Me262 found at Deelen

[stephen f. polyak]

Jaap,

Thank you very much for digging deeper -- trying to solve the mystery of main ID plates on Me262's by "interrogating" surviving aircraft.

To me, all evidence so far indicates that if main plates were fitted to Me262's, it was not where the wartime manual illustrates. Now, I'll go further and suggest that, because main plates were not (to be) hidden (as we see from the manual), none have surfaced (removed or attached, or even virtually via remaining rivet holes in the fuselage) or are conclusively seen in period photos, they were not used. I also go back to what appears to be the same situation for main plates on other jet-/rocket-powerd planes or last-built propellor types such as the Ta152.

The presence of a main plate was not a necessity in any case, and as the war increasingly closed in on Germany, they may well have been left behind in the strained process of building flyable airplanes.

As always, I welcome any and all thoughts, not to mention any solid new information, from members.

All the best,
Steve