Nice photo find - German planes captured by British Paratroopers

[ChristianK]

The attached pics plus some more can be found here: www.pegasusarchive.org/varsity/frames.htm

These two Fw 190 F-9s with flame dampers (440382 "10" and ?????? "11") are already known, but can someone tell me anything about the identity of Fw 190 "KT+UO"? I can't find this Stammkennzeichen block in my references.

Also: What are the installations on the wing leading edges of the attached Bf 109? Cameras?

Cheers,
Christian

[ouidjat]

Hello Christian,

Wonderful find! Here is the first photo - expired eBay auction, October 2011 - we already got!

[ChrisS]

Thank you Christian, there is also a Ju 88 and Me 262 on the same website all found by British Paratroops
.

Regards
Chris

[ouidjat]

Same source:
Then... I believe - we already talked about it times ago - it's one of the first MG108 trials for future Bf109K-6.
Look at K-6 mock-up photo, look at the leading edge and look at the same leading edge curves (yellow arrows) on actual picture ..

StKz ??+EM or ??+LM.

Regards, Franck.

[veltro]

Sorry Franck, but I don't think those are MK 108 structures, or for any other weapon.

IMHO, the "mouth" of the structure is far too smooth and devoid of any visible support to receive a bolted-on part to let us think that a barrel and its cap could be placed there.

Also, the shape of the structure extends also above the wing, whereas the mock-up of the MK 108 nacelle is protuding only below the wing.

Last but not least, the whole frontal part of the mock-up seems to me a lot rounder.

This for why it doesn't seems a weapon to me; to determine what it could be it's all another matter... my wild guess is that those could be aerodinamic enclosures for photo or cine cameras.

Always IMHO, of course.

[Martin388]

As far as I can see this is definitely not a Bf109K-6 but very likely a G-6. There seem to be a Stammkenzeichen applied xx+EM or LM visible. This would be likely for a weapon test bed aircraft. It could be a trail for an integration of a Bordrakete BR into the wing structure in order to reduce the drag from external racks for e.g. BR21.

Is there an indication for the location where this photo has been taken?

Martin

[ouidjat]

Dear Ferdinando,

These are your thoughts. Technical details between this and that aren't that important when we don't know what's the matter.

Can be more rounded, can be less rounded as well. What I said is the gun tubes have been removed.

Place seems to be Luneburg which is very close to weapon test plane at E-Stelle Travemünde.
Last known cameras to be put on Bf109G and K-4 were BSK 16 (or something like that) And fairings were quite different than what we are discovering down there.

Best and friendly regards, Franck.

[ChristianK]

@Martin: For this exact photo a location is not given, but many other airfield photos from this website (i.e. the 6th Airborne Divison) were taken at Lüneburg. This must not mean anything, though, as the 6th Airborne passed through the whole of northern and northwestern Germany...

[ouidjat]

Originally Posted by Martin388

As far as I can see this is definitely not a Bf109K-6 but very likely a G-6. There seem to be a Stammkenzeichen applied xx+EM or LM visible. This would be likely for a weapon test bed aircraft. It could be a trail for an integration of a Bordrakete BR into the wing structure in order to reduce the drag from external racks for e.g. BR21.

Is there an indication for the location where this photo has been taken?

Martin

No one said it was a K-6.

[ouidjat]

Originally Posted by ChristianK

@Martin: For this exact photo a location is not given, but many other airfield photos from this website (i.e. the 6th Airborne Divison) were taken at Lüneburg. This must not mean anything, though, as the 6th Airborne passed through the whole of northern and northwestern Germany...

Under the photo it is writen "Probably taken at Luneberg Heath, Germany, late April 1945".