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Re: Red 109s
There is no verifiable information that the majority any Bf 109 was painted red.
As for yellow nosed 109s or 190s, this was a tactical marking used during the latter stages of the BoB well into 1941 and even some units in the early stages of the Russian campaign. It was not peculiar to JG 26. In fact, by regulation, all German fighter units used yellow in the undercowl area of the fighters until proscribed in mid-1944. The 'legend" of the "Yellow-nosed Boys of Abbeville" (JG 26) was just that: a legend based on a tactical marking used by all the units in western Europe.
As for red-nosed Fw 190s of JG 3, Jerry Crandall showed this to be incorrect and based on bad information. They were black.
The prototype ME 163 was red. Hermann Graf did fly red tulip nosed 109Gs with JGr 25 and 50 as well as the same "tulip" decoration on his Fw 190A-5 when he was with a training group. However, these were not unit markings nor was there an all-red or mostly-red 109.
The 'D-ISLU' mentioned was sorta based on an E, but was specially made by Messerschmitt for the 1939 (?) air show and attempt on the world speed record. No machine like it ever saw operational service.
Memories are a tricky thing. Recall the story of Major Ed Gilliam and the "red" P-51D (The "Millie G") as mentioned by his crew chief (who should have better memories of his machine than the pilot). Turned out it was OD. Steve Ritchie once stood me down that his F-4E he used for two MiG kills in Vietnam had a shark's mouth...until he found his photos that showed it did not.
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21st February 2007, 21:46
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