Spoils of War

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 11/01/2018 at 12:35 • Filed to: wingspan

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(Smithsonian)

Captured German aircraft, wrapped up to protect them from the salty ocean air, are carried back to the United States. There are a couple of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , some Fw 190s, a couple of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . And that’s just what we can see in the photo.

This photo almost certainly shows some of the prizes captured as part of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , whose name was an acronym for “Luftwaffe Secret Technology.” Under the leadership of Colonel Harold E. Watson, specific German aircraft were targeted for collection and shipped back to Wright Field in the US on board the HMS Reaper for testing and analysis. The team that carried out the tests was known as Watson’s Whizzers, and also included former Luftwaffe pilots. It’s likely that one of the Do 335s and one of the He 219s in this photo are the only two remaining in existence today (another He 219 was discovered underwater near Denmark in 2012 and awaits restoration). The 335 is on display at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center in Washington, DC, and the 219 is currently being restored at the same facility.

The restored Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow) on display at the Udvar-Hazy center. The fuselage of the He 219 is visible in the background. (Tim Shaffer)

user314 > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 13:10

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Shoulda called it Operation: SWOTL

That 262 in the foreground, the one with the blister. That’s a U3 recce varia nt! After the AAF was done with testing, it was handed off to Hughes Aircraft to maintain, and Howard had thoughts of running it in the ‘47 Bendix races till the government told him no (the 262 would outfly a P-80, so that’s a non-starter). It was restored (though the camo & number were wrong) by the Planes of Fame museum, then sold to Paul Allen, who was restoring it to flying condition .

ttyymmnn > user314 11/01/2018 at 13:15

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I was wondering about that blister. Thanks. I came across this photo without description on some old forum. I was just going to throw it on Oppo, but then I started digging and discovered what it really depicts. It’s actually a fascinating story. I also came across this tragic anecdote in the Wiki article about Lu sty:

With the start of the Korean War in 1950, the air force needed the storage buildings, so the aircraft were moved outside. In 1953 some of the aircraft were moved to what would later become known as the National Air and Space Museum ’s Garber Restoration Facility in Suitland, Md., and the remaining aircraft were scrapped. It is possible that, as part of Lusty, both an American-captured example of the Junkers Ju 290 four-engined maritime patrol aircraft, and a captured prototype example of the Heinkel He 177 A-7 ( Werknummer 550 256), a late war development of the Luftwaffe’s only operational heavy bomber, had been ferried from Europe to the Park Ridge Depot, only to both be similarly crushed flat and buried under the modern O’Hare airport runways.

ttyymmnn > user314 11/01/2018 at 13:19

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Found this better but sadly much smaller photo.

KnowsAboutCars > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 13:19

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The G ermans sure built some weird looking airplanes during WWII.

user314 > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 13:21

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ttyymmnn > KnowsAboutCars 11/01/2018 at 13:24

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They were definitely pushing the envelope, and were, in many ways, far ahead of us.

facw > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 13:27

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Smithsonian has this one, which is basically the same as your first one, but looks to be a better quality shot (or at least better scanned):

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/messerschmitt-me-262-family-photograph-55

Says there’s a Ta 152 in there as well (which might be the unrestored one the Smithsonian has (the only survivor)).

user314 > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 13:28

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Yeah, I couldn’t find a bigger version of that one either... Best I could do is a write-up on the HMS Reaper and her part in Operation: Seahorse, which included this pic:

facw > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 13:29

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Another different shot:

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/messerschmitt-me-262-family-photograph-56

ttyymmnn > user314 11/01/2018 at 13:33

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I guilt a model of the Pfeil when I was a kid (the COG was off and I had to hide a penny in the nose to get it sit right) and I’ve always been fascinated with it. That’s my picture from the Udvar-Hazy Center. This is getting me thinking that an entire article about Lusty would be a good thing.

ttyymmnn > facw 11/01/2018 at 13:33

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Thank you! I have replaced the top shot with this one.

ttyymmnn > facw 11/01/2018 at 13:34

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ICYMI, this is Skyfire77's reply about that particular 262:

That 262 in the foreground, the one with the blister. That’s a U3 recce variant! After the AAF was done with testing, it was handed off to Hughes Aircraft to maintain, and Howard had thoughts of running it in the ‘47 Bendix races till the government told him no (the 262 would outfly a P-80, so that’s a non-starter). It was restored (though the camo & number were wrong) by the Planes of Fame museum, then sold to Paul Allen, who was restoring it to flying condition.

Jayvincent > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 19:58

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me262 at the Air Force Museum in Dayton OH

Paul Allen also owns one wihchi s undergoing restoration

ttyymmnn > Jayvincent 11/01/2018 at 20:08

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I’m sure I have a picture of that somewhere. I took about 2000 pictures last summer when I was there.

50ford500 > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 20:12

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The 262 is still one the most beautiful fighters    Ever designed in my opinion. 

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 21:13

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ttyymmnn > 50ford500 11/01/2018 at 21:26

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I will not argue with you.

50ford500 > ttyymmnn 11/01/2018 at 23:20

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Fun fact; there is a company here in the US and A that is or at least was making reproduction 262's with exponentially more reliable GE J-85  power plants installed in them. The Jumo 004 was hardly reliable of course partly because late-war, partly because new tech and probably because German.

ttyymmnn > 50ford500 11/02/2018 at 00:01

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_262_Project

Looks good. Surprised I haven’t seen any on the TX air show circuit. 

InFierority Complex > ttyymmnn 11/02/2018 at 10:47

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slightly b igger but lower res. Just can’t win sometimes.

JeepThatLeaks > ttyymmnn 11/03/2018 at 00:17

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That ’ s an amazing shot. I would love to have been there, making a documentary abou t the testing p ro cess. The Do 335 is amazing, but at that point in the war they had no gas. What was the GPH on one of those?   Rumanian refineries were not delivering...