Some enlarged and 'tweaked' known photos of Me 262s

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1084

232. The tail of white "3" showed the typical markings of a Baulos-Aufteilung 500xxx series aircraft: the simple black hakenkreuz and the small black werknummer well ahead of the lowest point of the hakenkreuz. Note the lack of the "Running Wolf" wappen on the nose but the red/blue RVT bands with the yellow vertical stripe signifying the III. Gruppe of JG 7.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1085

233. However, the first 500xxx werknummer series was different from those that came later. In this picture, white gun rectangles are seen under the cannon access hatch that are missing in later series. As well, the FuG 16Z access fairing over the starboard white balkenkreuz is clearly a mismatched replacement seen in #230. A huge red dot can be seen on the engine nacelle.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1086

234. This is a colour photo of W.Nr 500071 dating from 1953. Note that the white gun rectangles are missing, perhaps suggesting the Swiss have removed the MK 108s. Also note the "digital distortion" of the balkenkreuz.

[Dan O'Connell]

Thanks Jim

[Karoband]

My pleasure, Dan. There's more to come.

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1087

235. In this photo, American GIs examine a strange jet that had belly-landed at the occupied German airfield of Weimar-Nohra on 8 May 1945.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1088

236. By January 1945, the concept of an acoustic 'radar' known as Baldrian had been developed far enough to test hooking it up to a K 22 automatic pilot that could theoretically follow an enemy aircraft at night. This combination was known as Vesuv.
To calibrate Vesuv, the Lotfe bombsight was removed from the Me 262 A-2/U2 W.Nr. 110555 V11 "V555" that in December 1944 had been fitted with the Lotfe Kanzel II which allowed a bombardier to lie prone in the nose of an Me 262. In its place, the Baldrian system was installed with twin extendable diodes sticking out from the sides of the nose.
In this photo, civilian technicians from the Elektrophysik company are testing the Vesuv system. Note that "555" has not yet been added to the nosewheel door nor the kanzel painted.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1089

237. A view of "V555" taking of from Lechfeld, possibly on 10 February 1945 with Stabsing. Erberst in the kanzel and piloted by Flugkapitän Esche for a daylight calibration test against a target aircraft. (O'Connell, p. 38)

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1090

238. On 25 April 1945, Ofw.Karl Nitschke of the Lechfeld detachment of 1.(F)/100 took off on an operation in an Ar 234B and landed at Riem as American troops approached. It is likely that Oblt. Willi Benz of the same unit at the same time flew "V555" out to Prag via Horsching to be used for visual recce missions. On 8 May 1945, Benz was one of the last pilots to leave Saaz/Zatec at 19:55 hours with two fellow 1.(F)/100 pilots, Nitschke and a Ofw. Obroth, both crammed into the kanzel. At 20:25 hours, Benz made a skillful belly-landing at Weimar-Nohra.
Note that the roof hatch of the kanzel is ajar and the forward diodes are missing. Likely Baldrian was abandoned by March 1945 with the immanent introduction of the FuG 240 centimetric airborne radar.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1091

239. This is a view of the cramped nose area of "V555".

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1092

240. This is a screenshot of the tail of Me 262 A-1a 170061 White "11" of EKdo. 262 taken in the hot summer of 1944. A picture of the entire aircraft can be found on page 51 of O'Connell, Me 262 Production Log, (Classic, 2005), which states that white "11" also served with Kdo. Nowotny and III./EJG 2 until it was renumbered white "4".
This image shows the tail with the early grey RLM 74 and RLM 75 mottles over the blue white RLM 76 base coat as well as the clear plastic tail light at the base of the rudder.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1093

241. As W.Nr. 170306 served as III./EJG 2's white "4" until its 7 January 1945 accident, it is probable that W.Nr 170061 did not become "4" until after that date. In the meantime 170061 became one of at least seven Me 262s to receive a new experimental tail unit that included thin shaped plywood fin and tailplane and a redesigned rudder. These tail units were at first recognizable by their "kaulquappe" pattern, an inconsistent stencil of dark 'tadpoles' on a white RLM 21 base.
This screenshot comes from a well known film of III./EJG 2 aircraft at Lechfeld in January or even possibly February 1945. Note that this and other pictures of the line-up show white "4" has both forward cowlings on the nacelles in bare metal.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1094

242. The following is my poor translation of the caption to this photograph found on page 132 of Manfred Jurleit's Strahljäger Me 262 im Einsatz, (1995) :
"Due to engine damage, this 'White 4' of II./JG 7 had to make an emergency landing at Perleberg on 15 April 1945. Obviously, it is a machine of III./EJG 2 which at this time had given its aircraft to those pilots of that unit who were fully trained."
Note that the starboard engine has been replaced with one that had a camouflaged cowling.

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1095

243. "The 'White 4' is made serviceable again.", Jurleit, p. 133.
In this photo, the pattern of the original port engine nacelle is unique. 1. The bare metal cowling, 2. the splinter dark upper camo's rear edge sloping in a straight line under the wing, 3. a slightly dark shade of blue white immediately under the wing, 4. a whiter bottom nacelle panel, 5. a darkened first foot hold on the bottom panel, 6. the beginning of oil seepage along the panel seam and 7. the lack of a red ring on the side of the nacelle.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1096

244. This photo of the starboard side of W.Nr. 170061 white "4" was taken after the starboard engine was replaced by one with a camouflaged cowling. Note the dark tape added over the tail joint and the red ring on the side of the nacelle.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1097

245. If Jurleit was correct, II./JG 7 must have received orders to transfer all of its Me 262s to JV 44 at München-Reim as W.Nr. 170061 is listed as being with JV 44 there on 26 April 1945. Some sources, according to O'Connell p. 51, say that W.Nr. 170061 may be one of the aircraft captured at Innsbruck-Hotting. The camo pattern and lack of red ring on the port engine nacelle in this screenshot look suspiciously akin to that seen in #242 and #243 above.
If this white "4" is W.Nr. 170061, then the 'kaulquappe' rudder assembly had been replaced by a late-production example with a tail-light bulb. Also, it has been repainted in JV 44 camo and the "4" moved to the rear fuselage as per fighter units.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Karoband

242. The following is my poor translation of the caption to this photograph found on page 132 of Manfred Jurleit's Strahljäger Me 262 im Einsatz, (1995) :

"Due to engine damage, this 'White 4' of II./JG 7 had to make an emergency landing at Perleberg on 15 April 1945. Obviously, it is a machine of III./EJG 2 which at this time had given its aircraft to those pilots of that unit who were fully trained."

This story goes back (at least) to Profile Publications No. 130, The Messerschmitt Me 262 by J. Richard Smith (no date but "Price Two Shillings" so pre-1971).

On page 3 is Karoband No. 243, credited "Rumler via Hans Obert". The caption reads:

An Me 262 A-1a of Jagdgeschwader 7, photographed at Perleberg on 15th April 1945. The NCO pilot landed at the airfield to refuel after an interception sortie, not having enough left in his tanks to take him back to his home base at Parchim. One of his engines failed on take-off from Perleberg; icy slush had collected in the nacelle during his stopover. Both pilot and aircraft survived this mishap, and an engine change was carried out in about three hours. The mechanic on the right wearing a peaked field-cap is Herr Rumler, to whom we are grateful for making this photograph available.

So we have a veteran’s memory attached to a photograph but do we have any corroboration at all for that story? Unless I’m missing some critical setail, it seems far more likely that the photo was taken at the same time as the line up in Karoband No. 240. On 15 April, the US 8th Air Force attacked the German “fortress” of Royan in France although Marauders did raid multiple targets in Bavaria (a long way from Parchim and Perleberg) and III./EJG 2 put up six Me 262s in response. The Germans did log nine individual reconnaissance incursions by Allied aircraft over Northern Germany but the situation report mentions no jet operations there.

Note: The German sitreps are in Bundesarchiv RL 2-II/389 and RL 2-II/391 (both files are downloadable).

[Karoband]

Thank you, Nick, for the source of Jurleit's information, but especially for the research into possible actions near Perleberg on 15 April. The dates for the photos of W.Nr. 170061 white "4" are indeed problematic "without corroboration".

Jim

[Dan O'Connell]

Quite an interesting study of 170061. Very well done!