Messerschmitt Bf 109E Spinners

[obdl3945]

Hi, Dave...

I'm no expert, especially on fighters, but I think it would be difficult to identify a particular variant of Bf109E purely from the propellor spinner. I think the E-4 was the first to employ a 'capped' spinner, but if you had the Werk Nummer of the machine in question, then it may be possible to track the particular sub-type from that. E-7s also used the 'capped' spinner.

As for colours, generally, the spinners of German aircraft propellors were used to confirm the fusleage codes. On larger machines, it was often used to confirm the Staffel status of the machine. For example, 1H+AL - 3.Staffel KG26 - in theory, the aircraft letter 'A' would be yellow, and this would often have been confirmed by the spinner, all or in part, being painted yellow too. However, in some units the spinner colour represented the Gruppe. So, again taking the above code as an example, although the aircraft letter on the fuselage would be yellow, the spinner would perhaps be painted white to reflect the I.Gruppe identity of the machine (remembering that 3.Staffel fell within I.Gruppe). Gruppenstab and Geschwaderstab machines would have had bright green and medium blue spinners respectively, although later in the war, medium blue was passed to the fourth Staffel (where a unit was expanded to have four Staffeln per Gruppe) and the Geschwaderstab colour therefore became the same as the Gruppenstab colour, bright green.

So, it would again be difficult to determine what the spinner you are referring to would represent, without first knowing what all or part of the fuselage codes may have been.

As ever, please remember that oftentimes the Luftwaffe was a mass of contradiction, and that situations such as cannablising parts from one machine for use on another, may throw up many obstacles to correctly interpreting what is on view.

Regards...