Luftwaffe in Colour: The Victory Years: 1939–1942 Read online

  The FW 44 J CO+CG (W.Nr. 2396) photographed during an exercise in late summer 1940. This Stieglitz is brand new, having just been built by the firm CKD in Prague in July 1940.

  Not all colour photos from this time were perfect, but despite its poor quality, this image is nevertheless interesting as it shows the Bf 109 E-4/B CI+EJ (W.Nr. 3744) of the Rechlin Erprobungsstelle: at the beginning of September 1940 this aircraft tested the 300-litre detachable supplementary fuel tank.

  At the end of the 1930s, the aerodrome at Köthen (south of Dessau) became host to a school of radio operators, but more importantly it became the principal test site for Luftwaffe radio-guidance systems. This FW 58 C seen in October 1940 carries the code CX+HB and bears on its nose the insignia of the Luftnachrichten-Versuchs-Regiment.

  Ln-Versuch-Rgt Köthen used various types of aircraft for their tests, including this Ju 86 G W.Nr. 451.

  Hptm Ortloff in the cockpit of one of the Ln-Versuch-Rgt Ju 86 Gs in October 1940.

  On October 10th, 1940, Bf 109 C-1 “White 18” (W.Nr. 1732) of 2./JFS 5 crashed during take off at Parndorf. Although the aircraft was torn in half, its pilot, Gefr Bernhard Gronek, was pulled free having suffered only minor injuries. (Dénes Bernad collection)

  This factory photograph of an He 111 undergoing a test flight was used for publicity purposes by the Heinkel company during the war.

  Two views of the Messerschmitt Bf 110 C and D of a second line unit in 1940 or 1941. Though a censor has covered one aircraft’s markings, we know that the “Red 17” is actually coded VC+DR, not VC+DM as shown here. (Jacques Moulin collection)

  This view of an Ar 196 seaplane offers a few interesting details, in particular the support for the SC 50 bomb and the canopy. The bump on the fuselage, at the rear of the engine, is the fairing on a fixed 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun. (PK)

  Messerschmitt Bf 109 Ds at a fighter pilot school based in Germany in the winter of 1940-1941. The different shades of camouflage are worth noting, as is the bright pink colour used on the propeller cones.

  In late 1940 most fighter squadrons organized an Ergänzungsgruppe, a replacement and training unit, which often only had two Staffeln; each of these had as their insignia a die showing the numbers of their squadron. Here we see the nose of the Erg.Gr./JG 26 “White 12”, photographed passing through Rotterdam-Waalhaven in early summer 1941.

  A factory photograph of the Junkers Ju 88 A-5 CB+OF (W.Nr. 0406), which in 1941 was assigned to 2.(F)/ObdL. It was in this squadron that it was twice damaged on the Eastern Front, in July and August 1941.

  Dozens of Avia B-71 bombers, a version licensed from the Tupolev SB-2, were retrieved by Germany following the occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939; 111 others were also built for the Luftwaffe, who used them for training and for towing targets. These two shots show the Avia B-71A VG+BQ (W.Nr. 127) of Luftdienst-Teilkommando 2/12 from Mannheim-Sandhofen, with the nose of an old French Bloch 152 fighter facing it. (Private collection)

  The B-71B SE+FX (W.Nr. 216), an aircraft of Luftdienstkdo. 61 from Bad Zwischenahn in 1941-1942, has retained its original brown-and-grey camouflage; but the moving surfaces of the tail and the front of the engine cowlings have been repainted yellow to indicate the aircraft’s new function.

  Trainee pilot Gerhard Ille, who became a fighter in 5./JG 2 in 1944, poses in front of the FW 44 Stieglitz BO+CC of FFS A/B 123 from Agram, near Zagreb, in summer 1941. This photo was taken in occupied Yugoslavia.

  Equipped with skis to enable it to operate on snowy surfaces, the Bücker Bü 131 D-2 BD+AQ (W.Nr. 4157) of FFS A/B 123 is making its way to Govizice in the winter of 1941-1942. Formerly of the FFS A/B 115, this aircraft was 60% damaged during an emergency landing on February 4th at Wels.

  Lt Harald Freiherr von Arnim (in the centre, wearing sunglasses) surrounded by trainee pilots of Jagdfliegerschule 5 at Villacoublay in September 1941. An instructor at the beginning of the war, von Arnim fought in the Battle of Britain with 8./JG 2 before returning to 3./JFS 5 to give the trainee pilots the benefit of his experience.