BUILT

Fw 190D-9, W. Nr. 500093, flown by Ogefr. Dieter Kragelöh, 3./JG 26, Fürstenau, Germany, January 1st, 1945

The target of the I. Gruppe JG 26 was Grimbergen

airport. During the flight to the target, over the

Scheldt estuary, the aircraft of the 3. Staffel commander Oblt. Alfred Heckmann was hit by the

ship-born anti-aircraft guns as well as his wingman’s aircraft, at that time 21-years old Ogefr. Dieter Kragelöh. Heckmann managed to return to

the base, Kragelöh was not that lucky. The engine

April 2022

damage forced him to perform emergency landing

nearby Heidekapel and he was captured.

The aircraft, manufactured in Mimetall factory in

Erfurt, was camouflaged RLM 82/83 on the wing

and fuselage upper surfaces, RLM 83 wrapped

around the wing’s leading edge reaching the middle of the lower wing chord. The rest of the lower wing surface was left unpainted in the natural

metal finish. The ailerons and landing flaps were

spray-painted in RLM 76 as well as the engine

cowling lower part and the rudder. The fuselage sides and bottom, including the vertical tail surface,

were sprayed in green-blue color.

INFO Eduard

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