Colors and markings on the Bf ME-109 Abbieville Boys Staffel

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

I just purchased a print of a scene over France- summer 1942?? Open sky, ME-109's with yellow cowlings, wing tips and rudder, with a Supermarine Spitfire and and below, unmarked but possibly British Lancasters- twin engine bombers, murky colors, hard to tell. No top gun turrets, no tail turret- so doubt if they are B-17's-- My wife's uncle Jack Garfield was a bombardier in a B-17 squadron, their aircraft was shot down on the raid on the Polesti oilfields later on in the war- All the crew parachuted out to safety below, were captured and spent the rest of the war in a German stalag until May 1945.

 

[Airframes]

Not Lancasters if they're twin-engined , and not in daylight in 1942 !
More likely to be Blenheims, or, at a stretch, Bostons, and it sounds like the print may be from one of Robert Taylor's paintings. The Luftwaffe unit at this time would be either JG 26 or JG 2, more likely the former.

 

[stona]

It doesn't sound like 1942 either.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Micdrow]

If you can take a photo of the picture we might be able to help.

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

1942 was just a guess- granted, the Allies bombed at daytime hours, the british at night- so a painting of a night raid, even with search lights and FLAK- maybe like one of my black Lab Rommel- in a coal mine at o dark thirty? No discernable markings on the bombers, just two engines and no top or tail gun turrets either- I'll do a 10x magnifier checky-check to see if I can find the artists name--

 

[Crimea_River]

If you can take a photo of the picture we might be able to help.

ditto.

 

[stona]

1942 was just a guess- granted, the Allies bombed at daytime hours, the british at night- so a painting of a night raid, even with search lights and FLAK- maybe like one of my black Lab Rommel- in a coal mine at o dark thirty? No discernable markings on the bombers, just two engines and no top or tail gun turrets either- I'll do a 10x magnifier checky-check to see if I can find the artists name--

British bombers operated over France in daylight throughout the early years of the war, though not employed in the massive formations of the night time strategic campaign. Throughout 1941 about 1 in 8 Bomber Command sorties was flown by day.

Your picture sounds a lot like a representation of an RAF 'Circus' operation and would most likely be some time in 1941, after the Battle of Britain.

Typically a few Blenheim bombers (two engine and more or less fitting your description, though they did have a dorsal turret) escorted by numerous fighters (usually several squadrons) would attack an objective in occupied Europe. The real objective was to lure the Luftwaffe into a fight. Unfortunately for the RAF this 'leaning forward' across the Channel was not entirely successful. The Luftwaffe could choose when and where it would come up to fight and inflicted heavy casualties on the RAF.

If over the sea, it could be a picture of something like 'Channel Stop' an operation of April 1941 in which heavily escorted Blenheim's attempted to close the Channel to enemy shipping during day light hours.

There are many other possibilities.

Cheers

Steve