Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
I have been looking all over for some 1940s era photographs of the Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg. I'd even settle for a history book of Messerschmitt that had some illustrations. I've googled, checked out Amazon.com and Amazon.de (Germany), and the Wikipedia. Found one book by Schmoll. Otherwise, Nada. (About a gazillion books on the aircraft themselves, it was and is a popular modeling subject!)
I model WWII Luftwaffe aircraft (1/72nd scale) and European Model Railways (HO scale). I have all of these wagon sets - from Liliput, Marklin, and Trix - of transported and disassembled Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters (plus the new 2009 Marklin releases on order) and have nowhere for these train consists to originate. I could simply freelance a building, but I would like to be somewhat realistic and have a structure (or series of structures) that would be reminiscent of the original.
Unfortunately, Google Earth is useless as these buildings are long gone. Even the EADS website - the successor company to Messerschmitt - only covers their history from 1999.
Do any of our European members know of a website or have some photos of these factories?
David Martin, Ph.D.
I model WWII Luftwaffe aircraft (1/72nd scale) and European Model Railways (HO scale). I have all of these wagon sets - from Liliput, Marklin, and Trix - of transported and disassembled Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters (plus the new 2009 Marklin releases on order) and have nowhere for these train consists to originate. I could simply freelance a building, but I would like to be somewhat realistic and have a structure (or series of structures) that would be reminiscent of the original.
Unfortunately, Google Earth is useless as these buildings are long gone. Even the EADS website - the successor company to Messerschmitt - only covers their history from 1999.
Do any of our European members know of a website or have some photos of these factories?
David Martin, Ph.D.
David Martin, Ph.D.
- phylo_roadking
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- Location: Belfast
Re: Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
Excellent idea! Those aircraft on flats are excellent models....but if you can't find pics of the factory...why not add an airfield or the corner of one to your layout???I model WWII Luftwaffe aircraft (1/72nd scale) and European Model Railways (HO scale). I have all of these wagon sets - from Liliput, Marklin, and Trix - of transported and disassembled Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters (plus the new 2009 Marklin releases on order) and have nowhere for these train consists to originate. I could simply freelance a building, but I would like to be somewhat realistic and have a structure (or series of structures) that would be reminiscent of the original.
A year back I did the baseboard and scenery for a very simple WWII based layout for a neighbour who wanted a Southern Railway "Dad's Army" themed one, like a small version fo the well-toured OO "Lulworth Camp" one on the British show circuit...though of course in NOTHING like Lulworth's detail!!!! I left scope for a line extension into a harbour, to use the old Airfix MTB kit....but he's having too much fun playing with the existing layout!!!
P.S. have you seen the UK bespoke builder than makes a resin/whitemetal kit for an OO wagon with "A" frames for nifty triangular packing-cased propellors??? If you're good at converting between scales, they'd make a good addition...or even just the A-frames and "cargo" transferred onto an HO wagon
Re: Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
There's a fairly good physical description of the Regensburg factory and its surroundings in Martin Middlebrook's book The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission. My cheap paperback copy also has a few pictures of the factory. According to Middlebrook, there was a factory airfield at Regensburg.
However, a scale model of the Regensburg factory, whether 1:72 or 1:87, would take up a lot of space.
You should be able to find a cheap copy of Middlebrook's book on Abebooks.
However, a scale model of the Regensburg factory, whether 1:72 or 1:87, would take up a lot of space.
You should be able to find a cheap copy of Middlebrook's book on Abebooks.
- Heimatschuss
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Re: Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
Hi,
did a google search myself (also for 'Bayerische Fugzeugwerke', the forerunner of Messerschmidt) but to no avail. Smells like a case of real 'skunk works' where no imagery was wanted. What I've found are some USAAF photos of the Messerschmidt works in Regensburg-Obertraubling:
http://www.opencaching.de/viewcache.php?cacheid=123869
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/III/AAF-III-2.html
Unfortunately I could not detect any useful aerial reconnaissance pics for Messerschmidt's works at Regensburg-Prüfening and Augsburg though these must exist somewhere in US archives.
Best regards
Torsten
did a google search myself (also for 'Bayerische Fugzeugwerke', the forerunner of Messerschmidt) but to no avail. Smells like a case of real 'skunk works' where no imagery was wanted. What I've found are some USAAF photos of the Messerschmidt works in Regensburg-Obertraubling:
http://www.opencaching.de/viewcache.php?cacheid=123869
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/III/AAF-III-2.html
Unfortunately I could not detect any useful aerial reconnaissance pics for Messerschmidt's works at Regensburg-Prüfening and Augsburg though these must exist somewhere in US archives.
Best regards
Torsten
Re: Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
Thanks Jon, I found a brand new copy of the Middlebrook book at Amazon for $12.18!Jon G. wrote:There's a fairly good physical description of the Regensburg factory and its surroundings in Martin Middlebrook's book The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission. My cheap paperback copy also has a few pictures of the factory. According to Middlebrook, there was a factory airfield at Regensburg.
However, a scale model of the Regensburg factory, whether 1:72 or 1:87, would take up a lot of space.
You should be able to find a cheap copy of Middlebrook's book on Abebooks.
In model railroading, unless one has tremendous amounts of space, we always use 'selective compression' to model structures or groups of structures. One has to give the impression of size without being true to scale in the aggregate due to space limitations. So even though each aircraft, locomotive, or railway wagon is to exact scale, the overall plant - also in scale - would be compressed. In other words a 300' building might be reduced in size to 200' proportionally.
David Martin, Ph.D.
Re: Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
Cheers David. Although you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. There's one picture of a hangar at Regensburg in Middlebrook's book, three aerial pictures, and three pictures showing post-raid damage.
Also, this chapter on Hyperwar, interesting in its own right, has a picture of the Regensburg factory:
Edited to insert this perhaps more evocative picture from the Erla Werke in Leipzig
...image swiped from WW2 in colour forum.
Also, this chapter on Hyperwar, interesting in its own right, has a picture of the Regensburg factory:
Edited to insert this perhaps more evocative picture from the Erla Werke in Leipzig
...image swiped from WW2 in colour forum.
- Cantankerous
- Member
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- Joined: 01 Sep 2019, 22:22
- Location: Newport Coast
Re: Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg
I found photos of the Messerschmitt factory in Augsburg after it was bombed by American aircraft:
https://www.historiathek.de/en/shop/pho ... ugsburg-3/
https://www.historiathek.de/en/shop/pho ... gsburg-en/
https://www.historiathek.de/en/shop/pho ... ugsburg-3/
https://www.historiathek.de/en/shop/pho ... gsburg-en/