Help please with German "E2 lightweight Steel Drop Tank"

[Alte Hase]

Hi all.

I was reading a profile of a FW190A-8 (red 11 of 10./Jg 301) and it mentioned that this aircraft carried the "E2 Lightweight Steel Drop Tank"on its ETC rack. Now I've never seen or heard of such a tank. I looked through all my Squadron/Signal Walkaround books, and googled this, but found no info/pictures of this kind of tank,except for a 1:5 scale tank that says it's an E2, but I cant tell what the photo looks like as its really tiny.

If anyone is able to help with a link or picture, I'd be really grateful.

Thanks!

 

[Crimea_River]

I may be wrong but I'm thinking that the E2 tank is the one you normally see - the 300l teardrop one. There later came some cigar shaped jobs, often carried by Doras but that were also 300l. Here's the cigar shped job, a resin mold made by Rutman

 

[Alte Hase]

The "E2" that I think they are talking about (the reference was on an Eagle Cals Decal Sheet,with a TINY picture showing no detail, EC#11) is one found mostly on the Doras, but it's not the cigar one, but a teardrop type with a metal 'lip'horizontally around the middle. Unfortunately I can't get a pic to post on here (hence my question),but it definitely doesn't look like the 'standard'common 300l luftwaffe tank. It seems to resemble very closely the USAAF 75Gal drop tank..?

I have found a reference that i think may be the 'E2'tank, in Squadron's 'Bf109 In Action', on p20, describing a similar but not identical tank as a 'type B, rarely used', but I really can't be sure?

PS: the 'common' luftwaffe tanks are described on the same page as Type C and Type D, they are recognisable by their vertical weld lines and small breather tube on the front.

 

[Airframes]

I've very recently read an account of an engagement, where the German pilot concerned, flying a FW190, describes dropping his "American drop tank". This is the first reference I've seen for this, and wonder if US tanks were recovered and used by the Luftwaffe, if serviceable.

 

[Alte Hase]

That is very interesting indeed! Well the tank described as an "E2"looks a lot like a USAAF 75 Gal tank...it is possible?

 

[Crimea_River]

This one?

 

[cimmex]

You can find a pic on the white1 site.
http://www.white1foundation.org/parts/droptank.jpg

cimmex

 

[Alte Hase]

Crimea River, YES! That's exactly the one! It seems to have no raised filler cap or raised sway braces. If anybody has a closeup or photo of either a real drop tank like that or a good model one, I'd be really grateful to see it.

 

[Gixxerman]

wonder if US tanks were recovered and used by the Luftwaffe, if serviceable.

I wonder how many aluminium ones (of all types) were recovered stored by canny people in Europe for sale for their scrap value after the war ended?

(hmm, I also wonder if maybe it was an offense to not hand them over on axis controlled territory?)

 

[Crimea_River]

Good one done for this 1/32 Hasegawa Dora here.

 

[Alte Hase]

That's an excellent picture. Now I notice that the Hasegawa Dora's tank has the standard filler cap fitted, but on the Dora profile in post #6 the tank seems not to have a cap. I'm 95% certain though that the tank shown is the "E2"type!

 

[Alte Hase]

I wonder how many aluminium ones (of all types) were recovered stored by canny people in Europe for sale for their scrap value after the war ended?

(hmm, I also wonder if maybe it was an offense to not hand them over on axis controlled territory?)

I'm not sure if it was an offence, though under Nazi rule, most things were an offence, so I would not be at all surprised! Interestingly, most Luftwaffe drop tanks I've seen carried additional stencilling on them near the "Achtung! Keine Bombe!", that stated that if found, the tank must be taken to the nearest police station, and a 10 Reichsmark reward was payable upon its return to the person who found it.

 

[MIGUEHB252]

Hello
Im sorry for my late answer. I hope that the photos will be help to somebody.
The droptanks were found in a lake near Rechlin.
The droptank measures are:
- Lenght : 1.50 m
- Width: 0.40 m.
Regards, Miguel

 

[Alte Hase]

Wonderful images, thank you! It's amazing how many artefacts from the War are still out there waiting to be discovered. Thank you for posting this! Off the top of my head I cannot recall seeing this type of drop tank before?

 

[vikingBerserker]

Cool find!

 

[stona]

Probably a bit late now but I didn't see this originally.
Here's an E2 drop tank on an Fw190,from Rodeicke's "Fw190 Jagdfluzeug"

A couple of drop tanks one steel and one aluminium turned up in France recently. The steel one is made from 0.7mm zinc coated steel plates and the construction method is different from the aluminium example. I suppose that aluminium was of more strategic value than steel when these were made.

Cheers

Steve