…I normally shy away from any 109 before the “F” model, as I don’t think they are nearly as attractive as the latter “F” and “G” models…however I just had to do this “odd” scheme of an “E” that I saw in a book because of the unusual history of it’s “driver”…
…anyone care to take a shot at guessing what the unusual markings tell about this a/c?
Just going by the marking I can tell you this E was part of JG 1 by the group insignia under the cockpit. the pilot was a geschwarder adjutant from the jadgeschwader marking.
Now I happen to know who flew this due to the ss style marking on the side. The pilot of this E-7 was Reihard (the hangman) Heydrich. third in command at one time of the SS and Known for his roll in the holocaust. Very few know he was a decorated major in the luftwaffe. He was also not well liked in the luftwaffe. Other than this let’s just say he had issues.
Eric-
Wow, another beauty! You really have a knack for nailing the camo schemes.
Phoenix-
When I started reading this thread (knowing there was ONE post) and saw the question posed, I KNEW you would be the one to know! [;)]
…wow, you know your German a/c, Phoenix—it is a plane flown by SS-Grppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich, protectorate of Czech territory annexed by the Germans…he was assasinated in 1942, and as a result, the infamous razing of the town of Lidice took place: the town was literally erased from the earth…
…he flew some missions with JG 1 in 1941, but so no combat until he went to JG 77 on the Eastern front where it is reported he crashed and received some light wounds…upon hearing this Adolf forbade him to make any more flights…
…the runic symbol under the handhold represents the letter “H” for Heydrich…
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. Your saying I’m becoming predictable.
That’s another pilot/aircraft you almost never see done. Nice work as usual. I see alot of the well known pilots done, but I have noticed recently the some of the more colorful not so well know pilots and marking are starting to show up. I’m kinda suprised I don’t see more aircraft flown by galland done. He flew every major fighter varient the luftwaffe had and was probably the biggest influence on the luftwaffe.
…as much as I love german a/c I have never done a Galland mount, and never will…IMO he is the most overrated pilot that ever flew in combat…almost all of his kills were made prior ro mid '41…after that he flew a desk…and there are many who question the bulk of his kills, including many of his former groundcrew who say that he made many claims after landing with his guns never have been fired…
…I will conceed he was a charismatic personality but many blame him for not doing more while he was Fighter Inspector…I would rather model a pilot, like Rall or Marseille, any day, who fought when the odds were stacked against them…
Galland could make all the claims he wanted. With out gun camera, wrekage, and or another airman as a witness he would not have gotten the confirmed kill. You needed at least 2 out of the 3. Hartmann has 352 CONFIRMED kills. But the RLM was so backed up he had another 20 to 30 pending when the war ended. If you count the ones he most likey got but were not awarded due to there strict policy he had over 400. Unless they were alot more forgiving in the eary days. My knowledge ends pretty much at BOB. I’m more a mid/late war guy.
Galland was imprisoned becasue he went against goring and others. Had the luftwaffe took his and other generals advice the war would have been very different. Yah he was odd, full of himself personallity no doubt there. and I agree most of his kills were before it went bad for the luftwaffe. but his air strategy and is one reason why the luftwaffe was still in the fight when out numbered by the allies at more then 10 to 1. He did alot of the reich defence planning, before he basically gave up due to lack of support from the higher up’s.
On D day the allies put up over 5,000 aircraft in support of the invasion
On the same day the best luftwaffe could do on that front was about 450.
in the face of odds like that it’s a real supries they put up any fight at all.
…I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one, my friend…his rank allowed him to make many claims when none of the 3 requirements existed, and he did—often, and was credited with them…he often went hunting solo and came back with extraordinary stories of his exploits…no one dared question the General…
…he was never imprisoned, just busted down from his cushy Inspector job and given command of the 262 unit he led until the end of the war…funny, he didn’t do too well in the fights he was involved in at the end of the war…IMO it was because his true measure of a fighter pilot finally came out…
You could be right. I haven’t heard that before. I never really dug alot into galland. what I know of him is from other research I did on other related subjects. His name comes up alot. When I get some time I’m going to have to find more out about him. Sounds like something I’d like to read up on. Thanks Manstein
…like I said: Great, charismatic leader? Yes…Great fighter pilot? Not in my opinion…
I remember reading an account where Galland was ferrying Lobsters and champagne in his 109 for a party . He was bounced by a group of spitfires and shot down most of them and still made it to the party… Now you may not think he rated as a combat pilot, but you gotta admit… that’s pretty cool…
…if its true…as I recall that is one of the missions now being called into question…it was known as “flight of the Lobsters”…
…don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of true Luft aces, as you can probably tell from some of my 109’s and 190’s, but I also believe, like in any Air Force, there were some pilots who were overrated…to me, Molders was a much better pilot and leader than Galland…
Hi there,
I like all your models, neatly built & nicely painted but they all look, to me, like cartoon images. To have the panel lines so emphasised would seem to suggest that the aircraft has at least had the engine running but no evidence of exhaust or oil staining is evident.
As you can see from this line up, these aircraft are all as new and all lack any emphasis of panelling.
They are your models and I considerably admire your ability to complete these to a set standard throughout the whole collection, but they seem to lack a certain realism to me. On the other hand you would probably consider my own efforts as overdone.
regards Gary[8-]
I respect your viewpoint…modeling is much more than reproducing an exact replica, it is an art, to combine realism with aesthetic value…
…I can find just as many pics where the panel lines CAN be seen as you can of them being invisible…in fact, that is rather a poor picture to be using to prove your point of view: the pic is fuzzy and the a/c are painted in a darker color…I can, and will, post similair line-ups later this week of 109’s side-by-side with visible panel lines…
…I admit my panel lines are darker than most, but the overwhelming concensus of comments are positive and your point of view seems to be in the minority…however, it is respected by me…