My Future Model Build, The Fw 190A-8 of Konrad "Pitt" Bauer....

[lesofprimus]

I just recieved my 1/32nd scale Hasegawa Re-Tooled Fw 190A-8 in the mail today... Got the kit off EBay, unopened, for $21.00.... One hell of a deal....

I've decided to do the A-8 of Konrad "Pitt" Bauer, Red 3, "Kornjark",(All 3 pics are Red3)

off the Eagle Editions decal sheet, in which, during late August, he claimed his 36th victory... However, Im going to do something one off.... Im going to change it to Red 21, the plane he was shot down/crash landed in and wounded, loosing 2 fingers on his right hand, while flying with 5./JG300, on 11 Sept 1944, with 39 Victories to his credit... The red 21 is coming off the decal sheet from the A-6 of 6./JG300, but it is older and the red 21 is outlined in white, as opposed to the red 3, which is solid red....

However, I cannot for certain say that Red 21 was an A-8, not an A-8/R2... Maybe some help guys????

Any pics of Red 21 out there???

September 1943, Konrad "Pitt" Bauer was serving with the Geschwaderstab of JG 51.... On 15 December 1943, he claimed six enemy aircraft, five of which he shot down in five minutes on one mission.... He gained a total of 18 victories over the Eastern front.

Bauer was transferred to 2./JG 3 in March 1944.... He recorded his first victory over a four-engine bomber on 18 April, when he shot down a B-17.....

In June 1944, Bauer was transferred to 5.(Sturm)/JG 300. This unit was mostly equipped with Focke-Wulf 190 A-8/R2 or R8. With this unit he became one of the best Viermottöters recording 29 four-engine bombers shot down.... On 7 July 1944, Bauer shot down two B-24s and a P-38.... On the 19th, a P-51... On 20 July, he shot down 2 B-17s, and on the 25th, another B-24.... On July 27th, he shot down 3 B-24s.... On 9 August, he shot down a B-17... On August 15th, he shot down another B-17.... On 23 August, he shot down 2 P-51 Mustangs... On 22 August, he shot down a B-24....On 29 August, he shot down a B-17....

On 11 September, after shooting down 3 P-51s, he was himself shot down in Fw 190 A-8 (W.Nr. 681 469) "Red 21" and wounded, losing two fingers from his right hand.... Feldwebel Bauer was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 31 October 1944 for 34 victories, including 14 four-engine bombers.... At the end of January 1945, Bauer returned as Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 300. Bauer was recommended for the Eichenlaub but never received the award.
"Pitt" Bauer flew 416 combat missions and shot down 57 enemy aircraft..... He recorded 18 victories over the Eastern front.... Of his 39 victories recorded over the Western front, 32 were four-engine bombers including some Herausschüsse and at least five P-51s.... He was shot down 7 times.....

 

[Erich]

Dan that red 21 is a night fither version and it crash landed in France. Pitt flew red 3 but also 1-2 other ones, his red 3 was a regular A-8 and not a SturmFw. Several bi boys in JG 300 and JG 3 flew A-8's only as they knew it was time when the US P-51's came into the fray that they said crap on the heavy armor, manuevereability was the key. 4 20mms still could take down a bomber without a problem. According to the text you quoted though the red 21 by the werke nummer was indeed a heavy Sturm model.

do you have EE's volume 1 of JG 300 yes correct >

 

[lesofprimus]

Yea Erich, thanks for replying... I know that the "real" profile of Red 21 is a nightfighter.... Ive been re-reading Vol 1 for the dates surrounding Bauers time with 5 Staffel.... I really love this guy, being a non-conformist and a drunkard, knockin bombers and fighters outta the sky...

Also, thanks for the info on the werknumber being that of a heavy Sturm... I may have to forgo the Red21 then, as I am not competent enough to change the kit from an A-8 to an A-8/R8, which I regard as a "Heavy" Sturmbocke, with the extra armour and 30mm.... The R2 came with the 30's, but no armour, IIRC....

Oh, and Bauer REQUESTED that his Red3 retain the 4 20mm, as he didnt like the 30mm jamming on high deflection/high G firing...

 

[Erich]

Dan the R2 had all the armor as well the R8 was standard come November of 1944 the other earlier were R2's.....the whole thing is so confusing really. at first the R2's did have mg 131's and then none and then the mg cowling troughs were faired over. the R8 had the cowling mg troughs faired over as standard.
In III./JG 301 the A-8/R2's had the cowling mg 131's left on so the pilots most of them inexperienced could aim. point and fire at the US bomber tail gunners and then gave them a point on the bomber to fire and hit with the 2cm and 3cm cannons at the crucial areas on the fuselage, wings and engines

 

[lesofprimus]

Hmmm, u got me confused then Erich... Whats the difference between the R2 kit and the R8 then???

 

[evangilder]

The cool thing about this discussion is I can read and learn a lot about the 190. Thanks guys!

 

[lesofprimus]

Ur welcome Eric hehe...

 

[Erich]

ok here we go again 8) hang on to your splinter goggles

R2 was the first Sturm, in fact sometimes it did not come completely armored - the canopy. the blinkers or Scheuklappen on the side of the canopy was armored glas that sometimes and sometimes not deflected the .50 rounds. JG 3 and JG 4 used them, Jg 300 only a scant few as it iced up and they had them removed along with JG 4 in october of 44, but I degress. Point is that both variants used these. The Panzerplatten or bolt on armor on both sides of the fuselage was standard on both variants. leading wing edge armor and under the belly to the motorhaube-engine cowling was standard on the R8 not the R2.

The R2's at first still had the twin mg 131 fitted but as the a/c became heavier and the 13mms were not really blasting the bombers down they were removed, the upper mg troughs were left open but they caused severe turbulance probs with the a/c, so then they were filled in. two 2cm and two 3cm that was it and now you have the deadly battering ram. as the mg trough setup was a field conversion then a standard in the A-8/R8 became the norm at Novembers end and replaced the smashed and shot up and down R2. this is what we see in JG 300 especially in photos from December till wars end.

The R2 returned in a simpler form in JG 301 the other real Fw defense unit in September 44 their first missions in November my cousin included in that heap of trouble. Ths R2 did not have the regular armored glass canopy but standard A-8 fit, they did have side fuselage Panzerplatten. The mg 131's were kept sometimes and at other times in machines not so. The tactics in JG 301 differed compared to the Sturmstaffels of JG 3, JG 4 and JG 300 and instead of a massed v attack by individual 10-15 a/c in line abreast JG 301 attacked with their R2's and A-8 and A-9's by 3-4's in a small arrow formation, still from the rear slightly below or slightly higher.

ah does this explain any better ?

 

[lesofprimus]

Yes, thank u for the clarification....

 

[Erich]

si it dies make sense now ? w. Miximowitz black 8 is taken in June of 44 in Normandie, the troughs are open and no mg 131's in the photos - it is an R2. Several photos of Bretschneiders Raubautz VII show an R8

 

[Erich]

well I am elated that our Austrian member Kurtl who has shown some Sturm FW pieces of wreckage on this forum through photos has now got the pilot most probably confirmed and his SturmFw of IV.Sturm/JG 3. Kurt has shown some real fortitude through exploration to get his answers met including the pilots personal ID number .............good for you Kurt !!

more later.........sorry not trying to hog the interesting thread but who knows we may have to pose a composite profile for Les to fiddle around with and he may just have to use one of his kits of the A-8 to conform to a heavy Sturm machine with death defying graphics

Weiße Auge

 

[Wayne Little]

Erich would be most interested in further details of your cousin's aircraft for my own modelling project, hope you can part with the necessary info without compromising your book(s) too much?

 

[Erich]

Wayne please check out the profile of my cousins A-9 I posted here or on the other A-8 thread

 

[Wayne Little]

Good start Les! keep up the good work!

Erich, have collected up the snippets of info and the profile, thanks, but I must say there are just as many questions as answers, and you have posed some interesting alternatives yourself, canopy,prop, drop tank, outboard cannons? I will study up on my limited resources and pose some further questions, if I may?..later, is this ok with you.

 

[Erich]

Wayne and anyone else I m all ears and will try and help or confuse at my wishes ........... ask away

 

[Wayne Little]

Great work Les! keep it coming.

To Erich, I have found the Lynn Ritger article on White 2 and the link to the Misburg Raid of Neil Page. A few questions answered!
I guess my first question to you would be the best probability of whether this A-9 had outboard cannon?

Les hope you don't mind my questions to Erich about Uffz. Baer's A-9 as I'm sure anything that we can work out about this aircraft you will use also for a future build.

 

[Erich]

Dan that cockpit is looking great !!

ok the A-9's in JG 301 were equipped with either 2 20mm's inboard or with the outboard installed as well. this was at the discretion of the pilot, this was also the case of other Fw 190A-9 staffels in all the Geschwaders. what JG 301 did ws have two heavy staffels in I. gruppe and in II. gruppe, the toher two staffeln in both gruppen were deemed leicht-light staffels for engaging the P-51 escorts. at this point in time I am leaning towards that Siegfrieds a/c was equipped with the full on four 2cm cannon as he was defending his Staffelkapitän who was going after the B-24' on the November 44 missions and then shot down by P-51's, Siegfried banked away and tried to escape getting some miles to the west of his leaders crash but was then jumped and shot down, I do wonder though if possibly he did get in contact and suffered from .50 fire from the bombers and then hit by P-51's something without verification by other Jg 301 5 th staffel pilots I probably will never know, there was such a blood letting on that date Schwarze Tag für JG 301 as it is called

 

[lesofprimus]

Goin with Bauers A-8 crate with the 4x 20mm, no armour...

 

[Wayne Little]

While we are waiting for some more progress pics.....

Erich, another question, you comment that White 2 has a red bar outlined in black, yet the few pics of well known later II/JG 301 aircraft all appear to carry the red bar but without a black outline, namely White 21 A-8 682985, White 12 D-9 500408 and Red 22 A-9 490044. (Also each of these gives us the best clue to the actual style of the '2' for our subject aircraft.)
Does this mean there is an early variation to the II gruppe bar not seen on later aircraft?.. but may appear on unpublished images of early aircraft?

 

[Erich]

yes Wayne it is a plain red bar no outline but slightly different in colour compared to the red that is in the band