Meyerweissflog's Me109E

[Airframes]

Hello all you Luftwaffe specialists! In order to help me complete some work for the diorama guide, I could do with a pic of Me109E, Wk.Nr.5375 of Stab JG53, flown by Hauptmann Wilhelm Meyerweissflog. This aircraft belly-landed at Monkton, Isle of Thannet, U.K. on 5 September 1940. I have seen a pic somewhere on the web, showing the aircraft after belly-landing, which is what I'm looking for, but it was small, and a poor quality reproduction of what I suspect was a period newspaper half-tone. I am more interested in the TERRAIN that the aircraft is lying on, as I need to complete a 1/24th scale diorama of the '109 for inclusion in the guide. Got a bargain in the January sales at Woolworths 2 years ago; the Airfix 1/24th Me109, £7 !!!
Heres hoping, Terry.

 

[Wayne Little]

Know the aircraft you mean will have a look for you, I have the 3 vol Jg53 series, should be something in there...?

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Wayne! No immediate rush, but I thought I'd ask now rather than rush later! Terry.

 

[Wurger]

I found these with the link below.These pics there are bigger than here.

Asisbiz.com - Search Engine Optimization and Software Development Company

 

[B-17engineer]

Good pictures Wurger

 

[Airframes]

Tremendous thanks Wojtek! The photo is just what I needed! Interesting as well, as most accounts state that the Stab machines, at least, had the Hackenkreuz overpainted in a 'silent protest' at the 'banning' of the 'Pik As' and the enforcement of the red ring. Yet the 'photo clearly shows the swastika on the fin. Great, I actually built the model about 2 years ago, ready to do the diorama of it belly landed. Now, not only can I adjust the 'damage' I modelled, but I've got a feel for the terrain, and I don't need to overpaint the fin! Brilliant, as usual Wojtek! Many thanks again, Terry.

 

[Wurger]

You'r welcome Terry.I would like to see the final effect of your effort.

 

[Airframes]

It'll be in thediorama guide, but assoon as I A) finish the'109 diorama and photograph it, and B) get the proper PC back to full health, I'llpost some pics. Thanks again.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Good stuff Wojtek, that was the main shot I had showing the terrain, found the same shot but cropped in some other books too.

 

[Wurger]

THX.

 

[seesul]

It'll be in thediorama guide, but assoon as I A) finish the'109 diorama and photograph it, and B) get the proper PC back to full health, I'llpost some pics. Thanks again.

Terry, btw, did you get in touch with your buddies you were searching few weeks ago? I´m curious...

Wojtek, well done

 

[Wurger]

THX Romku

 

[Airframes]

Hi Wojtek, no luck yet with the one in Denmark, although I think I might have found another possible contact address. My ex- RCAF friend in Iowa, I have sent a letter for now, didn't want to try 'phoning, just in case it turned out embarrassing...if he'd passed away, you know? Just waiting for a reply. If I do hear from him, I'll ask his permission to quote from some of his stories about Mosquito operations, or maybe ask him to post something. Soon as I hear, I'll let you know. Terry.

 

[Wurger]

It would be nice to read some of these stories.
THX Terry.

 

[jerseyjoe]

Hello "airframes", please forgive this unsolicited approach but I have been looking up information on the Luftwaffe in the Channel Islands and happened upon the ww2aircraft.net website during internet searches. I have managed to find a German propaganda image of an Me 109 being refuelled at Guernsey airport circa 1940 and the markings on this aircraft are identical to those on the crashed Meyersflog Me109 that someone forwarded to you for help with constructing a diorama. I am showing my ignorance here, but are the markings on these aircraft individual or would all members of a particular squadron have the same markings? yours sincerely, steve, jersey. channel islands.

 

[A4K]

Welcome to the forum Joe!

Can you post the photo? Even if not the same aircraft Terry (Airframes) modelled, it will no doubt be of interest to many people.

Cheers,
Evan

(And great find Wojtku!)

 

[Wurger]

Do you mean these two images?

These pictures were taken in July 1940 and show the Bf 109E of Hptm. Willi Meyerweissflog, W.Nr 5377 of Stab/JG53 being refueled from 45 gallon drums carried on the back of a Commer lorry which has been pressed into temporary airfield service at La Villiaze on the island of Guernsey.

The image with crashed Bf109E shows the same plane WNr 5375 , flown by Hptm. Wilhelm Meyerweissflog, Stab/JG53, who made a forced landing at Monkton Farm, near Manston, on 5th September 1940. The "Emil" wore unusual camouflage pattern ( like all of the JG53 planes during the BoB) but the entire rest of markings is following the RLM orders. The black schewron and bars are markings of the Second-in-Command ( Geshwader Adjutant ) used by all "Stab" Flights on their machines. Generally, all Commanders and Staff officers had their markings different from other markings used by a unit. But these were the same for all of Jagdwaffe units.

The red band on the engine cowling is a different matter. Here is a text I have found via the net....

The Red Band - a mark of shame.

At the end of July 1940 Hermann Göring ordered that the famous 'Ace of Spades' insignia was to be overpainted with a simple red band. It is understood that this was a punishment for the men of JG 53 since their commander, Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel had married into a family whose aryan credentials wer not quite 100 per cent. Further proof of this temporary falling out of favor is that von Cramon-Taubadel was the only one of the 'Old Guard' Kommodoren to not receive the Knights Cross. When Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke assumed command of III/JG 53 on 13 August, he rebelled against Göring's red-band-order by ordering the tail Swastika to be removed on all his Gruppe's machines (!). Finally on 20 November 1940 (presumably after von Cramon-Taubadel had transfered out?), the order was rescinded and the whole affair conveniently forgotten. The 'Ace of Spades' reappeared to adorn the 'Pik-As' Geschwader's fighters.

I think it makes it clear.


BTW THX Evan.

 

[stona]

There are other possibilities for the red band. It may have been a marking for Jabo machines that was extended to cover all of JG 53's fighters.It may have been an attempt to fool RAF intelligence into believing another fighter Geschwader was operating in the channel theatre. The Cramon-Traubadel's non-aryan wife theory has gained popularity based more on it being a good story fitting the popular Goering stereotype rather than any hard evidence.

Images of JG 53 aircraft swastikaless? It seems only the aircraft of the Geschwader Stab removed the swastika.

The 'Pik As' emblem,which was dropped sometime around August 1940, initially reappeared OVER the red cowling band on some aircraft making the mark of shame theory less viable. There's a good image of a machine marked this way in the first volume of Mombeek's "Luftwaffe Gallery". The emblem reappeared after 10/10/40when Hptm. Hans-Gunther von Malzahn,previously Kommandeur of II./JG 53, replaced Oberstleutnant Hans-Jurgen Cramon-Traubadel as Kommodore of JG 53.

Cheers
Steve

 

[jerseyjoe]

Hello Wurger, yes, those are the images I have seen. Do the markings on the aircraft being refuelled in Guernsey reveal that it is the Me 109 flown by Meyerweissflog?