Frog 1/72 Dornier Do 17 Z, DN 51, 2/LeLv 46, Noljakka, 1942.

[KSaarni]

A good tale of the final lesion of that aircraft. I’m surprised that almost all of the crew were able to evade capture and return to their lines. The pilot’s tale sounds like that of so many US airmen in Vietnam. Last known to be alive, but ultimate fate unknown.

Indeed, but they were very close to their own lines also + it was still summer, meaning warm in the woods. Would this have happened further away and in the winter, the outcome would not have been as good.

Hello Kari! What incredible information. I thank you profusely for such invaluable research, the extraordinary crafting of narrative and photographic discovery.

Thanks Bruce, it was an interesting "journey". And a practical example, books are still important. Practically nothing of the information can be found on the internet...

FINNISH AIR FORCE MUSEUM DIGITAL ARCHIVE

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the museum, we have opened a digital archive with more than 8,000 photos and airplane manuals for the public. The archive will also be complemented by new digitizations in the future. Low resolution versions of the photos have been uploaded.

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/f ... sp=sharing

Interesting, I can see from the Do-17Z folder, that many pictures are scanned from the same material I have. If you see there a pic you would want to have in a bigger format, let me know I might be able to provide you a bigger one!

Thanks for that info Kari, a build is always better for me when I can tie a name and face to it, one reason I enjoy aircraft more than armor it's alot easier to find who crewed them.

Thanks Clint, that is absolutely true.. I was thinking the same yesterday diving into the story of DN-51. This you could not really do of a certain tank etc..

- Kari

[speedgraflex]

[KSaarni]

I would say it's a match !



- Kari

[KSaarni]

It's not in German camo, but as we are heading towards winter months, the picture is valid! :-)



- Kari

Only now I paid attention to this, it is actually the DN-51 !




- Kari

[jkim]

Nice work on the colors Bruce! Note the wavy demarcation line in the photo that Kari just posted... challenging to do in 1/72!

[Stikpusher]

A good tale of the final lesion of that aircraft. I’m surprised that almost all of the crew were able to evade capture and return to their lines. The pilot’s tale sounds like that of so many US airmen in Vietnam. Last known to be alive, but ultimate fate unknown.

Indeed, but they were very close to their own lines also + it was still summer, meaning warm in the woods. Would this have happened further away and in the winter, the outcome would not have been as good.
- Kari

Yes, I’m sure the proximity to friendly territory, not to mention weather, was a huge factor in successful escape and evasion for the crew that survived. But passage thru both enemy and friendly lines is a very risky endeavor. Trigger happy sentries on both sides are threat. It sounds like this area was something of a no mans land with very porous lines and positions.

Thanks for that info Kari, a build is always better for me when I can tie a name and face to it, one reason I enjoy aircraft more than armor it's alot easier to find who crewed them.

Thanks Clint, that is absolutely true.. I was thinking the same yesterday diving into the story of DN-51. This you could not really do of a certain tank etc..

- Kari

While there not as many tales of armor, they are out there. Wittman’s Tigers in Normandy probably being the most famous. Or Otto Carius’ Tiger. There are Creighton Abrams various M4 Sherman’s named Thunderbolt that he commanded across France, Belgium, and into Germany. Or the Sherman Jumbo Cobra King that led the way into Bastogne. The semi anonymous crews of the Köln cathedral Sherman, Pershing and Panther that were filmed in their fight. The Israeli Centurions in the Golan Heights at the Valley of Tears, or the M1A1s of Medina Ridge and 73 Easting. It can be done.

[speedgraflex]

Well spotted, Kari. I studied your photo after you first posted it but did not make the connection! I am excited to have that beautiful photograph as a guide. Thank you so much. Sincerely.

John, You brought up a great question. I have done a few prelimary research attempts, and I now have the Valiant Airframe Manual for the Do 17 to help, but I have questions, too.



It appears that the silver dope was brushed on. However it appears the silver dope may have been painted around the camouflage top colors. Is that a fair assessment here? This leads me to ask how to achieve a looser brush appearance to an area which will be essentially a metallic color... I was thinking this may be exactly what happened with the large wing sections of the P-51D, but I am not sure. My limited research indicates that this was a common practice. I was wondering how to achieve a brushed appearance with an airbrush, or if I should simply create a tone or series of tones in silver lacquer then use more Duo Oil in a light grey, perhaps to create a final large brush effect, or am I over thinking as per usual? I switched from AS-12 to Gunze silver lacquer for the rocket bells on the Moonbus. It’s a rugged finish, and it can handle a significant amount of smooth polishing.

Aurora “829” aka Moon Rocket Bus [Build date: 8/2016]

Rattle can Mr Hobby Spray / Silver :



These rocket thrusters were made by Paragraflex. These are amazing upgrades!



You fellas have taught me so much! Returning to Earth, Year 1942, now....

[Stikpusher]

Tough call, doing color analysis from a B&W photo.n But... based on looking at plenty of B&W photos of aircraft known to be in aluminum or silver dope, that lower surface just does not have that appearance. There is no reflectivity that the metallic pigments in the dope usually show.
Looking at photos of German aircraft in similar light and weather conditions, the RLM-65 underside color takes on a light color in B&W photos.

[KSaarni]

Just as an additional interesting detail of the DN-51..
DN-51 was the only Do-17 used in FAF that had the bottom painted in silver dope.. all the other Dorniers had the regular RLM-65

- Kari

[Stikpusher]

Just as an additional interesting detail of the DN-51..
DN-51 was the only Do-17 used in FAF that had the bottom painted in silver dope.. all the other Dorniers had the regular RLM-65

- Kari

Makes sense. I’ll bet that they were all delivered with RLM-65 undersurface. So then the question is, at what point in DN-51’s life with FAF was the silver dope applied?