Mystery Photo

[GorMau]

I came across this photograph when clearing my Mother's house three years ago. My Father served with the 8th Army in North Africa in WWII. In his lifetime he showed us photographs taken there. However he never showed us this one or anything like it. My mother must have found it just before her death as it was placed near the armchair my Father died in in 1998 and I know it was not there less than two before my Mother died. The original like most of his war photographs is only 33.5 by 2.25 inches. I have scanned it at 600dpi and it would appear to be a German grave.  can someone decipher what is written on the cross and also on an object on the  ground in front of it. I have never seen anything like this and considering it was in the war zone while the fighting was still fierce it seems quite an ornate object and perhaps important.

[barryd]

Is that part of a propeller? If so he was a pilot or one of the crew of an aircraft.

[GorMau]

hi barryd,

I have no idea. Thought it was some form of wreckage. But someone has gone to great lengths  in the heat of war to creare what seems a grave decoraction and marker.

Is that part of a propeller? If so he was a pilot or one of the crew of an aircraft.

[PrueM]

Hi GorMau

I also thought it might be a propeller.

The name might be "Werner Dormer" or "Darmer" and his birth year looks to be 22.4.1921, and death 22.10.1942?

Is it possible to scan the writing (on both the upright marker and the "propeller") again, at 600dpi, and post here with no compression?  That should give us a larger image to view.  I've tried zooming in to this one but it just pixellates.

Cheers
Prue

[GorMau]

Hi Prue,

I have been  trying for ages to get a better scan of  the  parts as you suggested. The  Small size of the photo plus  large grain size is proving difficult. The original posted  is at 600dpi. Even at 1200dpi and .bmp there is no improvement. I think any scan would need grain and noise reduction software which I do not have. 

GorMau

Hi GorMau

I also thought it might be a propeller.

The name might be "Werner Dormer" or "Darmer" and his birth year looks to be 22.4.1921, and death 22.10.1942?

Is it possible to scan the writing (on both the upright marker and the "propeller") again, at 600dpi, and post here with no compression?  That should give us a larger image to view.  I've tried zooming in to this one but it just pixellates.

Cheers
Prue

[PrueM]

You could try posting as jpg anyway - us restorers have software that may help clear it up a bit.  Can't hurt - but it's up to you

By the way, I don't know why I said DORMER/DARMER as a surname 
I should have said BODEN/RODEN.  The "propeller" has much of the same info as the grave marker, and it looks like it might be RODEN on that.

[PrueM]

Have a look here!  Found him:

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ww2-nth-africa-luft-crash-photos-11-167451276

[apwright]

He was Leutnant Werner Boden, fighter pilot, born 21/04/1921, died 25/10/1942 and now resting in Vault 6 at El Alamein German War Cemetery, according to Volksbund.de. The photo appears to be a field cemetery, so he must have been reinterred after the war.
According to weltkriegsopfer.de, his unit was 9. Staffel, III. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 27. At the time of Boden's death III./JG27 was at Turbiya in Egypt.

The wording on the cross is:
Ltn.
Werner Boden
Flugzeugführer
in einem
Jagdgeschw.
*21.4.1921
gefallen am
25.X.1942

The prop blade comes from a Messerschmitt Bf 109 (likely the F-4 variant):
Leutnant
Werner Boden
* 21.4.21
+ 25.10.42
gefallen für
Großdeutschland [can't quite read this, but it's probably what it says!]

Adrian

[PrueM]

Well done, Adrian