This Bf 109F Jabo of the 10./JG53 has experienced an undercarriage failure likely during the taxiing prior of the take-off for a strike mission (note the crushed propeller’s blades, sign of a contact with the ground on engine running). A sidecar is in background. Sicily 1942. Victor Sierra

Undercarriage failure

Jagdbomber (Fighter-bomber) Messerschmitt Bf 109F of the Luftwaffe’s 10./JG53, equipped with the Bombenträger ETC 500 IXb and already loaded with a 250 kg bomb beneath the fuselage, likely for a strike over Malta, on a Sicilian airfield, perhaps Gela, March 1942. Note the propeller spinner painted in Green 70 color whit a white segment. Victor Sierra

The bomb is in place

The nose of a Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 of the Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG53), the "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) Geschwader, parked on a Sicilian Airfield, note the engine cowling’s bottom panel open for inspection, likely Spring 1942. According to 4 April 1942 order of battle the JG53, under command of II Flieger Korps Luftflotte II, has 114 Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 in charge, 87 full serviceable, included a Jabo (fighter-bombers) and a Stab (staff flight), based at Comiso and Gela, and committed above all in operations over Malta and escort missions to Axis bomber attacking on British supply convoys. During the first operational cycle against Malta, November 1941-May 1942, the JG53’s pilots claimed almost 200 kills, in most cases Hurricanes and Spitfires. Victor Sierra