****DONE: Bf109G-14 Yellow 1 Magg. Mario Bellagambi - Aircraft in Foreign Service GB (1 Viewer)

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Wayne Little

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Bf109G-14 'Yellow 1' : Magg. Mario Bellagambi Aircraft in Foreign Service WWII GB


User Name : Wayne Little
Category : Non Competing Judge
Entry : Italian marked German Bf109G-14 W.Nr. 464380 flown by Magg. Mario Bellagambi
Kit : Hasegawa 1/32 Bf109G-14

This aircraft was flown by Magg. Mario Bellagambi, Commander of 5a Squadriglia, 2 Gruppo Caccia during March 1945.
It is a rare aircraft in that it is one of only 2 known Bf109's that carried a BLACK Border fuselage Cross.
This aircraft has been quoted as being in 74/75/76 AND 83/75/76 with an 81/83 Rudder in different sources, Personally I do not believe the rudder is in 81 with 83 hard edge mottle as has been shown in various profiles, the primary reference photo does not seem to show this to be, it looks more like a dark colour mottled/sprayed to create a dark appearance.
It is quite possible that the "dark' mottle is covering a yellow Rudder, as quoted in one source, this may well be so…..
Certainly other aircraft from the 464XXX W.Nr. block do not show the hard edged 81/83 combination.

I will further update this thread on the weekend, but wanted to get it up and running.

have added the 2 reference profiles and the main photo currently known.

Image Credits: Bf109 Late Versions Camo Markings Krzysztof Wolowski
Camo and markings of the ANR ferdinando D'Amico and Gabriele Valentini
 

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Nah.....just some convenient builds I've wanted to do and they are all slotting in nicely!:) if I can get these done in time a 1/48 Finnish Hurricane may happen too!
 
Hi Wayne, I will follow your work with a lot of interest, as you can imagine!
You surely have a lot of information on the subject, but if you need any help from the Italian side, just let me know and I will do my best.
Alberto
 
Now with both kits being pretty much the same in most departments I will be following a similar build and paint process in the early stages.

Just in case you thought I might use the same photo's to save time in the threads...:lol: you may notice something that sets the two kits apart?? :)

Fisrt up a bag full of parts separated from most of the sprues, this means I can put both kits in the same box to make things easier for me!

and a start on the cockpit!
 

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I'm interested to see what you go for. I think the second (74/75 ,overpainted yellow rudder) profile is the more likely. It's from a block that's a bit early for 81/82 and,though I've seen it done by a well known Italian modeller,I'd be suspicious of 75/83 on an Erla built machine.
Cheers
Steve
 
I'm interested to see what you go for. I think the second (74/75 ,overpainted yellow rudder) profile is the more likely. It's from a block that's a bit early for 81/82 and,though I've seen it done by a well known Italian modeller,I'd be suspicious of 75/83 on an Erla built machine.
Cheers
Steve

Still giving the camo plenty of thought Steve, I DO think the yellow lower cowling is likely, therefore the overpainted yellow rudder is a distinct possibility. haven't found that hard edged rudder mottle on any other 464XXX machines either early or late. Different publications are saying 74/75 or 83/75 the overcast day which the photo' was taken makes the main darker colour look quite dark much like the area on the cowling on which the emblem is painted. this tends to lean towards the 83? but i'm not quite convinced at this point....yet! Erla machines started with 74/75 and did make the change.....when, is the question I have not answered? The use of the early lower wing cross would tend to indicate an early machine and possibly therefore 74/75 would be a more likely probability, the non standard black fuselage cross certainly puts a spanner in the works?
 
Still giving the camo plenty of thought Steve,

I believe this comes from an early production run. The fairly heavy mottle would support this.
Various sources seem to indicate that when the 80 series colours were introduced Erla ditched the 70s and did a double substitution,hence 74/75 became 82/81. Hence my suspicion of an 83/75 combination.We all know what intermediates may have appeared and such things do certainly appear on other Erla machines.
I think (but can't check at the moment) that Erla stopped the yellow under cowlings on their G-10s? That would have been around July/August '44 (memory?)
I'm not sure that much can be read into those black outline Balkenkreuze. I think you already mentioned how unusual they are. I wonder if it was a mistake or simply a shortage that caused a few aircraft to have these applied. We'll never know.
Likewise the patch on which the emblem is painted would,I think,have been applied around the time the emblem was added. It may be a fresher patch of one of the camouflage colours or even something else. I don't think it relates to the factory scheme.
Great subject,I'll be following your progress with interest!
Cheers
Steve
Edit Is the 74/75 profile from the Wolowski book? It looks familiar but my copy is out on loan!
 
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I believe this comes from an early production run. The fairly heavy mottle would support this.
Various sources seem to indicate that when the 80 series colours were introduced Erla ditched the 70s and did a double substitution,hence 74/75 became 82/81. Hence my suspicion of an 83/75 combination.We all know what intermediates may have appeared and such things do certainly appear on other Erla machines.
I think (but can't check at the moment) that Erla stopped the yellow under cowlings on their G-10s? That would have been around July/August '44 (memory?)
I'm not sure that much can be read into those black outline Balkenkreuze. I think you already mentioned how unusual they are. I wonder if it was a mistake or simply a shortage that caused a few aircraft to have these applied. We'll never know.
Likewise the patch on which the emblem is painted would,I think,have been applied around the time the emblem was added. It may be a fresher patch of one of the camouflage colours or even something else. I don't think it relates to the factory scheme.
Great subject,I'll be following your progress with interest!
Cheers
Steve
Edit Is the 74/75 profile from the Wolowski book? It looks familiar but my copy is out on loan!

The profile is from Wolowski's book, I suspect the cowl patch could be covering another emblem, why not just put the 'new' Emblem straight on the applied camo if nothing existed their previously? The Diavolo Rossi emblem is applied directly on existing camo on a number of other machines. Maybe the patch is an Italian Dark green?
Wolowski states yellow under cowl and rudder on G-14's but not on G-10 production.Now while I really like the 74/75 option still quite possible....it may be more likely 83/75...so i'm thinking Bellagambi's aircraft is actually a combination of the colours featured in the profiles.....that being 83/75, yellow lower cowl and rudder oversprayed to tone down that yellow.
This aircraft was made in the latter part of 1944...right? so if the primary source quotes Feb/Mar 45 then it must have been in service somewhere else before becoming Bellagambi's mount, probably also means the wing is preventing us seeing an oversprayed previous tactical number...maybe?
the other biggest issue is German upper wing crosses or Italian fasces??? Again coin toss....I'm thinking if emblem area was painted and emblem applied then as a commander it would be a good possibility that wing fasces to complete the Italian identification is a good probability too!!
Please chuck in your 2 cents worth all and sundry...!

Also just had time to add the only item to the port cockpit wall before lunch break ended today, most of the time was spent on the other 109....:)
 

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Good point about the possibility of a previous 'owner'. Late '44 production seems reasonable. What would a previous 'Kennziffer' have been oversprayed with? Maybe the same colour that is the background for the emblem. Maybe it was already a 'Yellow 1'. Quite a conundrum.
I think either of those camouflage schemes are possible and I definitely like the yellow under cowling and oversprayed yellow rudder.
No idea about national markings,I'm completely unfamiliar with Italian practice.
Cheers
Steve
 

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