Question about I./KG53 insignia during 1940 on He111s

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

In working up the profile packages for I./KG53 He111s, I've found photos showing the Gr insignia (a stylized white diving eagle carrying a bomb in its talons superimposed over a black disc--Ketley & Rolfe #328) with a red circular ring around the insignia, as well as other examples that show this ring as yellow, as is indicated in all the standard references back to Karl Ries. This doesn't appear to be associated with the Staffel color, as examples exist of 3 Staffel a/c with red rings, when you'd expect them to be yellow.

Does anyone have an explanation for this anomaly? This isn't a one-off thing, but appears on several different a/c all the way back to the the Polish Campaign of 9.39 and forward into at least mid-1940.

Thanx for your help.

Regards,

[Marc BENOIT]

Hello Larry,

The ring was most probably red and not yellow : there is a very good photo of the emblem in " Photo collection Luftwaffe embleme 35-45 " by K.Ries. If the ring was not red, then it must have been nearly orange, but not bright yellow.
It's not a definitive proof, I'm afraid !

Best regards

Marc

PS: did you get my mails ?

[Clint Mitchell]

I've not seen any versions of the emblem that look to have a yellow ring either, would be interesting to see. All versions I have the ring appears to be red. Also have a colour photo probably well known showing a red ring. Has Ansbach written beneath the emblem on 2 photos including the one mentioned above on P187 of Photo Collection Luftwaffe Embleme, By Karl Ries.

[Larry Hickey]

Marc,

Yes, I got your emails. Thanx. Working on additional material for you.

Marc and Clint, I originally had the same thought as both of you about the ring ALWAYS being red, but our new EoE expert on KG53, Thomas Hesse, sent me several photos yesterday, including a color postcard, that clearly show examples with a yellow ring. This is what prompted my post in the first place. I have the color photo that Clint refers to in the DB, showing this insignia with a red ring, but I'm now certain that both colors were used. The question is why? If the colors matched the staffel colors, that would make sense, but they don't appear to do so.

Regards,

[Clint Mitchell]

Interesting development. I hope you can get to the bottom of how the colours were distributed throughout the gruppe.

[edwest]

Just a side note. Luftwaffe im Focus 19 has the following item mentioned in its contents bullet points.



• Yellow or orange – the never-ending discussion: Colour slides provide new insight






Usual disclaimer,
Ed