Need help identifying BoB He111 with three stripes on the tail

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Thanx to one of our EoE researchers, a new photo (to me) has surfaced showing the tail of a crashed He111 in a British salvage dump. It clearly has three vertical white or pink stripes on the rudder. This was a type of marking applied to rudders and upper outer wings of several LW bomber geschwader for the mass raids around 15 September 1940.

http://ihra.smugmug.com/photos/i-tBk...-tBkR4Mw-L.jpg

Peter Cornwell and I both think that this is one of two 5./KG53 He111s that were shot down on 15 September 1940.

Here are our EoE LW loss listings & the contemporary crash reports on the two candidates:

1a) 5./KG53 Heinkel He111H-1 (2771). Harried by repeated fighter attacks and one engine disabled during sortie to bomb London Docks so dumped bombs and belly-landed at West Malling airfield 3.00 p.m. Attacked by various pilots including: F/O R.W. Oxspring, Sgt C.A. Parsons, and Sgt D.A.C. Hunt of No.66 Squadron, P/O H.P. Hill of No.92 Squadron, F/L R.F. Rimmer, F/O V.M. Bright and F/O G.M. Simpson of No.229 Squadron, S/L M.V. Blake of No.238 Squadron, F/O N.K. Stansfeld of No.242 Squadron, P/O K.T. Lofts of No.249 Squadron, S/L J. Sample and F/O P.T. Parsons of No.504 Squadron, and probably also F/O P.W. Lochnan of No.1 (RCAF) Squadron. HS Gefr Erich Sailler and BF Gefr Herbert Lange both killed, BM Uffz Oskar Zilling captured badly wounded, HB Fw Rudolf Lichtenhagen captured wounded, FF Fw Kurt Behrendt captured unhurt. Aircraft A1+AN 100% write-off.

1b) He.111 Crashed on WEST MALLING aerodrome on 15/9 at 1600 hours. Markings A1 + AN (second A outline in white). Spinners red, three vertical pink stripes on both rudders. Fitted with two Jumo 211A engines constructed at Dessau, numbers 51034 and 15420. Following fighter action, port engine cut out through being hit. Large number of 303 strikes reported in wings, fuselage and tail. Aircraft reported to be in fair condition having ended with retracted undercarriage. Standard armament of 6 MG 15’s. All bombs dropped previous to crash. No armour plate found. Crew of five, three wounded, two dead. Standard instruments.

1c) A photo of this a/c, with the tail not visible, appears on P. 429 of Vol 4 of the "LW Crash Archive." My copy of this photograph comes from the Dennis Knight Coll, with the following caption: ""Photograph taken by Mr. Ron Lampand from his workshop in Springfield of the Heinkel exhibited in Horsham, October 4th 1940."

The 2nd possibility is this one:

2a) "5./KG53 Heinkel He111H-2 (5718). Tasked with forward weather reconnaissance for attack on London and both oil radiators badly damaged by fighters after joining the main formation to observe bombing results. Possibly that attacked by P/O R. Mottram and other No.92 Squadron Spitfires. Belly-landed on Trafford Farm, Benenden, 2.30 p.m. BM Fw Ottmar Maier and HS Gefr Alfred Hoffmann both killed, FF Lt Helmut Bähnsch and HB Uffz Siegfried Bauer both captured unhurt, BF Uffz Ernst Buttler captured wounded. Aircraft A1+LN 100% write-off."

2b) He.111 H3 Crashed at OLD TRAFFORD FARM near ROLDVENDEN, on 15/9. markings A1 + LN (L in black outlined in white) 3 vertical pink stripes on rudder. Red spinner fitted with Jumo 211 engine constructed by Mitteldeutscher Motoren, LEIPZIG, Werk nrs 38297, 38252. Fuselage werk nr. Heinkel no.5718. Aircraft crashed following fighter action and in spite of all radiators over engine nacells having the new type armoured slats both radiators were hit probably causing the aircraft to crash. Both wings were covered with oil. Fuselage broke into several portions. Aircraft appears standard for armour, armament and instruments.

Since the first He111, A1+AN, FL on a British Aerodrome and later was on public display, I think it very likely that more photos exist of it somewhere, although probably yet undiscovered by the BoB LW crash research community.

Does anyone have any information about additional photos of either of these a/c?

Here is another photo of a KG53 aircraft carrying these same three tail stripes on its rudder. This one is either A1+BA or A1+DA of the Geschwaderstab. If this is A1+DA, it was also shot down in Britain on 15 September 1940.

http://ihra.smugmug.com/photos/i-5xm...-5xmnXMd-L.jpg

Your help in locating additional photos of any of these a/c would be greatly appreciated. Information that would help associate the tail in the salvage dump with either of these aircraft would be a big help.

I'm also seeking a better image of the photo of A1+BA/DA in flight.