BUILT

W. Nr. 2278, Uffz. Erich Pflaum, 2./ JG 51, Ljuban, Soviet Union, September 1942

I.Gruppe JG 51 was, in the summer of 1942, chosen to be the first of the units serving on the Eastern Front to be re-equipped

with the Fw 190. It moved to Königsberg, where it was assigned a mix of Fw 190A-1, A-2 and A-3s, and after conversion training

returned back to the northern sections of the Eastern Front at the end of August 1942. The first Fw 190A-3 from I./JG 51 that was

lost in combat was piloted by Uffz. Erich Pflaum on September 29th, 1942. The pilot, although injured, survived.

The aircraft flown by Erich Pflaum was painted in a non-standard scheme consisting of two shades of dark green. Exactly

what these two greens were is as yet unclear. One possibility is a combination of RLM 70 and 71. The yellow lower wingtips, the

fuselage band in the same colour below the fuselage cross identified this aircraft as having served on the Eastern Front. The engine

cowl carries the unit marking of JG 51 and below the windscreen is the insignia of I./JG 51. The original yellow fuselage band is

still visible under the camouflage paint. The thin black tape bordering the yellow band below the fuselage cross probably served

to sharpen its edge during the paint work conducted on the aircraft.

INFO Eduard - July 2018

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