Alphanumeric Codes on Aircraft Question

[jslavick]

Hello all:

I am writing in the hopes that someone may be able to provide some information regarding several photos I recently received.

I have photos of an He 114b seaplane landing and being recovered from what I believe to be an auxiliary cruiser.

The aircraft is marked: T3 NH

Everything is very clear except the "T" so it may actually be:
I3 NH.

Does anyone have a reference which would identify the code and place this seaplane to a particular Kriegsmarine warship?

I would certainly appreciate any assistance. Thanks in advance.

Joe

[François SAEZ]

Hi Joe,
Best will be to ask at http://disc.server.com/Indices/3051.html
They will answer all your querries

François

[Simon O.]

Joe
T3 it is alright. It belongs to Bordfliegergruppe 196 which was the unit responsible for the aircraft allocated to warships. The trick will be in finding out the history of NH, which i'm afraid i can't help you out with too much.
Taking a look through what references i have i can only find mention of two auxilliary cruisers having He114's onboard. The Pinguin and the Widder. Hope it helps.

Regards

Simon

[jslavick]

Thank You for the Help!

Francois and Simon:

Thank you both so much for your assistance!

Simon: Wow! the Bordfliegergruppe 196 info is great. Can you recommend any methods as to how I can now find out about the "NH" portion of the identification code?

Actually, the Atlantis also had an He 114a on board from the beginning of the cruise until 24 Jan 1941 when the plane was damaged and had to be sunk by gunfire. She was then without a seaplane until she met Alsterufer on 26 Apr 1941 and received three crated Arado AR 196a seaplanes.

Any further guidance you can provide in helping to determine the full identity of the aircraft or the ship would be great.

THANKS Again!

Joe

[VerKuilen Ager]

Apparently the T3 assignments started to break down as the war progressed and operational ships became fewer. I'm looking at a photo of a "T3 FK" Arado 196A-3 shown in Karl Ries's Markierungen und Tarnanstriche der Luftwaffe im 2. Weltkrieg, Band II, which has it operating out of a seaplane base in southern Italy, apparently assigned to coastal patrol and convoy escort duty.

[Mike Kenny]

Hi,

I saw your initial post and as I couldn't help with the T3 I didn't respond - it's not in my reference book so I assumed it was a specialised unit.

I may be able to help with the NH though. I understand that for all LW 4 alphanumeric (XX + XX) codes, the first two characters designate the unit (Geschwader, Gruppe, Staffeln) the aircraft belonged to. The 3rd letter (N in this case) is the individual aircraft identity letter and is the one that will vary within a given Geschwader, Gruppe, Staffeln. The last letter (which ranges from A to Z) represents the identification code of the Staffel or Stab to which the aircraft belongs. H = 1.Staffel (I. Gruppe), which makes sense as it's probably the first and only plane of the group.

Source = Dr Alfred Price's "The Luftwaffe Data Book". All the aircraft codes I've looked up so far have made sense using the book. I may be able to source a spare copy if anyone is seriously interested (no promises).

Regards
Mike K

[jslavick]

Thank You!

Thanks for all the information and assistance. There is just so much to learn in this hobby. It is great that we have a place where we can share information when we have questions which are outside our areas of specialization.

Thanks a lot!

Joe

[Ralph A]

NH was also the standard Wehrmacht abbreviation for "Nachrichtenhelferin". Women's Signal Auxiliary.
Any wimmen on board?