Fw 200C-1 Condor was of the V (Erganzungs) Gruppe of KG 40 that was formed at Orleans-Bricy in mid-1941. This early production Fw 200C-1, F8+BW belonged to the 12./KG 40 and had the dark sea green (RLM 72) and dark green (RLM 73) uppersurfaces with pale blue (RLM 65) beneath. The individual aircraft letter 'B' was outlined in white.
She was piloted by Hptm. Edmund Daser, Staffelkapitan of I./KG 40 and, in February 1941, one of the most successful Condor pilots. Forty-five white vertical bars, representing the total number of missions which Daser's crew had then flown over Britain were painted on the fin together with the legend 'ENGLAND'. The rudder bears a silhouette of the ships which the crew claimed to have sunk, together with the date of the action. These ranged from 25 August 1940 to 28 February 1941. Daser was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 21 February 1941 and the following day a Wehrmacht communique announced that up to then his Staffel had sunk 145,200 BRT of shipping, of which 57,000 BRT was credited to Daser himself. On 29 June 1942, Daser, then a Major, was awarded the Deutsche Kreuz in Gold for his exploits.