Identify a He 111

[BABIN]

Hello,

Could anybody identify this He 111, crashed (or emergency landed) late in 1940 or early in 1941 close to Nantes, West of France ? unit, mission, forming and fate of the crew, cause of the crash.

Thanks in advance

Pierre

[obdl3945]

Hi, Pierre...

Nice photo... Given that the starboard wing of this aircraft has been damaged and twisted to such an extent that we can see the undersurface, perhaps it's from KG26... ? The reason I say this is because KG26 were well known for showing the aircraft code in full under the wings, and we can see a rather large '1' on this photo, perhaps part of '1H', KG26's code. It's also an He111H sub-type, very likely an H-1 given that the intake on the side of the engine cowling is actually so far back that it is almost set into the wing leading edge. The small, almost pointed propellor spinners and the narrow propellor blades also point to an early H variant. Hope this is of help to you.

Regards

[Chris Goss]

Being in the Nantes area, I would suggest KG 28 (coded 1T). If you have a more accurate location, I might be able to help. For example, 14 Mar 41 (there are leaves on the trees which might suggest the date is more likely to be Spring 41), a He 111 H-5, Wk Nr 3802 crash-landed at Nantes due to engine problems; note that both engines have stopped

[David Ransome]

Hi,

Not that I can identify it but the 1 would appear to be the second part of the four item code and looking at the wing root appears to show a clear line between upper and lower camo colours. On that basis, and with it being an early model and fairly clean, I would think mid to late 1940 could be feasible.

Regards

David

[BABIN]

Thank you gentlemen for your replies

Pierre

[RT]

In your lucky country England Chris the trees hv leaves mid-march, in France we hv to wait till maybe 30. april a He111h-5 from I.KG28 made a belly-landing, the pilot is reported dead in the picture the right part of the "kanzel" seems broken....

remi

[Primoz]

The belly landed a/c certainly doesn't look like an H-5. It must be an H-1 (judging by the cowlings).

[Parabellum]

Hi Pierre,

Are you plainly sure about the geographic location (close to Nantes)?
I believe that, according to the position of number 1, close to the underside wing black cross, this plane may have been part either of KG 53 ( A1 code) or KG 55 (G1 code).
But Nantes is absolutely not on the straight backway to Dreux, Chartres or Villacoublay for KG 55 and to Lille-Nord for KG 53...
So, I wonder...? Is another KG possible?

[BABIN]

Hello Parabellum,

Yes, I'm sure this aircraft crashed in Nantes' area in 1940 or 1941, precisely 45 km NE of Nantes. I met 2 witnesses, who told me the precise location of the crash, and one of them had taken an other picture (less interesting than the previous one) of the downed He 111.

Certainly, Dreux, Villacoublay, Chartres, Lille ... aren't close to Nantes'area, but it could be a training flight ...

Thanks for your interest

Best regards

Pierre

[Parabellum]

Hi Pierre,
If it was in the vicinity of Riaille/St Mars-la-Jaille, effectively, it could have been the final result of a training or duty flight...
I hav'nt discerned any trace of emblem, on this pic. Nothing more, on the other photo?
After close examination of the present photo, I'm a bit doubtful as to the aircraft belly-landed through the fence ( no trace of broken foliage branches and no apparent damage to the electrical post in the background ). It looks more as if the plane has been pushed against the hedgerow after crashlanding on another place, with both motors shut off.
Cheers,