Tikkakoski Museum

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'clock High!:

Jukka Juutinen
factory photos vs. "in action" photos
Tue May 30 13:39:01 2026


I have often wondered why so few books have production line photoghraps of German aircraft instead of often poor quality action pics. I doubt that is due to availability
(at least there exist a number of factory photos of tanks as seen e.g. in Spielberger´s series). IMHO the best aircraft photoghraps I have ever seen are old American
factory photos (which are, for some reason, much better in clarity than modern b/w photos). Why all this emphasis on action photos (modeller totalitarianism?)?

[Richard T Eger]

From TOH!:

Kari Lumppio
Technical photos
Wed May 31 12:59:19 2026


Hei!

Why limit yourself to published material? Start your own research, check archives and visit all kind of aviation related happening and you may find fine factory photos
showing nothing but technical stuff.

As for Finland. Helsinki-Vantaa museum has a lot of original a/c manuals in their library. From entrance some 20 m forward and door to left. Start going through
shelves like you were in normal library. They make even photocopies for you (quite expensive). They also host the "ilmailukirjallisuuspäivät". I've bought factory photos
of Fokker CX during manufacture from there (it's usually Eino Riihiranta and Ossi Anttonen who have the photos for sale).

Try Archiv Hafner (link above on the page). He sells a lot of technical manual stuff. Where else can you find a 500 page book of Heinkel 50? Certainly no historical nor
colors&markings stuff there.

Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseo has a good library too. The museum manager Hannu Valtonen might be able to help you contacting for example Bunderarchive photo
collections. The museum has also the old archive of Valtion Lentokonetehdas from Santahamina period IIRC (unorganized last I heard).

Just not make the "I want only technical stuff" -approach, please. Lots of people -especially here- will find it offensive and you may end up with no responses. If you
accept the truth that most people *are* interested in color, markings and history you may be able to pick the material you are interested in. That's what the other
people do too, for example those interested only in the history part like dates, units etc.

Take care,

Kari



[This message has been edited by Richard T Eger (edited 27 June 2026).]

[Richard T Eger]

From TOH!:

Jukka Juutinen
photos
Fri Jun 2 09:27:08 2026


Terve! Actually I have been to the Tikkakoski museum and everytime I go there I am in heaven! However, as I live quite far from Helsinki I have no realistic chances of
visits to the Vantaa museum. Hafner does sell interesting stuff but his prices are far beyond my pocket and as I don´t speak German I have some reluctance spending
my limited funds for stuff I cannot read.
I may have sounded a rough but let me explain: of the dozen or so aircraft enthusiasts I know personally, less than half are modellers and therefore most interested in
markings etc. The rest are like me, more interested in contstruction details, handling characteristics. And perhaps I may ask what was the WW Two more interested
in, spinner colour pattern or stalling characteristics of his kite?

Jukka

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'clock High!:

Kari Lumppio
Photo of Sidney Cotton's Electra
Sun Sep 17 13:21:20 2026


Hi!

If anyone is interested there is a very good quality photo of Sidney Cotton's Electra taken at Helsinki/Malmi, Finland in the magazine "Suomen ilmailuhistoriallinen lehti".
There are also very good text (researched too, at PRO etc.) and b/w side profiles. Englsih summary should be available on request. The front page of the issue 2/2000
(which includes the article) can be seen at this page: http://www.jiop.fi/ksimuseo/Sil2_00.jpg

The Tikkakoski museum homepage has also contact info for the magazine. The home at: http://www.jiop.fi/ksimuseo/

Cheers,

Kari

[Richard T Eger]

Following up on Kari Lumppio's comments, I have visited the homepage of the Tikkakoski Finish Air Force Museum at:

http://www.jiop.fi/ksimuseo/

Features of interest on the site include:

List of planes that have served FAF since 1917...

Planes of German origin in the WW II and pre-WW II era listed are:

Dornier Do 17 Z-1, 2 and 3
Dornier Do 22 KL and L
Fieseler Fi 156 K-1 Storch
Focke-Wulf Fw 44 J Stieglitz
Heinkel He 59 D and B
Heinkel He 115 A and C
Junkers A35
Junkers A 50 Junior
Junkers F 13
Junkers W 34 and K 43F
Junkers 88 A-4
Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2, G-6 and G-8

Picture gallery and list of planes

Only two German aircraft of interest:

Focke-Wulf Fw 44 J Stieglitz - 1 B & W photo, history, and specifications
Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/Y - 5 color photos

(Unfortunately) True stories from Finland


Shows 2 postwar scrap yard pile photos, possibly including Ju 88s and Do 17s.

Answers to the "Frequently Asked Questions", by museum staff - FAQ's plus answers of interest include:

We have been asked whether there has been a Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10 in Finland?

Is there any extra Bf 109 for sale or trade?

We've been asked "Why was the Bf 109 so prone to swing on take-off?". The document is written in Finnish and in English (Nov 10th 1999)

We've been asked "Were the Bf 109 G-10s factory new or produced by repairing from old aircraft?". The document is written in Finnish and in English (Nov 10th 1999)

We've been asked about different versions of Messerschmitt Bf 109. So we started "MODELLER'S SPECIAL: Messerschmitt Bf 109 Evolution" series....

We've heard rumours that there is an another Bf 109 in the museum, is it true and what is its story?

Northern exotic: What is Kaltstart and how is it done?

Driving instructions, contact information, open times

The museum is located in Jyväskylä, Finland, 276 KM north of Helsinki. Directions, visiting hours, and contact information are given.

Regards,
Richard

[This message has been edited by Richard T Eger (edited 08 April 2026).]

[Richard T Eger]

T. C. Kenny has created a beautiful website entitled "The Flightline" WW II Aviation Archive. A number of museum photos are presented which should be of interest. The site address is:

http://www.kotfsc.com/aircraft/main.htm

Aircraft of Luftwaffe interest are covered in the following sections. Some photo labelling is incorrect, so be cautious. I've done the best I can to identify the aircraft as well as the museums some of the photos were taken at, but I certainly could be wrong in some of these.

Fighter Aircraft

The main page to this section has a beautiful color photo of two yellow nose Bf 109's in flying formation. Each aircraft covered has generally a lead color photo, technical specifications, background information, a list of variants, and a color profile. The aircraft covered are:

<U>Bf 109</U>
Bf 109 - lead color photo
Finnish Air Force Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 (MT-507), Finnish AF Museum, Tikkakoski, Finland - 2 color photos
Spanish built HA-1112-M1L with a 1,400 hp (1044 kw) Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45 engine, Confederate Air Force, Midland, Texas, USA - 1 color photo
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/trop "Gustav" on museum display, Luftfahrtmuseum, Laatzen, Hannover, Germany - 1 color photo
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10 (black 2), USA, partially disassembled showing the fuselage - 1 color photo

<U>Bf 110</U>
Bf 110G-4/R-6, RAFM Hendon, England - lead color photo
A pair of Messerschmitt Bf 110Cs in flight - 1 wartime color photo

<U>Me 163 Komet "Comet"</U>
Me 163B-1a, National Aviation Museum, Ottawa, Canada - lead color photo

<U>Me 262 Schwalbe "Swallow"</U>
Me 262A, Planes of Fame, Chino, CA, USA - lead color photo

<U>Me 210/Me 410 Hornisse "Hornet"</U>
Me 410A-1, RAFM Cosford, England - lead color photo
The rear facing remote-controlled gun barbette on the Me 410A-1, RAFM Cosford, England - color photo

<U>Fw 190 A-Series "Wurger"</U>
Ground crews prepare a line up of Fw-190A's for flight - wartime color photo

<U>Fw 190 D-Series "Dora"</U>
Fw 190D-9, possibly the D-13 at Champlin Fighter Museum, Arizona, USA - lead color photo
A captured Fw-190D at an Allied airfield - apparently wartime color photo

<U>Fw 190 Late Series</U>
The cockpit of a Fw 190F-8 - color photo
A Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8/U1 two seat trainer, RAFM Henden, England - color photo

<U>Ta 152</U>
The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 with a "tropical type" filter on the inlet of the carburetor - B&W photo

<U>Do 335 Pfeil "Arrow"</U>
Do-335A-02 Pfeil "Arrow", owned by NASM, USA - lead B&W photo
Do 335 Ejection Seat - B&W photo
Do 335 Cockpit Layout - color photo
Do335A-0 VP+GH (Wk Nr. 240102), owned by NASM, USA - color photo

<U>He 49 / He 51</U>

<U>He 162 Salamander</U>
He 162A-2 Salamander, National Aviation Museum, Ottawa, Canada - lead color photo

Bomber Aircraft

<U>Ar 234 Blitz "Lightning"</U>

<U>Do 17/Do 215</U>

<U>Do 217</U>
The Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X or Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1 (Fritz X) Armour Piercing Anti-Shipping Guided missle, RAFM Cosford, England - color photo

<U>He 111</U>
CASA-2.111F, probably Confederate Air Force, Midland, Texas, USA - lead color photo

<U>He 177 Greif "Griffon"</U>
The Henschel 293 Anti-Shipping Guided Missle - B&W photo

<U>He 219 Uhu "Owl"</U>

<U>Junkers Ju 86</U>

<U>Ju 88/Ju 88 Mistel</U>
Junkers Ju 88A, RAFM Cosford, England - lead color photo
Junkers Ju 188 Mistel Composite - B&W photo

<U>Ju 188/Ju 288/Ju 388</U>
Junkers Ju 388L-0 Photoreconnaissance aircraft - B&W wartime photo

Attack Aircraft

<U>Ju 87 Stuka</U>
Ju 87G-2, RAFM Hendon, England - lead color photo

<U>Hs 123</U>

<U>Hs 129</U>

Military Ranks

Color charts of air force insignia are given for:

Germany
Japan
Italy
France
Soviet Union
Commonwealth
United State

Regards,
Richard

[This message has been edited by Richard T Ege

[Richard T Eger]

The Messerschmitt 109 lair website has a very active forum and features detailed photo walkarounds and operating instructions. The site address is:

http://www.geocities.com/therapist_109/

Besides the forum, sections of interest are:


Articles - An eclectic collection of articles, some with very nice drawings, as follows:

Reasons behind the aspect of the 109 K4
Use of the RLM02 and RLM66 colors in the 109s
The different tall tails of the late war 109s
What was the "box" behind the pilot armor on Bf 109 G10
Was the G10 chin bulges found also on G14 A/S version ?
The drop tanks of the F-K series
The slats of the F-K series


References - Operating instructions, detailed color photo walkarounds, and drawings highlight this section.

<U>Messerschmitt Me 109 G2</U>

Foreword
Pilot's operating instructions (PDF format)

<U>Messerschmitt Me 109 G6</U>

Walkaround 109 G6 WrkNr 167271 - Finnish Air Force Museum, Tikkakoski
Walkaround 109 G6 WrkNr 163824 - Australian War Memorial, Treloar Centre Annex
Walkaround 109 G6 WrkNr 163306 - Poland
Spare parts manuals
Pilot's operating instructions (PDF format)

<U>Messerschmitt Me 109 K4</U>

Pilot's operating instructions (PDF format)
Pilot's operating instructions english translation (PDF format)

<U>Hispano Aviacion 1112 (Buchon)</U>

Walkaround - Spanish markings

<U>Avia S99/S199 (Mule)</U>

Scale drawings (all variants)


Scale models of the 109 - Color photos of impressive scale models by:

Floyd Werner
Franck Oudin
Bernd-Joachim Willmer
Vincent Kermorgant
Stephane Wrobel
Roy Long
Gaël Elégoët


Links - Actually, a single link:

The Mule index (All about the Avia 199)


Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

George Mellinger
Air battle of December 14, 1944
Sun Jun 24 19:27:37 2026


On December 14, 1944 Soviet naval shturmoviks and bombers conducted an anti-shipping strike off the coast of Libava/Libau, involving the shturmoviks of the 47 naval ShAP, which claimed 6 transports sunk and 2 damaged. They were intercepted by a large number of FW-190s and very severly handled, losing 9 aircraft shot down, and a couple more badly damaged. The first Il-2 to go was shot down at 14:12 hours, 8-10 km north of Libava, and fell into the sea about 2 km off shore. The pilot was Colonel Nelson Stepanyan, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Can anyone identify the Luftwaffe unit involved, or even better the pilot claiming the victory?

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Kari Lumppio
LW units Kurland
Mon Jun 25 14:07:34 2026


Servus George!

According www.ww2.dk (http://www.ww2.dk) (Michael Holm's The Luftwaffe-homepage) II/JG54 was at the time at Libau (Liepaja) and I/JG54 at Schrunden (Skrunda). Looking at map (a paper one on my desk) it's more likely that II/JG54 was involved. Skrunda is some 65 km (40 miles) inland East of Liepaja.

II/JG54´was the fighter component of the Commando Kuhlmey which operated in Finland Summer 1944. And because of that I suggest that you contact Mr. Hannu Valtonen, the director of the Tikkakoski aviation museum. He has written a researched book of Kdo Kuhlmey and IIRC interviewed several II/JG54 pilots. He might have some info for you. For initial contact please do use the museum fax +358 14 375 3620 (tel +358 14 375 2125, +358 14 375 3162).

BTW Did Stepanyan fly his colorfully decorated Il-2 on this mission? The one with "oil painting"-lookalikes on both sides of fuselage. Or do I remember wrong? I always assumed that that was a post-war paintjob.

Regards,
Kari

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

George Mellinger
Stepanyan
Mon Jun 25 15:21:14 2026


Many thanks for the further information. I presume that Stepanyan would have flown his "artistic" Il-2 on the mission. Since there is a photograph of Stepanyan standing by the aircraft, it must have been painted prior to December 1944, and used on operations. I would guess at least by the summer of 1944 when the regiment redeployed to the Baltic from the Black Sea. Those dramatic markings might have been one reason why Stepanyan's Il-2 was targeted as the first to be shot down, easily identified to foe as well as friend as an important leader.

[Richard T Eger]

The FAF: Finnish Air Force webpage, by Matti Yrjölä, gives information on German designed aircraft in Finnish service in WW II. The webpage address is:

http://hkkk.fi/~yrjola/war/faf/

Sections of interest:

<U>Second World War</U>

Aircraft of the FAF in WW2

<U>Messerschmitt Bf109</U>

Color photos of Bf 109 G6 (MT-507) in Finnish Air Force wartime colours at the Central Finland Aviation Museum, Tikkakoski.

Brief history.

Technical data.

Book references - 3 listed

Related links - 7 listed

<U>Related Sites</U> - 2 listed

Aces of the FAF in WW2

<U>Information sources</U> - Links to related sites.


Regards,
Richard

[This message has been edited by Richard T Eger (edited 27 March 2026).]

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Paul F. Straney
Drop Tank Stencilling
Tue May 21 19:51:50 2026
216.238.61.93

Hi;
Need info on all stencils that MAY appear on a fighter drop tank in 1944-45. I know the "keine bombe!" and I remember something about a 20RM reward for returning a tank, but I need any and all markings or text that would generally appear on a drop tank.

Thanks!

Paul

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Lynn Ritger
[email protected]
Will this pic help?
Tue May 21 20:04:07 2026
209.97.5.125

I've got a couple more shots of original 300 liter tanks that might prove to be of some assistance as well.

http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/walkaround/610937/tanks.2.jpg

HTH

Lynn

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Thomas Adamsson
Drop tank stenciling
Tue May 21 20:54:45 2026
195.178.179.221

Try this finnish site. At least one colour pic on a drop tank. Possibly one of the finnish guys can help you with more pic's.

http://www.byterapers.com/~grendel/photos/virtuaalilentajat/blenheim2001/

(I took a look at this site which has numerous photos from the Tikkakoski Finnish Air Force Museum. While the major emphasis is on photos of a Blenheim tucked away in a hangar, there are also photos of drop tanks - 1 photo identifying them as being for Me 109's - and a photo of an Me 109E wing, all stored away from the regular museum exhibits. There are also 21 photos of the museum's displayed Me 109 G-6. All of these are in color and can be enlarged for greater definition.

Regards,
Richard)

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High! continuation of above request:

Paul F. Straney
Drop Tank Stencilling Pt. 2
Wed May 22 03:10:31 2026
216.238.61.227

Thanks to all who responded to my first post. What I am now looking for is a specific phrase stencilled on drop tanks. I believe it was offering a reward for turning in the drop tank. It goes something like this:

Achtung!
??????aftst?fbehalter!
??ort bei nachster Polizeidienststelle oder
?????????????
Flieger?orst ????age meiden
B?????? RM 10

Can anyone fill in the blanks please?

Thanks!!

Paul

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

The fan
Here you go
Wed May 22 07:01:26 2026
192.100.124.219

Achtung !
Kraftstoffbehälter
Sofort bei nächster Polizeidienststelle ober
fliegerhorst lage meiden
belohnung rm 10

http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/walkaround/610937/tanks.2.jpg

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Paul F. Straney
Thank you, thank you!!!! n/t
Wed May 22 08:13:23 2026
216.238.61.227

[Richard T Eger]

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 website by Andreas Goldmann covers the history of Prof. Messerschmitt; the Me 109 history, variants, armament, engines, and aces who flew the Me 109; and Spanish volunteers. There is a nice photo gallery, including photos of preserved aircraft. A listing of existing Bf 109 with short histories is provided along with some photos. The site address is:

http://www.adlertag.de/mainindex.htm

Sections of interest are:

The Constructor: Professor Willi Messerschmitt - Short history of Messerschmitt and his company through WW II and beyond.

The Development of the Me 109 - Short history.

The "Me 109" Versions - Brief technical data and photos of:

Bf 109 A
Bf 109 B "Berta"
Bf 109 C "Cäsar"
Bf 109 D "Dora"
Bf 109 E "Emil"
BF 109 F "Friedrich"
Bf 109 G "Gustav"
Bf 109 H
Bf 109 K
Bf 109 T

The Engines of the "Me 109" - Brief descriptions of the engines and the variants they were used in:

Junkers Jumo 210
Daimler-Benz DB 600
Daimler-Benz DB 601
Daimler-Benz DB 605

The Armament of the Me 109 - Descriptions and photos of:

Guns and Cannons
Rockets
Bombs

"Me 109" Projects - Descriptions and histories. One plan of Me 309.

Bf 109 V-21
Bf 109 X
Me 209
Me 309
Bf 109 Z
Bf 109 TL
Me P. 1091

Assembly Sets for the Me 109 G and K - Description.

RI through RVIII
BR21
Adaption Set AS
Assembly Set "trop"

Gallery - Photos of different variants.

Bf 109B - 1 b&w
Bf 109C - 1 b&w
Bf 109C-1 - 1 b&w
Bf 109D-1 - 1 b&w
Bf 109E - 5 b&w, 1 color
Bf 109E-1 - 1 b&w
Bf 109E-3 - 12 color (Deutsches Museum, Munich)
Bf 109E-3/B - 1 b&w
Bf 109E-4 - 2 b&w
Bf 109E-7 - 2 b&w
Bf 109E-7 - 6 color (restoration at the Fighter Factory, Suffolk, Virginia)
Bf 109F - 1 b&w
Bf 109F-2 Galland replica - 1 color (Australia)
Bf 109F-4 - 2 b&w
Bf 109F-4/trop - 18 color (Canada Aviation Museum)
Bf 109F-6 - 1 b&w
Bf 109G - 2 b&w
Bf 109G-2 - 7 color (Luftwaffenmuseum Berlin-Gatow) (with brief history)
Bf 109G-2 - 4 color (Luftwaffenmuseum Hannover-Laatzen)
Bf 109G-2 - 14 color (Messerschmitt-Foundation, pictured at Oberschleißheim)
Bf 109G-4 - 8 color (Technikmuseum Speyer)
Bf 109G-6 - 4 b&w
Bf 109G-6 (FM+BB) - 18 color (Messerschmitt-Foundation, Messerschmitt Stiftung)
Bf 109G-6 - 2 color (Auto Technik Museums Sinsheim)
Bf 109G-6/R-6 - 1 b&w
Bf 109G-6/Y (MT-507) - 1 color (Central Finland Aviation Museum)
Bf 109G-10 - 2 b&w
Bf 109G-10 (black 2) - 17 color
Bf 109G-10 - 1 color (Evergreen Aviation Museum, Oregon)
Bf 109G10/R2 - 1 color
Bf 109G-12 - 1 b&w
Bf 109G-14 - 1 b&w
Bf 109K-4

Unit Organisation of the Luftwaffe - Descriptions and aircraft markings.

Rotte
Schwarm
Staffel
Gruppe
Geschwader

Asse auf der Me 109 - In German, biographies with photos of the following aces:

Wilhelm Balthasar
Heinz Bär
Gerhard Barkhorn
Wilhelm Batz
Gyorgy Debrody
Georg-Peter Eder
Adolf Galland
Gordon M. Gollob
Hermann Graf
Alfred Grislawski
Anton Hafner
Erich Hartmann
Dietrich Hrabak
Otto Kittel
Günther Lützow
Hans-Joachim Marseille
Werner Mölders
Joachim Müncheberg
Walter Nowotny
Günther Rall
Erich Rudorffer
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt
Johannes Steinhoff
Hannes Trautloft
Franz vom Werra
Helmut Wick
Johannes Wiese
Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke

Surviving Bf 109 - Brief histories, some with photos or links thereto.

Flying Bf 109

Bf 109 E-7 (Santa Monica, California/USA)
Bf 109 G-6 "FM + BB" (Messerschmitt-Stiftung/Germany)
Bf 109 G-10 "black 2"(Messerschmitt-Stiftung/Germany)

Static Display

Bf 109 E-3 (Munich/Germany)
Bf 109 E-3 (Duxford/England)
Bf 109 E-3 (Dübendorf/Switzerland)
Bf 109 E-3b (Hendon/England)
Bf 109 E-3 (Johannesburg/Southafrica)
Bf 109 E-4 (Mesa, Arizona/USA)
Bf 109 F-2/trop (Johannesburg/Southafrika)
Bf 109 F-4/trop. (Canada Aviation Museum, Ottawa/Canada)
Bf 109 G-2 (Messerschmitt-Foundation, Manching/Germany)
Bf 109 G-2 (Berlin-Gatow/Germany)
Bf 109 G-2 (Belgrade/Yugoslavia)
Bf 109 G-2 (Hannover-Laatzen/Germany)
Bf 109 G-2/trop. (Hendon/England)
Bf 109 G-4 (actually (2003) at Technik Museum Speyer)
Bf 109 G-5 (Dayton, Ohio/USA)
Bf 109 G-6 (Sinsheim/Germany)
Bf 109 G-6 (Utti/Finland)
Bf 109 G-6/Y (Tikkakoski/Finland)
Bf 109 G-6/R3 (Washington D.C./USA)
Bf 109 G-10 (McMinnville, Oregon/USA)

Restoration Projects

Bf 109 B/V-10a (Oberschleißheim/Munich)
Bf 109 E-1
Bf 109 E-1
Bf 109 E-3 (Berlin/Germany)
Bf 109 E-7
Bf 109 G-1/R2
Bf 109 G-6 (Australia)
Bf 109 G-6 (Australia)
Bf 109 G-6 (Cracow/Poland)

Replicas

Bf 109 V-7
Bf 109 F-2
Bf 109 G-14/AS (Leipzig/Germany)

Specials - Special articles.

Bf 109 at the IV. International flight meeting at Zurich 1937 - Summary with tables and photos of this air meet a Dübendorf Airbase near Zurich in July 1937 in which 5 Bf 109's participated.

The Bf 109 V-13 breakes the F.A.I. world speed record - Article with photos of the Bf 109V-13 breaking the world speed record on Nov. 11, 1937.

The Blue Squadrons: Spanish volunteers in the Luftwaffe - History and photos for the 5 squadrons, their emblems, their uniforms, and pilots killed or missing in action.

The Ranks of Luftwaffe, RAF and US Airforce - Table of comparable ranks.

Links - 23 links to sites covering aircraft, pilots, units, and general WW II.

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Fran
Bf109 Repair Depots
Sat Jan 3 17:51:06 2026
62.174.101.18

How many ‘frontreparaturbetrieb’ (Repair Depots) were entrusted repairing combat damaged or crashed Bf109?

I know ERLA stablished one very important with thousands of labourers in Antwerpen.
There was any other facility for the Bf109?


Thanks
Fran

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Ed West
Repair depots
Sat Jan 3 19:33:18 2026
64.7.186.21

The following site is in Finnish and English. Scroll down for English (2nd paragraph).

http://www.jiop.fi/ksimuseo/faq_mtvalm.html



regards,
Ed

[Richard T Eger]

From further within the thread on TOCH!:

Charles Bavaroise
Industrieinstandsetzung and Bf 109 G-10
Sun Jan 4 17:05:38 2026
62.245.161.24

Fran,

a very intersting topic. Here my two cents:

1)


There is not much published information on Luftwaffe repair-industry (>>Industrieinstandsetzung<<) yet and it is very difficult to get a clear picture. As for the Bf 109 I found this data, which may serve as a frame for further research:

No information available for the situation up to summer 1941. Known repair-facilities for Bf 109s during this time were

- Amme-Luther-Seek GmbH
- Flugzeugwerke Max Gerner
- Ludwig Hansen & Co.
- Industriewerk Heiligenbeil GmbH
- Erla Maschinenwerke Leipzig (?)

On 15.8.1941 GQM ordered the introduction of >>Luftwaffenfertigungsringe<< (Luftwaffe-Production-Ring) for coordination of manufacture of Luftwaffe-equipment. With order dated 2.12.41 the >>Reparaturindustrie<< was to be integrated into the Fertigungsringe.

On 20.4.1942 the former Luftwaffenfertigungsringe were shifted to the responisiblity of the Reichsminsiter für Bewaffnung und Munition (Reichsminister Speer) and renamed >>Sonderausschüsse << (“Special-Departments”). As for aircraft there were >>Hauptausschüsse>> (“main-departments”) for airframes, engines, armarment and equipment. Each one of the Hauptausschüsse was further divided into several Sonderausschüsse.

>>Sonderausschuss F2<< (as a part of the Hauptausschuss Zellen) was responsible for all matters concerning munfacture and repair of Messerschmitt-aircraft and so also had to manage repair for Bf 109s. A chart filed at F-2 from 1941 list the following repiar-centers for Bf 109:

- Jo-Flug Berlin
- Amme-Luther-Seek GmbH
- Erla Antwerpen
- Flugzeugwerke Max Gerner
- Ludwig Hansen & Co.
- Industriewerk Heiligenbeil GmbH
- Land und See
- Flugzeugwerke Mannheim
- Firma Marrien
- Flugzeugwerke Rudow

and also this centers outside of Germany:
- Flugzeugwerke Kjeller, Norway
- Flugzeugwerke Siebel, Athen
- ASAM-Pipera, Bukarest
- Land und See, Nikolejew
- Firma Espenlaub, Reval
- Firma Basser, Charkow.

A question I can't answer yet is, wether all this falilities were regarded as "Frontreparaturwerke". The German terminus "Front" indicates a connection to a fighting area. This would be true for all plants outside Germany, but not for facilities in Germany proper (if you don't see Germany as "Heimatkriegsgebiet" or home-front).


The situation in 1943 – 45 remains obscure. Ludwig Hansen certainly continued repairwork. One can assume, that due to allied bombing there was some sort of dispersal and new locations were opened. There is some evidence that there was a repair-facility at Chemnitz (“Chemona-Werke”) working under supervision from Erla-Leipzig and also at Regensburg-Prüfening. Prüfening was the former main-production-site for Messerschmitt Regensburg but was completely destroyed in early 1944. It is not clear, wether there was a real industrial repair-work in the ruins of the former plant or only a small workshop for maintainance of aircraft from the Regensburg-Obertraubling production center.

Next to this repair-industry there was a large amount of other facilities doing repair, rebuilding, upgrading and scraping (Werfteinrichtungen, Umrüsthorste, Schleusen,Luftzeugämter…..). There is even less information on this establishments and a lot of room for research.


Any comments, additions and correction are wellcome!


2)

The site of the Finnish Air Force Museum concerning the Bf 109 is generaly of a very high quality and very well researched. But IMHO the article concerning the production of Bf 109 G-10s is questionable (and also the article on WNr. 610.824 and 610.937 on yumodel.co). There is no evidence, that G-10s were anything else but newly built airframes and no repaired components were used for this subseries (accordingf to new information perhaps single G-14 airframes were upgraded to G-10 standard at ERLA Leipzig in March 1945, but this were not repaired G-14s, but aircraft taken directly from the belt). The saga of the “recycled” G-10s was established 20 years ago, when photos of G-10s seemingly with two Werknummer-plates first were published. We now know, that only one of the plates was a real Werknummer-plate, the other one was divided into six evenly spaced rectangles and had information stamped into, concerning the “Änderungsstufe” (“Level of Modification”).

Here also any comments, additions and correction are wellcome!


Carl