Heinkel He-56, Norway April 1940.

[Jagdkommando]

Good evening all,

I'm in possession of a photo showing a Heinkel He-59 doing a lowpass over the Fjord that I live near by. The photo was taken by an infanterist on board a ship, so the plane is pretty close to the photographer.

Anyway, beneath the right starboard wing, I have spotted the letter "C".
On the starboard side of the fuselage, to the right of the "Balkenkreuz" I have spotted the letter "Z" or the number "7". Further there are another oval letter or number, but I assume it can be "C" like the one beneath the wing.
To the left of the "Balkenkreuz" it looks like there are 1 or 2 letters/numbers, other times it looks like there are nothing there (I assue there MUST be something there).

So, does anyone have any information about what unit the plane belonged to, or what the other numbers/letters could be ??

Thx in advance.

Jagdkommando

[Leendert]

Jagdkommando,

A Luftwaffe unit that used He-56s in Norway was K.Gr.z.b.V. 108.
I believe this means "Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung".

This special duties unit had code "7U".

Regards,

Leendert

[Jagdkommando]

Thank u so much.

But is there any He-56 units with the symbol "7C" ?? What about the letter "C" beneath the starboard wing ??

In April 1940, where was the unit based in Norway??

[Seaplanes]

The only unit to operate the Heinkel He 59 in larger numbers in Norway, was the K.Geschwader z.b.V. 108. They started operations on 9. April 1940 from bases along the North-Sea and Baltic shores in Germany. Most of the aircraft in this unit carried four-letter Stammkennzeichen, but a few is known to have carried their former unit codes like 8L+.
The unit code 7U+ was introduced in the spring of 1942 for aircraft in the K.Gruppe z.b.V. 108 (later T.Gr. 20). This unit was formed in June 1940 from the remainder of K.G.z.b.V. 108, K.Gr.z.b.V. 106 and 107.
In addition the Seenotdienst flew He 59's from Norwegian bases for quite some time from late April 1940.
From the information given, it is impossible to tell from what unit the plane in your photograph comes.

[Jagdkommando]

Hi Seaplanes,

Do u have a private email address??

Jagdkommando