Jochen Barett

😉 https://www.stern.de/digital/technik/saint-exupéry--wie-ein-fan-den-kleinen-prinzen-ueber-dem-meer-abschoss-9046196.html https://www.flugrevue.de/klassiker/ich-haette-niemals-geschossen-antoine-de-saint-exuperys-verschwinden/

So, who is good at face recognition?

And another U 552 series https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?ref_reportage=DAM+867&p=1 including the crew arrival and more ...

And another series of another return of U 552 to Saint-Nazaire "après sa 7e mission en mer entre les 4 septembre et 5 octobre 1941." https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?ref_reportage=DAM+907&p=1 including

We all know the kits https://www.scalemates.com/de/kits/trumpeter-05912-dkm-type-vii-c-u-boat--1363107 and https://www.andrea-world.com/en/12/limited-productions/116/limited-productions/693/lp-02-u-boat-vii-c-complete-hull.html https://www.modellmarine.de/index.php/modelle/513-andreas-coenen/4415-deutsches-u-boot-des-typs-viic-im-dock-135-andrea-models-von-andreas-coenen and probably this is the real thing: https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/le-retour-de-croisiere-d-un-sous-marin-allemand-a-la-base-sous-marine-de-brest.html other side https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/le-retour-de-croisiere-d-un-sous-marin-allemand-a-la-base-sous-marine-de-brest-1.html https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/le-retour-de-croisiere-d-un-sous-marin-allemand-a-la-base-sous-marine-de-brest-2.html But what U-... number was it?

In a mix of poor French on my side and not 100% fitting information in the caption and Wikipedia (La Rochelle is not Lorient) my resltuing guess is: U 766. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_submarine_Laubie https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/sous-marin-allemand-2.html "Un sous-marin allemand dans une des alvéoles de la base de sous-marins de Lorient. Ce U-boot est capturé intact dans la base et réutilisé par la marine nationale." and according to Wikipedia U 471 and U 766 were used by the French Navy. and maybe the other end https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/sous-marin-allemand-1.html

A nice set of pics https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?ref_reportage=TERRE+121bis including:

Assuming these things were standardized in the Kriegsmarine, let's watch somebody do the hard work of inflating and checking it: Yes, that French archive. Strange carpet. https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/gonflage-d-un-bateau-de-sauvetage-a-bord-du-dragueur-de-mines-allemand-surnomme-briseur-de-blocus-sperrbrecher.html

Maybe that's an MB.155 (we shall talk about the captions with the French later), but still the wheelchocks are "different". Anyway, @FalkeEins mentioned this archive earlier and I'm showing a few nice entries to wet your appetite to dig into it.

I wouldn't have trusted that statement. It's a thin line and better be safe than sorry. We do have §86a StGB https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__86a.html google (good enough for the moment) translates it to "Criminal Code (StGB) Section 86a Use of Symbols of Unconstitutional and Terrorist Organizations (1) Anyone who 1. disseminates or publicly uses, in an assembly or in content disseminated by them (Section 11, Paragraph 3), symbols of one of the parties or associations designated in Section 86, Paragraph 1, Numbers 1, 2, and 4, or Paragraph 2, within Germany, or 2. produces, possesses, imports, or exports content (Section 11, Paragraph 3) that depicts or contains such a symbol for dissemination or use within Germany or abroad in the manner described in Number 1, shall be punished with imprisonment for up to three years or with a fine. (2) Symbols within the meaning of Paragraph 1 include, in particular, flags, badges, uniform parts, slogans, and forms of greeting. Symbols that are deceptively similar to those mentioned in Sentence 1 are equivalent to them. (3) Section 86, Paragraphs 4 and 5, shall apply accordingly." And the list of banned organizations and their symbols is a moving target. If it helps to make the world a better place? Who knows? If a country / county has "funny laws" and I visit the place, I just try to obey. No public disrobing (esp. at the beach) or open liquor in the US? OK. Visiting the sauna in bathing trunks in the UK? OK. No Nazi salute or flag in Germany and Israel? OK. Not waving my Kyokujitsu-ki in Korea? OK. Yes, leaving certain symbols off is a bit strange - but we are getting close to "politcs".

For a moment I hoped it is just a calibration device. There are more Bloch MB 152 pics: https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/result/?q=Bloch+MB+152&p=1 and it seems there were at least two gun sight versions:

(how embarrassing!)

https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/photographies-depuis-un-biplan-l-evolution-dans-le-ciel-de-chasseurs-roumains-iar-80-et-de-messerschmitt-bf-109-allemands-1.html https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/le-chasseur-roumain-iar-80-numero-131-baptise-felicia-du-grupul-9-3.html

"Le commandant Mihail Romanescu aux commandes d'un chasseur allemand Messerschmitt Bf-109 E." "Le capitaine Alexandru Șerbănescu aux commandes de son chasseur Messerschmitt Bf-109 E, arborant ses 6 victoires aériennes."

Found here https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?auteur=1510898 while searching for something totally different: and there is much more to be found in that archive.