Junkers Ju 252

Junkers Ju 252 V2 BH+DC, Werknummer 2520002. The aircraft is fitted with an improved rudder, differentiating it from the Ju 252 V1. The distinctive Trapo-Klappe rear loading ramp has been lowered, lifting the aircraft to a horizontal position for loading. The aircraft is framed by two Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters.

The Ju 252 V2 made its maiden flight with Flugkapitän Hans-Joachim Matthies on 1 August 1942. The V2 was unarmed, and it underwent aerodynamic modifications to its wing tips in 1943. In late summer of 1943, the V2 was operated as a Junkers company aircraft in order to transport aircraft parts for the manufacturer.

The Ju 252 V2 was one of only 15 Ju 252 built before production of the type - originally intended to replace the venerable Junkers Ju 52 both as a passenger aircraft and military transport - was cancelled in favour of the Ju 352 which was designed to use a larger amount of non-strategic materials.

Exact location (allegedly the Netherlands) and date of photo currently unknown. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Dietrich- Raab-Katzenstein- und Gerner-Flugzeuge

Paul Zöller, Paul Zöller Luftfahrtarchive, BoD Books on Demand, Norderstedt, Germany, 2024, ISBN 978-3-75-970437-5. Illustrated, softcover, published in German.

Cover image © by Paul Zöller, 2024.

What a remarkable, comprehensive, and absorbing book this is.

Paul Zöller's Dietrich- Raab-Katzenstein- und Gerner-Flugzeuge sheds a very welcome light on an era of German aviation frequently completely overshadowed by floods of publications on all the popular Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs: the re-emergence of German aircraft design and manufacturing during the interwar period of the 1920s to mid 1930s.

It is of course in many ways far more glamorous and, indeed, more interesting to write about the Bf 109, Me 262, or the Fw 190 to Ta 152 family. But the roots that would eventually lead to these crucial high-tech aircraft were sown during the years after the first world war, when passionate and talented German aviation enthusiasts slowly began rebuilding an initial semblance of a German aircraft industry. Some of these efforts barely made it past an underground barn existence, others managed to exert a notable influence on upcoming German endeavours of the 1930s.

In his meticulous study, Zöller illuminates the many aircraft designs by individuals such as Richard Dietrich, the illustrious Antonius Raab, Kurt Katzenstein, Max Gerner, and others. A number of these aircraft only reached the proposal stage, others were produced and flown, and some even achieved series production to some extent. In several cases, the small, early companies formed by these German aviation pioneers would later be absorbed in one form or another by more powerful companies as political events unfolded in Germany in the 1930s, thus preserving some kind of legacy even as the local aviation landscape changed swiftly and radically.

At 502 pages and a format of 22 x 17 cm, Zöller's Dietrich- Raab-Katzenstein- und Gerner-Flugzeuge is sumptuously rich with information on both individuals and aircraft involved. The book is also lavishly illustrated, containing 452 photos and thus providing the reader with glimpses of German interwar aircraft otherwise rarely ever seen. As unknown as most of them are, many of them were significant to the overall development of German sporting aviation. Moreover, we are not talking about merely a handful of aircraft; there were hundreds of them (and an airship).

Given that the events covered in this book took place around one hundred years ago and that there are no longer any living participants who could have contributed as firsthand sources, Zöller's book likely compiles as much information as is still reconstructable through material found in archives and contemporary aviation publications. In addition, an appendix of 129 pages (!) adds to the history presented in the book. It compiles the technical data and provides simple side views of all the aircraft covered, an overview of the engines used to power them, and an attempt at a comprehensive (and partially illustrated) Werknummern list of the aircraft produced by the manufacturers that are subject to this study. This Werknummern list also provides information on the registrations and eventual fate of the aircraft.

An equally comprehensive index (both by aircraft registration and names/locations) completes this jewel of a book.

All in all, Zöller's Dietrich- Raab-Katzenstein- und Gerner-Flugzeuge might be seen as an ideal summary and complement to the excellent research and information provided, for example, by ADL (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsche Luftfahrthistorik), whose members actually contributed to it. Further information may be uncovered in future years, but as of right now, this book is the definitive word on its chosen topic. The only nitpick one could possibly have is that the reproduction quality of the photos provided could at times perhaps be slightly better. This is possibly a result of the "book on demand" system, but the reproduction quality is still good enough to pass as quite decent.

Arado Ar 69

The Arado Ar 69 B V3 training, touring and sporting aircraft prototype D-EPYT, Werknummer 141, was photographed during its existence with a short vertical tail and the typical Arado taller rounded vertical tail, both positioned in front of the elevators. The Arado tail was designed to improve the aircraft's spin characteristics.

The Ar 69 was developed in parallel to the Focke-Wulf Fw 44. It's upper and lower wings were designed with a sweep of 10 degrees and a span of 9 meters. At slightly above 500 kilograms, the aircraft was very light. The Ar 69 A was powered by an Argus As 8 B in-line engine, while the Ar 69 B as shown here utilized a Siemens-Halske Sh 14 A radial engine. The aircraft was evaluated by Arado Flugzeugwerke GmbH and E-Stelle Rechlin.

Only seven Ar 69s seem to have been built, the last one being delivered on 30 April 1936.

Top: Arado Ar 69 B V3 D-EPYT at the XIV Paris Air Salon, November 1934 (where it was displayed next to a Heinkel He 70). Note the short vertical tail. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Bottom: Arado Ar 69 B V3 D-EPYT with the taller vertical tail of typical Arado design. Aircraft also sports a different paint scheme than that of the short-tailed version. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Focke-Wulf Fw 44

A somewhat pristine Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz [goldfinch] biplane training aircraft coded D-EUXO, photographed, if the handwritten inscription on the rear of the picture is indeed correct, at Karlsruhe airfield in 1936. The aircraft is powered by a Siemens & Halske Sh 14 radial engine, as was common for the vast majority of Fw 44s built.

The line-up behind D-EUXO includes at least six other training aircraft, among them two further Fw 44s, two Heinkel He 72 Kadett [cadet] biplanes featuring Argus As 8 R engines, and two Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann [freshman] basic trainers. Note the black wheel hubs and dark grey tires typical for German aircraft of the period. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Kuno AG Werk I

[Full title: Waldwerk Kuno AG Werk I - Die Endmontage der Messerschmitt Me 262 und die Rolle des KZ-Aussenlagers Burgau - Fakten und Hintergründe zur NS-Rüstungsindustrie und Zwangsarbeit im ländlichen Schwaben] Martina Wenni-Auinger, Verlag Martina Wenni-Auinger, Burgau, Germany, 2022, ISBN 978-3-00-072621-7. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German.

Cover image © by Verlag Martina Wenni-Auinger, 2022.

In October 2020, this blog reviewed Alexander Kartschall's truly fascinating and important book Messerschmitt Me 262 - Geheime Produktionsstätten [Messerschmitt Me 262 - Secret Production Facilities]. The review noted, not least, Kartschall's willingness to examine not just the historical, technical and archaeological aspects of the topic, but also the crucially significant (and yet frequently ignored) subject matter of the slave labour system associated with German late war aircraft production.

In her new book Kuno AG Werk I, Martina Wenni-Auinger focuses on one of the aforementioned secret Me 262 production facilities, the forest assembly factory that lends the book its name, located near Burgau in Bavaria. By dedicating the entire book to this one facility, Wenni-Auinger is able to investigate both relevant history and operations in much greater detail, and the book's narrative by necessity seamlessly and meticulously interweaves information on Messerschmitt's company-internal machinations, the construction and operation of the forest facility and the affiliated Burgau concentration camp, the extensive use of slave labour, and many details regarding the Me 262.

Kuno AG Werk I is indeed a well-made and absorbingly detailed publication. Its full title translates to Forest Factory Kuno AG Werk I - the final assembly of the Messerschmitt Me 262 and the role of the auxiliary Burgau concentration camp - facts and background about the national-socialist armament industry and forced labour in rural Swabia. Given that the book's scope transcends the mere technological side of the topic at hand, it also presents extremely distressing and sombre facets. At a format of 30 x 21 cm and with 272 printed pages (containing, thankfully, a generous number of photos and illustrations, both in black/white and colour), it provides plenty of room for a thorough examination into all aspects affiliated with the Kuno facility still researchable today.

The author is a local historian in the very city of Burgau; she served as the head of the Burgau City Archive and of the Museum of the City of Burgau (where she curated an exhibition on the Kuno facility in 2017) and currently is the deputy mayor of Burgau. The book is based on extensive archive research and thus makes abundant use of primary sources. Intriguingly, numerous of the original contemporary documents consulted are also reproduced photographically in the book.

Kuno AG Werk I starts with a description of the late-war situation in Swabia, namely the political and governmental structure and its rather complex interplay with the Messerschmitt firm. The deficiencies, misuse and manipulation encountered in Messerschmitt's company-internal organization as described here are staggering. This introduction is followed by a look at specific efforts to disperse some of Messerschmitt's aircraft production to Burgau, resulting in the establishment of the Kuno Werk I.

But the book's most poignant and significant content is, in my view, the subsequent comprehensive section on the Burgau concentration camp, the facility that provided the slave labour force needed for the assembly of the Messerschmitt jet fighter. In this, Wenni-Auinger sheds light on the establishment and operation of the camp, on its Jewish inmates, on the harrowing conditions encountered by the inmates during excruciatingly long transport journeys to the camp in railroad freight wagons, and on details regarding the concentration camp guards and their utterly brutal conduct towards the slave labour inmates.

These 70-odd pages of the book are crucial, and, unsurprisingly, they are utterly distressing to read. Even the plain act of perusing the sample inmate inflow lists reproduced therein is devastating. Somewhat unusually for a book on the topic of German late-war aircraft production - and thus commendably - the author also attempts to transcend mere numbers and accounts by providing personal biographical details for a number of representative inmates, some of whom suffered agonizing deaths and some of whom survived against all odds.

Having thus established the traumatic reality endured by Kuno Werk I's slave labour workforce, Wenni-Auinger next describes the construction and operation of the factory, the significance of the adjacent Autobahn, and the forest assembly and nearby testing of the Me 262. Thankfully, this also includes a list of the Werknummern of the aircraft completed there. Wherever possible, this list is illustrated; unsurprisingly, this list is, due to the nature of events at the end of the war, vastly incomplete. The book further provides uncounted photos of the jet fighters found at this location, and it also includes an unexpected amount of technical details regarding the aircraft itself.

The narrative is concluded by an account of the arrival of US armed forces at Kuno Werk I as well as a look at the remnants of the factory as they can be found today. The final pages of the book are dedicated to a list of primary and secondary sources as well as abundant footnotes providing various further details, not least regarding the photos included.

In spite of minor nitpicks (some of the photos would have benefitted from an indication of the year they were taken, e.g. on page 208), Kuno AG Werk I is an extremely important effort to complete the history of the Messerschmitt Me 262. Martina Wenni-Auinger must also be commended for the extent of her research and her dedication to provide the reader with a frank and comprehensive account of the staggering human cost associated with the frantic German endeavour to stem the inevitably turning tide of the war by means of advanced aviation technology. Highly recommended.

Blohm & Voss BV 141

This photo is deficient and blurry, but it's significance derives from the extreme rarity of the aircraft shown. It is one of the few asymetric Blohm & Voss BV 141 B reconnaissance aircraft, in flight. The aircraft in question is either pre-series BV 141 B-03 V11, NC+RB, Werknummer 02 10003, or BV 141 B-1, GK+GB, Werknummer 02 10012.

Designed by Blohm & Voss chief engineer Richard Vogt, only 26 BV 141s were ever produced. The B version was powered by a BMW 801 A-0 engine, powering a three-blade VDM propeller.

The aircraft is painted 65/70/71. Note the excessively large under-wing Balkenkreuze. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Blume-Hentzen Modell E V

Rare photo of the only Blume-Hentzen Modell E V Habicht [goshhawk] ever completed, at Berlin-Adlershof in 1924. The E V was a single-seat, parasol-wing light plane with fixed landing gear, powered by a Siemes & Halske Superior engine. The aircraft's span measured 12 m, its length amounted to 5.19 m, it's empty weight was 227 kg, and its top speed reached 105 km/h. The E V was built using a number of salvageable components (such as engine and wing) of its vaguely similar predecessor, Modell E II, the sole example of which had crashed during a test flight in 1923. The Modell E V first flew on 6 May 1924.

Blume-Hentzen consisted of Fritz Heinrich Hentzen (1897-1978), a well-known, pioneering glider pilot, and Walter Blume (1896-1964), a former fighter pilot who had been awarded the Pour le Mérite during the First World War. Blume and Hentzen established themselves at Berlin-Adlershof in 1923/24, with the intention to construct light aircraft.

Prominently displaying the entry number "55", the Habicht was flown by Blume during the 1924 light plane competition in the Rhön mountains in Germany. After successfully completing the contest flight to Kissingen, however, Blume had to execute an emergency landing due to engine failure during his return flight. This mishap also was to signify the end of the Blume-Hentzen aircraft construction collaboration. Hentzen would subsequently work for Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) and later became a Betriebsdirektor [manager] at Messerschmitt, while Blume pursued aircraft design at Albatros and later at Arado.

The Habicht eventually was integrated into the inventory of the Deutsche Luftfahrt Sammlung [German Aviation Collection] in Berlin. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Focke-Wulf Fw 56

Focke-Wulf Fw 56 A Stösser [Sparrowhawk] advanced fighter trainer ??+J27, operated by a Luftwaffe pilot school. Location and exact date currently unknown.

Reflecting the change from the earlier standard silver livery typical for the Fw 56, this aircraft is likely camouflaged in the colours 71/70/65, or perhaps even simply in 70/65. In the process of applying the new camouflage, the frequently seen Focke-Wulf company logo on the center fuselage and the usual data table on the rear fuselage have been overpainted. Upper and lower sections of the small auxilliary vertical tail surfaces are neatly divided into light blue and dark green. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection)

Messerschmitt/Lippisch Li P 13

On 2 January 1939, Professor Alexander Lippisch and 16 members of his development staff joined the Messerschmitt corporation in Augsburg, Bavaria. There, they formed Abteilung L [Department L], whose most significant design would be the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered high-speed interceptor. During their tenure at Messerschmitt, Lippisch and his team worked on a number of further aircraft concepts. Some of these concepts progressed to a relatively detailed design stage, such as the Messerschmitt Me 265 or the Messerschmitt Me 329. Others remained mere proposals, such as the Li P 13 fast bomber (not to be confused with the later Lippisch P 13 ramjet fighter project) presented here.

According to Alexander Lippisch and Fritz Trenkle 's book Ein Dreieck fliegt [A flying triangle], published in 1976, the drawing of the Li P 13 dates from 25 November 1942, and the work on this concept was conducted by Josef Hubert. The aircraft's twin engine push-pull layout resembles, to some extent, the Dornier Do 335, but the Li P 13 was to be a flying wing with a large vertical tail and a dorsal fin also containing the tail wheel. Hubert enviosioned the use of Daimler-Benz DB 605 B engines.

The drawing shows the Li P 13 to carry one pilot and to have a length of 9.4 meters, a height of 5.1 meters, and a span of 12.8 meters. The forward propeller was to have a diameter of 3 meters, the rear propeller a diameter of 2.9 meters. The aircraft was to have five fuel tanks, two each in the wings and one in the fuselage. (Drawing © by German Aviation 1919-1945 collection, 1992)

Arado Ar 76

Luftwaffe pilots and ground crew eagerly surveying the results of a hard landing of an Arado Ar 76 A light fighter/advanced trainer. The landing gear, cowling, and wooden propeller all have sustained substantial but repairable damage, but a more serious buckling of the fuslelage is also evident.

These pictures are part of a series of images showing various Ar 76s, all operational with Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment (FAR) 63 during autumn of 1941. A handwritten inscription on the reverse side of one of the two photos shown above poses a bit of a mystery, however. It unambiguously mentions the aircraft code DB+SV (also assigned to an Ar 76 A of FAR 63), but the top photo clearly shows an "A" forward of the fuselage Balkenkreuz, making this aircraft ??+A?.

A further, sarcastic handwritten inscription on the back of the second photo reads: Ernst Drückler baut Ziellandungen genau am Landekreuz [Ernst Drückler fabricates precision landings right at the landing marker]. Note open hangar visible in the distance in lower photo. (German Aviation 1919-1945 collection; with additional information by Gerhard Stemmer, via luftwaffe-research-group.org, in 2014)