Looking for info on the colour schemes of Bf 110s of 7./ZG 26, 1940.

[DieSchwarzeTulpe]

Hi guys, I'm new here, so I don't know if I have posted this in the right section of this forum .

Anyway, I'm currently building a diorama in 1/72 scale of Bf 110s of 7./ZG 26 in their airfield (St. Omer Barley-Arques) during the Battle of Britain. The model kit I'll be using gives camouflage schemes for numerous 110s, among them one from 7./26 in 1940:

However, upon some further research, I found an image of another 110 of the same unit in 1940, but it didn't have a white nose, as the one above has:

Here, the nose is clearly a continuation of the standard colour scheme of RLM 70/71/65.

So my question is, was this 'white nose' a sort of personal emblem, like the B-17 'Memphis Belle''s nose art, or was it some kind of unit identification, like to identify the aircraft of a Stab or something?
It would look quite stupid if all the aircraft in my diorama carried the same 'personal' emblem, so should I use this white nose on only one of the models?
Any info would be appreciated.

Cheers,
James

 

[Wurger]

Welcome to the site. The white nose isn't any personal marking. The kind of tactical marking was also used by other squadrons of the ZG26 eg. 3 or 8 Staffel and not only these. Regarding the camouflage colours, these could be either the RLM 70/71/65 or the RLM 71/02/65. The earlier camouflage would fit more for the early 1940 or the very early stage of the BoB. But it doesn't seem to be a rule. Addtionally the plane nose could be painted white either up to the cockpit front wind screen or to the side glasess or just to the rear edge of the front top hatch for the guns. So a pic of the particular plane would be helpful certainly. IMHO, John Vasco may shade some more light on that.

the pic source: the net.

the Bf 110 3U+AA of the Stab ZG26, September 1940.

the pic source: Stab Bf 110's (part 1) - AIMs decal sheet - Battle of Britain III./ZG 26 Bf 110 C/Ds

And here is the shots of the mixed Bf 110s taken in Sicily, 1941 ...

the pic source: the net.

 

[Crimea_River]

Welcome aboard. Best I have from my references is that the white nose markings were introduced in the latter stages of the BoB as recognition aids for all of the squadron's aircraft so I would be comfortable using it in a BoB diorama. I've not come across photos of your 3U+GR but other photos of white-nosed 110's often show squadron symbols carried either on or behind the white nose, which adds another wrinkle to the accurate depiction of your bird.

Perhaps John Vasco has better insight.

 

[DieSchwarzeTulpe]

Welcome to the site. The white nose isn't any personal marking. The kind of tactical marking was also used by other squadrons of the ZG26 eg. 3 or 8 Staffel and not only these. Regarding the camouflage colours, these could be either the RLM 70/71/65 or the RLM 71/02/65. The earlier camouflage would fit more for the early 1940 or the very early stage of the BoB. But it doesn't seem to be a rule. Addtionally the plane nose could be painted white either up to the cockpit front wind screen or to the side glasess or just to the rear edge of the front top hatch for the guns. So a pic of the particular plane would be helpful certainly. IMHO, John Vasco may shade some more light on that.

View attachment 843018
View attachment 843019
View attachment 843020
the pic source: the net.

the Bf 110 3U+AA of the Stab ZG26, September 1940.
View attachment 843026
the pic source: Stab Bf 110's (part 1) - AIMs decal sheet - Battle of Britain III./ZG 26 Bf 110 C/Ds

And here is the shots of the mixed Bf 110s taken in Sicily, 1941 ...
View attachment 843021
View attachment 843025
the pic source: the net.

Thanks for this, very useful! So basically, it was a unit identification aid for certain units in ZG 26, but it wasn't applied to all aircraft in said units, which will give some nice variation in my diorama.

 

[Wurger]

Thanks for this, very useful! So basically, it was a unit identification aid for certain units in ZG 26, but it wasn't applied to all aircraft in said units, which will give some nice variation in my diorama.

Actually yes you are right. But not only the ZG26 used that.

 

[DieSchwarzeTulpe]

Actually yes you are right. But not only the ZG26 used that.

OK, great

 

[John Vasco]

Actually yes you are right. But not only the ZG26 used that.

Yep. ZG 2, ZG 26 & III./ZG 76 used white noses. I have not seen a white nose on a II./ZG 76 Bf 110 in the Battle of Britain period. Also, white noses were not used on the Bf 110s of Erprobungsgruppe 210. The Bf 110 Ds of I./ZG 76, used on only one mission during the BoB, also did not have white noses.

 

[John Vasco]

Welcome aboard. Best I have from my references is that the white nose markings were introduced in the latter stages of the BoB as recognition aids for all of the squadron's aircraft so I would be comfortable using it in a BoB diorama. I've not come across photos of your 3U+GR but other photos of white-nosed 110's often show squadron symbols carried either on or behind the white nose, which adds another wrinkle to the accurate depiction of your bird.

Perhaps John Vasco has better insight.

Here's a shot of 3U+GR from the port side. Note the two emblems of II./ZG 26.

If you go into a photo program and lighten the photo, the 'R' of 7./ZG 26 can be clearly seen as the fourth character.

 

[DieSchwarzeTulpe]

Yep. ZG 2, ZG 26 & III./ZG 76 used white noses. I have not seen a white nose on a II./ZG 76 Bf 110 in the Battle of Britain period. Also, white noses were not used on the Bf 110s of Erprobungsgruppe 210. The Bf 110 Ds of I./ZG 76, used on only one mission during the BoB, also did not have white noses.

OK, perfect! Thanks for the info

 

[Crimea_River]

Great shot but doesn't appear to be BoB timing.

 

[John Vasco]

Great shot but doesn't appear to be BoB timing.

Aircraft that featured in the BoB continued to be used post-BoB.

The Bf 110 in my post #8 is a Bf 110 C with the white nose used in the later stages of the BoB. Production of the 'C' fighter variant ended in August 1940, so that Bf 110 is definitely BoB, albeit photographed at a post-BoB time.