Need help identifying piece of German WWII aircraft - FEELER

[Thanatos]

It may even be a section of a ply glider fuselage as these types of aircraft were very prevalent with-in the TR. Many aviation clubs and organizations existed during this period and were mainly flying gliders.
Worth a look

All the best
Dave

[LizardKing]

My 2 cents in this issue! It kinda looks like a modern spray paint!

I've painted a lot of surfaces and i've seen how the paint fades on the borders of the shape!! Also there is no white outline on the shape... It looks like someone painted that on a piece of pressed wood to make it pass as a plane part!

I'm far from expert on these things but something doesn't quiet feel right!

[mclenrd]

Thanks guys. Your opinions are appreciated. This was purchased at a military collectible sale from a reputable auction house in the New England area back in the early 80s. I was told it was part of a glider. There's no doubt that this is authentic! I just wanted to know what kind of Airplane it came from.

[duska]

Could be part of a Gotha GO 242, the tail section was timber/plywood construction, and the hakenkreuz looks about the same size on this photo.

[Matt L]

Thanks guys. Your opinions are appreciated. This was purchased at a military collectible sale from a reputable auction house in the New England area back in the early 80s. I was told it was part of a glider. There's no doubt that this is authentic! I just wanted to know what kind of Airplane it came from.

Except that people have been faking things forever, and most auction houses are just venues for sellers; save for places like Christies, they rarely have serious experts to evaluate and authenticate things- they just repeat what the seller tells them. In this case if all that was ever claimed was it was a part of a glider, it's clear they didn't research it or the identity would be specific. The unfortunate fact is that is there's no proof it's authentic- not that there's no doubt of it. It's too bad the photo doesn't show anything useful like a glider in that pile of bits- then there'd be a place to start.

On the plus side, it's not just a bit of plywood- it has the remains of connections on the reverse; that's what you'd expect of an aircraft since this is just skin- it had to be attached to ribs and reinforcements on the inside. Of course someone making a fake could realize that and just add them; or use a bit of plywood that had once been part of something and had remains of attachments on the back, realizing it made the piece look more realisitc. It's torn quite dramatically, which fits with it being removed from an aircraft tail. There's also nothing odd about it being sprayed- aircraft markings were largely sprayed on; and it's the late war subuded form of marking, which is quite reasonable.

The size, as Dan points out, is an important- it can be helpful in finding a likely candidate; the Go242 is a great place to start. The most useful thing would actually be to match the internals to the remains on the reverse- that's something I would doubt too many fakers would bother with way back then. It's still not a guarantee, but it'd be the most compelling evidence. Unfortunately, it might be tough to find though...

[big ned]

Unfortunately, it might be tough to find though... Quote.

Your not wrong there Matt, there's only the scant remains of two left. The skeletonised tubular cockpit section of one in Vercors, France, and a similar conditioned frame that goes back to just past the trailing edge of where the wings would be if still connected, at the Tecknik & Luftwaffe der Bundeswehr Museum in Berlin. So unfortunately nothing to go on there. The only hope is original plans, and that's unlikely, even assuming it's a Go-224 in the first place. It's just to big an ask methinks....

Regards, Ned.

[wizardman]

[carleton]

Hello all, It is 100% from a late war ME-109. WWII Germany did have spray paint. Size, Ribs, Glue used on ribs match up with other originals. Unless they are all faked? That could be also.

[wizardofthenorth]

It does strike me as 109 as well. If fake a very good one.

[Danmark]

Hello all, It is 100% from a late war ME-109. WWII Germany did have spray paint. Size, Ribs, Glue used on ribs match up with other originals. Unless they are all faked? That could be also.

While it is true that the last variants of the 109 had plywood in the tail unit, ALL the ones I have seen images of had the hakenkreuz outlined in white ........