Hermann Grafs JG11 Bf109G-5

 

Today I'm posting two versions of an aircraft flown by Hermann Graf while serving as a Geschwaderkommodore of JG11 in the winter of 1943 - 1944. W.Nr 15729 was delievered as a G-5 with pressurized cockpit but with the replacement of the canopy, the pressurization would no longer work so perhaps it should be called a G-6 then? Regardless, the camouflage is the most interesting point about this aircraft. 

Given the traces of mottle behind the swastika and W.Nr, it is likely that this G-5 was delievered in a regular Erla style 74/75/76 camouflage. When taken over by the Geshwaderstab of JG11 it was seemingly given an allround coat of RLM 76 that was then toned down with a medium blue-grey colour, darker than 76 but lighter than 75. That's a description that fits RLM 77 but if that was the actual colour used is not known. 

The spinner of Grafs aircraft is often depicted as being RLM 70 but I have not found any pictures supporting that. The only picture showing the spinner of a similarly painted JG11 aircraft shows it as I have depicted it, sprayed in RLM 76 while mounted on the aircraft so that 76 have gone onto the prop blades as well.

A photo in one of Priens "Jagdfliegerverbände" series shows an angle not normally seen of this aircraft. It shows a dark, narrow tailband like that used by II./JG11 in 1943, toned down just as the chevrons and Balkenkreuz as depicted in the first profile.

What must be a later photo shows a somewhat wider band that looks much cleaner, likely added at a later time. This would be the yellow fuselage band used by JG11 from early 1944. That is also how this aircraft is usually depicted. I've elected to keep the RLM 76 spinner but in theory, there's a chance that a black spinner with a spiral would have been added when the yellow tailband was added. 

This post was inspired by this Falke Eins blogpost containing an extract of Berthold Jochims biography of Herman Graf and his time with JG11. It includes a description of this aircraft. The idea that the camouflage was done like this to mimic a P-51 in natural metal finish is quite possibly a post war construction as I believe that P-51's were only seen in natural metal finishes later in the war.    

When writing about this aircraft it's hard to not mention the quality of the chevrons. It's quite amazing that the aircraft flown by one of Germanys top aces at the time has the sloppiest markings ever known to have been painted on a German fighter. Now, I have no evidence of this but I like this idea so much that I have to mention it. Graf was known for trying to attach as many prominent German football players to his units as possible in order to save them from front line service. They were put to work as mechanics instead so I can't help but wonder if these chevrons were painted on by a couple of guys who were as bad at painting as they were good at football!? 

If you want to know more I can really suggest you try and find a copy of "Graf and Grislawski - a pair of aces" by Christer Bergström. It's an excellent book and it's how I learned about Grafs passion for football.    
 

Me262 from KG51

 

This summer I've been working on the Me262 and it's time to put one up! There's a colour photo of this aircraft but the camouflage is still hard to determine. Early 262's flown by KG51 seems to have been painted with an 82 base upon which mottles and squiggles of 81 has been sprayed. That's not quite what I see in the pictures of White F though. Given the W.Nr it's likely that this aircraft was delivered in a dark camouflage consisting of 81 so there's a possibility that it was mottled in 82 to create a similar effect to the earlier scheme altough done in reverse. The nose have traces of 81 sprayed on top of 82 though, possibly after repairs. It appears that the bomb racks are missing from this aircraft but it was found in quite a derelict state so whether it actually flew without them is impossible to know. 

 

Bf109E-7 W.Nr 4112 flown II./JG53 Gruppenkommandeur Heinz Bretnütz. There's 27 victory markings on the rudder, a tally that Bretnütz reached on March 19, 1941. By that time II./JG53 had converted to the Bf109F-2 so there's either an error with the score board or Bretnütz kept his old aircraft on hand even after receiving his Bf109F-2. 

Ulrich Steinhilpers Yellow 2

 

For the first time, I'm posting a profile of an aircraft of which no known photos exist, Ulrich Steinhilpers "Yellow 2" that he flew on a mission against England on October 27th 1940 that ended with him being shot down and taken prisoner. 

Ulrich Steinhilper wrote a book about his life in the Luftwaffe that has been often quoted by authors for the German perspective on the Battle of Britain. One author who have leaned on Steinhilper for the German perspeptive is James Holland in his "The Battle of Britain" that I finished reading this summer. 

Just when I finished the book, Kotare posted the marking options for their upcoming model of the Bf109E-4 and included Steinhilpers aircraft as one of the options. Their idea of how the aircraft could have looked seemed wrong though as it included the JG52 shield and sword emblem below the windscreen while lacking the Running boar emblem. There were changes to the markings of I./JG52 that was made after the Battle of Britain, either in Germany or the Netherlands, when the Sword and shield emblem was added below the windscreen and the running boar emblem was moved to aft of the fuselage Balkenkreuz.

I went back to known photos of I./JG52 aircraft during the Battle of Britain and during September and October 1940 the Running Boar emblem was still displayed on the nose. The nose was painted yellow all the way back to the windscreen. Some photos shows spinners in Black-green and white while others shows yellow. 

3./JG52 seems to have used brown numerals which was often the case for the third staffel. Photos shows tactical numbers darker than the yellow in the fuel triangle for example. Also, "Yellow 4" that was shot down on the same day as Steinhilper is described in the intelligence report as having a yellow nose and an orange "4". I have there fore opted for RLM 26 for the "2" on Steinhilpers aircraft.  

Finally, Holland mentions that Steinhilper had five victorymarkings on the tail of his aircraft the day he flew what would be his last mission. I've added the five markings in the same style and placement as on Helmut Bennemanns aircraft as such markings most likely would be similar on aircraft within the unit.  

Regarding the general look of the aircraft - as the W.Nr is known, it's 2798, and there is a photo of aircraft from the same W.Nr range taken at Regensburg, I could use that to try and do a similar style of mottle and stencils. 

Without a photo it's of course impossible to be certain that a profile is correct, but I'm confident that it's as close as it can be given what we know. 

 When Yellow 13 of 9./JG51 belly landed on a beach near Calais it was photographed A LOT! It's an interesting aircraft with the III./JG51 axe emblem and the yellow markings used by the fighter units of the Luftwaffe during the second half of August 1940. A replacement panel that is obviously taken from another aircraft due to the mis matched colour can be seen in the first photos of the crash. Most photos shows the aircraft with those panels removed though so many older profiles lacks that detail. 

Some sources say that this was the aircraft of Karl Heinz Schnell while other sources say pilot unknown.  

Edit: After my initial post I found a picture of Yellow 13 before the belly landing and it does seem to show Karl-Heinz Schnell in the cockpit. The profile has also been updatedt to reflect details I found in other pictures.  

Erla built Bf109G-14/AS Red 5 of JG300

  

During the autumn of 1944 Erla delivered a series of Bf109G-14/AS aircraft to units engaged in the Reichdefense. Unlike Erla built G-10's, the Erla G14-/AS didn't have the refined engine cowling. Neither did it have the redundant lower cowl bumps of the Mtt Regensburg built G-14/AS. It did have the deeper oil cooler and the enlarged oil tank that can also be found on regular Erla built G-14's. 

Red 5 was photographed at Borkheide in the autumn of 1944 and was flown by an unknown pilot of 2./JG300. This aircraft was very similar to the more famous Red 2 "Rita" flown by Eberhard Gzik. A colourphoto of Red 5 clearly shows that the numerals of 2./JG300 were a brighter red than the fuselageband.   

White 1 of Paul Schalk, 5./JG11

 

 

White 1 of Paul Schalk is featured in three photos in Priens "Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe Teil 16/1" although it's misidentified as a G-14/AS. It's actually an Erla built G-10. The aircraft shows traces of repainting in several places and the fuselage cross is slightly skewed. The yellow fuselage band of JG11 seems to have been overpainted with RLM 75 unless the yellow colour has the exact same tonal value as the 75 which is possible but unlikely. So, it's another late war aircraft painted to look as dull as possible. 

 

It's possble that White 1 was flown looking like this with the yellow fuselage band in place, but as there's also signs on the fuselage that the tactical number has been replaced at one time or other it's impossible to know for certain.