Internet: One Me 262 photo I didn't know

[ouidjat]

Hi Guys,

Our friend Kemon01 did upload this Me 262 photo I do not know:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kemon01...n/photostream/

Do you have any data concerning that machine? It is wearing two unit markings including - If I'm right - an emblem just Under the windscreen part.

Thank you for all your comments.

Regards, Franck.

[Nick Beale]

A nice photo but the aircraft is known. It was throughly analysed by Messrs. Wadman and Brown as part of their Experten Decals series in 1997. They credited the picture to the Peter Petrick collection, incidentally.

[RolandF]

This is "Yellow 3" of III./KG(J)54 photographed at the München-Riem scrapyard. The tail fin is the experimental wooden one with stencil-applied mottling. Formerly this plane was wearing the oblique yellow stripe indicating the 3rd Gruppe of KG 54 - now overpainted. Was replaced by the blue-white chequer tailband. KG 54 "Totenkopf" badge (yellow version) is visible beneath the canopy.

To the left is the port rudder of Ju 290A-5 WNr.900176
LUFTWAFFE: KR+LG (later 9V+GH of FAGr.5) - Dec.43 to Sep.44.
LUFTHANSA: D-AITQ - Oct. 44 to Apr.45, named 'Preussen'. Damaged on landing at Munich, not repaired and later dragged to the aircraft dump at the NE corner of the München-Riem airfield. Scrapped. (Courtesy David Brown)

Servus

Roland

[ouidjat]

Thank you both Nick & Roland,

Do we have a WNr. ?

Regards, Franck.

[unikum]

...

[David E. Brown]

Hi Franck,

Our original research* of this aircraft postulated that “Ge.3” was werknummer 170301, 170302 or 170305, I copy our rationale for this interpretation from our book below. I have not done any further research on this kite and given the passage of time thus welcome comments from readers.

David


* Brown, D.E. and Wadman, D., 1997. “Checkmate”: Gelbe 3 / B3+MT, Me 262 A-1a, WNr.17030?, III./KG(J) 54. Experten Decals ED-2A, Experten, Calgary, 12p.

[…]

Research into Me 262s that wore the striking kaulquappe (tadpole) tail camouflage indicates that they came from at least two separate Werknummer blocks: the 170XXX series (e.g., V303, Weisse 4) and the 110XXX series (e.g., Weisse 7). Of the latter block, Weisse 7 (Plate 4) is unique in that its Werknummer is visible above the horizontal stabiliser, and an enhancement of the image confirms that it is 110376. As well, published and unpublished Werknummer lists confirm that on February 28, 1945 Weisse 7 of III./EJG 2 was flown by a Fw. Bökel on a combat mission. However, an examination of both published and published photographs of the other III./EJG 2 similarly camouflaged aircraft, Weisse 1, 4, 7 and 19 (and also V303), suggests that their Werknummern were not painted in this upper position. Proprietary Werknummer lists of J.R. Smith and D. O’Connell, and published lists by Foreman and Harvey (1990) and Jurleit (1993a) were consulted to determine which aircraft in these two production blocks were assigned to KG(J) 54 and III./EJG 2 with the following extracted from these compilations:

Leipheim Werknummer Series
(170288-170312; 15 of 25 a/c known)
170301 I./KG(J) 54 ?
170302 I./KG(J) 54 ?
170303* Messerschmitt V303
170305 I./KG(J) 54 ?
170306** III./EJG 2 Weisse 4

Schwäbisch Hall Werknummer Series
(110361-110385; 17 of 25 a/c known)
110362 I./KG(J) 54 ?
110364 III./EJG 2 ?
110367 III./EJG 2 ?
110371 III./EJG 2 Weisse 14
110376** III./EJG 2 Weisse 7

* Colour photos. ** WNr. visible in photos

The table above clearly reveals that aircraft from III./KG(J) 54 and III./EJG 2 fall into two distinct clusters, each associated with a Werknummer block, the 170XXX and 110XXX series respectively. That for the III./KG(J) 54 aircraft is particularly tight, whereas those of III./EJG 2 are evenly scattered throughout the block. Within the 170XXX series are aircraft that have colour photos and identified Werknummern. Of the latter, Weisse 4’s Werknummer appears on both sides of the fuselage below the horizontal stabiliser whereas Weisse 7’s is above and only on the port side, suggesting subtle finishing differences relating to the individual manufacturers and these uniquely painted tails.

The photographic evidence suggests that very few (10-20?) of the subcontracted tail assemblies with this unique camouflage scheme were ever manufactured and as such would have been available to the two production centres for only a very short time. Indeed, other aircraft within these Werknummer blocks are known to have completely different camouflage schemes (e.g., WNr.170312 of I./KG 51 in Hildebrandt, 1993, pp.8-9). Furthermore, the photos show no evidence that Gelbe 3 ever wore the narrow yellow fuselage band and white numbers on the forward fuselage associated with Ekdo. Me 262, III./JG 6 Kommando Nowotny and III./EJG 2. Therefore, we believe that Gelbe 3 was likely a 170XXX-series aircraft originally assigned to KG(J) 54 in October 1944, and although speculative considering the above data and interpretations, we believe it probable that Gelbe 3 was likely Werknummer 170301, 170302 or 170305, although Werknummer 110362 must also be considered a possibility. However, it could well be that Gelbe 3’s Werknummer is one of those numbers within the two Werknummer blocks for which nothing is known.

[…]

References (cited above):

Foreman, J., and Harvey S. E., 1990. The Messerschmitt Me 262 Combat Diary. Air Research Publications, 256p.

Hildebrandt, C., 1993. Me 262A - Broken Eagles 4. Fighter Pictorials, Perkiomenville, 20p.

Jurleit, M., 1993a. Strahljäger Me 262 - Die Technikgeschichte. Transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH., Berlin, 204p.

[ouidjat]

Hi David,

Thank you very much for this full comment. Very fair, indeed.
Hope we'll get more comments about this kite.

Best regards, Franck.

[RolandF]

"Yellow 3 + |" can also be spotted in "Wings of the Black Cross 4" p. 23