Yellow rudder on Oblt Werner Bartels Bf109E-1 of Stab III./JG26 (26th July 1940)

[Melvin Brownless]

Hi, Below details extracted from Nigel Parker's work regarding this loss..

Regards,

Melvin

www.aircrewremembrancesociety.co.uk

24/7/40 13.00 hrs.
Me 109 E-1 6296 <1+1 S III/JG 26
North Down, Margate, Kent.
Started from St Inglebert, Calais. While on patrol, the whole Gruppe of some forty aircraft was told by wireless that forty or fifty Me 109’s were having a scrap over Dover and went to join in. Before he got there this pilot was shot down by a Spitfire which caught him beautifully with a deflection shot, the pilot making a good forced landing, the aircraft being little damaged.
Markings: 1+1 black outlined in white. Camouflage; air force blue throughout, with blackened streaks on leading edges.
Armament: four MG fitted. A new type of armour was fitted forming a back shield and a hood behind and above pilot's seat.
The aircraft had only flown 10 hours, although the pilot had spent five years in Brazil and had married a Brazillian, along with training and reorganizing the Brazillian Army under the French Mission.
ID: 60321, AW: light grey, Dortmund, 12/5/40, FP: L 30841.
Pilot: Lt Werner Bartels severely wounded, was the technical Officer of the Gruppe.

[Cpt_Farrel]

I don't know about the rudder, but regarding the camoflage, if the report had stated "Grey" I believe it could well have been a regular 02/71 scheme that looked kind of greyish, but "Airforce blue" sounds to me like there was really some kind of non regular grey scheme involved, especially since colorphotos from mid august shows grey colors on at least two other III./JG26 aircraft.

I've seen a theory somewhere that the yellow rudder had something to do with fast I.D. of a gruppenstab aircraft but I can't recall where.

Cheers! / Anders