Me Bf 110 Wing panel

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Member for

16 years 3 months

Posts: 1,668

I have just received this from Romania.

It is the R(echts) Starboard under wing panel from a Bf 110 E-3 - Werk No. 2346.

Picture of the panel in situ on the Hendon Machine.

So far I have found out the following.

She was built in Feb/Mar 41 as a block of 35 by GWF (Gothaer WaggonFabrik at Gotha). One of only 200 E-3's.

Suffered 10% damage on 05th Aug 1941 at a place called Mozhaysk - west of Moscow. When flown with the 2(F). AukFlGr 33 by Uffz Grasse - presumably as part of the Barbarossa advance on Moscow.

Item 141
http://www.airwar.ru/history/av2ww/axis/bf110loss/bf110loss.html

Suffered 60% damage in Russia on 21st Feb 1942.

Lost at Ploesti on 24th Aug 1944.

The wing has numerous bullet holes - but they are all small ( ca. 5mm dia.) so I am not sure if they are post war plinking or battle damage.

The wing has an in service patch on the leading edge.

Attached is the page from the Vultee assessment of a captured 110 that shows the same wing panel.

Can anyone add any further information or corrections ??

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Member for

16 years 10 months

Posts: 2,004

A nicely identifiable piece there Brian. Not much to add! Interesting that even Vultee were given captured bits to study. Presumably they didn't learn much from it.

Member for

16 years 3 months

Posts: 1,668

Ian - the full report is also available on Deutschluftwaffe.de - what I found interesting was that it was before the US joined the war - we shipped an entire 110 across to California for analysis.

Does anyone have the Luftwaffe loss reports for the two later dates ??

Member for

13 years 6 months

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Interesting find and info!

Cant get much better then this, unless an entire complete aircraft.

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20 years 8 months

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Holes of approx. 5mm diameter would definitly point to post war plinking. I am pretty certain that just about all the ammunition used in WWII was 7+mm

Member for

16 years 3 months

Posts: 1,668

Mike - I see that the Russians were using 7.6 mm bullets mainly - so not one of theirs.

Possibly a post war .22? They are definitely bullet holes as the metal is puckered inwards with some signs of heat.

I also found a picture of a 2 Aukfl33 Me 110 E-3 in Russia - with their Puss in Boots with camera emblem.

Member for

17 years 11 months

Posts: 2,605

Some of the research Vultee did was fired a variety of rounds into bits and bobs of Me110.Mainly the hydraulic,oil and fuel tanks I think to check on the Germans self sealing technology.

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16 years 3 months

Posts: 1,668

Qld Spitty - I was concerned that this panel and hence the were holes just below the fuel tank. The paint is bubbled in places but no obvious signs of fire - just possible age or leaking.

I have had a 109 outer wing panel with definite Russian bullet holes in it - but there was no fuel out there.

P.S. I guess that after 60% damage the final aircraft was more of a hybrid airframe or a massive in theatre rebuild.

Member for

13 years 6 months

Posts: 722

Qld Spitty - I was concerned that this panel and hence the were holes just below the fuel tank. The paint is bubbled in places but no obvious signs of fire - just possible age or leaking.

Bubbles under paint are signs of corrosion (if no charring present).