Thinking caps on

[andron234]

Among some of exhibits in the Imperial War Museum, I found this tailfin,




I can't make up my mind what plane it's from, As the fin has so many kills recorded on it has to be from a fighter, but which one? my guess is a Messerschmitt Me 110



or a Heinkel He 219

[Naharaht]

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30084143

It is the "Tail fin from a Messerschmitt Me 110 night-fighter flown by the Second World War German air ace Geschwaderkommodore Major Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer. The fin is painted with 121 'kill' markings; according to latest research Schnaufer's official tally of enemy aircraft 'downed' stood at 121 at the end of the war, this represented a total compiled between 2 June 1942 and 7 March 1945. Schnaufer's greatest one-off success came on 21 February 1945, when he destroyed nine RAF heavy bombers in the course of one day, two in the early hours of the morning and a further seven in the evening. Post-war research suggests that in fact his total that day was 10, one claim not having been acknowledged. He was captured by the British in May 1945 at Eggebek in Schleswig-Holstein, but was released later that year. He died following a traffic accident in 1950. For additional biographical information see 'Schnaufer: ace of diamonds: the biography of Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer, Germany's top-scoring night fighter of World War II', by Peter Hinchliffe (ISBN 0-7524-1690-1) a copy of which is held by the IWM's Department of Printed Books. See also photograph reference MH 7232 held by the IWM's Photograph Archive."

[andron234]

Thank you David for the info, due to a constant "River" of school children I was unable to get close to the exhibits, over 70% of my photo's were unusable kids in every shot, here's a tip for anyone thinking of visiting the Imperial War Museum, visit after 3.30pm (no school children) however if you have to visit in the morning bring a set of "EAR PLUGS".

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Thanks for the pictures Drew, and the answer to the question Dave.
Good detective work.
Rob.

[Jager]

Thank you David for the info, due to a constant "River" of school children I was unable to get close to the exhibits, over 70% of my photo's were unusable kids in every shot, here's a tip for anyone thinking of visiting the Imperial War Museum, visit after 3.30pm (no school children) however if you have to visit in the morning bring a set of "EAR PLUGS".

Quite true; on my visit last year, I had to wait 10 minutes to get a good pic of the T-34/85 due to lines of "little darlings". (they were most polite though).
Hmm....I still need to sort and post my pics
Karl

[andron234]

Quite true; on my visit last year, I had to wait 10 minutes to get a good pic of the T-34/85 due to lines of "little darlings". (they were most polite though).
Hmm....I still need to sort and post my pics
Karl

I found this one on a mountain pass in Slovenia

[andron234]

And this is the one from Imperial War Museum.

[Guntruck]

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30084143

It is the "Tail fin from a Messerschmitt Me 110 night-fighter flown by the Second World War German air ace Geschwaderkommodore Major Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer. The fin is painted with 121 'kill' markings; according to latest research Schnaufer's official tally of enemy aircraft 'downed' stood at 121 at the end of the war, this represented a total compiled between 2 June 1942 and 7 March 1945. Schnaufer's greatest one-off success came on 21 February 1945, when he destroyed nine RAF heavy bombers in the course of one day, two in the early hours of the morning and a further seven in the evening. Post-war research suggests that in fact his total that day was 10, one claim not having been acknowledged. He was captured by the British in May 1945 at Eggebek in Schleswig-Holstein, but was released later that year. He died following a traffic accident in 1950. For additional biographical information see 'Schnaufer: ace of diamonds: the biography of Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer, Germany's top-scoring night fighter of World War II', by Peter Hinchliffe (ISBN 0-7524-1690-1) a copy of which is held by the IWM's Department of Printed Books. See also photograph reference MH 7232 held by the IWM's Photograph Archive."

Bang on David, just like it says on the signage to the left of the tailfin (knew I had a photo of it somewhere...)

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Pity we did not make this a quiz.
It is high time someone did one again.
Rob.

[andron234]

Not a Quiz but a "starter question for 10 points. What famous person owned this Westland Lysander?

Pity we did not make this a quiz.
It is high time someone did one again.
Rob.