Seeking photo of Bf109D of 3./JGr152 that crashed near Niedergailbach, Germany on 24 Sept 1939

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

In reworking some of the Phoney War/Sitzkrieg losses along the French/German border, we've identified a crash at a location about 500m E of Niedergailbach, Germany, from 24 Sept 1939. This would have been a Bf109D-1 of 3./JGr152. I know that it's a terribly long shot, but is there any chance that contemporary photos exist of this wreck site? There may have been very little identifiable wreckage because the pilot bailed out. It's possible that much of the civilian population may have been evacuated from the area at the time, but German ground troops would have been in the area, which is quite near the French border. The plane would have had a yellow numeral or numerals on the fuselage with a thin black outline and had a tail-centered swastika. This is NOT "Yellow 12" that came down on the French side of the border on the same day. This was at a time right after the outbreak of the war when aircraft crashes would have still been a relative rare occurrence, so a crash may have attracted a lot of soldiers to the site, and thus perhaps resulted in the existence of photographs.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Horst Weber]

Originally Posted by Larry Hickey

Hello,

In reworking some of the Phoney War/Sitzkrieg losses along the French/German border, we've identified a crash at a location about 500m E of Niedergailbach, Germany, from 24 Sept 1939. This would have been a Bf109D-1 of 3./JGr152. I know that it's a terribly long shot, but is there any chance that contemporary photos exist of this wreck site? There may have been very little identifiable wreckage because the pilot bailed out. It's possible that much of the civilian population may have been evacuated from the area at the time, but German ground troops would have been in the area, which is quite near the French border. The plane would have had a yellow numeral or numerals on the fuselage with a thin black outline and had a tail-centered swastika. This is NOT "Yellow 12" that came down on the French side of the border on the same day. This was at a time right after the outbreak of the war when aircraft crashes would have still been a relative rare occurrence, so a crash may have attracted a lot of soldiers to the site, and thus perhaps resulted in the existence of photographs.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Larry, have a happy new year !

You may keep your fingers crosses on questions like that. The population of Niedergailbach was evacuated that day. The village was hold that day, September 24th, 1939 by 9 ème (French) D.I., which was subordinated to
VI ème C. A.
The withdrawal of the French Forces from German soil in this area started October 16th, 1939.

All the best to you in 2016 !

Horst Weber

[Larry Hickey]

Horst,

Thanx! All is not necessarily lost if some of the members of the French infantry that occupied the area around Niedergailbach on 24 September 1939 had cameras. We'll have to explore that angle as well. Very useful information.