Skins by Aelius

[aelius]

Ask him specifically about the number of his Staffel--and if he has any more pictures.

[aelius]

This is one of my favorite planes, a Bf-110 that flew in southern Russia in 1943. The unit code is Q1+VB, which indicates that it belonged to NAGr.1 (Nahaufklärungsgruppen were short-range reconnaissance units). The Staffel letter "B" signifies I Gruppe Stab.

There is some uncertainty as to the variant, however, and the plane has been variously described as either an F (which seems likely, given the apparent absence of the cooling intake above the exhaust), G-2, or G-3. The Bf-110G had the more powerful but problematic DB 605B engine, which tended to overheat. The cowlings, although virtually the same size as in the older model, were therefore fitted with two small inlets just above and in front of the exhaust pipes. This, and the location of the pitot tube, which is used to determine airspeed (and was positioned at the end of the wing on the G), are the most obvious diagnostic differences between the two models--assuming the grainy black-and-white photographs of the time allow them to be recognized. Of course, all this is a bit beside the point, given that a C-4 is being skinned.

In this picture, the caption indicates that the plane is a G-2. The engine has caught fire while being started, and the ground crew is looking on rather cautiously as one member approaches with a hose. It is the only photograph I have, but when Bryan Philpott's German Fighters over Russia arrives, there should be more photos from which to work.

I am not quite certain about the camouflage scheme and, for the time being, have patterned the fuselage after airplane models but without the mottling. For now, there is only a screenshot. The spinners have been rendered in green, the color of the Gruppe Stab, with two-thirds of the white hub in black, as shown in the photograph. Although more accurate, the overlay does give the spinning hub a certain epilepsy-inducing quality when the plane is flown.

Even though wrapping the bony fingers over the upper portion of the nose was a challenge, the skeletal hand reaching out toward its prey has made for a satisfying skin.

[Sven]

Wow that's a beautiful skin!

Hope to see it soon to my collection soon!

[LcSummers]

Dont think twice,

lets get her. It would be nice to have this too!!

PS: Thanks for your other great Bf 110 skins.

[Plt Off JRB Meaker]

Nice skin,and what a superb screenshot!

[aelius]

I do thank you for the compliments.

Both giving and receiving is what makes this community so satisfying.

[aelius]

”Poles and Czechs were not permitted to participate in the air fighting until they had mastered the rudiments of the English language and flying procedures. When they did start operations, these homeless men, motivated often by a hatred bordering upon despair, fought with a terrible and merciless dedication.”

Len Deighton, Fighter

Sergeant Joseph František was a Czech pilot who, after fighting the Germans in Poland and France, was assigned at his request to the Polish 303 Squadron, where he became the fourth-highest scoring ace in the Battle of Britain. Given his undisciplined tendency to break rank in pursuit of the enemy, it was thought less dangerous to his colleagues if František were to continue with the squadron as their "guest," flying patrols on his own.

On September 2, 1940, only a month after being posted, he shot down the first of seventeen German planes (and a final probable), a feat all the more remarkable in that they occurred within a single month of the four-month long battle. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, a bar was posthumously added after František's death on October 8, a day after his twenty-seventh birthday.

Here, the plane is not as interesting as the person. This is František's first mount and one of several Hurricane Mk Is that he flew, including a damaged plane that crashed during landing and the one in which he died.

RFU can be downloaded here.

[aelius]

It's a perfectly legitimate question, cheesehawk.

I wanted to keep all the skins in one place, as there are more to come. Do you or the other senior members have any suggestions as to organizing one's posts? (It seems that I can't change the title of the thread itself to better indicate its content, and "Bf-110C-4 from 6./ZG 76" is not likely to attract any readers!)

Perhaps I should pull the post and establish a new thread for the Brits.

[Gourmand]

great skin!!! , but why in 1024*1024 and not the max size possible ( 2048*2048 )?

have you 2048*2048 version?

[aelius]

Gourmand, I do thank you for bringing this unwelcome change in file size to my attention.

I am working from the original CoD template, which is 2048 x 2048 (and 72 pixels/inch resolution). The resulting skin has the same dimensions.

But in uploading these files to Photobucket, it seems (now that I read the fine print) that they automatically are reduced to 1024 x 1024 points and limited in size to 1 Mb.

I'll have to upload them again, of course, but at least it would give me a chance to tidy up the thread. Or it may be easier simply to create a new one and start over.

If I could edit the title of the original thread, Bf-110C-4 from 6./ZG 76 (which becomes less and less appropriate as new skins are added), I probably would simply go back and update the original links and then summarize the changes in a new post. But am I correct in understanding that the name of the thread cannot be changed?

Here is the same Hurricane template--this time from MediaFire at 2048 x 2048.