BF 109G-10 77022. New gen

[Marc-André Haldimann]

Thanks Freddy for your time and effort to support the most plausible location; much appreciated!

And thanks Ferdinando for the pointer!

Cheers
Marc

[Freddy]

Many thanks for the information regarding the availability of downloadable files of AIR 54. The ones I have were provided to me last year by a friend of Cavarzere but I think he has paid them. But maybe I'm wrong and they were already free at that time.

[ouidjat]

Hi Guys,

Well well well...
So, back to the first post by our friend Stefaan, which was - after a long Quest - not that bad captionned after all. We have something like strong evidences now, haven't we?
It was very a very good piece of doubts, thoughts, researches. Hope it will continue like that with more surprises.

So: NAGr. 11? Sounds good for you?

SORRY, I forgot something important which sounds so obvious for me that I didn't point it: I concurr with Marc, deeply: Thanks Freddy and thanks Ferdinando who is always reminding us - without lasting -: Doubts and Proves!!
Thanks Ferdinando.

Cheers, Franck.

[pelagonia]

Very interesting thread. If I may add a few (unrequested ) considerations, I would say that there is no need for this 109 to have been close to any particular runway: in Aviano for instance (still in Friuli) dispersal areas could be found even kilometers away from the landing ground. Moreover, Field Intelligence Reports are not always that reliable: in Vicenza airfield on May 4th 1945 for instance, No.1 F.I.U. unit (Party 'B') found a fw190 belonging to NSgr. 9 (info taken from Beale-D'Amico-Valentini, Air War Italy, 1944-45, Airlife 1996, page 216). While they correctly recorded its codes as E8+EH, they forgot to enter in their report its W.Nr. (584562), which is perfectly readable on the tail in period photographs (see Hideki Noro, LO+ST, 2009, page 143). I guess that enlisted soldiers - then as now - were deadly bored young men, trying hard to work as little as possible. By May 1945, the task of properly recording data taken from one more 109 burned out hulk must have looked even more pointless...
And on a more somber note: somewhere (I can not remember where) I read about children playing in the days immediately after war's end with an abandoned 109 in the Lavariano area. One of them managed to fire its guns, killing one of his friends.

Best,

Andrea

[ouidjat]

Originally Posted by pelagonia

Very interesting thread. If I may add a few (unrequested ) ... Moreover, Field Intelligence Reports are not always that reliable ... I guess that enlisted soldiers - then as now - were deadly bored young men, trying hard to work as little as possible. By May 1945, the task of properly recording data taken from one more 109 burned out hulk must have looked even more pointless...
Andrea

You made the point! And not only in May 1945.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by pelagonia

… in Vicenza airfield on May 4th 1945 for instance, No.1 F.I.U. unit (Party 'B') found a fw190 belonging to NSGr. 9 … While they correctly recorded its codes as E8+EH, they forgot to enter in their report its W.Nr. (584562), which is perfectly readable on the tail in period photographs …

Andrea

I'm sure boredom played a part in the mistakes made (and wanting to get back to base for the next meal and all the other human weaknesses) but also the dispersal areas were very extensive and I could see how you might miss one amongst the trees or whatever. Then there were all the normal mistakes that you can make in typing up a set of notes: duplication of entries, misunderstanding hand writing, typos etc. I also have one example of what seems to be mishearing: a final report mentions a CR. 42 coded "EH+FH" but years later I found an earlier draft on file and it was "E8+FH"

[pelagonia]

You are perfectly right Nick. Looking at your Ghostbombers site, the wrecks recorded on Aquino airfield all belonged to fw190, while this - quite famous - image seems to tell another story!

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by pelagonia

You are perfectly right Nick. Looking at your Ghostbombers site, the wrecks recorded on Aquino airfield all belonged to fw190, while this - quite famous - image seems to tell another story!

The article was about Fw 190s, I didn't say there were only Fw 190s there! There was also a Ju 88 A-4; two Bf 109 G-6; a Fi 156; an He 111; and Re 2002. And a Ju 52 W.Nr. 3114: this Werk Nummer was read from the tail, everything else was burned and there were the burned remains of two more Ju 52 on a scrap heap.

[pelagonia]

I see... I thought the field intelligence report in your site was complete. But of course it makes sense to list only the fw190, if the article was about them. Thanks a lot for the elucidation and in general for all the fantastic work you are making on the Luftwaffe. I am an avid reader of your work!

Best,

Andrea

[Cpt_Farrel]

I haven't had the time to read through all six pages of information so forgive me if I'm repeating things already mentioned. I've been looking at the aircraft in question at Marcs Flickr collection and it's not a WNF aircraft, it's a Mtt Regensburg aircraft with a replacement rudder. The details gives it away. Not sure whether it makes the case more or less clear though.

/Anders