Ar 196A-2 Captured by Norwegians 1940

[peter b]

Hi all,

I may be 'raking over old coals' here, but I am trying to unearth the Luftwaffe markings for an Arado Ar 196A-2 captured by the Norwegians in 1940.

Briefly, Oblt. Techam and observer Lt. Polzin were launched in their Arado from the Admiral Hipper late on 8.4.1940. At 19.30 the same day, due to lack of sufficient fuel, the aircraft was forced to 'land' on a fjord near to Lyngstad where it was commandeered by the Norwegians and the German crew captured.

The Arado Ar 196A-2 was W.No.0044 Unit: 1/BFGr 196. The Luftwaffe markings were later overpainted with Norwegian National colours and the aircraft flown to the Shetland Islands on 18.4.1940.

(The above information came courtesy of the Norway Air Museum archives at Bodo.)

Enquiries at another archive has revealed that Arado Ar 196A-2 W.No.0044 may have been CU+AF (with white '43' on the tail) before being transferred to 1/BFGr.196 and the codings changed to T3+H.

As the saying goes, "The truth is out there", but can anyone throw any further light on this incident and in particular, is T3+H the correct code of this aircraft?

I have one (not very clear) photograph of the Arado on it's arrival at Shetland and also an artists colour profile of how the aircraft might have looked in Norwegian colours.

Peter

[peter b]

Further to my last message:

Interestingly, the flight of the Arado Ar196A-2 from the Admiral Hipper on 8th April, 1940, coincided with one of the famous sea battles of World War II. Around 08.00hrs on that day. the Admiral Hipper was attacked by the diminutive British destroyer, HMS Glow Worm, under the command of Captain Gerard ROOPE RN. Against all the odds, the Glow Worm rammed the Admiral Hipper and the British ship broke in half and sunk. Captain Roope was awarded a posthumous VC for his bravery and, unusually,this was corroborated, commended and insisted upon by Kapitan zur see HEY, the captain of the Admiral Hipper.

Also unusually, the German ship remained in the area, throwing grappling nets over side to pick up survivors of the Glow Worm. I understand that the sea state was rough.

I also understand it was common practice to launch ship's aircraft when hostilities were threatened. Could it be that because of a) the battle, and/or b) the sea state, the Arado was unable to return to the ship and therefore ran out of fuel in a fjord?

Although the records show that the aircraft and crew were captured at 19.30hrs the same day, it may be that it had put down in the fjord much earlier.

Peter

[Steve Coates]

I don't know anything about this incident but Lt. Polzin is almost certainly Hans Polzin who was later the Staka for 3./Bflgrp 196. A few years back he signed a permission for me to access his personnel file at the BA-ZNS. There is no mention of this incident in there.

[Seaplanes]

I can only add that the incident is true. The Arado made a forced landing as described, the reason was stated to be difficult weather conditions. The German crew of Polzin and Techam were taken POW by the c/o of the small naval air detachment in Trondheim, Ltn. Kaare Strand Kjos and his assistant pilot/ltn. Magnus Lie, at Lyngstad. They were then handed over to the norwegian torpedoboat "Sild" that brought them to the town of Kristiansund for internment. The Arado was flown to Kristiansund by ltn. Kjos and moored. At 03.30 hours in the night to April 18, the Arado was flown from Norway to the Shetlands by ltn. Kjos, his brother 2/Lt. Finn Strand Kjos and an observer from a R.N. Walrus, ltn. Bush. They reached Shetlands after some 2 1/2 hours in the air.
The two Germans were set free following the surrender of all Norwegian forces in Southern Norway on May 1, 1940.