Henschel 129s in Tunisia?

[Dénes Bernád]

Wow indeed! Please post some photos, if possible.

For your information:
Hs 129B-2
0385
8.(Pz)/Schl.G. 2
BlauG +
43. Apr. 07
Flak
Found abandoned. Wings removed.
Toubakeur, Tunisia
Gen.Qu.6.Abt. (mfm #9)-Vol. 16
Bruch 20%

P.S. By any chance, are you Martin M.?

[Henschel0385]

Hi,

When I work out the procedure on this site, I will put up a set of recent
photos, and yes I am Martin M.

I have worked on these remains for many years and there is still a lot to do.

The Henschel was never designed to come apart in the cockpit area, consequently it has been a real painstaking process.

I now have 99% of its history from completion ex-Factory in October 1942 to the present day.

0385 started life on the production line as 0388, and as a B-1, due to a production welding problem it was pulled off the line, modified and redesignated as 0385, it also was uniquely a transitional machine that was more B-1 than B-2.

For interest, the gun troughs were still caked in carbon and the aluminium shrouds inside the cockpit showed signs of melting.

I am glad to contribute to the forum.

[brewerjerry]

Hi
from memory I think the kagero book mentions about a hs-129 being ditched into a lake (or something similar)
cheers
Jerry

three photos via google of hs-129 remains

a/c in berlin Wn3441
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...26tbs%3Disch:1

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...26tbs%3Disch:1

aircraft in australia Wn0385
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...26tbs%3Disch:1

[gogh]

Hi Brewerjerry a little correction

The first W.Nr.3441 is a Hs126

cheers

Peter van Gogh

[RolandF]

Henschel0385 or better - Martin,

this is most interesting an I´m glad somebody took care about the sad remnants of the Warthog´s only surviving ancestor.

Apart from the conservation and restoration work - is there any thought about the reconstruction of essential parts of the Hs 129 for better public display?
I would think of a partial reconstruction of the fuselage nose with belly guntroughs and complete armoured canopy.
I´d be glad to hear about your plans - like many of this community surely will do.

Regards

Roland

[Henschel0385]

Yes, the longterm aim is to place the cockpit on display with maybe one day returning it to Germany. I have searched for many years to find any of the forward panels, canopy and nose cone, with no success as yet.

I also am looking for the gunsight mount for the Revi C12/D. I am currently restoring the Gunsight Vane plate, which I found in Poland!

My aim is to restore this important aviation relic to its 1942 state keeping in mind its longterm preservation.

Today I am working on the magnetic fuel shutoff valve that controlled fuel for the petrol heater in the nose and the Ammunition counter box SZKK4.

[brewerjerry]

Originally Posted by gogh

Hi Brewerjerry a little correction

The first W.Nr.3441 is a Hs126

cheers

Peter van Gogh

Hi Peter
yep yur right,I must get new glasses.
cheers
Jerry

[Henschel0385]

Denes,...

Hi, would you know the name of the pilot that flew 0385 on its last mission??

The Luftwaffe Quartermaster's return only gives his unit and that he was unhurt?

Regards,

Martin

Originally Posted by Dénes Bernád

Wow indeed! Please post some photos, if possible.

For your information:
Hs 129B-2
0385
8.(Pz)/Schl.G. 2
BlauG +
43. Apr. 07
Flak
Found abandoned. Wings removed.
Toubakeur, Tunisia
Gen.Qu.6.Abt. (mfm #9)-Vol. 16
Bruch 20%

P.S. By any chance, are you Martin M.?

[Dénes Bernád]

Hello Martin,

That's all the info I have on that particular airplane. Loss info from Quartermaster's records rarely mention the name of the pilot, this happened mainly if he was KIA.

You wrote:

0385 started life on the production line as 0388, and as a B-1, due to a production welding problem it was pulled off the line, modified and redesignated as 0385, it also was uniquely a transitional machine that was more B-1 than B-2.

I am wondering how did you manage to get so precise details on your artefact?

By the way, according to my research - published in the book Henschel Hs 129 In Detail, Midland (UK), 2006 - the production block 0201-0450 was assigned to the B-2 sub-type.

[Henschel0385]

Denes,

When the Henschel cockpit first arrived, and I knew nothing about it's origin, I treated it like a piece of archaeology and started from the ground up. I have tried to backup every step with hard evidence.

To answer your specific question I found out a lot of additional details about the Henschel such as how it was actually built and final proof of it's identity during the strip-down phase of its current ongoing restoration.

Initially several removable panels and parts had the numbers "0385" painted on them, this coupled with what I knew pointed to a B2. On the back of the master fusebox panel the circuit diagram indicated that the electrical layout was for a B1 or a B2, the panel itself was commissioned on the 24th October 1942.

(I also own one of the Manuals for the Henschel that the Americans used to work with the aircraft in Ohio, it clearly identifies that FE4066/EB105, was and is 0385.)

I stayed confused for sometime as although everything pointed to a B2, many of the parts including the KG14 sticktop were for the earlier B1's.

It seems that the interior is more B1 than B2, to me I thought that this was a clever use of parts, in that as production moved forward the aircraft would become more "modern".

Finally, after I started to analyse the electrical system I realized that I had the B2 fuel pump circuit breakers and the later fuel system.

When the hull was cleaned and all the leather skin interior removed it was noticed that the upper right-hand side attach mounts for the emergency undercarriage pump-down lever were all moved and rewelded, ie the welder mounted them all in the wrong place. This would have been a time consuming repair as there would have been quite a bit of grinding and rewelding involved to fix.

Then, when the roof of the hull was garnet cleaned the number "0388" appeared in foot long characters.
This discovery makes sense when you consider that the cockpit would have to have left the line for mods to occur.
Consensus points to the cockpit "0385" being mated to "0388" and on modification, "0388" becoming "0385".

There is some assuming going on here, but when you weigh it up?

It's late, and it has been a long day, and evening in the workshop, hope this all makes some sense,

Regards,

Martin