This is a lovely recognizable part from the famous jet fighter a German Messerschmitt Me262. This is a fuel tank filler cap fitting which sat inside one of the fuel tanks and fuel cap screwed on to it, the part has no original paintwork remains but it still retains all of its original colours. The part has all of its original maker markings and part numbers all clear to see but does have some damage from the impact of the crash it has been very well cleaned and is perfect for display or any collection the size of the part is 4 inches long and 5 inches wide .The part comes with 2x A5 laminated information sheets and comes from German Messerschmitt Me262A-2a number 170118 of 2/KG 51 which was attacked by an American P-51 Mustang. The aircraft crashed near the airfield in Bavaria where it was based after being hit while trying to land at Giebelstadt Airfield. The pilot Erwin Diekmann died in the crash on the 21st March 1945 in Germany.
Giebelstadt airfield is located southwest of the town of the same name in Bavaria, approximately 250 miles southwest of Berlin. It's history began in 1928 when the German army was searching for a suitable location for an air station in the region The airport was built in 1935 and was officially inaugurated on September 17th 1936, being one of the first airfields in use by the Luftwaffe. At the beginning of World War II, aircraft from Giebelstadt flew support missions in conjunction with the German Blitzkrieg, flying many missions against various targets in France. Later, the base became a training facility for pilots, observers and radio operators, but from 1941 onwards, any mention of the airfield from maps was erased. The reason for this was that in 1944 Giebelstadt would become the test site for two new airplanes: the nozzle-driven Messerschmitt Me 262 and the rocket-driven Messerschmitt Me 163. Despite the secrecy, the allies were well aware of the activities carried out there so the airfield suffered heavy bombing attacks between 1944 and 1945, with extensive damage to the installations. When the end of the war was close and even before the capitulation of the German troops, the airfield was occupied by the American 12th Armored Division.
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