I remember a freind recomending me a book about a covert German program involving the use of captured Allied aircraft against the Allied bomber streams. The book was called JG?? (don’t remember the actual number) or something like it. I’d like to find the book but my question is whether anyone has explored this as a model subject. Maybe this has been discussed?
Cheers
There was a novel by the name of KG 200 about the KG 200 Squadron that used captured Allied aircraft in clandestine operations. Google for KG 200 and you might find some info.
I do recall a kind of techno-thriller set in WWII called (I believe) KG 200. It is a novel where the Germans use captured Allied aircraft in an attempt to lay a blockbuster on #10 Downing St.
It was a great read as I recall…but purely a novel.
Nam
Thanks, I found what I was looking for. My memory kept me thinking JG rather than KG. I found a photo of a captured B17 with German markings.
[Wow]…now that’s not a photo you see every day
Both the Germans and the Japs flew any allied plane they could get in flyable condition. They’d mark them up in their own liveries and test them and dissect them. Quite a few of the better ones ended up as trainers, the MS-406 coming immediately to mind. The Germans rather liked the Mustang, but didnt care so much for the P-47. The Japs even had a plan to use 40 or so captured Warhawks as home defense fighters. I wouldnt be surprised if the Germans had come up with some clandestine plan using captured planes, since they weren’t the only ones who could dream up such stuff.
The Brits had also hatched a plan to fly a captured Me-109 across to Germany with a German speaking pilot. The fellow was to land at some airfield once over there, pal around with the Jerries for awhile and have a few beers, then steal a FW-190 - or whatever plane they wanted. I gather they had more than a few 109’s (and other types) lying about the country side after the Battle of Britain, so this was plausible. With typical dash, they had it all worked out, but never had to do it.
The russkies did it, and I’ve seen pics of captured German planes sporting Red stars. In typical Russian pragmatic style, I have little doubt they would have used them in battle too, except that their fuel was always of poorer quality, and so the captured German gear was relegated to curiosity status or used for target practice. That’s one reason they didn’t care too much for the Curtiss P-40, either. It was more fussy about fuel than they liked.
I’ve seen the pics of a Stuka painted in British colors somewhere in the desert of Africa and used as a propoganda piece; presumably it was flyable and made for good sport. Americans also did the same thing and it wasn’t unknown for field units to repaint a captured enemy plane in some gaudy color and sport it around as a squadron hack - until the brass got wind of it and put the kibosh on all that fun.
I found this website
http://capturedplanes.tripod.com/
I was a little disappointed that it didn’t have the Zero that was found in the Alutians. Have you ever seen a Soviet Tomcat?
Chris
Although the book is fiction, it is based in fact - KG200 did exist and was more or less the Luftwaffe “Spec Ops” unit. They operated captured Allied aircraft, using them to drop agents behind Allied lines and for tracking Allied bomber streams, provideing ground stations with altitude, speed and heading information.
KG200 also operated various Luftwaffe in its operations, the type depending upon the particular op. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that most of the Mistels built and used operationally were flown by KG200. Several KG200 aircraft were used at the very end of the war to fly escaping Nazi leaders to neutral contries.
Strange as it seems, the only confirmed use of a captured Allied aircraft to shot down an Allied aircraft I know of, was by the Italians. One of their pilots used a captured P-38 to shoot down a couple of USAAF bombers.
The Germans had quite a fleet of Allied aircraft rebuilt after crash-landing ‘behind the lines’, including practically every major type in operation. I recall a Spitfire which was converted to use a Daimler-Benz 601 engine (great subject for a kitbash) among others.
Britain also had a similar fleet of German machines, either built up from wrecks or ones who inadvertantly landed on British airfields, the latter includng a JU-88 nightfighter with all the latest radar and radio aids which made them realise how vulnerable their bombers were.
A squadron existed whose sole purpose was to compare these aircraft with their Allied equivalents to find their relative strengths and weaknesses and I daresay all sides indulged in this activity.
Michael
The Germans indeed had the KG 200 for a limited operational use, dropping agents etc.
They also had the “Zirkus Rosarius” a unit flying captured allied planes for comparisons and to educate their fighter units. Their are some decals sheets for those aicraft.
They used captured planes from other nations in operational roles such as trainers, night bombers etc… The ms-406 has been mentioned but also the PZL P-7a, Avia B-534, Fokker T-8W etc. etc.
…And there is this thread, recently drifting around here
/forums/854415/ShowPost.aspx
It adresses Yanks comparison testing Hellcats and Corsairs against the FW-190A. It shows a couple good pics of captured 190’s, dolled up in American schemes. I wonder why we didn’t remember this one before now?
I think that the finns used a lot of captured planes in action against the russians, I have the facts at home (in a book) but I think the finns used Hurricanes and Airacobras and som russian planes at least in active service.
Michael
There is a newly published book on captured Me 109s. You can see some example pages here:
http://www.jadarhobby.waw.pl/kecay-captured-109s-book-p-14101.html
The specialist bookshops should have it in stock by now.
The Squadron “In Action” book on the Short Sterling has pictures of a captured Stirling the Germans used operationally. Interesting aircraft, the nose was damaged when it crashed and the Germans packed it with straw to give it shape and wrapped it with a big tarp and webbing straps to hold it together. The used it for bombing missions until it was lost in action.
The picture of the F-86 looks like a bad fake lol.
I know it wasn’t used by the Germans, but the Soviets got their hands on 3 B-29s and reverse engineered them and built more.
Read a story once of the Italians using a P-38 to attack crippled US bombers. The US had the idea of sending up the YB-40 to play the crippled plane and shoot it down. It did. Interesting story.
Squadron also has published at least two books on this very subject; the titles allude me at the moment…I have them and they are packed w/ pics and color plates; tons of info. on the German evaluation unit KG200…
A good friend, very knowledgable about WW2 aviation, told me that
in the last few weeks of the war, Russians captured some FW-190 Doras
and flew them against the Germans.
Why not? They were leaps and bounds above anything the Ruskies had.
Unfortunately, I have no proof of this.
Thanks for the capturedplanes website. Very cool
Jon - If memory serves me well. That P-38G in Italian hands was only operational for a short time. The Italian fuels and oils were not good for the Allison engines and they eventually seized up.
In the China/Burma border area I believe that the Japanese used captured P-40’s in one squadron. I believe these were aircraft that they obtained in Java and the Philippines still in their packing crates.
http://www.j-aircraft.com/captured/capturedby/p40warhawk/captured_p40.htm
Mike T.
Squadron released a couple of volumes titled " Strangers in a Strange Land" profiling aircraft in service with enemy air forces during WWII. I recently purchased a Hasegawa 1/72 B-17 that closely resembles the photo you posted. The german markings give the flying fortress a truly menacing look.