WIX Archives
Indian Emil
Posted by Dave Wadman on Thu Sep 05, 2002 01:23:59 PM
In reply top Re: ME109E Pics in Aeroplane monthly... posted by andy saunders on Thu Sep 05, 2002 07:13:54 AM
Hi all,
In this instance I would tend to agree with Andy's comments about the unlikelihood of a 109E being sent to an FFS in 1940 and then being re-issued to a front-line unit. However, there were always exceptions to the rule and I know of two BoB period 109Es that spent a brief period at an FFS before being re-issued for service on the Eastern Front in the autumn of 1941.
If indeed this airframe was originally an E-1 that survived the BoB and was later 'obtained' in N.Africa then it is entirely possible that it was one found suitable for conversion/recycling to an E-5 or E-6 recce configuration and issued perhaps to H./12 or H./14, both of whom had 109Es on strength in 1942!
As for the camo - who knows? It could be 70/71/65, 02/71/65 or any of a myriad of other combinations which we'll probably never firmly establish - especially after 60 years exposure to the harsh mid eastern and Indian climates.
Regards
Dave Wadman