Interesting photo find

Looks to me as if the Mustang’s lower engine cowling panel is also missing.

Sgt Donocik tried an emergency landing after being hit vicinity of Metelen by a D-9 from JG54 flown by Uffz Rey or Oberleutnant Heilmann. The Mustang exploded in mid air, the pilot was thrown out the cockpit without a chance to pull the ripcord. The debris of the a/c were spread widely. Sgt Kostuch bailed out and was captured close to Coesfeld. His Mustang drilled into the ground the eastern entrance of the village of Holtwick (near Legden). He was downed by Oberleutnant Dortenmann, Staffelkommandeur of JG54, Varrelbusch.

S
Although I agree that there seems to be no hood on the Mustang, you might want to note that the Malcolm hood used on these aircraft did not have any framework other than two rails at the bottom that attached it to the sides of the fuselage.

Thanks for that VoyTech, always thought the Malcolm hood was similar in construction to the Spitfire’s. This again shows how educational this forum is:)

Cheers,

Walter

My feeling is, given the appearance of the Fw190, that the photo is more likely to be taken after the end of the War. According to the movement card SR419 was CatAC/hit by flak on 4/4/45 and then CatE on 31/5/45.

Steve, I think Cologne was captured by the Allies some time in March 1945, so by the time SR419 landed there it was more or less ‘after the war’ in that area. Anyway, cat. E meant (if I understand correctly) just transferring the aircraft’s paperwork to another place in the files (so the squadron could get a replacement aircraft). Can we rule it out that after SR419 was declared damaged beyond repair it (or whatever was left of it) remained wherever it had been? I guess the photo may well have been taken after VE-Day.

In my view the hood is missing altogether as I just can’t discern any framework.

Although I agree that there seems to be no hood on the Mustang, you might want to note that the Malcolm hood used on these aircraft did not have any framework other than two rails at the bottom that attached it to the sides of the fuselage.

Hi VoyTech

I did not intend to ignore SR419 I definitely think the serial looks more like a ‘9’ than a ‘5’. My feeling is, given the appearance of the Fw190, that the photo is more likely to be taken after the end of the War. According to the movement card SR419 was CatAC/hit by flak on 4/4/45 and then CatE on 31/5/45.

Steve

By cross-checking the code letters in the log books of (then) F/Sgt Marian Jankiewicz and F/Lt Kazimierz Wunsche with the corresponding serials in the ORB for their sorties in March/April 1945 I have now establilshed that SR419 was indeed coded PK-D.

Steve, is there any specific reason why you do not consider SR419 an option? It seems to me the last digit of the Mustang’s serial can be discerned under the tailplane and it looks very much like a ‘9’.

I think the Malcolm hood has been removed and also the rear cockpit glazing.

On 20 July 1945 315Sqn flew a practice Ramrod over Germany and later in the afternoon the sqn landed at R.16 Hildesheim. The ORB does not record that they returned to Andrews Field that day but it does record that one Mustang returned (on its own) from the Ramrod on 23 July.

Steve

Hi again Peter,

In my view the hood is missing altogether as I just can’t discern any framework.

I am afraid the photo is a one off, my friend can’t even imagine how it got into the collection. Just a souvenir I gather.

Cheers,

Walter

I noticed that too Walter, but I also wasn’t sure if the hood was just pulled back or missing altogether. Does your friend have any other photos from the same time/location(s) that could provide clues as to where this picture was taken?

Cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

Thank you all, it is fascinating to see the amount of interest aroused by what is at first sight a simple souvenir photo!

I just noticed that the Mustang is actually missing its Malcolm hood – might that tie in with a forced landing (VoyTech’s post), ie would the pilot have jettisoned it considering a bail out but then managed to get the a/c on the ground after all?

Cheers,

Walter

I am not sure it is going to be easy to nail this for sure. The Mustang appears to have reduced type-identity markings with just a white spinner which suggests that it was operating later in the War after Autumn 1944. I can’t interpet the info on the Czech website and don’t know where it comes from.

In the published history of 315Sqn by VoyTech and Co there are four Mustangs identified as possibly coded PK*D FB170, FB162, FB369 and FB385 three of these a/c survived the War FB369 was CatB in UK in Mar45 and subsequently SOC. VoyTech and Co list FB225 as a 315Sqn a/c but they do not identify a code letter for it. The recording of the 315 Sqn ORB is not very helpful to us modern day nerds mostly the a/c are listed only by code letter but from the beginning of Feb45 the a/c are listed by the numerals of the RAF serial.

On 21/2/45 133 Wing, including 315 Sqn, engaged the GAF over Osnabruck and the ORB records that two pilots were missing F/Sgt J Donocik flying ‘369’ and Sgt T Kostuch flying ‘846’. FB369 and HB846 are both recorded on charge to 315Sqn but neither a/c is recorded as lost on 21/2/45. On the Polish Squadrons Remembered website Donocik is listed as KIA and Kostuch as PoW. Unhelpfully the two 315Sqn Mustangs listed as missing on 21/2/45 on aircraft movement cards are FX939 and FB225. It seems to me that the appearance of PK*D suggests that it was an a/c that was force-landed and the pilot taken PoW rather than an a/c in which the pilot was killed.

Steve

PK-D Mustang Mk.IIIB (P-51C) FB225 (batch FB125-399)

Unlikely.
There seems to be no trace of D-Day stripes on the Mustang, so this photo was taken during late 1944 or later. The scenery doesn’t look like winter time, so probably spring of 1945 or later. FB225 was lost with the pilot, Sgt Jozef Donocik on 21 February 1945. I think this is a subsequent PK-D.
This could be SR419 (no code known) in which Sgt Tadeusz Pertkiewicz was forced to land at Cologne (Köln) on 4 or 6 April 1945 (I have two dates so either one source has a misspelling or he landed there on the 4th but suffered another engine failure two days later).

Yes indeed Mark… I’d subsequently found that out too via a copy of “The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988” [Air Britain, 1988] so it looks like an example of an unscheduled landing in Europe? The Fw190 looks in too poor a state to have been in the UK and as far as I can see, it doesn’t match any of the examples known to have been transferred.

Cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

Fortunately, some helpful person has transcribed the ORB:

http://orb.polishaf.pl/unit/315sqn

May have been before November 1944 – they went up to Peterhead at that point. Unless, of course, the pic is post-war and it’s a German machine in the U.K. (?)

Peter,

The rather startling answer is: it doesn’t appear to have been in Europe at all!

http://www.rafcommands.com/Fighter/315F.html

BTW… does anybody know where 315 Squadron were based in Europe after D-Day?

Cheers
Pete D Evans
LEMB Administrator

Will do Walter… and thanks again for posting it! 🙂

Cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

Hi Peter,

No problem to use the photo if this can help in your research. I did note those lower white portions were missing on the Balkenkreuz. Fascinating that this might point to the unit the FW belonged to! Do let us know if this leads to anything new please.

Cheers,

Walter

Hi Walter,

Do you have any problem with my posting this image over on the LEMB? The reason I ask is that we have a thread on what appears to be the strange application of the fuselage balkenkreuz (cross) on Fw190’s belonging to JG1. If you note, the lower white segments of the cross are missing and this appears to be unique to JG1, so this image will be of interest to our members too

Thanks for sharing it too 🙂

Cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

Thanks guys, appreciate your input.

Cheers,

Walter