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Old 29th July 2012, 03:49
Larry Hickey Larry Hickey is offline
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Seeking date and incident info for He111H of 5./KG26 reportly downed on beach near Dunkirk during 1940-41

Hello,

I'm trying to ID the incident for the beach forced-landing of a 5./KG26 He111H, carrying the code 1H+FN, that was later stripped, partially salvaged and later abandoned on a wide beach, reportedly (by the eBay auction seller) as near "Dunkirk." You would presume that this would be around mid-1940, but II./KG26 was in Norway during this period, and didn't come south to take part in the Battle of Britain until about 1 Sept., 1940. It participated in the BoB and early Blitz operations until it withdrew to Germany at the end of 1940, thereafter moving to the Mediterranean. If this FL took place in the West, this must have been during this 4-month period. The plane must have been carrying bombs as the bomb-bay was later blown up as the plane, minus its tail and outboard wing panels, sunk deeper into the sand.

The only 1H+FN that I can find lost during this period in the EoE Luft Loss DB is: "Sept 11, 1940: 5./KG26 Heinkel He111H-3 (3935). Returned damaged by fighters during sortie over London. Crew all unhurt. Aircraft 1H+FN 40% damaged but repairable."

This doesn't sound like a beach landing at "Dunkirk" but it's possible that the Luft record is not very helpful, that the plane did land on its belly on a French beach somewhere near Dunkirk and subsequent efforts to salvage it were never completed. The initial condition of the plane would be consistent with 40% damage, but this one would have eventually been deemed a 100% write off, and it was finally abandoned in place after unexploded bombs in the bomb bay were detonated by the EOD people.

1) Does anyone have photos of this He111 on the beach before it was partly stripped?

2) Can anyone ID the specific a/c and crew for this incident?

3) It appears likely that this plane may still be there; anybody heard of a recovery of the remains of an He111 from a beach anywhere near Dunkirk since the war? If not, the aircraft could still be deeply buried in the sand.

Thanx for your assistance.

Regards,
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Old 29th July 2012, 09:58
Oberst Oberst is offline
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Re: Seeking date and incident info for He111H of 5./KG26 reportly downed on beach near Dunkirk during 1940-41

In the afternoon on 11 September, the weather improved and the Luftwaffe launched co-ordinated attacks lasting two hours. Bomber formations started building up over Pas de Calais shortly before 15:00 and soon afterwards, accompanied by more than 200 fighters, flew up the Thames Estuary towards London. Nine RAF fighter Squadrons attacked from about 15:30 but could make no impression until the bombs started to fall in the dock area. Once again, the Bf 110 forces pulled away to the south and formed up in circles in the Croydon area to cover the bombers' withdrawal. However, the Bf 109s of LG 2 and JG 51 had wasted too much fuel on the approach and had to brake off for their return to base.
The He 111s of KG 1 and KG 26 were thus left entirely shorn of protection fairly early in their run up over London, and upon them fell more than 60 Hurricanes and Spitfires of 17, 56, 73, 222, 249 and 303 Squadrons. Eight bombers were shot down and 13 damaged as they struggled to reach the coast; and the Bf 110 were so hounded by Hurricanes that they could give no effective cover.
In the confusion of battle, however, some squadrons - in particular the Spitfires of 41 Squadron and the Hurricanes of 1 RCAF Squadron - were ordered to engage too low and were attacked by enemy fighters, which shot down about a dozen fighters. Eight pilots were killed.
In the later part of the combat it was joined by fighters from 10 Group.
249 Squadron took part in this large an confusing combat. They reported that at 15:27, 11 aircraft of the Squadron and Wing Commander Victor Beamish, Station Commander, left North Weald first to patrol base at 15,000ft, then to intercept raid 54 with 257 Squadron and then to patrol Maidstone to Mayfield at 10,000ft.
About 2 miles south-east of London, 249 Squadron engaged a large compact vic of 50 plus He 111s at 19,000ft (the large vic was composed of vics of three). They were heading west when seen, but they turned north just as the Squadron engaged them, dropping bombs on the London docks and then turning south.
An unusual occurrence was that there appeared to be only a very small fighter escort (reportedly Bf 109s or He 113s), which was flying 10,000ft above the enemy bombers. In consequence, the fighters were more or less unmolested in their first attack. They attacked around 16:00 from ahead and at least four enemy bombers were seen to drop behind, streaming glycol. These were claimed as damaged by the Squadron as a whole.
Pilot Officer Tom Neil (Blue 2) (Hurricane V7313) claimed a He 111 destroyed at 16:00, which crash-landed in a field about 20 miles south-east of London. Pilot Officer William Pattullo (Green 3) and Flight Lieutenant Parnall (Red 1) each claimed a He 111 at 15:55, which crashed in a field by a railway station near Tonbridge. It was clearly the same bomber and it was shared between them. Wing Commander Beamish (Hurricane V6615/GN-B) claimed a probable He 111 at around 16:00 witnessed by Pilot Officer Hugh Beazley. He was the only pilot to be engaged by German fighters. Sergeant William Lance Davis (Hurricane V6682) claimed a Ju 88 before being shot down by the bombers, baling out at 15:58 over Beneden, Kent.
Ten aircraft and Wing Commander Beamish returned to North Weald by 16:40, Sergeant W. L. Davis was safe and only slightly injured.
249 Squadrons claims were possibly made against bombers from 5./KG 26 which lost two He 111 east of London on 15:48 when He 111H-3 2H+JN (WNr. 6903) (Oberfeldwebel Kramer KIA, Oberleutnant Betram, Gefreiter Schröder and Gefreiter Entrich MIA) and He 111H-5 1H+BC (WNr. 3545) (Unteroffizier Meusel KIA, Leutnant Wesemann, Feldwebel Gutacker and Feldwebel Giess MIA) were lost. He 111H-3 1H+EN was damaged around 16:00 and crashed at Gilze-Rijen with 40% damage (crew unhurt) while He 111H-3 1H+FN (WNr. 3935) also were 40% damaged but returned to base.
At 14:50 on 15 September, he made two claims when he claimed a probable He111 over central London and a damaged Bf109E southwest of Rochester.
He was killed on 18 September, when his Hurricane V6685 was shot down by Bf110s over Essex and crashed by the A-12 road near Furness Farm, Furze hill, Margaretting.
At the time of his death, Parnall had claimed 1 biplane victory and a total of 2.
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Old 30th July 2012, 05:02
Larry Hickey Larry Hickey is offline
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Re: Seeking date and incident info for He111H of 5./KG26 reportly downed on beach near Dunkirk during 1940-41

Obert,

Thanx for sending me the story about the mission that may have produced the photos of a 5./KG26 a/c FL on a French, Belgian or Dutch beach. What is the source for this account you quoted?

Unfortunately, this doesn't prove that the a/c in my photos is the 1H+FN described in this account. That is what I'm trying to determine. I think that there must be other photos of this plane down on the beach before salvage began, and perhaps one with a caption that further confirms that this is during the BoB.

Regards,
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