BF-109 Emil crash

[alefcaef]

Hi, folks, good morning.
Sorry for my poor english.
I Still Making a kit from a bf-109 crashed after envolved in combat over Hirson/France in may of 1940. He has landed close to Liége, belgium.
This plane has piloted by Ltn. Fritz Keller.
I have a picture.

I don´t known the realy reason of the forced landing. Anybody can help me with any information about this?

tks a lot.

 

[stona]

Is this Friedrich "Fritz" Keller of 2./JG 27?

That would fit the emblem and markings of that aircraft. The kennziffer (4) looks red.

He made a forced landing at Berkelaar in Holland, some way from Liege on 12th May 1940. The cause is unknown (at least as far as I can find out) but Keller scored his first victory (a M.S.406) in the Compiegne/Roye area on 5 June 1940,so he must have been relatively unhurt.

Keller survived the war with 13 victories. On 17th December 1944 he was shot down by P-47s in his Bf 109 G-10,Green 4,W.Nr.490156. He was wounded and abandoned the aircraft by parachute. Officially he was shot down near Aachen but the Americans have the incident close to Vlatten,30/40 Km to the South East.

Keller died in 2005.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Airframes]

Great info Steve.

 

[alefcaef]

Tks for information, steve. This plane is the Black 4 +

I'm building a kit from this image and i seeking for any information about the cause of forced landing. If anybody have other picture about this crash, i will be gratefull.
This is my model on 1/72 scale:

Tks again

 

[Njaco]

From "Jagdwaffe: Attack in the West" by Eric Mombeek...

 

[Crimea_River]

Yep. Was looking up the same reference but you saved me some time Chris. Cause of the crash is not revealed though.

BTW, noticed the "from WW1 to WW2" icon in my siggy. Didn't enter that build so should not have the icon.

 

[alefcaef]

Tks, Njaco and Crimea. I have this book too, really haven't the correct reason of the belly landing. I asking this cause I trying collect information, for example, i will need make bullets holes or not? what's had destroyed the control surfaces?

 

[stona]

what's had destroyed the control surfaces?

It depends how long the aircraft has been there. It may have been looted for souvenirs. Fabric is much easier to remove (say with a pocket knife) than aluminium panels.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mike siggins]

how many planes did he go threw that's a lot of time for so few kills but I wasn't there we all would think we could do better but does any one have any history of him

 

[stona]

13 victories is a LOT more than most pilots on all sides achieved.

He must have been a more than competent officer as well as a successful combat pilot. When his war effectively ended at the hands of those P-47s he was Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 27 holding the rank of Hauptmann (relatively low for such a position).

Cheers
Steve

 

[Njaco]

from various net sources.....

Fritz Keller
List of 10 aerial victories for Fritz Keller

Date Unit Enemy A/C Type Location
8/2/42 2./JG27 P-40 Warhawk 30km WNW El Adem
8/2/42 2./JG27 P-40 Warhawk N El Adem
16/2/42 2./JG27 P-40 Warhawk 30km SE El Adem
10/3/42 2./JG27 A-20 Boston III E Sidi Barrani
8/4/44 Stab II./JG27 B-24 Liberator Wissingen E Osnabruck
29/4/44 Stab II./JG27 B-17 Fortress NE Helmstedt
14/7/44 Stab II./JG27 P-38 Lightning 14 Ost N/FS od GS (Budapest)
20/7/44 Stab II./JG27 P-38 Lightning SW Ammersee
29/7/44 Stab II./JG27 B-17 Fortress e.V. 15 Ost S/LA-6 (E Leinefelde)
7/8/44 Stab II./JG27 P-38 Lightning Raum S Pressburg

1944-12-17, Stab II/JG 27, Bf 109G-10, 490156, 4 grüne, Raum Aachen, Absturz nach Luftkampf mit P-47. Bruch 99 %.
Flugzeugführer Hptm Keller, Friedrich, verletzt
Hptm Keller mit Fallschirm abgesprungen. 2005-11-09 gestorben.

Fritz Keller flew and fought with JG-27 from the outbreak of war in 1939 right through to the cessation of hostilities in May 1945, most of the time with I./JG-27. He took part in all major actions in the Desert and fought in the skies over El Alamein. Fritz Keller finished the war as Kommandeur of II./JG-27 with a total of 13 victories. He was a close personal friend of the legendary Hans-Joachim Marseille and was highly respected by all those that flew with him.

 

[ccheese]

BTW, noticed the "from WW1 to WW2" icon in my siggy. Didn't enter that build so should not have the icon.

My error. I have fixed it.

Charles

 

[alefcaef]

tks a lot. I finish the job. This is the picture of result:

 

[Njaco]

Very, very nice!!!

 

[Crimea_River]

Looks great. Nicely done.

 

[Airframes]

I agree, nicely done. I'm working on a downed '109 in 1/32nd scale - when I can get my hands to work!

 

[alefcaef]

tks all

 

[Wayne Little]

Like that! well done..

 

[Wurger]