Photo of the week
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This weekends extra.
The BFW M.35 (specifically registered as D-2643) was a high-performance, two-seat sport and aerobatic aircraft designed in 1933 . Built by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW), registration D-2643 was among the very first M.35a models produced, featuring a 7-cylinder radial engine .
It was the last of a line designed by Willy Messerschmitt. -
This midweeks photos.
And a couple of cracking shots of KLM Douglas DC-3's taken in 1936 at Schiphol.
In 1936, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines received its first DC-3, which replaced the DC-2 in service from Amsterdam via Batavia (now Jakarta) to Sydney, by far the world's longest scheduled route at the time. In total, KLM bought 23 DC-3s before the war broke out in Europe. -
This weekends photo.
Vickers Wellington GR Mk XIV maritime patrol aircraft at RAF Chivenor.
Vickers Wellington GR Mk XIV MP774 was a specific twin-engined maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft of the Royal Air Force. Operating with No. 179 Squadron, it was stationed at RAF Chivenor in Devon, England. It is most famously documented in a series of iconic World War II archival photographs, primarily conducting General Reconnaissance (GR) duties to hunt German U-boats.The GR Mk. XIV (the ultimate maritime patrol version of the Wellington, equipped with a "chin" radome housing ASV Mk. III radar for surface vessel detection) -
This weekends extra.
And some shots of Finnish Dornier Do 17Zs.
In late 1941, the Finnish Air Force was gifted a mixture of Do 17Z variants: three Z-1s, three Z-2s, and nine Z-3s. By 1942, these aircraft were deemed too slow and inadequately armed for daylight operations. Despite this, the Finns successfully deployed them for night bombing missions. Over the course of the war, 10 of the planes were lost to enemy action, accidents, and wear. The surviving five aircraft remained in inventory and were not scrapped until 1952. -
This midweeks photo.
B-29 Superfortress bomber No. 44-70136 damaged on the ground, taken near Konan after being attacked by Russian Yak-9 fighters.. The aircraft belonged to the 500th Bomb Group of the 73rd Bomb Wing..
The bomber is historically notable for its controversial loss: on August 29, 1945—after the formal surrender of Japan but while on a mercy mission to drop supplies to Allied POWs in North Korea—it was intercepted and shot down by Soviet aircraft. It is widely considered to be the last B-29 shot down in World War II and the first one lost during the Cold War.
Details here --- https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-29/44-70136.html -
This weekends photo.
Pilots of the 9th Squadron, 3rd Fighter Wing (9./JG3) of the Luftwaffe, with a Messerschmitt Bf.109F-4 fighter at Straubing airfield. *Oberfeldwebel* Eberhard von Boremski is standing on the fighter's wing. In the foreground on the left is *Oberfeldwebel* Georg Schentke.
Eberhard von Boremski (24 September 1914 – 16 December 1963) was a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. A flying ace, he was credited with 104 aerial victories—that is, 104 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in roughly 630 combat missions. Boremski was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was killed in an accident in Hamburg on 16 December 1963.
Georg 'Peterle' Schentke (23 November 1919 – 25 December 1942) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.
In November 1942, Schentke returned to the Eastern Front and was assigned to the 2. Staffel of JG 3.[14] At the time the Staffel was under the command of Oberleutnant Detlev Rohwer. In December, Schentke volunteered for the Platzschutzstaffel (airfield defence squadron) of the Pitomnik Airfield. The Staffel, largely made up from volunteers from I. and II. Gruppe of JG 3, was responsible for providing fighter escort to Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft and Heinkel He 111 bombers shuttling supplies for the encircled German forces fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad. On 12 December 1942, the German LVII Panzer Corps of the 4th Panzer Army began its north-eastward drive from Kotelnikovo toward German forces trapped in the Stalingrad pocket. That day, JG 3 supported the attack in the combat area south of Stalingrad. During these missions, Schentke claimed six aerial victories, making him an "ace-in-a-day" for the second time.
On 25 December 1942, Schentke claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and was then was shot down in aerial combat with Soviet bombers near the Kotluban train station. Although he was seen to bail out of his Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13885—factory number) behind enemy lines, Schentke remains missing in action. He was posthumously promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant). -
This weekends extra.
Spitfire Mk.VC Trop fighters of No. 326 Squadron RAF at an airfield in France previously used by the Luftwaffe.
No. 326 (GC.II/7 'Nice') Squadron RAF was a French Air Force fighter squadron, briefly under Royal Air Force command during World War II. Keeping its Spitfires, it was transferred to USAAF command, as part of 1 Tactical Air Force (TAF).
The squadron was formed in Calvi, Corsica on 1 December 1943 from GC/II/7 'Nice' squadron and was equipped with British Spitfire aircraft. After a brief period under RAF control, the squadron was transferred to USAAF command, together with 327 Sqn. ('Corse') and 328 Sqn. ('Provence'). All three squadrons kept their British fighters.
1 TAF was a Franco-American formation. The tactical-bomber force was Franco-American (42 BW), one fighter wing (64 FW) was American and one (71 FW) was French; a French formation operating on the Atlantic coast was later added.
The three French Spitfire squadrons formed the 1e Escadre de Chasse (1st Fighter Wing), alongside the P-47 equipped 3e and 4e Escadre sand the US P-47s of 64 FW. The three French fighter wings, in turn formed 71 FW, but with the addition of the two French reconnaissance squadrons of 33e Escadre, the entire formation was known as the 1er Corps Aérien Français (1st French Air Corps), with ten squadrons
Following the Allied Landings in Provence (Operation Dragoon), 1 TAF operated in support of the Franco-American 6th Army Group. The squadron followed the Allied advance northwards, along the Rhone valley, from Southern France. It concentrated on providing air support for the French Armee B.
By April 1945 was operating from Großsachsenheim, in Germany. -
This midweeks photo.
A British soldier inspects a downed German Messerschmitt Bf.109E-1 (Werk Nr. 3576) fighter which belly landed on a beach near Lydd water tower in Kent. The aircraft was piloted by Unteroffizier Arno Zimmermann. The fighter was damaged in combat against British Hurricanes on October 27, 1940.
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This weekends photo.
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk.VIIIs No. 607 Squadron in Burma.
No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron is an auxiliary squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1930 as a bomber unit in the Auxiliary Air Force and changed in 1936 to the fighter role. It fought in that role during the Second World War in Europe and Asia. After the war, in 1946, the squadron reformed as a fighter unit. Awarded the title Royal Auxiliary Air Force by King George in 1947, 607 Sqn was disbanded with all the other flying units of the RAuxAF on 10 March 1957. It reformed on 5 January 2015, as a General Service Support Squadron (GSS).
WWII
Having achieved their first success downing a DO 18 flying boat in the North Sea and still equipped with Gladiators, the squadron was deployed to France as part of the Air Component of the British Expeditionary Force in November 1939. During the Battle of France, the squadron operated from various locations, including Saint-Inglevert. In March 1940, the squadron was re-equipped with Hawker Hurricanes, just in time to effectively operate against the modern Luftwaffe aircraft during the Blitzkrieg. Following the British withdrawal, the squadron returned to the UK and served throughout the Battle of Britain, firstly in the air defence of the North East of England then on the South coast with 11Gp. In October 1941, the Squadron moved to RAF Manston and remained there undertaking anti shipping operations and cross channel fighter sweeps until 1942. During this period, 607 became the first unit to operate the Hurricane in the fighter bomber role and using their "Hurri-bombers" destroyed or damaged several enemy support vessels during the German capital ships "Channel dash!" on 12 February 1942.
During 1942, the Squadron was transported to India. There, it joined No. 166 Wing RAF on 25 May 1942. In September 1943, the Squadron's Hurricanes were replaced with Supermarine Spitfires. This change in machine, made the squadron the first unit in South East Asia Command to operate such aircraft. It re-equipped with the Spitfire Mk.VIII in March 1944, and flew these in support of XIV Army, including the Imphal and Kohima actions, until disbanding on 19 August 1945 at Mingaladon in Burma.
607 were one of the last units to finish operations in this theatre.
