**** DONE: GB-49 - 1/72 Bf109G-6 - Favourite A/C of WWII

[imalko]

Username: imalko
First name: Igor
Category: Intermediate
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: AZ Models
Model Type: Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6
Aftermarket Add-ons: Lift Here! Decals - "Dulltones I, Western Types in Yugoslav Air force"
Details: "9617" from 172. LAP, JRV (172nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, Yugoslav Air Force), 1953

 

[imalko]

Bf 109G in postwar Yugoslav Service

As the War in Europe was coming to its end a number of Bf 109G's ended up in possession of Tito's partisans. Some were found on captured airfields, others were flown in by defecting Croatian pilots. Number of these aircraft were actually used in combat against retreating Axis forces. By the summer of 1945 there were still 10 Gustavs remaining on strength with new Yugoslav Air Force. Their original camouflage was left as it was, but with new Yugoslav national markings painted approximately on positions of the Balkenkreuze and with Yugoslav flag on the rudder. In 1946 the Gustavs received new serial numbers in range from 9601 to 9610 painted in black on both sides of the fin. These aircraft were rarely flown and in 1947 were ordered for scrap as massive deliveries of Soviet aircraft were expected.

This would have been the end of a Yugoslav Bf 109G story if there were no international political developments which changed everything.

In 1947, the Paris Peace Treaty was signed limiting the size of Bulgaria's Air Force and some of its excess aircraft were offered to Yugoslavia in military equipment trade negotiations between the two countries. The trade agreement among other types of aircraft included also 91 airworthy Bf 109Gs, 60 spare DB 605 engines as well as MG 151 cannons and MG 131 machine guns and ammunition. Not all aircraft were delivered by 1948 when deliveries ceased, so in total JRV operated 53 single seaters and 6 two-seaters. The subtypes included G-2,G-4, G-8, G-10 and G-14, while two-seaters were designated UMe 109. The deliveries of Soviet aircraft and equipment were not satisfactory even before the final Tito-Stalin split, so Gustavs were pressed into service with two fighter units 83.LAP and 172. LAP. The pilots of these units previously flew Soviet aircraft and this had some consequences once they converted to Messerschmitts.

"The difference between the previously used Yak 3s and Yak 9s and the Bf 109G soon manifested itself in an increased accident rate. Gustavs featured a number of technical advantages over the Yaks, like automatic propeller pitch, fuel injection, advanced superchargers, oil cooler air flow adjustment and leading edge slats, advanced radio sets, hydraulic brakes and electric weapon loading. On the other hand, the Gustav was harder to stall - the Yaks stalled easily - but once in a spin it was difficult and slow to recover, demanding strong pressure on the opposite foot pedal, full throttle and sometimes even lowering the landing gear. Still, more than anything else, it was the dreaded gyroscopic torque on take-off and landing that marred the service of Bf 109G in JRV. The design of the throttle lever made it difficult to use for aviators accustomed to rough throttle adjustment and slow-reacting engines with carburetors. Operated by the left hand, there were just a few centimeters of travel between the low revs and full speed, meaning that a minor forward move of the throttle released hundreds of HP.
Additional difficulties arose from technical malfunctions, some of them caused by aging hardware and others by human factors…"

During their service with JRV, Messerschmitts were used in interception and escort roles as well as for patrolling along the Adriatic coast and also taking part in all great army maneuvers conducted at that time. All in all about one hundred JRV pilots flew the Bf 109 between 1948 and 1952, sadly not without fatal loses. In this respect the toughest was the year 1951 when total of 48 accidents occurred on Bf 109Gs with four pilots losing their lives. In late 1951 the first deliveries of western equipment started under the Mutual Defence Assistance Programm and this marked the gradual withdrawal from service for Bf 109. Pilots of 83.LAP were the first to convert from Bf 109 to F-47 Thunderbolts in March 1952, handing over their remaining 10 operational Gustavs to 172.LAP. The conversion of this latter unit to F-47 was completed in August 1952.

"The withdrawal of the Bf 109G was met with great relief by its pilots. Although being of the same vintage, the comfortable and reliable Thunderbolt won the hearts of Yugoslav airmen in no time, 2nd Lt. Albin Pibernik of 83.LAP being one of them. He recollects:
When I sat in the Thunderbolt after the Messerchmitt, it was as if sitting in an apartment. Everything was at hand, beautiful. And since there were no two-seaters, we first did two flights with Harward. My first solo flight with the Thunderbolt went so, that my instructor followed me in another plane. We took-off and after flying for some time, I began to wonder whether the engine was defective, as all the instruments pointed exactly where they should. So unusual!
...
Still, the hard times on Gustavs had a good effect on future careers of those who learned to fly it, as summarized by Flight Officer Petar Novković of 172.LAP:
Regarding flying techniques, the Me 109 was the most difficult aircraft to handle, it had the strongest gyroscopic and reactive momentum. But, who learned to fly the Messerschmitt, he never again had any problems with take-off and landing, with any other machine."

Two Yugoslav Messerchmitt Bf 109Gs survived to this day: Bf 109G-2 "White 63" which is on proud display in Aviation Museum in Belgrade and Bf 109G-10 "White 44". This latter aircraft with dark brown/dark grey camouflage was used for dacades as teaching tool at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade before being sold to the United States in early eighties. Today she is displayed in fictitious Luftwaffe markings at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in Oregon.

Camouflage and Markings

Camouflage and marking system on JRV aircraft at this time was simple and straightforward and under the strong influence of Soviet standards. Paint scheme consisted of solid coat of dark grey on top and light blue on bottom surfaces. Domestically produced colors similar to Soviet AMT-12 and AMT-7 were used. A free interpretation of painting guide allowing the use of light brown on Bf 109s led to appearance of some motley schemes on some aircraft. Beginning in 1951 some repaired Gustavs returned from workshops with light grey coat on upper surfaces. Also, when aircraft were used in the warm climate of the Adriatic the upper paint could fade into light grey.
National roundel (blue and white circles superimposed by a red star thinly outlined in yellow) was standardized in size with 50cm diameter. It was placed in four positions – on both sides of the fuselage and on undersurfaces of both wings. No insignia was placed on top of the wings. National tricolor flag with red star was placed on the rudder. Gustavs carried individual numbers (consisting from the last two digits of the serial number) in white placed on the fuselage between the roundel and the tailfin. Serial numbers in range 9601-9663 were allocated to Gustavs and carried on the tail fin in black.

As a side note, the official designation for Bf 109 in Yugoslav Air Force was Me 109 and it was referred to as such in all official documents.

Text written by me
Source of the pictures and quotes as marked in the text taken from: Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Yugoslav Story, Volume II written by Ciglić, Savić and Micevski

 

[imalko]

The Last Messerschmitt

After withdrawal from service all surviving Bf 109Gs and spare DB605 engines were transported to Rajlovac Air Base and stored at Aircraft Repair Depot 169. Here they were occasionally used as teaching tools at Aviation Technical School Centre, cadets studying its construction, systems and radio equipment. Finally they were scraped in March 1955.

A single plane from 172.LAP, Bf 109G-6 "White 17", remained under repair in the workshop until April 1953. Although the regiment had been fully equipped with Thunderbolts at the time, "White 17" was attached to Aviation Officers School of 21st Mixed Air Division at Zemunik as a personal aircraft of regimental commander Captain Tomaš Samardžić and remained in service until November, when it was also stored at Rajlovac and later shared the fate of other Gustavs that were stored there.

This aircraft, the last operational Messerschmitt which flew in Yugoslav Air Force, will be the subject of this build. Picture below shows the appearance of this aircraft in last months of its service, with light gray upper color and white escadrille number removed. LiftHere decal set offers an option of weathered national markings, so I'll be making use of these.

 

[fubar57]

Do the bendy version

 

[CATCH 22]

Bf 109G in postwar Yugoslav Service
As a side note, the official designation for Bf 109 in Yugoslav Air Force was Me 109 and it was referred to as such in all official documents.

Hi Igor, Messerschmitt 109 from all types delivered to Bulgaria had the official designation Me 109 and never Bf 109. I believe Bulgarian officials may have used the original delivery papers when transferring the a/cs to Yugoslavia (see below a copy of one such take-over document) which explains your information above.
AFAIK "your" Me 109G-6 WNr.162482 and the one below WNr.163321 were a/cs of the same batch, delivered during July 1944 to the Bulgarian Air Force (see date 27.07.1944 below).

Cheers!

 

[rochie]

Good stuff Igor

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Cool....

 

[imalko]

Hi Igor, Messerschmitt 109 from all types delivered to Bulgaria had the official designation Me 109 and never Bf 109. I believe Bulgarian officials may have used the original delivery papers when transferring the a/cs to Yugoslavia (see below a copy of one such take-over document) which explains your information above.

I don't think that's the case. Designation Me 109 was in use in Yugoslavia well before the Bulgarian connection. Even Emils used by Army Air Force of Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1939-41 were officially designated Me 109. Postwar the JRV just continued the earlier practice.

AFAIK "your" Me 109G-6 WNr.162482 and the one below WNr.163321 were a/cs of the same batch, delivered during July 1944 to the Bulgarian Air Force (see date 27.07.1944 below).

I find the document you posted very interesting. According to the JRV Bf 109 Register 1945-1953 provided in an appendix to the book "Bf 109-Yugoslav Story Vol II", aircrafts WNr. 162482 and WNr.163321 were indeed delivered to Bulgaria as a part of the same batch. However, here it is stated that delivery occurred in May 1944. Anyway, "your" WNr.163321 eventualy became "White 23" in JRV service and it was struck off charge fallowing an accident on 8th December 1951.

 

[Ralph Haus]

Igor - Will you be posting any photos of the build? I'm interested to see how this brand, and model, goes together.

 

[imalko]

Thanks for your interest. I've started working on it. Will be posting first progres photos soon.

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[imalko]

Okay, I've been preoccupied with other stuff latelly, so the progress on this build was rather slow. Never the less, here are few shots of what has been done so far...

 

[rochie]

Progress is Progress Igor, looks good too

 

[Airframes]

I agree, it's looking very good Igor.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Good stuff.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice work so far!

 

[le_steph40]

 

[Wayne Little]

keep at it Igor...!