Me 262 in Italy - photo evidence

[Martin388]

Now here is the photo.

Nick, I reviewed postings on Luftwaffe in Italy here and on LEMB, as well as your (and your co-autors) excellent book Airwar Italy 1944-45 (published 1996). As there were (still) no traces of Me 262 found in Italy so far, this issus seems of interest.

Besides as I research Luftwaffe in Austria 1938-45, I assume this could be a Me 262 A of III./JG 7 the former JV 44 which did not make it to Salzburg or Innsbruck in the late days of April 1945.
Or it might be a fighter/trainer from southern Germany/Austria that beeing disoriented (emergency) landed in Italy and could not return to its units base due to lack of spares, J2 fuel, jet experienced staff, as there was only Erich Sommers Ar 234B recce Kdo (at Lonate) which operated German jets with BMW 004s in Italy.
So the plane could be disassembled and later "forgotten". Without (wings and) jet engines which could be returned to Germans (as they were considered secret and treated carefully, acc. to reports from Lonate) the remains (fuselage, wings) did not attract the attention of Italians or Alliied staff. But, this is speculative ...

So dear experts and enthusiasts, who knows more, has evidences, or parts of the real story?

Martin

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Martin388

… the plane could be disassembled and later "forgotten". Without (wings and) jet engines which could be returned to Germans (as they were considered secret and treated carefully, acc. to reports from Lonate) the remains (fuselage, wings) did not attract the attention of Italians or Alliied staff.
Martin

Allied Technical Intelligence Reports include disassembled airframes, detached wings, engines and other components. I don't think they would have overlooked an Me 262 when they produced detailed reports on Gniesmer's Ar 234.

I also doubt that an aircraft unable to make it to Salzburg or Innsbruck could somehow cross the Alps to Italy, a longer and harder flight.

J2 was in good supply in Italy. To quote from our book:

[April] began with 226 cbm of B4, 125 of C3 and 341 of J2 on hand … At the prevailing consumption rate, J2 would have held out for about eight months.

Dan O'Connell's book mentions this aircraft. As he says, it is by a rail track but he gives no location. The one building you can see between the rail wagons doesn't look obviously dissimilar to others I've seen travelling with Deutsche Bahn.

I think we should consider the possibility that the Brazilian pilots went sightseeing in Germany, Austria or Western Czechoslovakia.