In the closing months of the war, V./NJG2 was operating from a couple of airfields around Munich, in particular München Riem, Neubiberg and from the satellite field Brunnthal.
To offer the best possible protection from strafing Allied fighters, the aircraft at Brunnthal were dispersed among the trees along the highway as well as at the edges of the forest to the North. This recently offered photograph nicely illustrates the aircraft dispersal along the Reichsautobahn. The loose branches and smaller trees in front of the aircraft were pulled aside by US troops and previously served as additional camouflage from frontal views.
An almost identical color photograph has been published in Smith & Gallaspy (1977), p.76. Photographs of Ju88G-6 U5+NT WNr.622322, e.g. in Gaemperle (2011), p.54 and Warbirds Photo Album Vol.5 (1994), p.80 provide additional close-up views of a typical aircraft hiding space at Brunnthal.
The closest aircraft displays all the attributes associated with aircraft of V./NJG2 and despite the unit code being indiscernible, it is highly likely that these three aircraft were on strength with V./NJG2.
- The aircraft lack FuG220 radar equipment. Here is my hypothesis: those aircraft flown in nocturnal ground attack missions in March and April carried unit codes and had their radar equipment removed - as opposed to those used for training purposes or as replacements. Photographs prove that for U5+ “AT”, “BT”, “DT”, “ET” “GT”, “IT”, “NT” and “OT”. Of the Staffel’s other aircraft exist either no unambiguous photographic evidence of such removal (“CT”, “FT” and “MT”) or no records at all (“HT", “KT” and “LT”). Balke (1997) quotes crew member Heimann, p.376, that the aircraft were initially delivered without radar which would subsequently be installed by the unit’s technicians only to be removed when they received order to fly ground attack operations.
- The spinners display a white spiral as it can be found on U5+AT, U5+NT and U5+OT; these three aircraft were among the ones collected and photographed at Brunnthal. A list of Junkers 88 G-6 found at the Brunnthal scrap yard has previously been published on this blog, Ju88G-6 at München-Brunnthal.
- The camouflage is standard RLM76 with patches of RLM75 on the upper fuselage and engine nacelle sections. The struts of the cabin are in a light grey color. Exhaust covers and landing light in the leading wing edge complete the equipment as a night fighter. Very close examination reveals one of the FuG16 antennas under the port wing.
US disarmament units moved the aircraft from where they were hidden to the Brunnthal collection point where they would eventually be scrapped. Below, this recently offered photograph offers a view of Ju88G-6 U5+AT WNr. 622951 behind a He111 with Stammkennzeichen GW+DG. A view of the same two aircraft from their port side has been published by Green, p.29.
Other V./NJG2 Ju88G-6 ended the war at Neubiberg airfield. Photographic evidence exists for U5+BT, U5+ET and +IT. Of those WNr. 622796 U5+ET is the best documented through multiple photographs published e.g. in the Wings of the Black Cross series as it is parked near the aerodrome buildings and later among other aircraft pushed together for final disposal; see Wings of the Black Cross Number 1 p.29, Number 4 p.21, Number 5 p.13 and Number 9 p.14. Below’s photograph shows two more features repeatedly seen at V./NJG2 aircraft, namely the in relation to the black fuselage cross misaligned application of the unit code and the lack of “Schräge Musik” MGs.
The night fighter behind U5+ET has to my knowledge so far not been identified. Additional photographs can be found in Green (2006), p.83, and Warbirds Photo Album Vol. 5 (1994), p.79. Equipped with FuG220d with diagonal antennas and one spinner with white spirals - the other one is missing - it displays features similar to another unmarked Ju88G-6 photographed at Brunnthal, WNr. 621353.
The same lot offered a view of another Ju88G-6 night fighter collected at Neubiberg. From its derelict state can be assumed that this photograph has been taken later than the previous one at a time when the various aircraft have been pushed together before scrapping.
References
Balke, Ulf (1997)
Der Luftkrieg in Europa1941-1945
Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg, Germany
Crandall, Jerry (2003)
Wings of the Black Cross, Number 1
Eagle Editions Ltd., Hamilton
Gaemperle, Roger S. (2011)
Captured Eagles, German WWII Aircraft Captured By The Allies, Volume I
Vintage Eagle Publishing, Zürich, Switzerland
Green, Brett (2006)
Götterdämmerung, Luftwaffe Wrecks and Relics
Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, UK
Luftwaffe Warbirds Photo Album Vol.5, (1994)
Delta Publishing Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Proulx, Mark (2007)
Wings of the Black Cross, Number 4
Eagle Editions Ltd., Hamilton
Proulx, Mark (2008)
Wings of the Black Cross, Number 5
Eagle Editions Ltd., Hamilton
Proulx, Mark (2012)
Wings of the Black Cross, Number 9
Eagle Editions Ltd., Hamilton
Smith, J., R., Gallaspy, J., D. (1977)
Luftwaffe Colors, Volume 3 1943-45
Monogram Aviation Publications, Boylston
