White Spiral on Me 109G Spinners

[G.R.Morrison]

I recall hearing the old bromide about the spiral being off-putting for the gunners, but I read a pilot's comments (I CANNOT recall who it was) from much-earlier in the war, when the "Kullerschnauze" 1/3 + 2/3 segments came into common use, stating that the flickering effect was a recognition feature that worked for an aircraft in the mirror, behind you. One quick glance, and you knew it wasn't an R.A.F. fighter.

I think the spiral tends to disappear at high speeds, and the gunner is aiming at a dark, rather-small frontal aspect of the oncoming machine in any case.

The earliest spiral I recall was on Tiedmann's 2./JG 3 Bf 109E-4 WNr.1990, and the line is so fine/tight, it seems unlikely to be serving any purpose besides decorative. Rudi Müller's Bf 109F-4 WNr.10073 of 6./JG 5 was wearing a broad spiral well before they became common.

Sorry I cannot quote my source, GRM

[Nick Beale]

I think at least part of the reason was as a warning measure on the ground. The Luftwaffe didn't paint prop blade tips a bright colour (as the RAF did) but painting the spinner would have provided a clue that the prop was moving or stationary. If you could see the spiral, it was safe to approach = fewer accidents to ground crew. The earlier dark spinner with a white segment could have served a similar purpose.

I can't believe in the idea that you could dazzle gunners with it because the prop was turning too fast for any effect to be visible. You'd only see a composite blur, wouldn't you? Also, why paint spirals on aircraft that were to operate by night, as did happen?

[Csaba B. Stenge]

Nick has the point. RHAF used the same system (spiral or 1/3-2/3 on spinner) generally because safety reasons on the ground to see, propeller blades were moving or stationary.
Still, I identified one of such fatal accidents in WWII in Hungary, when an unfortunate, careless bloke walked into the moving propeller circle in an airfield (you don't want to know the result - incidentally in that case it was an older type, and it had no paintings on the spinner).

[Nick Beale]

And they paint spirals on the central bullet fairing of airliner turbofans these days.

[Revi16]

And this is what it looks like in use,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBsRBSPAz4U