Seeking photos of FL Bf109E of Uffz Max Reiss (8./JG52) down intact near Deal, Kent, on 25.7.40

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

It has always seemed strange to me that no photos have ever surfaced (that I know of) of the 8./JG52 Bf109E 6+~, flown by Uffz Max Reiss, down near Deal, Kent on 25.7.40. It apparently came down in good condition in an accessible area, and the report about it even says that it was "repairable." This early, a Bf109 in good condition would have been subject to a lot of attention, at least for local display purposes. Does anyone know anything about any photos that might have been taken of this a/c? If photos can be located, this one would make a good subject for a color profile for the EoE Project.

Hope someone can help.

Regards,

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Made a mistake when I posted that in the middle of last night, Max Reiss was shot down on July 25, 1940, NOT August 25, 1940. I've edited that in my post, but wanted to call attention to this change for those of you that may have already looked at the post. That early date is why I think that photos must exist of this a/c.

Who can help?

[markjsheppard]

Larry

Was going to say that August was not that early when I read it earlier!

Mark

[edwest]

Hello Larry,

Allow me to preface this by saying I've been involved with book production for over a few decades and I fully understand the pressure and time constraints, especially when it comes to assigning artwork.

If you look here:

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?filter[makerString][0]=%22Press%20Agency%20photographer%22&filter[termString][0]=%22aviation%22&query=

scroll down to the two boxes without images. I think the Imperial War Museum could be of help.


Best,
Ed

[edwest]

Well, that didn't work. You'll need to use their search box. A few suggestions:

Type in: 1940 "german aircraft" shot down me 109

For a more general search, which might reveal more aircraft photos related to your needs, type in: 1940 "german aircraft" shot down




Ed

[edwest]

I did a bit more nosing around using the search terms I described above and found this entry:

"Soldiers guarding a wrecked Messerschmitt Me 109 intercepted by a Spitfire over the English Channel and shot down. The pilot glided in over the beach and put down on the marshes with his engine dead and sixteen holes in the fuselage and engine cowling. The guns of the Messerscmitt had not been fired, so quickly was he shot down."


The catalogue number for the image is HU 88416.






Ed

[Larry Hickey]

Ed,

I was able to find the photo referenced above, but couldn't figure out how to view the image. How do I do this?

[Clint Mitchell]

There appears to be quite a few wrecked/crashed German aircraft images available but without preview images on the actual IWM website. I can only assume that they have not gotten round to scanning and uploading these particular images from the archives. Which is a shame because I want to see them as well.

[edwest]

Larry,


I think contacting the Imperial War Museum either yourself or through one of your British contacts is your best bet. I would also inquire if the photo has an information summary as you know many press/official photos carried them during the war for publication purposes. You'll note that descriptions of incidents from the period involving British aircraft show the actual photo. I suspect the actual photo for German aircraft is not shown so that those who know how cannot lift the image without paying for it.

And I also found this interesting, and slightly more informative, entry:

"A pair of scissors - the emblem painted on the fuselage of a yellow-nosed Messerschmitt Me 109 shot down in a field near a town on the south coast."



Catalogue number HU 88396


This would never do if I was trying to sell a photo like this on eBay



Ed

[Larry Hickey]

Ed,

1) The scissor a/c is Bf109E-1 Y12+ of 3./JG27, a very well-known force-landing on 30 August 1940. The late Michael W. Payne located many photos of this incident, and its subsequent salvage and public display. He may have donated copies of these, which we have in the EoE Collection, to the IWM. Or these may have been press photos of that a/c taken at the time, which we almost surely have.

2) The EoE Photo DB collection contains somewhere around a thousand images of German a/c down in Britain during 1940, and there are few photos known to exist that are not in our collection. Moreover, from German sources, we often have photos of the German planes, known to have crashed, prior to their loss on operations over Britain. These came from the personal collections of several of the best known researchers in the field, some of whom have spent fifty or more years acquiring and assembling this material. However, from time to time photos previously unknown to us have surfaced, almost always from private collections, and these are what we're mainly looking for.

The a/c of Uffz Max Reiss is one of the notable ones absent from our collection, but there are others, for which I'm working up a post to ask about. The Isle of Wight is a particular problem with several Luftwaffe a/c force-landed there for which no photos are known to exist. So, if anyone has or knows of any photos of German a/c down on the I.O.W. during 1940, even smashed wrecks, please contact me. Copies of press photos from events there are unlikely to be in the I.W.M. Collection, but I'm always prepared to be pleasantly surprised. I believe that what the IWM has partially posted on line (so far without images) is the same collection I looked at 44 years ago when I first visited Britain to do research.

Regards,