I can’t add much except

I was there on det with another of the aircraft types on the pan.

2 amusing memories were watching a Nimrod taxi on to the pan infront of the assembled press, only for it to turn around infront of them creating a giant sandstorm that engulfed them all and generate huge cheers from the lineys! They bravely abandoned all their equipment and ran off to try and cough up all the sand out of their lungs! Sadly though half way through the turn the jet ran out of momentum, so the pilot opened the taps, which in turn allowed the jet blast to distribute the video cameras that had been abandoned into the desert at the side of the pan!

The second memory was watching a RAF MT driver pushing one back into it’s slot when he ran out of talent, sheared the towing arm and parked the tractor in the radome! Believe it grounded the jet for a week or two whilst a spare had to be ferried out from the UK!

Fantatstic, what a line up!!!

Just as a hijack but I’m after an Mi-2 tacho if anyone has got one!
Cheers
Matt

Does anyone have any photographic evidence of the numbers/registrations that were said to be painted in the wheelwells of the Buchons during the Battle of Britain Film? Although there are published references to this and I have spoken to someone that remembers them being there, it’s not clear as to whether it was the G-AWH- registration, the C.4k- serial number or the builders construction number. They were also said to be applied in the flaps somewhere. A font style would be nice as well…;)

Oh, and whilst I’m on the subject, anyone know the identity of the Buchon that crashed fatally prior to the commencement of filming in Spain?

Cheers

Roobarb

I may be able to check this for you, Give me a couple of weeks
Cheers
Matt

hmmmm i think its been upside down then craned over onto its belly hence the damage behind the cockpit.

The body looks real enough but i suspect its the Russian front so probably not the original pilot, looks more like a Russian uniform to me.

Plenty of original WW2 shots look similar to this, fake but real and vise versa

I don’t agree at all, nothing suggests its been on its back, there is no spinner damage, unless it flipped over tail first.

Photos of K-4’s and late war aircraft are rare, it’s not like allied stuff, the number of photos is low but there are alot of people interested in late war german aircraft and some have deep pockets, as I noted before an undiscovered oirignal good photo of a k-4 could fetch around the 1000 euro mark I have personally watched this happen on other german fighter photos and what may seem like a nice photo to alot is really a goldmine for some collectors and they are willing to pay, so faking is worth it, even the most basic of german stuff is faked today, stuff you couldn’t imagine why people would but they do!

I agree it isn’t a very ‘professional’ job. I thought it could be a Russian propaganda photo; I’m no expert but Russian propaganda tends to be cruder both in a technical sense and also in (what was acceptable) subject matter. I think also the Russians employed propaganda units at a more local level in the field such as producing ‘field newspapers’ at a divisional level.

I don’t know what it is about it but it reminds me of posed photographs of knocked-out tanks.

As has been suggested the stripping of the airframe for parts could have occurred after a simple belly-landing accident much in advance of the ‘combat’ damage (and without the body of the ‘pilot’ of course). Later on as the battle-lines change a propaganda unit finds the wreck and ‘dresses’ it suitably as a combat loss.

From the other point of view would a modeller, and a very good one at that, bother to create such a diorama at considerable time and expense just so that a single ‘fake’ photo could be produced and sold on eBay? Not likely is it?

You have underestimated the price single photos of rare things demand, We’re talking 1000+ euros! Seriously, it is worth the trouble.

Unfortunately I know very little about markings and colouration, there are guys out there who know so much about this and can tell so much from a B&W photo it would make your head spin, they could tell you if it was real or not just by looking at the markings but alas it does not interest me too much.

*Edit* just to add it wouldn’t be a front band but a defence of the reich band, the welle makes it III Gruppe, perhaps JG53??

DOTR bands:

http://users.hol.gr/~nowi/luftdef/index.html

*edit again* Also look at the listing, typical of people selling fakes, pretend not to know what the item is to generate interest, can you imagine someone with a photo like this trying to sell it to make money legitimately describing it as such, do you not think they would not take the slightest bit of interest in what it was, especially someone who sells so many military items, come on it’s typical fake tactics, “oh I have no idea what this rare photo with a dead guy and a luftwaffe plane is of please take advantage of my ignorance and pay nothing for it”