Ron's just done the hard work for years...
But the NASM 219A, happy to discuss... Although this is ALL from memory as I have NONE of my data with me
We know 3x He 219 made it to the US, 210903, 290060 and 290202 - all Rostock A-2's; we also know they were partially disassembled for the trip. NASM contents (with good reason) they have 290202, but there are problems with this:
- NASM claims they found the numbers '202' on the engine nacelles - 202 is the Baugruppe nummer for that part of an A-2. NASM also found other numbers like '264' (another Baugruppe nummer) and etc also though!
- NASM claims the majority of the a/c was painted with a Black Undersurface - no pictures of the a/c show black under surfaces at the time of capture; of all known a/c with black under surfaces, they exist in the range 290054 to 290129. No period photos exist of an a/c outside this range with a black under surface (though more and more show up with a Black wing, such as one of the captured machines).
At this point it must be stated that as they removed paint, they found 290060 on the tails - but the tails were in the Grey on Grey scheme (not the Grey on Black scheme) - but as NASM says, they have an a/c with black under surfaces, despite photos from the time showing no US-captured a/c with black under surfaces, it is probable that the a/c was repaired and repainted (we see this in the case of 290059) - there is plenty of evidence of a/c that have been repaired and sent back into service (evidenced by things like old werknummern not being removed from tails, or werknummern being painted on by hand onto replacement tails, etc)
- NASM contends the tails 'must have been swapped' - which is valid and possible, as the verticals were removed from all 3 a/c, but in this case, the matching pair of tails made it back to this a/c, but short of engines, nothing else appears to have been swapped.
- NASM contends that the ID plate is definitive proof of the a/c ID - problem is, no one has ever seen a ID plate on a Luftwaffe type that looks like this ID plate. The plate carries the WNr 290202 - the problem is that i) in every other known case the plates are rivetted (NASM's a/c is screwed on), ii) the embossing is unlike any other plate ever found, and iii) the plate has no Hersteller-code (manufacturer code) at all... It should have 'ehr' on it.
The rivetting was for a reason - so the plate STAYED WITH THE A/C and COULDN'T BE SWAPPED!
Now the fact that the German's (particularly in the field and even at the main repair facility at Cheb) often didn't have the time to change WNr on tails they'd swapped to other a/c (and the tail was an oft swapped part), it would hard to believe they would change out an ID plate... Not to mention, what would the reason be to change out the ID plate?
Far more likely is that the ID plate was 'souvenired' in the late 1940's, then sometime later, a 'replica' was knocked out, and re-attached, using what appear to be US pattern Phillips heads.
The ID plate is really suspect, and all experts who have seen images agree its likely not genuine - NASM now wont pull the plate to check the screws or back of the plate (the plate is mysteriously rusted too, unlike most recovered plates). The Luftwaffe only had metric fittings in inventory - so if the screws come out and are SAE, as used by the USAAF and USAF, one could reasonably content the plate is dodgy.
Now is NASM is right, they have happened upon:
- the ONLY KNOWN Black-Grey He 219 outside the known range;
- the ONLY known instance of a Heinkel ID plate with no hersteller code;
- the ONLY known Luftwaffe ID plate screwed on and not Rivetted!
That's pretty unlikely - especially those last two! The Germans were pretty anal about that stuff.
Hence I am pretty sure the NASM a/c is 290060, which left the factory in the Grey on Black scheme, was damaged (likely the tails and belly) - got new tails and new paint job (and I suspect the RH wing was left Black, as was the trend) and returned to service in the Grey on Grey scheme.
Little else makes logical sense.