Bf 109E-1B of 6./JG 54 in August 1940. This squadron was deployed to Vlissingen in The Netherlands and frequently conducted dive bombing raids against targets on the eastern English coast. This plane was photographed after its left landing gear collapsed. Since the prop blades were not damaged, it seems that this occurred while the plane was parked. Being an E-1 model, this plane was outfitted with four 8mm MG17 machine guns and no cannons. But interestingly it was retrofitted with an E-4 style canopy and a dome-capped prop spinner. A bomb rack was also fitted. The camouflage scheme is RLM 71 and 02 on the upper fuselage and wings. A field applied scheme of RLM 70 and 02 squiggles and spots was painted on the fuselage sides, a style unique to the squads in II/JG 54. The "Lion of Aspern" emblem of II/JG 54 was painted under the rear cowling, an emblem that originated when the unit was the fighter wing of the Austrian Air Force before Austria's annexation into Nazi Germany. The emblem was still seen on Austrian fighters well into the 2000's.
Note that this skin is a replacement for BH3841's "9./JG54" skin which was really a JG 52 machine. I'll do an version of that plane with the correct name at a later date.
