Heinkel III IG+HL. Crashed Eire 3.3.41

[Tony Kearns]

Hello all, hope I can add a little more.
Ernst Lorra was the pilot of the Heinkel 1G+LH which force landed at Co Waterford later, on 1 April 1941.
It was during the second attack on the vessel Port Townsville that Lt. Heinzl's aircraft 1G+HL was hit by fire from the ships and not by aircraft. I can confirm that Rudolf Hengst did send off two messages and also sent a message to 1G+AL but was not aware of its fate.
They had great difficulty in setting fire to the aircraft including soaking their parachutes in petrol and setting them on fire. It was not until Arthur Voigt fired at it and as explained by Rudi Hengst that it exploded and "got airborne once more".
After the war Freddie Heinzl, Arthur Voigt and Rudi Hengst married Irish women (the latter two to sisters) and lived in Ireland (Hengst for a short time ) Heinzl became part of the gliding community in Ireland and was an accomplished pilot.
HTH
Tony K