eBay: Müncheberg Weisse 1

[ouidjat]

Hi Gents,

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Foto-Me-109-G...-/231154463112


Can find the same plane in Prien JFV Teil4.I page 340. Minus 1 victory.
Müncheberg was 7./JG 27 Staka after 21/08/1940 ...

The plane wears a "C3" octane triangle and must be a Bf 109E-4/N. As it is in JG 26,it's not surprising.
And one blured emblem but it appears to be the actual four leaves clover with "13" written Inside .. Missed the WNr.! Gr...
If there is an heart on cowling, we can't see it.

Regards, Franck.

[Bertrand H]

Hi Franck,

I am not used with the a/f of Caffiers but the shelter in the background could be Audembert or Abbeville. Gloves on the hands of the black men show that the autumn is well advanced and why not already the winter 40/41.

Bertrand

[ouidjat]

Hi Bertrand,

Yep! but we need to share the work! I'm not going to chew every thing ...

Right! on this photo we can count 23 scores, the last one claimed on 14November 1940 and, effectively, the unit was in Abbeville after 10/11 according to the same source ...

Cheers, Franck.

Note: emblem is quite a little bit overpainted!

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Ouidjat is correct on the dates, location and pilot's ID of this photo. For the EoE project, we're doing a full series of profiles for the a/c flown by Müncheberg during 1939-40. This new photo is a key clue to the appearance of his a/c, and proves that he flew the same a/c (W.Nr. unknown) from before the WC/FC, all the way until the unit left the Channel coast at the end of 1940. It was marked both <+I and later W1+I, as shown here. I know of photos of this a/c carrying 9, 17, 20, 22 and 23 victory tabs.

And the strange insignia is a badly worn remnant of the III./JG26 Gruppenstab 4-leaf clover. It has not been painted over, about half of it has worn off.

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

[ouidjat]

Yes Larry ... or Worn off ...
It took me some time before realising it was the 4-Leaf clover.

Do you know the WNr. Larry?

Regards, Franck.

[ChrisS]

Hi

He was flying WNr. 5961 in February 1941.

Chris

[ouidjat]

Yes Chris,

But it was a true E-7 in 5920 - 5985 batch, when this one is not; At least no E-7 in III./JG 26 loss list for the concerned period then start with F-2 ...
So, this Weisse 1 ???

[ChrisS]

?? I have WNr. 5961 as a E-7N which fitted this perfectly.

[ouidjat]

Hello Chris,

Last post before going to sleep!
5961 is in a batch of mixed E-7, E-7/Z and E-7/N.

For what I know - very few - and understood - maybe less than expected - 5961/Weisse 1 was flown by Müncheberg at Gela around February 1941... And it was an E-7 (I have it as an E-7, sorry it's more correct)

1/ Doesn't mean it's the same Weisse 1 we still find in November 1940.
2/ There is no Bf 109 E-7 in strength (Prien list) during that period.
3/ I wrote E-4/N (C-3) since JG 26 used to have this subtype since long, starting with E-3/N if you remember our good "LEMB time" discussions ...

If you have a reference stating that 5961 was a Bf 109 E-7/N, which one?

Last, the loss of 21-Oct-1942 while in Erg. JG West says it was a Bf 109 E-7. Of course I have no way to verify that loss.

Cheers, Franck.

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

7./JG26 detached from the rest of III./JG26 amd withdrew from the Channel Front late in 1940, re-equipped with new Bf109E-7s in Germany, then moved to Gela, Sicily, on 07.02.41. The Bf109E-4 that Müncheberg had flown through the WC/FC, the BoB and the first part of The Blitz was now likely close to worn out, and 7./JG26 needed the extra fuel tanks of the E-7 for Ops in the Mediterranean. W.Nr.5961 would have been one of the unit's new E-7s and not the a/c which is the subject of the photo in question. As of now, I don't know the W.Nr. of this a/c, but I'd certainly like to know it.

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator