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Feel like getting bored?

Posted by Christer on Mon Oct 21, 2002 11:36:37 AM

A friend of mine has his business in Solms/Lahn, not far from Frankfurt am Main where those engines were found some months ago. He gave me his copy of VdL - Nachrichten and there?s an article on the find. I?ll translate the most interesting parts:

When construction work was carried out on the southern part of the airport Rhein-Main, on previously american military grounds, 14 aircraft engines were discovered. It was near the old Zeppelin engine test facility which is still standing today. The types were BMW 801, Jumo 211 and 213, DB 601, 603 and 605.

Before the second world war the Frankfurter Flughafen was used as an airship port and Zeppelins LZ127, LZ129 and LZ130 were based there flying all over the world e.g. to New York and South America.

After the outbreak of WWII the Luftwaffe moved in with Do17, Me 109 and Ju 88. At the beginning, things were quite quiet but this changed dramatically on March 22, 1944, when 816 british bombers attacked Frankfurt. At the end of 1944 there had been further large scale attacks and a total of over 2000 bombs had been dropped on the airfield. At this point in time Me 109s and Fw 190s were based there and also Me 262s. Where the Autobahn runs today there where dispersals hidden in the woods so the fighters escaped rather unscathed from the attacks.

In the morning of March 25, 1945, troops from #5 US division were advancing close to the airfield and the only defence was a couple of 8,8 cm flak cannons. It was realized that they wouldn?t stop the americans and due to lack of trucks for transportation they had to hide the valuable engines from the americans by burying them in bomb craters which were filled in with soil. The engines weren?t covered from the soil, they were only showed in as they were. They were given a coate of oil though and some of them were in their transport cradles.

When the engines were found, considering being buried for over 50 years, they were in relatively good condition. Accessories and wiring were in very good condition and levers could be moved and sparkplugs could be screwn out. The inside of the engines were in very good condition too but aluminium parts, especially the superchargers, were corroded. On other metal parts, such as the cooler ring, the camouflage was still visible.

(I omit the technical description of the engines, they talk about turbochargers and that the DB 603 was developed from the DB 601/605 ...... but the data plates were still readable to identify the different subtypes.)

Some of the engines have gone to the Luftwaffen Museum in Gatow and it?s hoped that they will be restored to be displayed in the years to come.
It?s to the credit of the Airport Fire-Brigade that the engines didn?t end up in the scrap bin. When the explosives specialsists had labeled the find scrap and not bombs they were to be removed. The personnel in the A F-B convinced the construction company of the value of the find and were allowed to take care of the find. The company let them use some lifting equipment and the fire-fighters took care of the engines in their own time, unpaid that is.

That ends my feeble translation but it shows that enthusiasts are to be found everywhere.

My friend added that it was more than likely that more equipment had been buried at this site but that it was less than likely that further excavation would be allowed. It would imply extra cost and time loss for the construction company so, the area will only be paved with asphalt.

Christer,
who thinks he has bored You stiff since it?s from the December 2001 issue. I didn?t realize that it was that long ago when I started typing. So, this is probably old news but if I?ve typed it You?re gonna bl**dy read it ;-)

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