21/01 - Bf109s on eBay

[ouidjat]

Hi there,

A suberb photoalbum this morning: JG 20 but other completely differents pictures:
A nice and rare sailing boat on Dunkerque beach; motorcycles; St Omer streets too.... It seems it is a photoreporter album!

http://cgi.ebay.com/WWII-GERMAN-PHOT...item20b6a09a44

Enjoy it,

Franck.

[hihotte]

Hello Franck,
as usual an excellent find by you. Having scrolled thru the entire album I found some comments by the shooter of the photos about Walter Oesau. They were very interesting and pour some bitter drops into the glorification liquid of the "hero". Words like "richtiger Knallkopp" and "Schleifer" as signature for his personality make me thinking. The original owner of the album was obviously a chief mechanic in charge of of the vehicles in 1.Staffel JG20 and later in the Stabskompanie of the same unit and not in immediate daily contact with Oesau but he possibly gives us an idea about the common impression inside the unit about Oesau. I think, Cori (Red Baroness) should be made aware of the existance of this album.
Cheers
Horst

[ouidjat]

Hello Horst,

Thanks for this comment. I do prefer others than me to do these kinds of comments: 1/ I've not the capacity and the knowledge to do it for all the links/pictures I put here.
2/ I'm haven't the time to do it except when it's obvious for me.
3/ I do prefer somebody else to do it just to show me I'm not loosing my time.

Concerning Oesau, we have been well supplied these last days not only with that fotoalbum but with the four batches of negatives.

Last, I hope Cori did take a look at all.

Cheers, Franck.

[Jim P.]

Motorcycle guys should love this album as well - many more of them than aircraft.

[ouidjat]

Hello,

Yes Jim; as a former designer in a Naval Architecture Office, I was happy to get a magnificent old Sailing boat too. The guy was a photographer too using that Linhoff; the same I did use when working with Dimitri Kessel at the end of the 70's....

As for the JG 20:
One of the plane - Stab - as been pictured in front of huge hangars; the question is: Is it sure there was hangars like this on the three St Omer fields???

Cheers, Franck.

[Red Baroness]

DARN IT noooo I missed this dang album and all the pics are gone now. Did someone happen to save the lot?

S'what happens when you've got a Toddlerus Terribilius Rex on your hands.

Thanks for thinking of me, though. I appreciate it.

Edit: I neglected to mention that I don't think the derogatory comments on Oesau "dilutes the tincture of hero" anyway - I don't think of Oesau as a hero per se - to view any of these gentlemen as a 1-dimensional cardboard cutout hero seems wrong to me - they were, after all, human, and had human faults and strange habits.

I'm married to a pilot. It's sometimes synonymous with twit from time to time. Lovable twit, in Pete's case, but twit nonetheless

[Red Baroness]

I just read Aero Journal #48 - Here's the reason the mechanics called him those names!

One day, he (someone) forgot(misplaced) his light summer helmet during a siege on a liason of JU 52. It was returned by a pilot who gave it to Oesau without saying a word to him; a heavy helmet in leather, of a much smaller size. At the time of the following alarm, as has his habit, Oesau grabbed the helmet which was too small at quadruple speed, and (cramming it on), he immediately became aware of the exchange. The roaring that he issued (at the exchange) was nothing compared to the rage on his return - And in fact! Mad with rage, Oesau, carrying still the red brands left by the helmet too small, summoned all the mechanics and inflicted them on them eight early morning days of exercises (at around 6 to 7 am in the morning) that he personally directed. Never again, did anyone lose sight of the Kommodore's equipment.

Much chuckling ensued. Since I wear a size 60 myself and hubby wears a 57-58 cm, I can feel that pain.