IL2

Messerschmitt Bf-110C Zerstörer NJG1.8 (G9+BS) Operation Donnerkeil 01

Photo 01: A number of photographs depicting night fighters belonging to units known only to have been based in the West show the application of theatre markings normally associated with the Eastern Front or the Mediterranean. The white band around the rear fuselage and the white under the wingtips of G9+BS, a Bf-110C of 8./NJG1, are therefore unusual but may have been applied as a recognition aid during Operation 'Donnerkeil' when the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen sailed from France to Germany via the English Channel.