Help with artwork profile colors and history of Stab I./KG27 He111P 1G+BB of Obstlt Fritz Graumnitz, Gr Kdr during 9.39 & PC

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

We're planning color profile artwork of the above a/c for the the PC volume of the EoD project. This arguably carried the most extraordinary personal artwork of any Luft a/c that participated in the PC. We're also trying to document the history of the a/c and its crews.

I've attached two images below which were taken from the book: "Boelcke Archive," Vol III by Walter Waiss. According the the caption, the Gr. Kdr, Obstlt Fritz Graumnitz, who apparently flew aboard this a/c as the Observer, had this artwork, called "Der alte Fritz" ("Old Fritz) applied to the a/c while he was the Gr.Kdr. The artwork,shows an older man in elaborate 18th or 19th Century costume (military uniform?), painted on the port side of the a/c. The face on the image may have been a portrait of Graumnitz himself. Since Graumnitz was transferred out of the unit on 01.10.39, at the end of the Polish Campaign, this would have had to have been painted on the a/c sometime previously, during or before the PCd. Graumnitz later turns up on 15.11.39 as the Gr.Kdr. of a bomber training school. The available photos all show the aircraft later, after mid-October and into the winter of 1939-40, with the coding 1G+BB. The captions say that the plane was taken over by Oblt. (FNU) Hollinde after the departure of Graumnitz.

My questions are:

1) Did this a/c, as the Gr. Kdr's a/c originally carry the code 1G+AB, as would have been the usual practice, only to be re-coded as 1G+BB after Graumnitz departed and Oblt. Hollinde took over as BO on the plane, which was obviously still assigned to the Gruppenstab.

2) What were the full names of Oblt. Hollinde (the BO), Fw Libuda, the FF, Fw Emigk (BM) and Uffz Rech (BF)? Were these the same aircrew, other than Oblt. Hollinde, that flew with Obstlt Graumnitz? These names might be able to be found somewhere in the Waiss books on KG27. If these men weren't on Graumnitz's crew during the Polish Campaign, who was? RESOLVED except for Fw Libuda. THANKS!

3) What eventually happened to this a/c, presumably still carrying the code 1G+BB?

4) There had to be some kind of guide, probably in color, for the original artist to work from in creating the "Der alte Fritz", that, if locatable, would help us re-create this complex artwork accurately, especially the colors. This is a hell of a long shot, but does anyone know of any imagery from 18th or 19th century German history, literature or culture that might show a painting or illustration of someone in this costume? If the clothing is a German or Prussian military uniform, that may help us with a color guide. Does anyone recognize this as a military uniform from some period? THIS ONE HAS BEEN RESOLVED SPECTACULARLY! THANKS!!

5) Does anyone have any background bio on Obstlt. Graumnitz? I strongly suspect that he was a WW I veteran that re-joined the new Luftwaffe sometime in the 1930s.

6) And finally, can anyone provide high-res scans from original prints of these, or any other photos of this a/c, from which our artist can work?

I know that some of these are very tough questions, and there may well be no answers, but I've been repeatedly surprised at the responses to difficult questions that have surfaced on this board.

Thanx for anything that you can contribute.