Aircraft Wrecks

[lufttiger]

Just picked up a new mag yesterday, and in the front part of it is this story.

Up near Scotland at an airfield a P-38 pilot had forgot to switch his fuel
tank, thus running out of fuel he ditched his plane in about 3 feet of water.

Well the base comander recomended that it be salvaged, due to nothing
really wrong with the plane. Over time they simply forgot about it, and the
tide eventually buried it with sand. Of corse the tide is always going in & out
so the plane would reappear every now & then but there was no one
arround in this remote area to see it until now. So here lies this completely
intact P-38 in knee deep water that a farmer found. There's a cool pic of
it as well, but i can't post it, sorry.

[McCoy]

Originally Posted by lufttiger

Just picked up a new mag yesterday, and in the front part of it is this story.

Up near Scotland at an airfield a P-38 pilot had forgot to switch his fuel
tank, thus running out of fuel he ditched his plane in about 3 feet of water.

Well the base comander recomended that it be salvaged, due to nothing
really wrong with the plane. Over time they simply forgot about it, and the
tide eventually buried it with sand. Of corse the tide is always going in & out
so the plane would reappear every now & then but there was no one
arround in this remote area to see it until now. So here lies this completely
intact P-38 in knee deep water that a farmer found. There's a cool pic of
it as well, but i can't post it, sorry.

You mean this one?

[lufttiger]

That's it!

[Geek44]

Originally Posted by cyberia

I found a photograph in one my books that was absolutely riveting. The wreckage was so intense you can't tell what nationality the plane was.

All that is seen of the pilot is an arm and hand reaching out from the smoke and debris as if clawing toward the sky.

I was hesitant to post it. More stunning than gory, but I'll leave the decision as to if it should be here or not up to Aussie Dave.

While the decision to post remains ADs...I'll just throw this into the mix.
We're all historians here...amateur or not and we all do our 'research'. I'm almost certain we've all seen pictures depicting 'certain realities'. I'm also quite sure that everybody here would view such pictures in the proper spirit. We all worship Mars in our own way.
Peace.

BTW. In post number 6 of this thread I used the word 'bloody'. I flagged it with an asterisk because I intended to add the footnote (hello SkyPilotUU) I'm typing now but I forgot until I'd logged off. Over here, that word isn't really considered vulgar or an expletive anymore. Certainly in the past it was but not now. I wouldn't hesitate to say it in front of my in-laws or even at a job interview. However, I'm aware that this might not be the case everywhere in the world and if anybody has found it questionable I'll cease and desist. Just let me know.

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Geek44

BTW. In post number 6 of this thread I used the word 'bloody'. I flagged it with an asterisk because I intended to add the footnote (hello SkyPilotUU) I'm typing now but I forgot until I'd logged off. Over here, that word isn't really considered vulgar or an expletive anymore. Certainly in the past it was but not now. I wouldn't hesitate to say it in front of my in-laws or even at a job interview. However, I'm aware that this might not be the case everywhere in the world and if anybody has found it questionable I'll cease and desist. Just let me know.

Not a problem in America, Buddy. I hear it all the time on prime time TV, so it must have the approval of the bloody network censors.

[cyberia]

Two actual pages from USAF crash site investigation reports in 1943

[Geek44]

Looks like a P-38 Paul...?
How about this then. (Scanner working now ).
Heinkel 219 Wreck.jpg

This is a Heinkel 219 A-2 found at Hildeshiem in 1945. It looks like it has fallen prey to strafing Allied aircraft but that's my opinion...mainly the fact that it's still under camo netting makes me say that. It could also have been destroyed by its owners too. The caption goes on to discuss the black undersides of the aircraft and whether or not it was applied when the Nachtjagd were called upon to perform night ground attack sorties against Allied traffic between D-Day and the Ardennes offensive. The conclusion was that the black was applied in the factory and not in the field.
Aah...sorry the pic is so small, I haven't mastered the scanner yet.

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Geek44

Looks like a P-38 Paul...?
How about this then. (Scanner working now ).
Attachment 1167

This is a Heinkel 219 A-2 found at Hildeshiem in 1945. It looks like it has fallen prey to strafing Allied aircraft but that's my opinion...mainly the fact that it's still under camo netting makes me say that. It could also have been destroyed by its owners too. The caption goes on to discuss the black undersides of the aircraft and whether or not it was applied when the Nachtjagd were called upon to perform night ground attack sorties against Allied traffic between D-Day and the Ardennes offensive. The conclusion was that the black was applied in the factory and not in the field.
Aah...sorry the pic is so small, I haven't mastered the scanner yet.

Sorry Nick, yes both were P-38s.

Cool shot, wonder why they had it screened with camo?

[Geek44]

I don't know for sure, but my thinking is that it was destroyed on the ground while still under the nets. Either by retreating owners, or marauding Allied aircraft. The only clue to the aircraft's identity is the werke nummer which is obscured in the pic but cited as being 290112. There are no visible operational codes. There's no info in my source as to what unit the aircraft belonged to so working out what happened would take some digging. The black undersides are unusual, even for German night fighters...they actually found the black less effective than the light greys. I find this fascinating. I believe the thinking was that these aircraft would potentially be operating over burning cities and the black was an attempt to nullify reflected light from fires below. Given the armament and tactics used by these aircraft in particular and the nachtjagd in general, I'm of the opinion that it wouldn't matter either way what colour they used. Faster than their prey, more maneuverable and armed with 'schrage musik' arrangements, victims of these fighters seldom saw their tormentors. Indeed, the performance of the Heinkel 219 was easily comparable to the vaunted Mosquito. Some sources suggest that the He 219 was designed specifically to counter un-armed 'pathfinder' and 'target-marker' Mosquito variants but that's arguable. There was even a special squadron equipped with 'schrage musik' armed Bf 109 G-10s. These were anti-Mosquito aircraft. From the modeller's perspective, this 109 squadron presents one of the most challenging camoflage schemes the Luftwaffe had to offer. But I'm digressing.

[Geek44]

Here's another that I find interesting.
It's a Bf109G-14 photographed on January 1 1945. It seems this aircraft took part in Operation Bodenplatte but was claimed by US flak. The pilot pictured is one Gefreiter Alfred Michel speaking with his captors...at least Michel would survive the war. Note the crudely overpainted codes ahead of the Balkencreuz and the decidedly unusual tone of the whole aircraft which the source describes as RLM 81 and 82 ('brownish-green' and green). The place is Halstroff and the unit is IV./JG 53.
109G-14 wreck.jpg

Still haven't properly worked out the scanner...apologies again for small pic.