Bf109Ga-6 from 1./JG27

 

Bf109Ga-6 from 1./JG27 at Fels am Wagram in early 1944 as seen in the Wochenschau n° 707. The early style fuselage cross is typical for early Ga-6's i.e G-6's license built by Györ in Hungary. 

Bf109E-1 from Ergänzungsgruppe JG27

 A photo of this amazing looking aircraft showed up online recently. I had to try and recreate it and this is the result. The emblem on the nose shows that this aircraft belonged to the Ergänzungsgruppe of JG27. The pennant on the aerial mast seems to indicate a Staffelkapitäns aircraft. Some aircraft of the unit had capped spinners while others didn't. The angle of the photo makes it impossible to be sure but I opted for the capped version. 

Bf109E-1/B of Andreas Walburger

Flown by Andreas Walburger of 5./JG27 this aircraft was forced down after being attacked by Spitfires during an escort mission to London on September 15th 1940. The aircraft had an ETC 500 bomb rack but no bombs were carried as the mission was an escort mission. The spinner was reported to be half white and half red and traces of the original Stammkennzeichen was found on the fuselage.

Bf109E-1 of Ernst Arnold

75 years ago today, on August 30th, 1940, Ernst Arnolds aircraft was damaged when he was attacked by Spitfires. He managed to put it down in Kent in more or less one piece. His aircraft was the first that was recorded by intelligence as having a yellow nose were there's also photographs to back up the claim.  

The first records of a yellow nosed Bf109 coming down in England came a few days earlier, on August 28th when a Bf109E of III./JG26 was recorded as having a yellow nose from the spinner to the windscreen. On August 29th, Bernhard Lampskemper of 2./JG3 crashed his aircraft, Black 8, that was also recorded as having a yellow nose but also yellow wing tips. None of these aircraft have been photographed though, so one can only speculate on how far the yellow was taken back. There was a photo in the Jagdwaffe series claiming to show Lampskempers aircraft but that seems wrong. Looking at that photo and checking the details in the few mottles visible it's possible to find this aircraft among others in photos taken during the autumn or winter of 1940.

Adding further to the mystery and confusion of the introduction of yellow noses, on August 31st, aircraft from both I./JG3 and III./JG26 crashed in England and were photographed as well but neither reports nor photos shows any traces of yellow noses or the earlier yellow wing tip markings. On the same day though, I./JG77 having arrived at the channel only days before, lost several aircraft over England that was reported as having both yellow noses and yellow wing tips.

Bf109G-14/AS Blue 11 of 8./JG27

Bf109G-14/AS W.Nr 785 750 photographed at Münster - Handorf in the summer of 1945. The thin fuselage band is typical of the band used by II./JG27 since the summer of 1944. The fin and rudder is clearly painted in darker colors than the fuselage hence the interpretation of latewar colors on the fin with a grey camouflage on the fuselage.  

Another dark color Erla built Bf109G-10

Another Erla built Bf109G-10 found abandoned after the war. The interesting thing about this one is that although it appeared to be painted in a single color at first, just like the previously posted G-10, at a closer look there seems to be two colors. Not only that but they would seem to fit the pattern seen on the left hand side of the previously posted aircraft.


UPDATE: Franck Benoiton and Marc-André Haldimann disussed whether this aircraft that I previously believed belonged to JG11, might in fact have been a JG27 aircraft. Having given this some thought I started checking contemprary aircraft from the two units and though material on JG11 is scarce, the few photos showing latewar II./JG11 109's that exist doesn't show any tailbands. JG27 on the other hand displayed them to the end of the war in similar fashion to what can be seen in the picture. So unless any new information turns up, for the time being I'll settle for JG27 as the unit of this aircraft.

JG3 Bf109G-6s in Normandie with green tailbands

A JG3 shield combined with a green fuselageband seems like a strange combination! A B&W photograph of this aircraft shows the dark tailband to good effect and intelligence reports on captured enemy aircraft in Normandy shows that several aircraft were found wearing the JG3 shield and a green fuselageband.

The most likely explantion would seem to be that JG27 aircraft were transferred to other units in Normandie and given the hectic and chaotic situation, new individual markings were added while the bands remained in place. 

5./JG27 Bf109F-4 Trop

It's rare to see a Bf109F-4/Trop in RLM 78/79 with a yellow enginecowling but II./JG27 used aircraft with that combination late 1941. The few photos showing these aircraft would indicate that the spinners were painted RLM70 but the photo of Black 9 is taken from an angle making it impossible to confirm the likely RLM70 spinner.