Tiger-pie Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 This fin is from Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer's ME 110 nightfighter. He was one of Germany's most successful night fighter pilots. He flew 164 combat missions and destroyed 121 Allied aircraft. Most of the aircraft that Schnaufer were RAF Lancaster bombers, crewed by seven men each. At least 38 Australians were among those killed by Schnaufer. His modus operandi was to open fire at close range, one night he downed five bombers in 14 minutes, and on another occasion he shot down seven bombers in 17 minutes. He received the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. He was killed in his sports car in 1950 after buying wine in France.
Tiger-pie Posted January 25, 2007 Author Posted January 25, 2007 (edited) Schnaufer portraits. Edited January 25, 2007 by Tiger-pie
Kev in Deva Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 He was killed in his sports car in 1950 after buying wine in France.See! if your not careful the booze will kill ya, but not exactly a case of drink-driving Kevin in Deva.
J Temple-West Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 That makes an impressive display... Was there any information on how and where the tail section was found/obtained?
Tiger-pie Posted January 25, 2007 Author Posted January 25, 2007 That makes an impressive display... Was there any information on how and where the tail section was found/obtained?Sorry... , I didn't document it well enough. My main collecting theme and interest is in Aussie medals, and that was what I took notes on much more carefully. From memory there was no explanation, but given the amount of Australian air-crew in Europe in all sections of the RAF it is likely that it was souvenired and bought back.Regards;Johnsy
ERIC Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 That is really cool Johnsy! I would LOVE to see that up close and personal! Amazing how these things were saved and found their way into a museum.ERIC
Simon Orchard Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 (edited) For an in depth look at the 'Schnaufer fins' see 'Schnaufer:Ace of Diamonds'. There's the one in Australia, one at the Imperial War Museum and a third in a private German collection.Link Edited January 30, 2007 by Simon Orchard
Chris Boonzaier Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 Here is a medal group for sale to one of the guys he shot down...http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=14720man, those two together would be an amazing bit of history !!!!!
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