Me262 wnr.111712 - colors and references?

[warhawk]

Hello,

I am interested in building a model of this aircraft, but have some questions:

 

1. Were the wings painted, or just puttied at the seams?
2. Were both engines painted, with a silver(?) intake?
3. Was it used operationally? It is attributed to the famous JV44
4. If it was used by JV44, why did it have bomb racks?

 

 

Also, do other or  better photos of it exist?

Edited February 11, 2020 by warhawk

[Crimea River]

According to three references I have ("Me262 Schwalbe" by Murawski and Rys, "Me262 in Action" by Stapfer and "Stormbird Colors" by Green and Evans), 111712 was an A-1a, not an A-2a. Both the above pictures are featured singly in two of the above publications but no others appear.

 

The picture from the 5 o'clock position above appears in Stormbird Colors. Conclusions on the wing finish are not drawn but the flaps appear to be very light whereas the rear uppers of the nacelles are darker so may be painted. The authors say the rudder is red primer, not 81.

 

The picture from the 8 o'clock position appears in Me262 in action. The caption states ".....This particular Messerschmitt was flown from Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental to Neuberg on der Donau on 30 March 1945 before being assigned to Jagdverband 44....This particular Me262 ended World War II at Innsbruck-Hötting airfield in Austria".

 

Pics also exist of 111711 in both publications and it is also unfinished, including the nacelles. This is the aircraft in which Hans Fay defected to US forces on March 30, 1945, the same day that 111712 was delivered to Neuberg. So while 711 languished in US hands, 712 presumably saw some 5 weeks of service, which could suggest that the original unpainted nacelles and rudder could have been replaced. It's been stated that the reason these late Schwäbisch Hall produced 262s were delivered unpainted was due to the paint shop having been destroyed in a bombing raid on March 22, 1945.

 

Several pics of 111711 in Sormbird Colors show it fitted with two ETC503 racks though these are not evident in the two pics of 111712. The racks on the fighter version were used to mount the WGr 21 tubes so their presence did not necessarily mean the a/c was a bomber version.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Andy

 

EDIT: Since there appears to be some license taken in the caption that you posted, I would suggest that the tail unit is NOT primed but is rather bare metal. The pic from the 5 o-clock position looks to me to show bare metal rather than a primed assembly. 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Crimea River

[warhawk]

Thank You very much for the info. I guess the guy who compiled the text above made a mistake.

It also makes sense that the engines were a replacement, 'cause the ones that came with it didn't last long.

[Crimea River]

Not necessarily a mistake but perhaps less caution than some in drawing conclusions. Unless the author has a first hand source saying that "I remember putting a new rudder on and painting it 81" then he shouldn't draw the conclusion any more than Green should say that it's red primer, though I'd tend toward the more likely primer scenario at that stage of the war.

 

From where did you get the profile and captions?

 

I did another check after I posted and, in Gaemperle's "Captured Eagles", there's another JV44 262 with ETC racks pictured at Innsbruck, WNr 113369. He says the racks at that stage of the war had to be match-marked to the aircraft with WNr and L/R because of the fit issues experienced with poor quality in production at the time.  

[warhawk]

I found it in this topic, which links to Pinterest, which links to Flickr...

 

On 5/13/2018 at 11:12 AM, Mike Mcellaney said:

Well count me in with the 1/32 Trumpeter Me 262A-2a, I was looking a round the net to see what I could build for the GB and found this

 

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by warhawk

[Crimea River]

Ah yes, I know the feeling. I found a profile of a Norwegian Gladiator I was interested in on Pinterest and it was attributed to Juanita, who is a member here. Turns out she had nothing to do with the profile and the guy pasted her name on it.