Captured aircraft.

Originally posted by Distiller
Hans-Werner Lerche

That name rings bells. I’m fairly confident my late father bought the English edition, titled “Testing Enemy Aircraft”. If I’m right, it’s still at my Mum’s lair, awaiting liberation.
If anybody would like more info before I visit again, (could be several months), I can ask her for the details.

The first picture I ever saw of a captured aircraft was, I think, a re-engined EN830 in a book by William Green. It was in the school library back in the dark ages. Somebody managed to find a copy of the same shot in a previous thread.

Luftwaffe Experten Message Board is a wonderful source of captured aircraft questions and answers.
For example Captured F5E about a captured P38.

“An article in issue 1 of ‘The Luftwaffe Verband Journal’ written by Carlos Herrera throws light on a captured F-5E (a recon version of the P38L) with the serial 44-23725.
An extract:-

‘Lt. Martin J. Monti was the only USAAF pilot to voluntarily defect to the Germans. On October 13, 1944, he stole an F5E of the 354th Air Services Squadron (44-23725) and started flying in the direction of the front lines. He became lost and landed at an abandoned air strip near Milan in German held territory. This Lightning is possibly the one that survived the war and was later recaptured by U.S. troops near Schwangau, Austria.’”

Apparently Lt Monti was caught, tried. and sentenced with being absent without leave and for stealing a P38, for which he got dismissed from the service and 15 years confinement.

Flood.

On the subject of captured types in Germany I remember a couple of years ago seeing in a magazine about the Deuches Museum in Berlin. Before it was destroyed in 1944 amoungst those on display were Spitfire,Hurricane,Wellington,Battle plus a cfew french types including a MS406 and a Bloch bomber.
Of course the museums prize exhibits were the Dornier DoX,Dornier Wal and the last original Fokker DR1. Many of the types were evacuated to Poland, but the rest must have beenb destroyed.

Originally posted by Mark12
Robbelc

Here is the shot of the Storch at Coley’s Yard circa 1959. It was thought at the time to have come from Farnborough. Charles W. Cain had written a piece in Air Pictorial, I think it was, in about 1955 where he had listed the exciting junk/treasure laying around Farnborough – Boston, Blackburn YB-1, Storch and other exotica. As the Blackburn was in the yard at the same time as this Storch it seemed a reasonable assumption.

Mark

Thanks for the photo, it seems that the RAE would have been the source as their Storches were doped in silver and they would have been the last users. I know they had a couple of spares ships around in the early 50’s so guess this is one of them?

Originally posted by Whitley_Project
Yes, I remember seeing some pics of that yonks ago – if I recall correctly the belly was quite battered. God help the poor german mechanic who tackled the undercarriage!

The Stirling had a badly damaged nose – profiles of it show it with a tarpaulin in place – but I recall seeing it on its wheels but without engines later in the war, after suffering an undercarriage malfunction.
A Lightning was flown by its pilot and landed in Italy (I think) and was even used to shoot down a Liberator. Its pilot was a pre-war Nazi fan with (I think) links through business to Henry Ford…
Trying to remember the name of a Luftwaffe site which has loads of captured aircraft pictures and detail – the Germans had several Spits and a few Mustangs too. And a Whitley – although whether it ever flew again is quite unlikely.
Anybody know anything about a captured Lancaster? – Nermal

There is a German site www.luftarchiv.de about with a couple of “Beuteflugzeuge”. Go to “English Version” > “Captured Planes”.
And if you’re capable of German there is a book first published by the German Motorbuchverlag called “Testpilot auf Beuteflugzeugen” by Hans-Werner Lerche, who was part of the Rechlin outfit responsible for testing captured Allied planes. I think it was also translated into English. Very interesting.

See also http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/FAACapturedAircraftHomepage.html and http://www.luftwaffe-experten.co.uk/beuteflugzeuge.html

Most of the Allied planes were from emergency landings, some from Allied pilots steering wrong course. The Luftwaffe had a unit nicknamed “Wanderzirkus Rosarius” that showed captured Allied planes to the units and let them do mock aircombat.

It is interesting that during the Cold War very few aircraft were actually “captured”, almost all were from defections or nav errors. In Angola UNITA captured two Hind on the ground, but that is about all I know of really captured aircraft. Off course there are those from Iraq, but that was after the Cold War.
And the Soviets got a couple during Korea and the SEA campaign, but I’ve never seen a statistic about that side of the game.

Yes, I remember seeing some pics of that yonks ago – if I recall correctly the belly was quite battered. God help the poor german mechanic who tackled the undercarriage!

A Stirling was… it crash landed, but the Germans repaired it enough to fly and test.

Thanks nermal

Poor old spirfire!

Do you have any detail on the american defector? Is that really true? I’ve never heard that story before.

Wonder if any Whitley’s were captured and tested by the Germans…….

That one is a PR.XI so it probably got lost and landed early.
Think the Lightning was an American defector though! – Nermal

Does anyone know under what circumstances the spit ended up in the hands of the boche?

The “other” side.

Robbelc

Here is the shot of the Storch at Coley’s Yard circa 1959. It was thought at the time to have come from Farnborough. Charles W. Cain had written a piece in Air Pictorial, I think it was, in about 1955 where he had listed the exciting junk/treasure laying around Farnborough – Boston, Blackburn YB-1, Storch and other exotica. As the Blackburn was in the yard at the same time as this Storch it seemed a reasonable assumption.

Mark

Fiesler Storch – B.160 Kastrup – May 1945

Hi Guys – this one is the Fiesler Storch of George Clinton Keefer – WingCo Flying of 125 Wing at B.160 Kastrup/Copenhagen in May 1945. Bit of a change from his usual Spitfire XIV in the same markings !!! – cheers – Allan

Originally posted by Mark12
Robbelc,

Methinks I saw the RAE Storch on the scrap heap at Coley’s Yard in the late 1950’s. 🙁 I will dig the photo out.

Mark

That storch was VP546 which lives today at Cosford. Although the RAE had quite a few storch’s 546 was handed over to the gliding club after the trials and was used into the 50’s as a tug. I would guess the rest wen to Coley’s 😡 .Iwould love to see the photo though. 😀

Robbelc,

Methinks I saw the RAE Storch on the scrap heap at Coley’s Yard in the late 1950’s. 🙁 I will dig the photo out.

Mark

Setting-up camp for occupation duties.

Not often seen, an L-1

L4

General Patton’s L4