Spit1a > SpitII

[Kurfürst]

Originally Posted by winny

It's your area so I'm hoping you'll (Kurfurst) dig something up. I know practically nothing about Rechlin or what they did.

Sorry the report I have on my site is the only thing I have on the matter, but it would be interesting indeed to identify the aircraft that were tested there.

A for Rechlin (Eprobungstelle Rechlin - Rechlin Testing Station), it was Luftwaffe's/Imperial Air Ministry's own 'state' testing centre for aircraft of the Luftwaffe, basically everything the Germans decided to operate went through here first. They tested and evaluated new aircraft (ie. Bf 109 and He 112), gave their opinion on their relative merits, and were also instrumental in 'bug' fixing of standardized designs.

E'Stelle Tarnewitz was responsible for aerial weapons testing IIRC.

Re-checking the LEMB forum, I've found the following post... so, pick the most symphatethic Spitfire!

The following images and paraphrased text are from 'Spitfire at War part 3' by Dr. Alfred Price. These photos were originally posted on the old LEMB by Jerry Brewer; the photos have since been rescanned and are re-posted here for further comment.

Spitfire ZP-J of No. 74 Sqn. serial K9867 was the first intact Spitfire to be captured by the Germans. This aircraft force landed at Calais-Marck on May 23, 1940 and was subsequently captured by German forces when they took this airfield.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...ireMk1ZP-J.jpg

Spitfire ZD-A of No. 222 Sqn, serial P9317 was the second intact Spitfire captured by the Germans. This aircraft was captured by German troops on June 1, 1940 when it force landed at Le Touquet airfield.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...reMk1ZD-Aa.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...Mk1ZD-Ab-1.jpg

The third intact Spitfire captured by the Germans was a PR 1B of No. 212 Squadron, serial P9331. This aircraft made a forced landing at Rheims-Champagne on June 7, 1940 and was later captured when the airfield was taken by German forces.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...Mk1bP9331b.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...Mk1bP9331a.jpg

The fourth Spitfire captured was the only Spitfire delivered to the French prior to their capitulation. The two photos below show No. 1 after capture.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...1french01a.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...o1tailfinb.jpg