Captured Me 410s in the "Berlin Area" - Unit?

[ChristianK]

Gentleman,

under this link: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic....05105&start=45 you can find a set of photos from soviet sources showing a number of Me 410s captured along the Autobahn "around Berlin" in 1945. Is anything known about their unit?

As far as I understand all Me 410s used on the Eastern Front in 1945 did belong to reconnaissance Staffeln, but these Autobahn-planes feature II.-Gruppe Balken as well as fighter style numerals. A similarly marked Me 410 was found at Tutow in Pomerania.

In the past I took the plane in Tutow as a leftover from II./ZG 26, which was disbanded in the region during the summer of 1944. But these aircraft found by the Soviets along the Autobahn could not all be leftovers from almost a year ago.

Now normally I would allocate these planes to 5.(F)/122, which was stationed at Finow, north-east of Berlin, an airfield directly adjacent to the Autobahn Berlin-Stettin (and as such fitting in very well with these soviet photos). But a fair number of Me 410s from 5.(F)/122 are documented and they all were marked in the expectable "unit code+two letter"-fashion (in this case "F6+xN") - so quite different than these aircraft seen in the modelforum photos.

Any theories about that?

Cheers,
Christian

[Denniss]

1st post, last image clearly shows a destroyer-like bomb bay door with two openings for 2cm/3cm guns

[Edward L. Hsiao]

Never heard of Me-410s going against the might of the Soviet Red Air Force during the last few months of WWII for Germany.

Edward L. Hsiao

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by ChristianK

But these aircraft found by the Soviets along the Autobahn could not all be leftovers from almost a year ago …

Any theories about that?

Cheers,
Christian

My only theory is that they were leftovers, perhaps used as decoys against strafing. The aircraft seem to have been stripped of their barbettes, which are a bit large for a souvenir hunter to take. Also the fuel crisis had greatly reduced the numbers of multi-engined aircraft operating by Autumn 1944, so would Zerstörer still have been used if a single-engined alternative was available?

P.S. Whatever the right answer, these are really interesting photos.

[ChristianK]

Well, good point about those barbettes, Nick..

BTW: The last photo on page 3 of the modelforum-thread might show two further planes of the same unit. At least the aircraft marked "(black?) 10" has the same distinct spinner paintjob as the plane in the last photo on page 4. Sadly, no location or source given.

I checked Michael Meyer's and Paul Stipdonk's books on the german destroyer units for photos of Me 410s in service with ZG 26, and at least some of them featured propeller spinners marked in this fashion. ZG 26 aircraft also used a white fuselage band, traces of which, either overpainted or covered-up can be seen in some of the soviet photos. So yeah, these planes might indeed just be leftovers.