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| Date: | Sunday 31 May 1942 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Messerschmitt Bf 110 E-2 |
| Owner/operator: | 6./NJG 1 Luftwaffe |
| Registration: | 2654 |
| MSN: | G9+GP |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Brustem Airfield, Limburg -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | St. Trond airfield (B) |
| St. Trond airfield |
Feindflug - operational sortie. On this night, RAF Bomber Command raided Köln in Germany.
This Bf 110 E-2 is the aircraft which the wounded Leutnant Helmut Niklas crash-landed after shooting down two Wellington bombers on the night of 30/31 May 1942. As the Wellingtons were the pilot's first two victories, the existence of a single white victory bar on the vertical tail unit of this machine would therefore suggest that G9+GP was not his regular aircraft. The fuselage code letters are grey 77 and the aircraft's individual letter 'G' has been narrowly edged in yellow, the Staffel color. Note that the abrasive action of the grass has worn away the black finish on the nose to reveal the 65 or 76 of the original factory finish.
Helmut Niklas was seriously injured, Unteroffizier Heinz Wenning (the radio operator) remained virtually unharmed. The pilot was rushed off to hospital; the damage was assessed as 20%.
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part three
https://www.luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/messerschmitt-bf-110-wn2654-te-brustem
https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Bf-110/NJG1.html
Deutsche Luftwaffe Verluste nach Flugzeugtypen Teil 3 by Michael Balss
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Jun-2017 20:05 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 03-Jun-2017 20:06 | TigerTimon | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 23-Oct-2018 12:42 | TigerTimon | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Oct-2018 12:45 | TigerTimon | Updated [Damage, ] |
| 15-Mar-2020 09:44 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator, ] |
| 21-Apr-2020 13:47 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Jun-2022 11:18 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, ] |
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