Nazi Plane Tailfin

[pawineguy]

TBH, if it turns out it's not actually part of a plane but was a replica souvenir item produced during the war, for me that gives it an interesting history all of its own. A different kind of item, but it surely tells us something about social history and the instant market for war souvenirs...

Somewhere, I've got bits of the Berlin wall. Or so the toturist tat shop claimed, anyhow.... I'm told by Berlin natives that since 1989 they've sold enough bits to build several walls. Everybody wants a bit of history, though.

One way or another, it is an interesting piece. Take a look at the stenciling, the bracket, the old rivet holes... if it's a souvenir then someone put a lot of time and effort into it. As to the bullet holes, I am not an expert, but all of the shots that I have seen of bullet ridden planes show all sorts of shapes on the penetration, depending on the speed of the aircraft in relation to the direction of fire. What does catch my eye is that the holes appear to be too square.

 

[Otter]

ENZ is the manufacturer code for the maker of the aluminium sheets. The number is the specific type of alloy, in this case Al, Cu, Mg alloy in 3mm thickness used in aeroplanes. Either someone really did their research or it did come off a plane.
The holes look suspiciously like the spike end of a pick axe to me.

 

[Dennis Young]

Try this:
http://www.chicagoappraisers.com/world-war2-memorabilia.html
I don’t know anything about these guys but it seems like as good a place to start as any. I’d be interested in knowing what you find out. J

 

[Luftwaffe-Jacket-Wanted]

If it would be real, a lot of collectors would have killed each others to buy it or compete with offers...
Just another wrongly made repro in the network. Sorry...no offence.

 

[Dennis Young]

Ok, he says he's not trying to sell it. I'm not even sure its legal to sell Nazi memorabilia in the States anymore.

 

[Stearmen]

Ok, he says he's not trying to sell it. I'm not even sure its legal to sell Nazi memorabilia in the States anymore.

Where did you hear that? All the gun shows here has lots of WWII NAZI memorabilia for sale.

 

[Stearmen]

ENZ is the manufacturer code for the maker of the aluminium sheets. The number is the specific type of alloy, in this case Al, Cu, Mg alloy in 3mm thickness used in aeroplanes. Either someone really did their research or it did come off a plane.
The holes look suspiciously like the spike end of a pick axe to me.

If it was made in the later part, or just after WWII, it would have to be from a downed plane, there was no aluminum for sale new in Europe. I suspect, some one painted the Swastika on, knowing it would sell for more, added a couple of bullet holes, probably from a spike. "voila", I personally took this from Goring when I captured him!

 

[Otter]

Fat Herman's personal plane! That at least doubles the price!

Your suspicion is the same as mine, genuine piece of plane with added on detail. Little bits of relic aircrash parts are regularly sold on eBay in the UK, quite high asking prices.

Edit: I remember being on holiday in Bavaria as a kid around '73 and being fascinated by a military junk yard near where we were staying in the Alps area. What sticks in my mind were some seaplane floats.

 

[scotrace]

If it would be real, a lot of collectors would have killed each others to buy it or compete with offers...
Just another wrongly made repro in the network. Sorry...no offence.

You've made your point.

 

[p51]

I once talked with a former British Ordnance Corps Captain from WW2. He was in Germany during the occupation right after the war ended. He was tasked with getting the local industry back on its feet and he found a cplace that had made insignia for the German military. They had all the stuff they needed, all the former employees were around and the town had electricity, so he started producing more insignia, sending a truck every week to Antwerp to sell their stuff to allied soldiers leaving for home, as their last chance to get something German if they didn't have it. He laughed and said, "Of all the iron crosses and Nazi party badges out there today among collectors, I bet I had many of them made myself!"
A pal of mine who collected German stuff was with me at the time and afterward he said no reference books mentioned this at all and he was shocked to hear it directly from the vet.
This Captain also told me that he stopped on a few locations on the weekly run to pick up other stuff, like stacks of helmets (nobody wanted the paratrooper ones, he noted, because they didn't look 'German' to the GIs), daggers and such. He suspected some of these items were probably being made new except for the helmets as he said you could find one of those in almost any ditch in Europe at the time.
But knowing that, I have zero reason not to accept that someone could have been making German plane sections like this, and the buyer wouldn't have a clue either way...

 

[Dennis Young]

Where did you hear that? All the gun shows here has lots of WWII NAZI memorabilia for sale.

Maybe its illegal in Germany, I don’t remember. Maybe I’m thinking of ebay. I don’t think they allow it on ebay. J

 

[Luftwaffe-Jacket-Wanted]

Its not illegal to sell in Germany , its just illegal to display the swastika on the net in Germany or on militaria shows in Germany...but you can sell it anyway , just cover the swastika with tape or a patch.
Just google and search for German ww2 militaria dealers from Germany...

 

[Dennis Young]

I gotcha.

 

[Stearmen]

I think we scared Pilot Error off! Maybe the Bartender can contact him with our new information? It would appear it is a genuine war souvenir, just Jazzed up a bit. I would love to have one given to me by a GI that was there, wouldn't you all?

 

[p51]

I think we scared Pilot Error off!

Probably, he certainly wasn't hearing what he thought to be true...

 

[pilot error]

Guys, I don't scare that easily.......maybe it was "doctored" 70 years ago. It's still cool.

 

[Monsoon]

I once talked with a former British Ordnance Corps Captain from WW2. He was in Germany during the occupation right after the war ended. He was tasked with getting the local industry back on its feet and he found a cplace that had made insignia for the German military. They had all the stuff they needed, all the former employees were around and the town had electricity, so he started producing more insignia, sending a truck every week to Antwerp to sell their stuff to allied soldiers leaving for home, as their last chance to get something German if they didn't have it. He laughed and said, "Of all the iron crosses and Nazi party badges out there today among collectors, I bet I had many of them made myself!"

I read something along those lines once before. Some German town was schwacked, people are hungry, GIs have food, money, etc and love souvenirs. Local industry makes insignia for the Wehrmacht and people probably put two and two together and it added up to "One Assault badge for three cans of spam."

 

[Stearmen]

Guys, I don't scare that easily.......maybe it was "doctored" 70 years ago. It's still cool.

You didn't read my post above. You have a great WWII Souvenir! I think the fact that it was hand made to sell to other GIs makes it that much more interesting. If you display it, you now have a great story to go with it.

 

[Otter]

I agree with that, the WWII version of trench art. Nice piece with an interesting back story.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Based on the flat head rivets, the type of aluminum and the stringer still attached on the back side, I would say that it is definitely from an aircraft. The smaller holes evenly spaced apart at the bottom would have attached an additional sheet of aluminum, thus completing the swastika. As for the brush marks on the paint, it is very possible that the markings could have been hand painted on. It was not uncommon to do that during the war. Especially if you were in a remote area and didn’t have a spray gun available. As for the “bullet” holes, they do look a bit square, but we are only guessing they are supposed to be bullet holes. They could very well be from a pick ax that may have been used to dismantle the plane. Let’s not automatically assume that just because it doesn’t match “the norm” that it is a fake.

I think more about Pilot Error’s uncle’s service locations and exactly what his job was in the war could tell us more about the piece.