Camouflaged Me 262s with white rudders

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Those that have Wings of the Black Cross, Number Nine, see the photo at the top of page 29. The tail unit in Stauffen I believe came from Klosterle and came in pieces. The photo shows several tail units with the rudder attached in minimal shipping crates, with what looks like a horizontal stabilizer nearby. This particular photo was taken at Kassel. In the Stauffen photo, the complete tail unit has been assembled, ready for installation on the Me 262.

The rudders in the Kassel photo may be made from a different aluminum sheeting from the vertical stabilizers, but they clearly aren't painted white. A color photo from Kassel provided to me by Steve Coates shows that both components are bare aluminum.

Frankly, I think we've gotten carried away a bit trying to force fit a theory into the actual facts.

Regards,
Richard