Bf 109 K-4 captured at Ainring "Wing of the Black Cross No. 4"

[Simon Schatz]

Hi folks!

I'm not sure if ever somebody noticed following similarities?

In "Wings of the Black Cross No. 4" on page 4 are two photographs of a Bf109K-4 "Yellow 5" captured at Ainring.

In "Wings of the Black Cross No. 2" is on page 9 a photograph of a Bf109K-4 wreck with overpainted German markings and American Star. Location of the pic is Salzburg.

- The plane has exact the same camouflage style.
- on "Yellow 5" a small white Text below the horizontal tail is visible. Could be mdj 24.4.45 as visible on the wreck.

As Ainring and Salzburg are just some few kilometers away. Possible that the plane was wrecked at Salzburg?

Cheers, Simon

[David E. Brown]

Hi Simon,

Excellent catch! I agree that the camouflage pattern matches exactly.

The aircraft was found at Ainring but that is but a few kilometers from Maxglan. No doubt that the aircraft was considerd flyable and was flown by U.S. pilots and ending up ther to be scrapped.

Note that under the horizontal stabilizer is the following written in white: "mdj 24.4.45". This appears to be the ordinance code for either the tailplane assembly (subcontractor) or aircraft (manufacturer) itself, with the date being when it was either attached to the frame or built.

Not being familiar with the Bf 109 K, perhaps someone who studies the K-4 can add more.

Cheers,

David

[harrison987]

SUPERB!

I actually own the original pic that was used in #2...now I just need to get the originals in #4!!

Well spotted!!



Mike

[Simon Schatz]

Hi David!

Thank you for the confirmation of my assumption.

mdj is not the code of the subcontractor of the tail. It's the code of the FMW (Flugzeug- und Metallbauwerke Wels). It was a repairplant at Wels (Austria). So this sign on the K-4 indicates that it was repaired at Wels.

Martin Handig wrote a nice article about that plant for the "ÖFH" (Austrian Aviation Historians).

Cheers,

[klemchen]

Hello,

how can we be sure that the two K-4s in "Wings of the Black Cross No. 4" are the same aircraft? Not only "for some reason, the Yellow "5" is missing on the starboard side", but also the swastikas do not have the same size. Moreover, the upper K-4 has its tailwheel doors shut while the lower one has them open. According to the K-4 manual, the doors were held shut by the retracted tailwheel leg; otherwise they were just dangling down. To shut them while the tailwheel was in the lowered position (which was the case with many K-4s), some special technical measure had to be taken. I also have troubles recognizing a yellow band around the engine cowling and a yellow rudder on the upper photo.
Although the two photos look like having been taken at the same occasion, this seems to be not the case, because the elevators are not in the same position. Of course, somebody could have changed all those features between making the two photos, but this does not seem very plausible. So unless there is some additional evidence, the two K-4s might as well be two different aircraft from the same production batch.

Regards,
klemchen

[harrison987]

Hi!

In order to get the tail wheel door closed either the gear leg had to be up...or...the system cut by the ground crew. There were way too many issues with the retraction mechanism, so it was common to have the system cut, and the tail wheel doors bolted closed (as with the plane in the first photo).

If you look verrrrrrryyyy closely in the 2nd photos, there appears to be a number where the "5" should have been...looks like a tiny #4...or at least part of a number...


hmmmmmmmmm...

[Jerry Crandall]

Hi All,
The Bf 109 K-4 is the same one in all three photos. Comparing the original photos it bcomes clear they are indeed the same aircraft. Note the pattern of the upper uppersurface camouflage as it matches perfectly in both photos. Even two aircraft from the same production batch will not match up that perfectly. Also, under the fuselage Balkenkreuz there is a distinctive bare patch of ground that is in exactly the same spot in both photos. The prop is in the same position in both shots.As noted the tail wheel retract mechanism was often locked down. Granted, the Yellow band in the one photo is impossible to see clearly.
Cheers, Jerry