Chris Simmonds

Posting here probably for the last time with a very heavy heart as LEMB has been a 'home' for me as I learnt and grew in knowledge. So I have much gratitude to Peter for having the tenacity and guts to keep LEMB running for all these years through thick and thin. Wishing Peter all the very best for the future.

Morten I am certain you will be an asset

Pete, You have impacted the lives of all the regulars here with the creation of what is still one of the best Luftwaffe sites on the Internet. The huge mass of information is outstanding and is in no short measure directly attributable to your outstanding attention to detail, perseverance and dogged determination. Personal best wishes to you Pete for the future. Chris Simmonds AKA Hurricane

Yes Peter, either III or II./JG77 and here is a picture of a II./JG27 Bf109G with a capital D on the rumpfband: Source ex-internet auction believed eBay Could this be the remnant of the STKZ? Take look at page 1524 and 1529 of the above volume Teil 3. Cheers Chris

I know a Fokker when I see one, and those ain't no Fokkers

I should add I don't see tropical uniforms on the individuals, in fact they look pretty well dressed. I think the camouflage resembles the JG54 Fw190s in 3 colours in this case being browns and light greens over the basic 70-71 very suitable for Northern Norway. However the most compelling argument against my theory is the staffel code.........

Well I can see G2 so for my money it's AufKlGr.124 and that's a yellow theatre band not white. Cheers Chris

Hi Neil Thank you, again, you're spot on. There's just no catching you! If said you had no flies, some of our foreign friends might start to wonder Cheers Chris

Neil I think you're right, it is Wilhelm Balthasar but when he was with 7./JG27, as he wears his RK the photo must have been taken sometime between June and September 1940 or, at the outside, when with 1./JG1 between 14th June, when he was awarded the RK, and 5th July when 1./JG 1 became 7./JG27. Cheers Chris

Thank you Nick and James I just couldn't 'see' who it was. B'Regards Chris

Crolick Was he murdered or died as a result of his crash? Chris

Set #2 In photos 5, 6, 7 and 8 I believe the tall officer is Wilhelm Balthasar and the other officer is Gunther Lutzow.

In Set #3 is a Ju52 marked S2+N18. The code S2+N?? has been noted before but the identity of the unit is still unknown but as the other S??+??? codes belong to training units it probably is also. Does anybody able to tie a unit 2 S2+N?? ? Thanks Chris

On the vendors auction in Set #3 but missed off of Peter's post was this unknown RKT with what looks like a Bf109 in background with a tactical code White 12: http://cgi.ebay.de/Luftwaffe-Kampfflieger-Orden-120-Negative-1940-/320645463900?pt=Militaria&hash=item4aa7f57f5c Anybody got a clue who he is? Cheers Chris

Looking at the negatives in their paper wrapping, and at the edges of the vendors visuals there were a lot of other photos that we have not seen; for instance the photo of Oesau draped over the rear fuselage in conversation with another individual (often seen as a colour or colourised photo) was obviously part of a bracket or continuous sequence. Who knows what else is in those negative envelopes.......................