Data Plates Exposed #3: Hs 123

[stephen f. polyak]

The next plate in the series comes from a Luftwaffe workhorse, the Hs 123 ground-attack biplane. It identifies a part from a Hs 123 built by AGO Flugzeugwerke under Henschel license; one source attributes production of more than 100 of these planes (A-1 and B-1 models) to AGO.

This particular plate surfaced at a militaria auction back in the mid-1990s. Interestingly, on the back of the plate is scratched “2294” and “bei Arras.” This raises a possibility that the plate is associated with Hs 123 operations during the invasion of France. Several Hs 123 from II/LG2 were lost in that campaign in June 1940. The “2294” may indicate the date the plate was discovered there (February 2, 1994).

Any further related information would be appreciated.

Should you have a particular favorite airplane type that you would enjoy seeing a plate from, let me know.