FW-190 Wnr. 1257?

[Roger Gaemperle]

Hi all,

I had a closer look at the photos shown at the WAF link provided by Revi16.

The photo album page shows 3 different Fw 190 that presumably were all photographed at La Sebala. In Arthy/Jessen's excellent book "Fw in North Africa" {1} an Allied list of captured aircraft on page 149 indicates that 4 Fw 190 were found at La Sebala. So, the album page probably shows 3 out of 4.

One can be easily identified by the code "E+". One is burnt out and is probably the one that is mentioned in the Allied list as "burnt out". So, the 3rd Fw 190 on the photos must be either W.Nr. 1257 or the 4th Fw 190 in the Allied list. The photos show a Fw 190 that is upside down and features a White propeller spinner (which would rather indicate a SKG10 machine, but in the book about Sicily by the same authors there is also a colour profile of a Sch.G.2 machine with a white propeller spinner).

What is unclear to me is:

• Why does {1} indicate 7./Sch.G.2 when the loss list mentioned Stab/Sch.G.2? (I assume because of the yellow tactical code. Maybe Uffz. Johne belonged to Stab?)

• Why does {1} indicate the loss happened on 2 May 1943, when the loss list mentioned 4 May 1943?

• Why does {1} attribute the loss to Allied fighters when the loss list mentioned AA fire?

• Where did he (crash)land? At La Sebala? Was it a Belly landing? Did the Germans bring the aircraft to La Sebala as a decoy?

I hope someone can shed some more light into the history of W.Nr. 1257. A photo of the captured aircraft would be amazing.

Kind regards

Roger