Photos 1-21-05

[edwest]

Misc.
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148421450
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148421440
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148393450
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148394867
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148392610
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148391604
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=6506415934




Usual disclaimer,
Ed

[Kari Lumppio]

Hello!

There has been some jewels among the photos Ed has posted on lately. There was this JG27 Afrika/Italy album, where the man suddenly went to Kurland (Courland). Apparently at some point of time the pilot was transferred to I/SG 4. The jewel was the (red) "1" photo which quite likely is a 2./SG4 Fw 190 at Latvia.

But the photos of 1./NJG 200 Ju 88s are THE TOP up to this point. Does anyone know what happened with the photos? They were removed because they apparently are not for sale anymore. The set traced quite nicely the Staffel from Siverskaya to Dno to Reval to Jakobstadt and onto Germany. There was other photos too in this series available through clicking "Andere Artikel des Verkäufers". Did anyone save these? Please let me know if yes. I didn't have the time before they dissappeared.


The Ju 88C on these photos might be the one and the same:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148393450
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148391604
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148392610

I sorted them in order I guess they were taken. The handwriting on the backsides is awful, but the location starts with "R" and ends with a "l", IMO. My guess is this is Reval-Laksberg (Tallinn-Lasnamägi, Estonia) where 1./NJG 200 was based Jan-Feb 1944.

What is more important is that couple of their planes are recorded with codes in Finnish air observation logs. But the very plane on the photos just might be the "PGHN" recorded flying local flight at Tallinn Feb 14th, 1944, announced take-off 08.00 Finnish time. Please look the first photo and look if there are traces of a "P" and possibly also a "G" under the wing. Or is it just my wishful thinking? BTW the building and hangar behind the plane do look like Estonian AF Depot etc. at Lasnamägi. I have to check against pictures at home when I have time.

(BTW the same day is recorded the first 4./NJG 100 flight with code at Tallinn: C9NM Tallin - Kunda Bay and back, announced take-off 12.45 Finnish time. The codes did not change from C9 to W7 until late March!)

Checking Michael Holm's excellent webpage www.ww2.dk shows that 1./NJG 200 did have eight planes on it's strength when it came to Estonia. End of Dec 43: 7 Ju 88C-6 and 1 Me 110E-3, see:
http://www.ww2.dk/oob/bestand/njagd/b1njg200.html

Yet on Feb 18th, 1944 there is recorded Ju 88 "8VIH, local flight at Tallinn, 4000 m, 1 h., take-off time 11.00 and landing 12.20 Finnish time)". Letter "I" is the ninth alphabet, so did the new PG+HN became the 8V+IH !!? On the third photo is clearly seen overpainted codes on rear fuselage. Is it ex-PGHN between 14.-18. of February 1944 or is it one of the two Ju 88 C-6 given to "Andere Verbände" (= 4./NJG 100 also at Tallinn?)?

Can anyone shed light on the Werke Nummer of PG+HN? Artie Bob, Rabe Anton? I have asked this before, but I lost the data with hard drive crash.

The photos also explain to some extent why 1./NJG 200 apparently achieved so little during it's time at Tallinn. Their planes do not have own radar fitted.

Among the dissappeared photos were also some from Siverskaya period and on the backside was among other written VW (IIRC) which might have been a code? Possibly a damaged Ju 88 from 12./NJG 5?
Also the odd photo sent by Ed:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=6148394867
Is the last letter a "Z". Is the plane from 15./NJG 5?

Tracing these Eastern Nachtjagdstaffeln is a nightmare (no sources to speak of) and even Aders doesn't provide clues to everything (like the C9/W7 anomaly I wrote above).


Time to stop now. Any comments welcome.

Kari