near Zisserheim Germany on 12.5.40, Lt. Otto Krause killed. There would have probably have had to have been another replacement lost between then and this a/c to explain the absence of a shark's mouth nose on this a/c. WNr. 2638 was manufactured clear back in Nov., 1939, so I'm wondering how this gets to be a newly assigned a/c to a top ace of the time in Sept., 1940.

Anybody have any opinion about all this?

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

[John Vasco]

Larry,
Any number of reasons. More a/c than pilots? Clapped out engines (Rudolf Franke & Wilhelm Schaefer had interesting tales to tell about that!), so not used until absolutely necessary. C-4s on charge, so C-2s not used unless as a last resort?

Perhaps not so much newly assigned, as re-assigned.