White 1 History

Analysis and re-construction of camouflage and markings on W. Nr. 931 862

At least three photographs were taken of the wreckage of White 1 following its crash of 9th February 1945. One of them (figure 3) was taken a relatively short time after the crash (easter 1945). Several interesting features can be learnt from the photograph. The following points are relevant:

1. A III. Gruppe disc (usually signifying IV. Gruppe, but not in JG 5) is present on the rear fuselage, thinly outlined in black.
2. The armoured ring of the oil cooler is white
3. The oil tank armour ring is camouflaged in standard 74/75/76 scheme with a seemingly normal demarcation line
4. The undersurface balkenkreuz was black and white without black outlines, the same as seen on the 13./JG 5 machine depicted in Keskinen & Stenman (1998).

Figure 3. Crash site of White 1, taken during the Easter of 1945 (note civilians with skis in the background).
© Arne Kristiansen

Two other photographs were taken of the tail section sometime later, probably summer 1945 as Norwegian civilians dominate the scene (figure 4 & 5).

Figure 4. Starboard side of the fuselage of White 1. The photograph was probably taken just after the war. © John Lundekvam

Figure 5. Port side of White 1 fuselage. © John Lundekvam

These two photographs reveal the following important facts regarding the camouflage and markings of White 1:

1. The fuselage balkenkreuz has a thin black outline, which is somewhat unusual for a late-war plane.
2. The disc is thinly outlined in black
3. The W. Nr is repeated in full on both sides of the tail fin in a distinctive script.
4. The swastika is black with a white outline
5. There is no evidence of overpainting around the disc marking or anywhere else, in fact, the camouflage appear remarkable light and clean. This lack of defintion probably means that the camouflage paint has either deteriorated considerably or worn off more or less completely.

A few in-depth comments are needed at this point. The use of black-outlined black and white balkenkreuze on the fuselage was certainly standard with F-8s in the 931xxx block. It is present on W. Nr. 931 666 as well as the other I./SG 5 machines mentioned above. A few other F-8s in this W. Nr. block also carried the same type of fuselage balkenkreuz (see for instance Janda & Poruba (199?).

At least some of the machines in the 931xxx block lacked this black outline on the underwing balkenkreuze. Interestingly, Black 10 of I./SG 5 did have black outlines to the underwing balkenkreuz which could indicate that it is from an earlier part of the 931xxx series or another W. Nr. block. The appearance of the upperwing balkenkreuz were of the white outline-only type, as evidenced by the photograph in Figure 6 showing the starboard upper wing surface at the time when the wreckage was salvaged in the 1980s.

Figure 6. Upper wing cross consistings of white
outlines only. © Halvor Sperbund

The Stammkennzeichenen (St. K. Z.) of White 1 is not known with certainty but by extrapolating back from W.Nr. 931 883, KT+ZR, it might have carried the St.K. z. KT+YX, although this is far from certain. It is not known if the plane sported these markings when it was delivered but considering the fact that 883 did carry these markings at the time of its capture (Spenser 1987, page 69), it is likely that 862 carried them also. It must be taken into consideration however, that 883 carried the St. K. z. at the end of the war, about a year after its manufacture, and it is possible that these were applied after a major overhaul and thus were not used when delivered from the factory. There were no remains of such a code on 862 after its recovery.

Regarding the camouflage pattern this was originally entirely standard, i.e. a standard Focke-Wulf upper and lower surface pattern. Given 862's service record it is known that the wavy Gruppe symbol used by 13./JG 5 was overpainted during the change-over at Banak. In fact, this symbol was one of the few markings visible when the wreckage was brought down from the Norwegian mountainside where it had been exposed to the elements for many decades (figure 7). Another photograph, to be published in a forthcomming book on the Black Friday (H. Sperbund, in press), shows the wreckage with both types of Gruppe symbol, the disc clearly superimposed on the wave. The lack of any overpainting suggests that the camouflage colours are deteriorated or worn off (also see discussion below).

Figure 7. Remains of the IV. Gruppe symbol on White 1 following recovery of the wreckage. © Halvor Sperbund

The next two photographs (Figure 8 & 9) yield some information regarding the likely appearance and markings of White 1. They show the square style of numeral used by 13. and 9. Staffel as well as the black outlines to both numbers and Gruppe symbol. The general paint scheme used on Fw 190s at the time are also evident with black exhaust areas and little moification to the standard RLM schemes (also see figure 11). The photographs were taken on Lister airfield in South Norway in late summer/early fall 1944. In Figure 9 an early model Bf 109 can be seen, this is certainly a Bf 109T.

Figure 8. Fw 190 White 7 (or possibly Orlowski's A-3, White 17) from 9. or 13./JG 5, most likely taken in southern Norway in summer 1944. Judging by the old type of fuselage balkenkreuz this is almost certainly an A-3 or perhaps an F-8 (although the curved black exhaust marking has only been seen on Eissermann's White 9 before). © Heinz Orlowski via Halvor Sperbund

Figure 9. Fw 190A-3, White 9. This might be the machine named "Netty" which was later photographed at Herdla in 1945 (se Figure 10). Like the preceeding photograph, female companionship is the order of the day, something that suggests that the both pictures were taken on the same day and place. That would indicate that White 9 and White 10 in the background, possibly another A-3, are two machines from 13. Staffel with what appears to be a Bf 109T from 11./JG 11 in between. The location is Lister in South Norway. Note what appears to be temporary white distemper on White 9 and the old style upper wing cross (what appears to be white snow camouflage is exagerated light colour due to lack of quality on our original. For a better version see Marshall 2002: 311). © Heinz Orlowski via Halvor Sperbund

Figure 10. Close up of the cockpit of White 9, an Fw 190A-3 flown by Uffz. Gerhardt Eisssermann. Note curved black exhaust markings, similar in style to the one seen in figure 8. © Luftwaffe SIG Norway

Figure 11. Profile showing the apperance of Fw 190A-3, White 9 "Netty" at Herdla in March/April 1945. The plane shows the camouflage typical of 9. Staffel early model Fw 190As, i.e. extensive overpainting on fuselage sides with no obvious overpainting beneath the numeral or gruppe symbol alone. © Kjetil Aakra

Clues to the apperance of White 1 can also be found amongst the A-8s taken over by 12./JG 5 as shown in the photograph of Blue 8 and Blue 10 (among others) in Figure 12. This photograph provides ample evidence that the individual ID number was overpainted, indicating that the planes used by 12./JG 5 received new numerals.

Figure 12. Fw 190A-8s of 12./JG 5 at Herdla, March/April 1945 with Blue 8 in the foreground and blue 10 in the background.. © Luftwaffe SIG Norway

Whether this happened with those planes taken over by 9./JG 5 remains unknown, although photographic evidence suggest that this was not always the case. No A-2/3, A-8 or F-8 with heavy overpainting in the style of 12. Staffel are known (also see figure 16) and if White 9 in photograph 9 indeed is the same as "Netty" (figure 10 & 11), that would be another indication that overpainting of numerals was not so frequent in 9. Staffel. As the Staffelcolour of 9. and 13. Staffel was similar (including the outline colour) a simple change of Gruppe symbol would suffice. One of the Fw 190A-8s seen at Herdla in early 1945, White 3 of Uffz. Ullmann (see figure 15 & 16) shows evidence of extensive repainting although the numeral might have been spared (as has obviously happened with the swastika!). In the case of White 1, things are a little different, however, as this plane was assigned to the new Staffelleader and thus should be marked with a "1", according to regulations. It is more likely that the choice of the Staffelführer's plane was decided by the technical standard of the plane rather than a pre-existing numeral. So far, we have not found evidence that W.Nr. 931 862 was flown by the then Staffelkapitän of 13./JG 5, Oblt. Walter Schneider. We therefore think that the previous numeral on White 1 was indeed overpainted and replaced by a White 1.

Figure 13. Blue 8, an Fw 190A-8 flown by Uffz. Dietrich from 12./JG 5 at Herdla in the last months of the war. Note extensive overpainting with dark colour on fuselage sides, the rearmost area no doubt covering the IV. Gruppe wave. © Kjetil Aakra

It is in any case certain that the Gruppe symbol was simply overpainted (at least on White 1) when the new Gruppe designator was applied. Given the evidence provided by figures 12 & 13 it would seem likely that this overpainting was done with a very dark colour on the Fw 190s from 12. Staffel, i.e. RLM 74 or RLM 70 or 71. The latter colors are unlikely as we believe 74 would be a more natural choice for a fighter aircraft and the tonal contrast of the colour used to overpaint the Gruppe symbols and numerals are more similar to RLM 74 on black-and-white photographs. This dark colour is not evident on the wreckage photos of White 1, however (figures 4 & 5), which may suggest that the overpainting was done with a light colour, i.e. RLM 76 or any light colour aviailable. This has been observed on some Fw 190s from 9./JG 5 (see figure 22) and it is thus quite possible that 9. Staffel used a different colour for overpainting on their planes. The fact that different mechanics were assigned to different Staffels lends creedence to this interpreation. Weighing available evidence either way, we think it is most likely that the numeral was re-applied and that there was rather extensive overpainting around the numeral.
A recently published photograph (see Nordeide & Sperbund 2003: 135) throws more light on this question. This remarkable photograph (sadly not avilable for publishing with this article) shows the port side of the tail section of the wrecked White 1 and both Gruppe symbols are plainly visible! Unlike the other wreckage photographs (figure 3 - 5) traces of camouflage are visible and this shows a light grey colour partly covering the IV. Gruppe wavy band but NOT the III. Gruppe disk symbol. This grey colour is identical with the one that is covering the dorsal part of the fuselage just in front of the tail. That this is the original camouflage colour is evidenced by the fact that a "Hier aufbocken" stencil complete with arrow is visible above the rear fuselage lift tube. This is therefore a strong indication that RLM 75 (the light grey colour) was also used to cover the IV. Gruppe wave. It also shows that at least some stenciling was present on White 1 at the time it crashed. The style of the overpainting probably followed that seen on 12./JG 5's 190s in figures 12 & 13 (also see the profiles at the end of the article for the various interpretations).
To sum up, we therefore believe that the Gruppe symbol was overpainted with RLM 75 while the individual number, if it was changed in November 1944, most likely were overpainted with RLM 76 as seen on several other Fw 190s from the Staffel,
It is known that at least some of the Focke-Wulfs of 9. and 12./JG 5 carried snow camouflage during their early service at Herdla (C. Gunhfeldt pers. comm.). This has been seen on Blue 13, an Fw 190A-8, White 20 (Fw 190A-8) and White 12 ( Fw 190A-3), both from 9. Staffel. The style of application varied from distinct wavy lines and squiggles on Blue 13 to more or less complete coverage on White 20. It is thus entirely possible that White 1 also carried a white distemper on its upper surfaces at the time of its crash, although we suspect this was rather dirty and worn in apperance by February. On the other hand, we do not have firm evidence that White 1 did carry snow camouflage and we have provided alternative profiles to reflect the different possibillities. An example of a snow camouflaged Fw 190 from 9. Staffel is seen in figure 14, this being White 12 flown by Georg Lieber.
The snow camouflage was probably not carried during the fighting in the North (October - November 1944) as the single known photograph of a Fw 190F-8 from the unit does not show any sign of such camouflage having been applied (see figure 2). If this is the case, the white distemper was probably applied at Banak or Bardufoss or possibly Vaernes during the units long stay there.

Figure 14. Example of snow camouflage on a 9. Staffel Fw 190A-2, W. Nr. 125 357, flown by Fw. Georg Lieber. Lieber was lost in this plane on January 12th 1945. If White 1 carried snow camouflage, it probably looked something like this. © Luftwaffe SIG Norway

Figure 15. Fw 190A-8, White 3, of Fw. Martin Ullmann at Herdla early in 1945 (note lack of Eismeer insignia). © Luftwaffe SIG Norway

Figure 16. Close-up of White 3 with Ullmann in the cockpit. Note name "Ingeborg" in White below cockpit and extensive repainting around fuselage balkenkreuz, swastika and numeral. © Luftwaffe SIG Norway

It has often been maintained that White 1 carried the initials of its first pilot in 9./JG 5 on the undercarriage doors, i.e. W and G for Werner Gayko. As the majority of Focke-Wulfs in both 9. and 12. Staffel repeated their ID numeral in small black (approximately 10 inch) figures on the undercarriage doors, this is rather unlikely. Remains of black paint were found on the undercarriage doors at the time of their recovery (Halvor Sperbund pers. comm.) although this is probably the remains of the numeral "1".

Other details, such as spinner markings, are unknown, but we hold it likely that the spinner conformed to that that seen on other machines of 9./JG 5, several variants from this unit are seen in figure 17 (as used on both A-2/3s and A-8s).

It is absolutely certain that White 1 did not carry the Eismeer insignia as this was applied only sometime after White 1 was shot down according to Heinz Orlowski. The Reichverteidigungsband of JG 5 (black/yellow) was applied even later and thus never appeared on White 1.

At least two Fw 190A-8s was destroyed during the unit's stay at Bardufoss. They were White 4, W. Nr. 732 167, flown by Fähnr. Karl Amm and W. Nr. 690 158 flown by Lt. Walter Peters. The tail section of one of these may be visible in the photograph below (figure 18), taken at Bardufoss after the end of the war. The most interesting feature of this photograph, apart from the Gruppe symbol and light appearance of the camouflage, is the segment of dark paint on the forward part of the fin. As can be seen from the wreckage photographs of White 1 (figure 19), a similar dark segment of paint appears to be present on the fin, although we interprete this as primer having being revealed when the leading edge cover has become detached.

Figure 18. Wreckage of a Fw 190 left behind at Bardufoss. Note what appears to be light overspray around the Gruppe insignia. Also note Fw 58 remains in the background. © Luftwaffe SIG Norway

Although the fabric is absent it is highly likely that White 1 had a white rudder. This is based on the fact that it was standard practice in III./JG 5 at the time that the Staffelkapitän or Staffelführer had a white rudder. Having initially been allocated to Werner Gayko, then Staffelkapitän of 9. Staffel, it is likely that White 1 would have continued this practice. Other Focke-Wulfs in III. Gruppe to have carried white rudders include Blue 9, W. Nr. 350 185, of Lt. Koch and Blue 4, W. Nr. 732 183, of Lt. Linz (see figures 20 & 21).

White 1 did achieve some victories but it is at the time of writing unknown how many and exactly where and when all of these victories were scored. According to Orlowski they were painted on the rudder at some time (probably in the style seen in figures 20 & 21), but were subsequently removed (Timken pers. comm.).

Figure 20. The white rudder of Lt. Linz' Blue 4 (errenously described as yellow by many sources) with 65 of his eventual 70 victories clearly visible. There are 6 rows of ten (the lowermost being hidden by the horizontal stabilizer) and one of 5. This photograph was almost certainly taken at Herdla early in 1945. © Luftwaffe SIG Norway