Heinkel He 45D

[stephen f. polyak]

Hi Batur,

Thank you for your comment/question; you have a keen eye for detail.

The Fw factory-built He 45 plate is unlike any I have ever seen. As you note, Fw main plates were typically hexagonal in shape. To my knowledge the six-sided shape was unique to Focke-Wulf. I have main plates from several types of Fw aircraft (my earliest Fw 190 is an A-3), including some built under license by other companies, and all have the hexagonal shape. Later in the war both hexagonal and more typical rectangular main plates were used on Fw aircraft (or at least rectangular plates that included the airframe main W.Nr.). There were at least two sizes of hexagonal plates produced also.

As the German aviation industry grew and mass-produced increasing numbers of planes leading up to and during the first half of the war, the design of many styles of aircraft data and identification plates (e.g., shape, size, dimensions, text and numerical entries, layouts, fonts, etc.) were defined in great detail by government and company specifications; the former were called out in numbered Lg N, DIN, and RLM standards. Parallel company specifications were founded on these standards, but also incorporated company specific logos to include enameled badges such as used on engines.

My suspicion is that the Fw/He 45 plate here is an example of a Fw style from the period prior to the standardization that came into effect later in the 1930s (preceding the war, during the period of systematic militarization and fielding of quantities of war materiel) and thereafter. It may well be a style used by Fw as far back as the 1920s. (Plate blanks were likely procured long before use.) I would welcome further information. Perhaps examples of main plates on surviving Fw 44 or 56, or even earlier types (warbirds, museums?), could provide some clues?

I have not studied photos of Fw 190 A-1, A-2 models, but if that’s a main plate in your picture (it appears to be), then its location is different (slightly) than seen on later A, F and G models. Independent of the manufacturer, I find it interesting that main plates (and others outside the airframe) were overwhelmingly not over-painted on new build aircraft; they may often be seen in period photos (again with a keen eye).

Best regards,
Steve