Romanian Bf-109 E "yellow 37", A well made 1/72 kit pictures

Because i am also a modeller fan i allways admire other people artworks.

This is the case of Bf-109 E 3 "yellow 37" from a 1940 picture just after arival of first 40 planes batch. This particular plane had yellow narrow strips ( probably squadron or flight leader I.D. ) and overpainted Luftwaffe cross on the wings and big national roundels. The picture was taken probably near Pipera airbase.( source BDSA)

This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on February 21, 2005 04:06 pm

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And here are the pictures of 1/72 scale model of the "yellow 37". The model artist is Alexandru Zanca.

This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on February 22, 2005 11:55 am

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This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on February 22, 2005 11:56 am

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This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on February 22, 2005 11:56 am

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great modelling work also thanks for posting the stuff...

Alex

Do u know a site were i can find a IAR 80 model??

What are you interested ? Only pictures of a IAR 80 model ?

Dan.

Cantacuzino,

Very nice model, and nice photos

How many E-mils (Me 109 E) were imported by Romania before june 1940? But before may 1941? As many as 40 planes? I only knew about 12 or at most 24... When were these deliveded? Do you have data about the other modern fighter planes imported by the Romanians in 1939 and 1940 (He 112, Hawker Hurricane) - how many and when they became availble?

The answer to your question
- 40 Bf 109E3 planes in 1940 ( nr. 37 from the picture is from this batch ) and 30 Bf-109 E4-E7 in 1941.
- 12 Hurricane MkI bought from England in 1940 and 3 captured by germans from Yugo.Air Force in 1941.
- 30 He -112 bought in 1940.

This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on March 03, 2005 02:07 pm

Only 11 out the initial order of 50 Bf-109Es arrived in the spring of 1940. The rest of 39 arrived one year later, in the spring of 1941. Thus the photo of no. 37 was taken in 1941, not 1940.

The answer to your question
- 40 Bf 109E3 planes in 1940 ( nr. 37 from the picture is from this batch ) and 30 Bf-109 E4-E7 in 1941.
- 12 Hurricane MkI bought from England in 1940 and 3 captured by germans from Yugo.Air Force in 1941.
- 30 He -112 bought in 1940.

A few corrections:
11 Bf 109E-3s arrived in 1940, 39 Bf 109E-3s by the Spring of 1941 and 19 Bf 109Es in 1941/1942 (some being delivered by the Germans on the Stalingrad front, as replacements for losses). Total: 69 aircraft.
29 He 112Bs arrived in 1939 and the last one in 1940.

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on March 03, 2005 03:33 pm

Victor is correct. The photo was taken in the Spring of 1941.

Gen. Dénes

Are there any sources to back-up your information, or it is just the fact that if the plane’s number was 37 there’s got to be more than 37 planes received ? I'll be glad if such sources exist. It is also important for me to know when were the planes from this first batch delivered, before or after June 1940 (and how many of them). I was always interested in the hypothetical discussions about Romanian army (and since this is the topic we are talking about, Romanian Royal Air Force) chances to “stand up and fight” in 1940 after the Soviet and then after German-Italian ultimatum (and a note for Mr. Denes – it was a Diktate because for Romania the alternative for accepting it was a military invasion). If your information is true that would mean that the chances were far better than usually considered; I’m talking about chances to make a stand and not chances of success, and I’m not going to talk in this topic about the utility of such an action.

According to the information I have (from an older issue of “Modelism” magazine), in the summer of 1940 the most up to date Romanian fighters were 12 Me 109 E and 12 Hawker Hurricane, grouped in the 7th (newly created) Fight Group (Grupul 7 vanatoare).
If what you said is accurate, then the situation of RRAF (in the summer?) of 1940 was:
Fighter planes:
- 40 Me 109 E
- 30 He 112 B
- 12 Hawker Hurricane
- 30 PZL 24 E (the same type of aircraft witch despite its obsolescence proved to be a success in the aerial fights in Greece, 1940-1941; only that unlike their Greek equivalents the Romanian PZL had their 20 mm guns on)
- approx. 108 (112) PZL 11 C and F (better then the Polish PZL 11 B, however better armed – and remember that the Polish PZLs have made a quite surprisingly good account of themselves in 1939)

This would make a total of over 200 planes, of which half (quite) modern, however something different from the disastrous situation usually invoked. Anyway more than a match for the Hungarian Air Force, and quite a challenge for the Russians and the Germans too…

Sorry, I saw your answers too late... They confirm my version

Which was the standard for using the national markings ("cocarde", roundels) for airplanes until May 1941? As I know, this is the date when the air force switch to queen Mary's cross ("crucea reginei Maria”, like in my avatar).

In the picture with the Me 109 no. 37, and also in other pictures we can see that the roundels were painted only on the plane’s wings and not on the fuselage (like in the RAF or in the majority of other air forces). Why this exception? Wouldn’t this make the airplane harder to recognize from the sides, even if the national colors were painted on the plane’s tail (direction) too?

In the present we witness another particularity: the side roundels are painted on the plane tail and not on the fuselage (like in the other air forces using this type of markings)…