Opinion needed on Luftwaffe Wing Cross

[harrison987]

Hey guys...

I received photos of this recentyl...but something does not look right. The cross appears to be early...but...the back of the panel is bare aluminum (it should have RLM22).

Being a wing (or fuselage) cross, it should have ribs, stringers, or some sort of structure on the back. The only thing I see are where 2 supports went...but they should have gone all the way across.

I was told it came from a wreck in the UK...but I have my suspicions.

Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on it?

TIA

[stephen f. polyak]

Mike,

I am an aeronautical engineer by profession. On a proper wing skin panel there would be obvious evidence of the layout of internal strengthening/stiffening structure in the form of numerous, regularly-spaced fastener holes. These holes (where rivets or other mechanical fasteners joined the skin to the underlying structural members) would run in lines in the chord and span directions, perpendicular to each other, following the the spars, stringers and ribs within. On this piece I only see four holes - there should be more. I would also expect further impressions to remain where the internal structures contacted the panel. Similar evidence applies to a section from a fuselage, but involving longerons, stringers, and formers/frames/bulkheads on the inside. Apart from all that, to me the "weathering, aging" looks contrived. I very much doubt it's the real deal; it would not be the first time such an impostor relic - a painted, marked portion of jagged-edged sheet aluminum - has come out of the UK.

Steve

[MarkRS]

Are you sure it is Aluminium? It looks like tin plate to me. The front looks rusty. The corrosion should look gray or whitish not red which is Iron Oxide.

Mark

[Dénes Bernád]

The width of the black cross is too thin. The whole piece looks odd to me. Was it perhaps a piece of a vehicle?

[Cpt_Farrel]

There were lots of variations when it came to the balkenkreuz styles in 1940 so I wouldn't dismiss the part on those grounds, on the other hand, there seems to be a whole lot of other details about this piece that makes it seem faked either way.

Cheers! / Anders

[philippe1]

Mike,
years ago a clever guy in the UK painted diferent things on alu some bought it ,i saw some creations that to be honest were done nicely

but they were only done a few years ago, maybe its one of them or someone else who is good in airbrush
you can let examinate its paint by an substancial (chemical substance but i can't remember its name in english)that tells you how old this paint might be

cheers
phil