Me262 found at Deelen

[stephen f. polyak]

Guys,

I'll be honest, I too am enjoying the discussions here, and thanks to all contributors.

While some of the photos offer tempting possibilities, I still have not seen indisputable proof of a 262 main plate on a fuselage. It could be that main plates were the rare exception not the rule, or that main plates were for some reason not fitted. If main plates were on 262s, even a small number, sooner or later hard evidence will come out. Really strange, but for that matter has anyone ever seen a main plate on a Me163, Ar234, He162, etc?

I can say with some certainty that, perhaps without exception, main data plates on German WW2 airplanes (one per plane) were located on the left side of the fuselage or on the leading edge of the left wing near the fuselage (i.e., wing root). Also, the main plate was fitted to the outside of the airframe.

Plate features changed later in the war: For example - zinc replaced aluminum, hand-made plates (small pieces of blank metal without acid etching/screen printing) were used more often, manufactured etched/printed plates became smaller, manufactured plates were trimmed or reversed for reuse. Entries were added by basic hand stamping, whereas, earlier, entries were sometimes added carefully by mechanical engraving with a rotary bit, acceptance/inspector stamp marks were less frequent.

Airframe part and assembly plates were on 262s. Here are some examples.

Best regards,
Steve

Originally Posted by Nick Beale

Also possible are an economy measure or a shortage of plates (lack of metal, disrupted delivery of the finished item, bomb damage to the workshop that made them ...)