Crash of a Bf 109E-3 on 28 November 1940 in Austria

[Boris Ciglic]

Some years ago remnants of an Bf 109E-3 were found in "Lower Austria" and it came out that the plane was from a batch of 25 Yugoslav Bf 109E-3a's produced in Regensburg in 1940, which were never delivered to Yugoslavia, but rather brought to German standard and delivered to Luftwaffe after May 1940.

Any hint who might have been the pilot killed in it on 28 November 1940, to which unit he belonged and where actually it crashed?

Photos of the wreck can be found at

http://www.sandyair.com/index.php?page=bf-109-e-3a-l-61

and

http://www.jagdgeschwader4.de/index....-109/e-3a-l-61

Cheers,
Boris

[Martin388]

Hello Boris,

Many years ago an Austrian saved the wreck fom the mountains site where it crashed. When I saw it in the 80thies it laid sadly outside a kind of a big shed where incredible large amounts of Luftwaffe relicts complete and plane parts as well as all kinds of plane spare parts were collected.
Unfortunatly the contact to the owner broke apart many years ago and rumors have it that his collection was sold and disappeared.
It is good to see, at least the Bf 109E-3a survived.

[Boris Ciglic]

Hello Martin,

is at least the rough area where this plane was found known?

Cheers,
Boris

[Martin388]

Unfortunately, the only information I recall was that it was said to be have been recovered from Totes Gebirge (roughly translated as Dead Mountains, a lonesome and rather hard to discover mountain area on the border of the two Austrian Federal countries Styria/Upper Austria). Recovery must have taken place in the 1980thies. The wreck is said to have been partly saved firstly by means of a (military) helicopter and than by road transport. That is all I recall.

However the loss region fits to be on the way between Regensburg to Wiener Neustadt or further in the direction to Beograd.

Hopefully there are experts who could trace the loss log/report from GQM loss register which might confirm or correct these stories/rumors?

[Matti Salonen]

This is the only Bf 109 E-3 reported crashed in Austria on that day, which I have in my database:
1940-11-28, Erg.JGr. Merseburg, Bf 109 E-3, 2372, Bei Klosterwappen, Absturz. Bruch 85 %.
Flugzeugführer Uffz Heiss, Otto, +

Matti

[Alex Smart]

Hello,

Heiss or Heise ?

I could only find Heise Otto in the "Luftwaffe Officers" 2012 version No Heiss, Otto -

HEISE, Otto. (DOB: 04.08.89). 01.06.42 promo to Obstlt. 06.05.45 Leiter of a Feldbekleidungsamt,
promo to Oberst with RDA of 01.06.45.

Perhaps there was another ?
Alex

[Chris Goss]

Uffz is an NCO

[Boris Ciglic]

Thanks Matti,

This is our man. W.Nr.2372 fits into the Regensburg block of aircraft from which both Yugoslav and Swiss Bf 109E-3a were delivered. Beside that, at one moment, when the plane was supposed to be delivered to Yugoslavia, it carried civil registration D-IWKX.
Martin, this was one of 27 aircraft taken from Yugoslav batch and sent to Luftwaffe after May 1940. The aircraft delivered to Yugoslavia carried temporary civil registrations. This plane apparently had the Balkenkreuze on fuselage and wings, oversprayed across Yugoslav markings. What was an aircraft from Merseburg doing so far south, we will probably never learn.

Cheers,
Boris

[Alex Smart]

Thanks Chris,
I only looked at the name not rank
Alex

[RT]

Is any STKZ on the fuselage to see, or is it the delivery Kz ??

Rémi