"Beverley Anne" or "Beverly Ann"?

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Referring to War Prizes, on page 188 Butler calls the aircraft "Beverly Ann", whereas on page 205, he calls it "Beverley Anne", so even in this single tome he is inconsistent. One has to remember that this book, published in 1994, was only the second of its kind, having been preceded in 1978 by Kenneth S. West's The Captive Luftwaffe, far outstripping this earlier work and proving to be the benchmark on the subject. Phil was helped considerably by Norman Malayney, who the next year published his own ATI and Operation Lusty 3-part series in the AAHS Journal. That doesn't say that everything each of these writers wrote was correct, but each represented substantial building blocks on the subject.

Now, if you go to page 188 of War Prizes, it becomes clear that much of the information about Baur's involvement came from his Flugbuch, including the spelling "Beverly Ann". In the Flugbuch, on May 30, 1945, Baur flew Vera with Caroli - a German, Capt. Ward, and Col. Watson, presumably the latter 2 for familiarization rides. He again flew Capt. Ward on June 1, 1945. On June 9, 1945, he checked out in Vera Lt. Strobel (sic), Capt. Hillis, Lt. Anspach, Capt. Dahlstrom, Lt. Holt, and Lt. Brown. The flights on June 9th were very short, lasting 5 to 8 minutes. In a recent communication with Roy Brown, he wrote: "We took off, flew the traffic pattern and landed - and then took the props off our AF insignia."

Now, getting back to W.Nr. 501232, "Beverly Ann", Butler states on page 188: "On 16th May Baur flew Beverly Ann from Munich-Riem to Lechfeld." In his Flugbuch, Baur gives the date as "15.5". Depending on the quality of the particular copy he had of Baur's Flugbuch, this could be misread as "16.5" However, I have a fairly decent copy and the "6's" that the recorder wrote on the same page are quite distinctive from the "5's". So, the date was clearly May 15, 1945.

Going up page 188, Butler claims that Strobell was assigned to Air Technical Intelligence on May 20, 1945 and arrived at Lechfeld on May 27, 1945. Thus, unless by pure happenstance he had found himself at Munich-Riem on May 15, 1945, he would not have been able to recall from memory this flight event.

Regards,
Richard

[Karoband]

Richard,

Thank you! For, in my mind, this nails the date as 15 May 1945. I, therefore, conclude that the caption of "...29 May 1945" or the identification of "...Yellow 5..." in the picture on p. 823 of Smith & Creek, Me 262 Volume 4 (2000) is incorrect.

Jim

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Jim,

I concur with your conclusion, i.e., that either the Me 262 is not W.Nr. 501232 or the photo was not taken on May 29, 1945. Like other benchmark books, the 4-volume Me 262 set by Smith and Creek set a new standard in detail on the Me 262's history. And, like other benchmark books, it had its errors. The 4-volume series represents the culmination of decades of research by Smith and Creek on the Me 262. It is very unlikely that another work this extensive will ever be published.

I believe this aircraft was produced at Budweis, Czechoslovakia. Of the remaining Me 262's, it is unique in having a standoff spray bar in front of the front windscreen. Other aircraft mounted the spray bars flush with the base of the windscreen and may have included segments for the 2 forward side windows as well.

This being W.Nr. 501232, it was the highest known Me 262 W.Nr. produced in Czechoslovakia and may have been one of the very last produced Me 262's.

There has been a mistake regarding a photo of an incomplete Me 262 with the number 238 on the bulkhead in front of the front 900 l fuel tank. The photo was taken at Kahla and obviously the aircraft was never completed and the "238" may not have been a Werknummer at all. Had W.Nr. 501238 been produced, it would have been built at Budweis.

The Me 262 Project, with guidance from the Messerschmitt Foundation, elected to pick up the Werknummer series for the new-build Me 262's, beginning with W.Nr. 501241.

Regards,
Richard

[nuvola10]

many thank's jim and richard for this interesting discussion!very good info.
best regards,
max

[Stig Jarlevik]

Thanks Richard

Has WNr 501232 been 100% confirmed by checking it at the USAF museum?

Also was 'yellow 5' the only Me 262 made flyable at Riem in May 1945? I can't understand how anyone can verify that is the aircraft in the top right corner in the photo on page 823 of Creek/Smith's vol 4....not even on the original one.
Since there is no reason to doubt Baur's logs I too agree, either the date is wrong or the Me 262 is something else than 'yellow 5'.

Cheers
Stig

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Stig,

I have no details on the discovery of this aircraft's Werknummer. Sorry.

Regards,
Richard

[David E. Brown]

Hi Stig,

Regarding your questions, I can offer the following:

Way back in 1997 I determined that "Beverley Ann" / "Screamin Meemie" / "111" / "Reaper No. 20" / "BuAer 121442" was in fact "Yellow 5" WNr.501232. I based this on careful analysis of all the known photos of the aircraft and matching remnants of the camouflage pattern and dimensions of painted out German markings. In that year I was given permission to closely inspect the interior and exterior of the aircraft to determine if its werknummer was inscribed / painted on or in the aircraft. On my behalf, my colleague Mark Howard along with Robert E. Spaulding of the USAF Museum in Dayton spent about an hour closely inspecting the aircraft but did not find any additional markings that would confirm its werknummer. Nevertheless, I have no doubts whatsoever that “Beverley Ann” is “Yellow 5” and I shared all my information with the museum in 1998.

The photo described above was most likely taken on May 11, 1945 along with several others. The aircraft in the distant to right on the taxiway is “Yellow 5”. These images, while distant, show the aircraft in a combination of US and German markings.

There was a second flyable aircraft surrendered at Müchen-Riem on May 8 at the same time as Yellow 5. On that day, all the remaining jets in the Protectorate, about 15-20, were assembled at Saaz. Throughout the day, these aircraft were flown in groups or individually to the west by those pilots wanting to avoid Russian captivity. Two aircraft were flown to München-Riem departing at 1805 and landing around 1850 hours: "Black L" WNr.110836 of 2./KG51 flown by St.Kpt. Hptm. Rudolf Abrahamczik, and “Yellow 5” WNr.501232 of 9./KG(J) 6 flown by Lt. Heinrich Haeffner.

They had intended to fly further west and Dierich (1975, p.100) states that Haeffner's aircraft could not retract his landing gear due to a technical fault and thus the two aircraft diverted to München-Riem. Smith and Creek (1982, p.350-351) note that the aircraft "Yellow 5", WNr.501232 was "captured in a non-flyable condition." Close study of the background in various photographs reveals that the aircraft ended up at the northwestern corner of the München-Riem airfield (not Lechfeld as stated by the authors) and facing the same direction.

In his log book, Haeffner indicates that he flew an aircraft coded “7” (with a small chequer drawn before the number). Though a pilot with 2./KG 51, he flew a KG(J) 6 machine on that day. That he made an error in his book is probable given the circumstances and the aircraft coded “7” may have developed technical problems at the last minute requiring him to switch to a serviceable machine. Indeed, a 8./KG(J) 6 aircraft coded “Red 7” (WNr.5012??) was later discovered at Prague and given its werknummer and probably near identical camouflage and markings his confusion is understandable.

BTW, “Black L” ended up as “Jabo Bait” / “Doris” / “777” / “FE-110” / “T2-110” and was finally scrapped at Bolling Field, Washington D.C. in late 1947 after being on static exhibit for several years

You can find more information on these two aircraft in the JaPo book that I co-authored with Tomas Poruba and Ales Janda. Hope this helps

Cheers,

David

References

Dierich, W., 1975.
Kampfgeschwader “Edelweiss” - The History of a German Bomber Unit 1935-1945.
Ian Allan Ltd., London, 128p.

Smith, J. R., and Creek, E., J., 1982.
Jet Planes of the Third Reich.
Monogram Aviation Publications, Boylston, Massachusetts, 400 p.

[Stig Jarlevik]

Thanks David (and Richard)

Appreciate your efforts, and I have no reason to doubt your conclusions.
I was just curious why the identification was made so late in the aircraft's life at Dayton.

Also thanks for correcting the date when the air to ground photo was taken.

BTW I do have your two JAPO books....

Cheers
Stig

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear David,

Left unanswered is from where was the W.Nr. of this aircraft determined? Since your 1997 physical exam failed to find the Werknummer in or on the aircraft, where did it come from? Back around 1958-59, the aircraft was stripped of its external paint down to bare metal, then painted a bogus gray with darker gray spots. Can you direct me to any evidence showing or listing this W.Nr. and then tie it to this aircraft?

In the famous photo of this aircraft where Watson is standing with a German at the side of this aircraft, presumably taken at Munich-Riem, is the German fellow Lt. Heinrich Haeffner rather than Kersting, which has previously been claimed? Dierich claims Haeffner was a First Lt. How reliable is Dierich's book?

Regards,
Richard

[Karoband]

Dear all,

A close look at the officer standing with Col. Watson shows he is indeed wearing the insignia of an Oberleutnant.

Jim