in 1989 FW190 found near Lenigrad

[abn deuce]

Aircraft was found in 1989 recovered in 1991 an example of what is/was hiding waiting to be re-discovered.

[Lord Burley]

I'm not that convinced. It looks in remarkably good condition for something that has been sitting there for nye on 50 years.

[fesm_ndt]

depends where it was as if away from the coast and very cold most year round then corrosion dont occur. At freezing temperatures, very little water so no electrolyte. Look at the planes they pulled out of Greenland a few years back they were in pristine condition (but were buried under ice).

 

Always damp like UK is a corrosion breeding ground, but what really messes it up is the salt they put on roads as that collects and stays damp.

[berna2vm]

The 'Butcher bird' ... One of my favourites.

Wish I could find one in my back garden!!!!

[Richard Farrant]

I'm not that convinced. It looks in remarkably good condition for something that has been sitting there for nye on 50 years.

 

 

The trees appear fairly young by their size, so strange this plane was not found before as it would have landed on open ground by the state it was found in.

[C.P.]

It is interesting - probably someone found it before, because its missing a gauge?

 

Found this info:

Found 1989 east of St. Petersburg, now in US being restored. On July 1943 mission the engine quit, pilot Sgt. Paul Ratz bellied in, spent time as POW. He passed on around time his plane was found. During restoration dirt was found in a oil line causing reduced flow & overheating.

 

Or how about this, might explain the missing gauge!:

July 19, 1943. Two Fw -190s were attacking a Russian supply train bound for Leningrad when the engine of one quit. The pilot, Sergeant Paul Rätz, glided to a safe landing. He left his flying cap on the seat but took the aeroplane's panel clock with him. Trying to make his way back to German lines, he was captured a few miles away and remained imprisoned in Russia for 16 years before finally returning to Germany. In 1988, a collector found the Focke-Wulf where Rätz had left it, his helmet still resting on the seat. Rätz died in 1989, never having learned that his aeroplane had been recovered. But his family did—and, it turns out, they still have the clock.

A Vintage Wings technician dismantling the 190's BMW 801 engine found a clod of dirt in an oil line downstream from the oil filter. This had evidently been the reason for the forced landing: Lack of lubrication had caused an internal shaft to overheat and fail, disabling the fuel and oil pumps. But how had the dirt—not engine dirt, but soil, earth—gotten there? Says Jeff Thomas, "BMW's policy on major engine maintenance was to insist that the whole 'power egg'—the engine and all of its plumbing and equipment and mounting hardware—just be taken off and sent back to the factory rather than repaired in the field." As a result, all engine assembly was done in Germany, some of it by slave labourers. The theory is that one of those labourers had packed dirt or a rag into the oil line to sabotage the engine, the engine had then been shipped to Russia and installed on the aeroplane at the front, and within a few minutes after take off the defiant act of the distant and anonymous captive had done its work.

 

With the help of Google, some restoration pics are also available. Good to know its saved.

Edited November 29, 2009 by C.P.

[abn deuce]

This is the text posted with the clip on youtube

 

It is a Fw190-A5. Pilot is still listed as MISSING.

"Fw190 A5 White A of 4./JG54

This Focke-wulf 190 was manufactured in April 1943, originally as an A-5 variant and supplied with the full work number 0151227 by the parent factory of Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH at Bremen.

 

THE LOSS OF FW190 A5 W.Nr 1227.

On Monday 19th July 1943 Fw190 A-5 W.Nr 1227 'White A' went on a mission carrying a SC250 (550Ib) bomb. Taking off from Siwerskaja, on what was probably a hot summer day, 'White A' headed for the Front line which was only fifteen or so minutes flight time away. Crossing the front line over the Dvina River, the Fw190, flying with another crossed it and headed East. Whilst behind enemy lines, in an area called Voibakala, the 'Rotte' attacked an armoured train and reportedly suffered damage from flak. The loss report indicates the Fw190 crash landed due to this damage, although none was located on the airframe. It Fw190 suffered a catastrophic failure of the BMW801, caused by a rag -sabotage is suspected as it was a new engine was fitted a few days before. The Fw190 was recorded as being 100% lost in the map reference co-ordinates of Pl.Qu.20124. This grid system based on 1:200,000 maps was used to identify crash sites, possibly for salvage, recovery of missing pilots or as the best way of identifying an area consisting of unpronounceable Russian towns, villages and large areas of forests and lakes. The more numbers the Pl.Qu. reference gives, the smaller the area of the location. A key to this 'code', would help identify literally dozens of possible recoveries within Russia!!

The pilot Feldwebel Paul Rätz survived the crash landed behind enemy lines. He removed his leather flying helmet and retrieved the first air kit from the rear fuselage and is thought to have headed West back to the front line only a dozen or so miles from the crash site. He was undoubtedly captured by the Russians and interned although the Luftwaffe loss report still class him as 'Vermißt' (missing) in action.