Dave Wadman

Hi Bill, From the info that I have here from original documents regarding aircraft emabarked on Kriegsmarine ships, the support staff/ground crew for the aircraft (engine & airframe) were Luftwaffe personnel although they also indicate that radio and weapons needs would be attended to by KM personnel from the respective ships departments. HTH Cheers Dave

Hi Bill, Essentially, all aircrew and aircraft belonged to the Luftwaffe and not the Kriegsmarine. However, it was not uncommon for the Beobachter(Observer) carried in an embarked Ar 196 to be a member of the Kriegsmarine and there are even some instances of a Kriegsmarine rather than Luftwaffe pilot. I'm not sure what markings you will be using but if from the Bismarck these are the four embarked Ar 196s and their crews of the 1./196 who were lost when she was sunk on 27 May 1941: Ar 196A-2 WNr.0052, coded T3+IH (White 'I'), Ltn. Günter Lademann (observer)/ Uffz. Ernst Lange (pilot). Ar 196A-2 WNr.0110, coded T3+AK (Red 'A'), Ltn. Rolf Hambruch, (observer)/ Fw. Oskar Andersen (pilot) Ar 196A-2 WNr.0123, coded T3+DL (Yellow 'D'), Oblt. Siegfried Mühling, (observer)/ Fw. Josef Kemple (pilot). Ar 196A-3 WNr.0150, coded T3+MK, Ltn. Martin Lange (Red 'M'), (observer)/ Fw. Werner Seelinger, (pilot). As far as uniforms worn by Ar 196 crews they would range from standard uniform to flying suits and (like most other wartime air forces) anything in between, depending of course on their operational theatre. I have numerous photos of the crews of these aircraft and their dress is anything but standard. HTH Dave

Glad I could help Sea Venom and good luck with the build. Cheers Dave

Hi Nick, Yes I did get the PM and my apologies for not answering but have been pretty busy lately. I'll be in touch with you shortly. Cheers Dave

Hi Miko, The cockpit of W.Nr.5819 was finished in 02. Cheers Dave

Hi Sea Venom, I have several photos of Schöpfel's E-4 which were taken on 16/17 August 1940 showing general views of the aircraft and at least two high angle shots of him getting in and out of the cockpit (I'm pretty sure these latter photos were staged for family or other purposes, as he is certainly not kitted out to fly the aircraft). Anyway, be that as it may, in these latter photos the cockpit interior is clearly visible and although monochrome, is finished in 02 as it is certainly way too light to be 66. Also, when it comes to the head armour, use part A 14 as he did not have the 'over the top of the head' piece fitted at that time and also, the armour plate was mounted to the canopy framing and not as Dragon would have you do, to the cockpit rim behind the seat. Additionally, at the time depicted by the markings provided in the kit, the aircraft flew a small yellow pennant from the aerial mast. Hope this info will be of use to you. Cheers Dave

Glad you found it of interest Matt. Cheers Dave

Matt & Doug You're right - the Dragon 109E is an excellent kit and there are some great builds posted here Anyway, as far as colours are concerned I thought that you might find the following of interest. Briefly, the information contained within copies of the relevant RLM & Messerschmitt documentation for the entire 109E, F-0 and earliest F-1 series cockpit interiors specifies 02 with the instrument panel in 66. Even so, a number of cockpit photos of early E-1s clearly show the panel to be in a light colour strongly suggesting that they were finished in either 02 or 41. Both being mentioned for such use in Messerschmitt documents dated March and May 1939 respectively. As far as a 66 finish for cockpit interiors on single-engined fighters goes, this was not promulgated until late 1941. However, while it is true that some E models did feature cockpits finished entirely in 66, this was simply due to which particular sub-contractor (e.g. Arado, Fieseler etc) built the airframe (regardless of sub-type) and not because of any directive, theatre of operation etc. For the heavier framed canopy, surviving documentary evidence shows that these were usually painted inside and out in 66 at the source of manufacture. The exterior framework frequently being left in this colour rather than being repainted to match the surrounding camouflage finish and it is believed that this would be the most likely explanation why many 109 E & F models with the heavy framed canopy are often seen with the exterior framework much darker than the adjacent camouflage colour. Likewise, the pilot head armour fitted to the interior canopy framing was also finished in 66. On the subject of 02; in reality, even the RLM could not guarantee uniformity of this colour between the batches produced by the many paint manufacturers supplying paint to both the aircraft companies and the Luftwaffe. Because of this, between late 1940 and the autumn of 1944, the Technical Office of the RLM issued a number of advisory letters essentially stating that this lack of uniformity was of no importance to interior painting and was thus no reason for complaint. Oddly enough and although it was approved for use as an exterior camouflage colour (Bf 109E, early 109F etc), not one of these advisory letters mentions its use in this latter respect! So this at least gives you a fair bit of leeway as far as the various hobby paint variations available Probably more info than you wanted but I hope that you find it of interest. Cheers Dave

James, As I mentioned in an email to Andy last night, I have copies of the original drawings for the camera apertures and sliding doors as fitted to the 188. However, as these are quite large I can't scan them but I could pull them out and scale the full sizes down to 1/32 if you decide to revert back to making your kit a recce version. Besides, I'll probably be doing these for Andy when he begins work on his 188. Cheers Dave

Hi again Nick, I've just dug a photo of the same aircraft out of my files which was taken at the beginning of September which shows that the rear canopy section was the later style fitted with a single rotating mounting (with armoured glass) for a single MG 15. Although the additional canopy beam guns are not fitted in the photo, it does look very much like the provision for them is there - the port side one being visible in the photo. Now, having had a look at my copies of the photos that you posted, the small fairings on the top of the fuselage that accompanied this later canopy style are clearly visible (the two mountain looking thingy's that you can see just above the radio's in your close-up shot). HTH Dave

Hi Nick, According to the entry of its loss in the Gen Qu 6 Abt loss/damage listings for September 1940 and the RAF Intelligence Crashed Enemy Aircraft Report 3Z+EL W.Nr 8099 was an A-1. Although the rear canopy section is missing, the normal canopy armament carried by the A-1 models was a single rearward firing MG. However, that being said, it was by no means unusual during the latter half of 1940 to see A-1s with not only a two gun installation but also with the 'standard' single rear gun plus an additional MG mounted on each beam of the jettisonable portion of the canopy. HTH Dave Wadman

Hello, FWIW, all of the photos posted by Dejan show W.Nr. 5819 at different times during the second half of 1940 while being flown by Galland. As far as its camouflage scheme is concerned it retained the standard 02/71/65 finish throughout its life (even after being passed on to the Kommandeur of the Erg.Gr./JG26, Oblt. Hubertus von Holtey). Although retaining the basic camouflage colours the only other changes that were made to its appearance concern the tactical yellow markings, whether or not it carried the standard or rounded spinner, the mottling density/style along the fuselage sides, whether or not the mouse emblem was applied and also the number of Abschussbalken on each side of the rudder and of course the telescope in the windscreen. If you read through my photo captions which accompany the photos in the page scans from Dejan you will find that they cover most of the variations mentioned above. Three additional photos of this particular aircraft can be found on page 373 of Luftwaffe Colours, Battle of Britain Phase Four by Classic Colours. HTH Kind regards Dave Wadman

Hi Jim, W.Nr. 3869 was finished in an 02/71 splinter on the upper surfaces with under surfaces in blue 65 and carried the aircraft Stammkennzeichen of VJ+OQ in black. I don't have my Bf 110 files to hand at the moment so can't check the information that I have on this aircraft. However, as it appears that it may be a while before you're ready to start I'll pull my files out in a day or two and send you the info. Cheers Dave

For those interested in the mystery of the canopy hood of the B of B Museum's Bf 109: Circa early 1941 while being test-flown for Rolls-Royce at Hucknall, the canopy hood was removed for the benefit of pilot Harvey Hayworth who was over 6 feet tall. It was then mislaid - never to be seen again! After being placed in long-term storage at No.16 MU it reappeared in September 1952 in a display on Horse Guards Parade sporting an Erlahaube. Circa 1970/71 it was on display again but this time with a canopy centre section borrowed from the G 'Black 6' which it retained until 1974/75 when it was replaced by a dummy canopy section made for one of the 109 cockpit props for the Battle of Britain film and which as I understand, it wears to this day. HTH Dave

Hi Erik, U8+CL, W.Nr 2146 was apparently built as a C-2 but later upgraded to C-4 indicating that its four MG/FF cannon had been replaced by MG/FF/M's and as such it may have had the gun rest slot for the observers MG plated over with the rear glass panel revised to accept a centrally mounted MG. There is a port side view of the aircraft on p.193 of 'Zerstörer, The Messerschmitt 110 and its units in 1940' and a better quality copy on p.172 of 'Messerschmitt Bf 110 C, D & E - An illustrated study'; both authored by John Vasco. The white paint applied to the nose was of a temporary nature and prone to rapid wear & tear. The better reproduction of the above mentioned photo shows wear around the lower forward part of the nose immediately above the cannon blast tubes while the top rear section immediately forward of the windscreen also has a worn appearance although it could be a blemish on the original print. This particular aircraft was shot down on 6 September at Cannons Hill golf course near Coulsdon, Surrey. As an afterthought, you might want to post your queries over on either 12 o'Clock High or The Luftwaffe Experten Message Board as the author John Vasco is a frequent visitor to both and is undoubtedly the person best qualified to give you concrete and perhaps, definitive, information on this particular aircraft. HTH Dave