Bf 110 Crew - June 26, 1944

[John Vasco]

HGabor,

I think you are perpetuating an error that has appeared in books for many years. Let me clarify things for you.

At the start of the war:
2N = I. & II./ZG 1;
M8 = I. & II./ZG 76.

July 1940:
I./ZG 1disbanded;
II./ZG 1 becomes III./ZG 76, and continues to use the code 2N;
I. & II./ZG 76 remain in being.

1941:
I./ZG 76 had been incorporated into the night fighter force;
II./ZG 76 remained in being;
III./ZG 76, with the code 2N. A small detachment of crews help form I./JG 77. The I./JG 77 Bf 110s continued to use the code 2N until June 1941.
Meanwhile, from 24 April 1941, the rest of III./ZG 76 became II./SKG 210, and took on that unit's code of S9.
II./ZG 76 eventually was moved into the night fighting force.

January 1942:
I. & II./SKG 210 were re-designated I. & II./ZG 1. Unit code S9 retained;
III./ZG 1 formed with Bf 109 Es;
Later in the year III./ZG 1 were equipped with Me 210As;
First record of the code 2N with ZG 1 (from loss/damage lists)was on 8 November 1942 when Me 210 A-1, 2N+AT belly landed at Castelli airfield.

1943:
First recorded use of the code 2N on a ZG 1 Bf 110 (from loss lists) was on 28 May 1943 when a 10./ZG 1 Bf 110 G-2, 2N+PU, was shot down;
I./ZG 1 continued to use S9 until it was disbanded;
II./ZG 1 remains in being and continues to use S9;
Late 1943 moves were made to re-form ZG 76.

1944:
First recorded use of 2N by II./ZG 1 (from loss lists) was on 7 January 1944 when Bf 110 G-2, 2N+OM of 4./ZG 1 was shot down on a combat mission.

In 1944, ZG 76 used the code M8, and ZG 1 used the code 2N. If you see photographs of Bf 110 G-2 day fighters in books with the code 2N captioned as ZG 76 aircraft, this is wrong. They were ZG 1 aircraft. If you want to see photos of late war ZG 76 Bf 110s carrying the M8 code, look in my 'Zerstorer, Volume 2' from Classic Publications, pages 177 (two photos), 186 (top and middle) and 190 (top).

I hope this clarifies things for you, and puts to bed once and for all the matter of unit codes on Bf 110s in 1944.

John Vasco

[HGabor]

Hi John,

hey, I wish if I knew your explanation much earlier, as it would have saved lots of time for me... since it was weird indeed to see different unit codes on planes of the same unit in the same year.

This explanation solves the ZG.1 Me 110G-2 marking issue completely, so here I must apologize for my previous question(s) on the topic.

May I ask if ZG.1 planes had very small, or big 2N+ code characters on their fuselages in the summer of 1944? (In late part of the war eg. NJG fighters usually had only small characters for the gruppe, and big characters for the plane itself.)

John and Peter, thanks for your help,

Gabor

[John Vasco]

HGabor,

No problem with providing you with that explanation.

Now to your next question. I have looked into the matter of when the unit codes changed from standard size to small size, and consulted with other researchers/authors about this. What seems to be common opinion is that the change took place around the second half of the year in 1943. I have photos of ZG 1 Bf 110s with the unit code 'S9' in small letters. So, I presume that when the code was changed to 2N, that code was automatically in small letters also.

Hope this helps.

John V.

[HGabor]

Hi John,

I reviewed my data, and found some ZG.1and ZG.76 losses in the summer of 1944 where I am still missing the WNr. and call-code for the lost planes. Do you have any serial number and letter-code for the following losses:

June 27, 1944:

II/ZG.1: Schneier & Knuttel at Budapest
I/ZG.76: Kübel & Gerhard at Budaörs
I/ZG.76: Brach at Gyor-W, 18 km
II/ZG.76: Zemke & Glaser at Felsogöd

June 30, 1944:

II/ZG.76: Grunau & Giller at Lake Balaton

July 2, 1944:

II/ZG.1: Schumann & Mayer at Budapest

Thanks,

Gabor

[John Vasco]

Don't have anything for Schneier & Knuttel.

Uffz. Horst Schumann & Uffz. Heinz Mayer, both of 5./ZG 1, killed in action in 2N+UN, W. Nr. 6300.

Regards,

John V.

[George Hopp]

John and I obviously differ slightly on our dating of the first use of the small unit codes. To me it seems they began being applied to a/c in early 1943. And, on an Me 410 captured in November 1943, an RCAF intelligence report gave the height of the unit code letters as 3 inches, which I thought to be rather small, but then he was there and I wasn't. But, this difference in dates wouldn't affect the Bf 110s you are interested in since those small codes would definitely be in use in 1944.

What I find interesting is that, in spite of the fact that this is an excellent way to give rough timing to a/c photos, no order has yet been found that details the painting of the small unit codes. And one would certainly have been issued.

[John Vasco]

Sorry George, I believe I was shooting off the top of my head. I think it was based on the odd photo of an aircrew known to have been KIA on a certain date being beside an a/c with the small codes. I willingly stand corrected.

All the best to you George, I'll be in touch soon.

John V.

[George Hopp]

At this point, John, I think it's a bit of a guess for everyone because we don't have a copy of the original orders on this. And, they must have been sent to all flying units for actioning, so there must be a copy somewhere.

All the best, John,
George