Messerschmit P.1099 in Finnish Service. Finnished pics page 4.

[dumaniac]

That is very very nice. Thanks for sharing.

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

Still painting the fiddly bits but it shouldn't be long.

[Old Wombat]

Nice!

[zenrat]

All parts now attached.  Just needs some licks of paint.

[zenrat]

Messerschmitt P.1099 in Finnish service.

Messerschmitt P.1099 - 17 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

1945.  As the Red Army rolled across Germany they behaved like most men; gathering up anything they thought might come in usefull, and shipping it back to the Motherland where more often than not it ended up gathering dust in a shed.
Amongst the items collected was a prototype jet powered Messerschmitt heavy fighter based on the Me 262, the P.1099 (or as it was known to the snappily named Central Committee for the Cataloguing and Assessment of Acquired War Prizes, 1945-Z79B48532B-1).
Using parts from similarly acquired Ju-88, Me 262 and Me 110 nightfighters, Red Army technicians put a radar installation together and the resulting combination then sent to the Finnish border for operational trials.

Messerschmitt P.1099 - 1 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Unfortunately for the Soviets the pilot chosen to carry out the trials confused East and West, turned the wrong way and put down by mistake at the Suomen Ilmavoimat base at Utti.
The Ilmavoimat night fighter force at the time consisted of Messerschmitt Me 109Gs so they were excited to get a radar equipped jet to play with and so were keen to keep it.
The aircraft was hastily painted in the current night fighter scheme of Black & Dark Green over Grey and the squadrons pilot's hurried to put as many hours as they could on it before it was taken away from them.

Messerschmitt P.1099 - 12 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

While they were having some fun intercepting international flights out of Helsinki and Tallinn, and buzzing the Iron Curtain the official line regarding the aircraft was that they didn't have it, nobody had seen where it went, no-one could prove they had it, and anyway that was an experimental Me.109.  And even if it was a P.1099 it was a different one which they'd had since the Germans gave it to them in 1944.  So there.

Messerschmitt P.1099 - 5 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

All of which was immaterial as the built by slave labour Jumo 004s very quickly wore out resulting in the aircraft being grounded for lack of spare parts.  However, before it was put back in a hanger and dismantled for study Överfältväbel Joonas Kylmäkorpi took it up for one last spin (his mother was flying out of Helsinki that night and he wanted to wave her off).  With Undersergeant Petri Kokko in the back seat he was heading out over the Baltic in order to approach Helsinki from the South when the Starboard engine exploded.  With shrapnel having shredded the fuselage severing all control cables the crew baled out parachuting to safety before being picked up by a Soviet "trawler" after a chilly half hour in the choppy waters of the Baltic.  It is presumed the remains of the airframe are lying at the bottom of the sea.

Messerschmitt P.1099 - 3 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Model.
Revell Messerschmitt Me P.1099 B/1 "Heavy Armour".
Antlers from Hasegawa Ju 88G.6.
Transfers from Airfix Messerschmitt Me 109G.
Messerschmitt P.1099 - 20 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
Messerschmitt P.1099 - 21 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[PR19_Kit]

GREAT Stuff Fred. 

Love the backstory too, trips nicely off the tongue. That main landing gear looks like it could support a Panzer, let alone a night fighter. 

[Leading Observer]

To misquote a fairly well known film "This is not the Messerschmidt you are looking for" Excellent work

[Dizzyfugu]

What a bulky beast - very nice! 

[Rheged]

Yet another impressive offering from the Zenrat workshops. 

[Hotte]

Very nice suomi Me 

Hotte

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

[NARSES2]

That's nice, and I like the way you've portrayed it in post war Finnish "roundels" rather than the perhaps more obvious choice of using the swastika.

Now you mustn't leave us on tenterhooks. What happened to the crew after they were picked up ? 

[TomZ]

Looks very good Fred!

TomZ

[AndrewF]

Excellent. Looks great.

[scooter]

That's nice, and I like the way you've portrayed it in post war Finnish "roundels" rather than the perhaps more obvious choice of using the swastika.

Now you mustn't leave us on tenterhooks. What happened to the crew after they were picked up ? 

Смерть Шпионам!