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Info Eduard - July 2010
Current studies of Uffz. Eilmes’s aircraft reveal much
more. Karl Eilmes died in combat with bombers from
the 100th Bomb Group and as a result of their escorts.
He crashed at the Ore Mountains village of Mildeau.
In the summer of 2009 and spring of 2010, parts of the
armor glass plate from the windscreen centre section,
the 5mm side plates, and a very well preserved frame
from the ‘Scheuklappen’, including parts of the canopy,
were removed from the crash site. The discovery
revealed very precisely the construction of the units and
their mounting to the canopy frame.
Armored glass of 30mm thickness was slid into
a trapezoidal metal frame, welded from 3mm thick plate,
and screwed directly onto the canopy construction. The
frame was formed to have a ‘Z’ profile and from both
sides was covered with a wooden border, which mildly
countered poor aerodynamic qualities of the glass
assembly, and (especially on the inside face of the frame
between the steel construction and canopy) dampened
the transfer of vibration.
The wooden frame was constructed from a hard
wood, likely beech. The entire armored glass was
attached to the canopy frame from the front and below
(behind and above there was nothing to attach to).
As the canopy decreased in width going aft, and also
going up, the space between it and the flat armored glass
also increased. Since this relatively heavy glass was
attached only along two edges (with eight screws at the
front and seven along the bottom), the construction had
to have high structural integrity.
Wooden framing on the outside was fastened to the
metal frame on three sides (with three screws in each
case). The rear edge of the metal frame was not wood
covered. I include this detail because only these nine
screws would be visible and so, for a modeler, that
much more potentially interesting. Of course, the screws
were countersunk, and so, very subtle. They presented
themselves as 5mm wide and 1mm deep pits in the
wooden framework. Even in photographs, the framework
of the armor glass appears very solid, without visible
betrayal of their robust attachment to the canopy frame
of the aircraft (all mounting features were hidden under
stenciled wooden framing).
The method of mounting and dimensions are shown in
photographs and sketches.
On some photographs of Sturmbocks in the fall
of 1944, traces of removed armor glass panels are visible.
Sometimes, in the form of faded paint where original
screws mounting the glass were replaced with shorter
ones, that in the same positions secured the plexiglass
and canopy frame. In other instances, there is evidence
of overpainted areas, where the glass was secured, with
a base color of RLM 66, which was part of the treatment
when replacing screws.
Port side of the glass frame, including the roller mechanism for sliding
the canopy.
Frame from the starboard side of the canopy. The long segment is part
of the tube construction of the cockpit canopy.
Fw 190A-8/R2, W.Nr. 681456, Uffz. Karl Eilmes, II.(Sturm)/JG 4,
September 11th, 1944. Fliegerhorst (base) Welzow,
crashed near Mildenau, Germany.
(J. Zdiarský, P. Štěpánek)
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HISTORY