Do 335 flight by Schnaufer on 1st March 1945

[Norbert Schuchbauer]

Hi All,
Do 335 240113 had a collision with a Bf 109 that damaged the rear tail, airfield unknown. The pilot was Karl-Heinz Appel and he was unhurt. The aircraft was found by US troops at Bindlach in a hangar. How it got there is unclear. Source: Do 335 by Classic Pub.

Regards,

Norbert

[Griffon]

I will check the Griehl book about the Do-335, because there are major deviations between Griehls book and the new Classic volume regarding certain V-Muster and Werknummern...

will post what I find out then...

[Norbert Schuchbauer]

There is even a picture of the aircraft 240113 on page 76 of the Classic book. According to the authors Schnaufer never flew the Do 335. This particular aircraft was slated to be converted to a two seater but the collision with the Bf 109 prevented this.

Norbert

[Wim]

Hello Adriano,

I would love to see the account of Krause, as in his logbook there is no such flight in a Do 335 recorded.
All the best,

Wim

[Stig Jarlevik]

Thanks Guys

This became a much more interesting discussion than I thought initially.
Since the authors Smith,Creek and Hitchcock first published their expanded Monogram book in 1997 they could not have misinterpreted any memoir from Rumpelhardt published in 2002. Their (by now denied) story about Schnaufer crashing his Do 335 must have come from elsewhere.

Peter
Looks like I have to get the Classic Do 335 book after all Never heard of a book before where an author denies writing it without taking any action against the publisher. I doubt you are talking about Mr Hitchcock...

Norbert
Again looks like I have to get the Classic book....

Cheers
Stig

[Peter D Evans]

Originally Posted by Stig Jarlevik

Peter, Looks like I have to get the Classic Do 335 book after all Never heard of a book before where an author denies writing it without taking any action against the publisher. I doubt you are talking about Mr Hitchcock...

...it certainly wasn't Thomas, and I've never had any correspondence with J. Richard Smith... that ought to narrow down the list

Cheers

Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

[Nick Beale]

I'm sorry if I'm repeating what I said here or on Peter's forum - I forget which - but Smith & Creek wrote a Monogram Close-Up (36-page softback) on the Do 335 that came out in 1983. Tom Hitchcock later added material to expand it into a hardback book, crediting them and himself as the authors.

Obviously the Classic volume is worth every penny because it includes two colour photos I took of the unrestored Do 335 at the NASM Silver Hill facility in 1973! (And I still kick myself for not photographing their Bf 109 which was being spray-painted that day).

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Wim and others,
Since all this started with an account of Hptm Hans Krause, I do promiss that as soon as I got my other computer fixed down, I will scan the initial part of the manuscript I received from him ( sorry but in German ). As I had imagined, and as those of you guys, who had access to his logbook had showed us the factual evidences, it seems that NO flight either from Krause or Schnaufer was made on the 1st March 1945.
I, off course, could have contracted a BAD translator down here in Brazil; but I guess he managed to translate almost everything all right...
Please wait until Friday at the most - when I will have my computer fixed. Today is holliday in Brazil, so nobody works...
Yours friendly ( and still learning from nice people and well known writers...always, like LEMB motto... )
Adriano

[NoNo01]

Stig,

of course Smith, Creek and Hitchcock could not misinterpret a book published five years after there own.
Rumpelhardt wrote about a "english statement" he has on hand where he was completely misconstrued.
Possibly the 1997 Do 335 Classic book.

Hope that helps

NoNo

[Adriano Baumgartner]

HERE from Hptm Johannes "Hans" Krause letter to me in the late 90's>


Am 1. März 1945 bat mich der Kommodore, nach Gütersloh zu fahren, einer Stadt oberhalb von Dortmund, wo sich der Stab der NJG 4 befand, damals war ich bei der I Gruppe in Vechta. Wir stiegen mit meiner Crew in einer Junkers Ju 88 G-6 ein und flogen nach Gütersloh. Dort teilte uns Major Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer, unser Kommodore, mit, dass wir ein neues Radargerät ausprobieren sollten und einen Experimentierflug mit einem Dornier Do 335 Pfeil machen würden. Die Version, die sie uns mit der Maschine zur Verfügung stellten, hatte einen einzigen Sitz für den Piloten. Der Dornier Do 335 hatte einen Motor mit Frontmotor und einen Motor mit Heckmotor im gleichen Rumpf. Den Anweisungen der Dornier Testfahrer folgend machte Major Schnaufer einen 30-minütigen Flug. Es gelang mir, und ich machte auch einen 30-minütigen Flug um die Basis herum. Die Geschwindigkeit dieses Flugzeugs hat mich wirklich beeindruckt. Er war, wie damals gesagt wurde, das schnellste Propellerflugzeug der Welt. Ungewöhnlich für uns war die Landung mit Bugfahrwerk (Die Junkers Ju 88 sowie die Bf 110 G-4 hatten konventionelle Fahrwerke) und mit dem Schleudersitz, den wir Gott sei Dank nicht verwenden müssen. (Anmerkung des Verfassers: Der Heinkel He 219 sowie der Dornier Do 335 waren mit Vogt-Wissemann-Auswerfersitzen, hergestellt von Dräger) ausgestattet. Leider für uns, die mit "Zahme Sau" -Missionen geflogen sind, entsprach diese Einzelsitzversion nicht den Interessen des Nachtjägers. Wir brauchten mindestens einen zweiten Sitz, so dass ein anderes Funksystem und ein Bordradar installiert und von einem zweiten Mann bedient wurden. Nach bestem Wissen hat Dornier zwei Exemplare des Dornier Do 335-Doppelmodells (eines davon das V-10) hergestellt. aber keiner von ihnen wurde vor Kriegsende in irgendeinem Nachtjagdkommando einsatzbereit