Then and Now...and some airplanes

wendovertom · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:29 pm

Cool stuff - it would be neat to make a trip like that someday. thanks for sharing!

Tom P.

JimH · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:44 pm

On to Prague...and some more airplanes. It has also been 10 years since we visited the Prague Aviation Museum Kbely. It has improved dramatically since our last visit. The WWI era hangars are fully restored and have some great displays. Avia is well represented here!

Avia 109 The two place airframe

note the angle of the wheel compared to a German or Hispano 109, there are several differences between the variants

The Singe Seat Avia...K model wing? or do you think the bump on the wing was added to accommodate the different angle of the wheel?

an original Spad

IL2

JimH · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 2:43 pm

Some more from Kbely, no shortage of L-39s here either.

Zlin

before this trip I had no idea the Avia 109's were powered by Jumos...Our tour guide said the warehouse that had the DB powerplants burned down, necessitating the use of the Jumo.

Avia 262

this is a great example of an Avia 262, but what is really striking is how crude the construction had gotten.

DC-3/C-47 copy

Fw 190 power package

LA 7

Pathfinder · **Joined:** Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:35 pm **Posts:** 587

A question above about Normandy/D-Day Then and Now....look here:

http://www.6juin1944.com/album/thennow/index.php

Just about anything you'd want to know about D-Day is on Patrick's fantastic site.

airgord · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:33 pm

This is a very interesting post, thanks for sharing!

JimH · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 7:44 pm

Few more...These are from Prague and the siege of the Church of Saint Cyril. After Heydrich was assassinated the operatives of Anthropoid held out in this Church until they were given up by one of their own. Curda told the Gestapo where they were hiding. The remaining 7 lost their lives in this Church. The Germans tried flooding the Crypt and machine gunning them...the Church still bears the scars of the battle. It's another important bit that is definitely worth some time on google.

The Crypt

The upstairs area of the church

The outside

Back to Berlin, this is the site of the July 20th plot by Colonel Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg. The building, the Bendlerblock, was the home of the Wehrmacht and Stauffenberg's base of operations. There is a memorial in the courtyard where he was shot following the failed attempt to take over and end the war.

The Bendlerblock from the street

Part of the memorial

This then and now was taken from the story board in the courtyard. Supposedly, the "then" photo was taken around July 20th.

The courtyard looking out at the street...the statue is in the foreground

getting bored yet?
It's really humbling to stand in the places where all this happened, it's really hard to imagine things being that grim

Jim

Pogo · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 8:01 pm

Jim, your posts are consistently of the highest interest, good show man! :drink3:

I have to say admire your approach to life too.

This is fascinating stuff, please keep it coming!

Lightjug · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2015 12:13 am

What a fantastic thread. Thank you so much for sharing your pictures and comments

DH82EH · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2015 6:07 am

I couldn't agree more with Pogo and Lightjug.
Excellent thread Jim.
Thanks for posting this.

Some of the then and now shots are quite eerie.

Andy

JimH · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2015 2:01 pm

Thanks...only a few more left. Auschwitz. I don't think there is a darker place on Earth. It is when you visit places like this you realize how all encompassing this war really was.

Wannsee, it started here at the Wannsee conference. This house was built by Ernst Marlier in 1914. By 1939 the house was in possession of the SS and used as a vacation home for party members. It was selected as the meeting place for German officials to decide the "Jewish Question". On January 20th 1942, Heydrich and 14 other German officials met to decide the fate of the Jewish people in occupied German territory.

The House, just southwest of Berlin, 1916 and now, since the 50th anniversary of the Conference it has been used as a Holocaust education center.

The Room where it took place

Auschwitz was just one of the camps set up for the purpose of exterminating humans.

Auschwitz 1 was the Polish Army Barracks

The buildings are now home to various displays pertaining to the camp

all surrounded by electrified fencing and guard towers

JimH · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2015 2:21 pm

Auschwitz II Berkinau

This was the camp built for maximum effort...

Ruins of Krematorium III

sea of chimneys

back to Auschwitz I this is a rebuilt area of the first Krematorium...just outside of this building is the location of the gallows used to hang Camp Commandant Rudolf Hoss

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2015 2:40 pm

The Auschwitz photos are very moving. I almost come to tears when I see photos such as these. An incredible photo essay. thanks

redvanner · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2015 4:04 pm

Great pics Jim! I especially like the Now and Then ones.

Regarding the Avia 109´s just a little bit of background info: Originally during (late) war (1944) Avia assembled and made test flights of MTT (Messerschmitt) Regensburg built Bf 109 G-14 at Prague-Cakovice. Additionally there was the relocation of WNF (Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugbau, southwest of Vienna) production line of Bf 109 G-10 due to allied bombing into 3 unfinished railway tunnels near Tisnov, called project Diana. In November 1945 there were around 500 (unfinished) fuselages and 850 wing pairs. When Czechoslovakia could not get Soviet fighters soon enough, it was decided to build the Bf 109 as Avia S-99 (single seater) and Avia CS-99 (2-seater). In 1946, when Avia wanted to start production, they reported there were only about 160 fuselages and 350 wing pairs left (due to requisition by the Soviets and theft), plus 70 damaged 109s. Main difference between G-14 and G-10 was a different engine, G-10 used a DB 605 DM, whereas G-14 used DB 605 AM or ASM. Avia used the G-14 airframe, and the DB 605 D engine for the S-99 and CS-99, as there was a warehouse of a former sugar factory at Krásné Břesno where a lot of them were stored. This building burned down in September 1945, so only 21 S-99 and 29 CS-99 were produced. First flight of the first S-99 was on January (other sources February) 22. 1946. Due to non-availability of the DB engines Avia used the stored bomber-engines JUMO 211 F, intended for use in Heinkel He 111. It was not a good combination, but used as it was for free, I guess. Due to use of the different engine several changes had to be made, several others were done as well during production. Heat changer instead of oil radiator, landing gear axle, canopy. (Given the number of wings Avia had from WNF, I guess the wings were just G-10 standard with bumps to accomodate the different angled wheels). Overall production numbers of Avia S-99, S-199, CS-99, CS-199 are not reliably documented, sources state between 520 and 551 a/c, the production number for Aero seems to be safe at 129 a/c, numbers for Avia are given between 391 and 422, depending which source you want to believe. The last S-199 was produced in 1951. Israel purchased 25 S-199 in 1948 for 190000 $ each. 1. group of Israeli pilots was trained at Plana, 2. and 3. group at Olomouc.

Michael

Adam Kline · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:00 pm

The photos of the German Technical museum are awesome. Thanks for posting

JimH · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2015 8:55 pm

Thank you Michael for the info! 1951 is incredible considering what was on the drawing boards of the US and Russia.

Back to Berlin...The Haus Der Rundfunk...this was a personal expedition outside of the tour we had planned. Several years ago I picked up a copy of William Shirer's "Berlin Diary" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". Both excellent books and complete narratives of the events in Berlin as they unfolded. The Berlin Diary was written from Shirer's notes as he worked day to day as a war correspondent living in Berlin. Between 1934 and 1940 Shirer reported on the events unfolding in Berlin. During 1937 he was hired y Edward R Murrow and in 1938 he began broadcasting from Berlin. The Haus Des Rundfunk was built in the late 20's and opened in 1931 as Europes first dedicated broadcast facility. During the lead up to WWII Shirer was under direct censorship governed by Joseph Goebbels. He was tipped off that the Gestapo was watching him and under threat of arrest, or even worse he left Berlin in December of 1940. If you ever get a chance to read the Berlin Diaries it is a graphic account of day to day life in Berlin. Among the people he mentions broadcasting from the Rundfunk while he was there was Lord Haw Haw and Axis Sally. During our trip I tried to go to some of his old haunts but most of them are gone...thanks to the British and the 8th Air Force. The Tiergarten is still a popular park in Berlin and he often ate or drank in the Hotel Adlon. I visited the Rundunk, the Tiergarten and raised a pint for the work of Mr. Shirer.

The Hotel Adlon, one of Shirer's haunts, was completely gutted during the final days of the war. It was completely rebuilt and closely resembles its former glory.

The Broadcasting Center Haus Des Rundfunk

From the Tiergarten

Warbird Information Exchange

Then and Now...and some airplanes

Who is online