1/ZG42 Bloch 152 c-1 nr 148
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Right, I'll take a shot at this one! A great Battle of Britain 1940 photo.
1. See the demarcation line between the upper and lower surface camouflage? It's not standard - note how it curves downwards from the point of the bottom of the emblem. That is indicative of the camouflage line of a Bf 110 D 'Dackelbauch' (the large fairing that housed an additional large fuel tank and a small oil tank). The Dackelbauch has been removed, as it was issued to a unit that would not be involved in long distance flights, so all of the additional weight was removed. If you look closely just below the line of the camouflage demarcation, you can see the small rivet holes in the fuselage. So, this is a Bf 110 D.
2. Given that it is a 'D' variant, the unit is ZG 2, not ZG 52, since the 'D' variant was only issued to front line units on the western front at the beginning of July. The re-designation of I./ZG 52 to II./ZG 2 took place on 1st July 1940.
3. So which Staffel of ZG 2? This is a bummer! Because 4. Staffel had full white spinners, and 6. Staffel had full yellow spinners! It is a hell-and-all job trying to discern which Staffel it belongs to from this b&w photo. If only I could see the W. Nr. written on the wheel cover!
4. Groundcrew wearing white? Didn't they wear black (Schwarzmänner). Yep, the normal groundcrew wore black overalls. Those wearing white were the electricians among the groundcrew.
5. Note the Bf 110 in the background has the extended tail, ergo a 'D' variant also.
