He 111H-20 crash near Björköby, Sweden, Januart 3rd, 1945

[Jørgen E. Larsen]

Hi guys,

I am trying to establish the facts behind a mysterious crash of a He 111H-20 (W.Nr. either 700520 or 700720) that occurred at approximately 23.00 hours on January 3rd, 1945, near Björköby northwest of Vetlanda in southern Sweden. No trace of the crew was ever found, which seems rather odd.

Does anyone have information about this incident such as from where the bomber departed, its mission, parent unit, its crew and of cause what became of them? Everything will be appreciated.

Regards,
Jørgen E. Larsen

[Lars Sundin]

This mysterious crash has been described in many Swedish aviation historical articles, all in Swedish as far as I know. As far as I can remember, very little is known about from where the plane came. But there are many rumours, tales of odd people seen in the surroundings after the crash and other tales. For those reading Swedish the article on http://hemsidor.torget.se/users/d/dead/bjorkoby.htm might give some idea.

Lars Sundin

[Seaplanes]

According to Bo Widfeldts book "The Luftwaffe in Sweden 1939-1945" this He 111H-20 had the W.Nr. 700520 (In a more recent book my Mr. Widberg he has corrected the W.Nr. to 700720 which are more in line with other H-20 series aircraft.). The plane landed at about 23.00 hours near Björköby on January 3, 1945, after having crossed the border at Norje. At the time of impact, no crew were on board and there are several stories going about what really happened. Apparently the crew must have parachuted well in advance of the actual crash.

[Alex Smart]

Hi,

Two crew said by one witness to have baled safe and been taken away in secret by Swedish .
Aircraft also reported to have come in from Russia.
Both refs I have have the Werk Nr as 700520, where does this new Werk nr arise from ? as wreckage was disposed of in 45/46.
Alex

[Seaplanes]

As long as I do not have the original sources used by Mr. Bo Widberg, it is hard for me to tell what is correct. What are your sources ? It could be interesting to have a reference.

[Jørgen E. Larsen]

Thank you for your inputs. The information I have originates from Bo Widfeldt and Rolph Wegmann´s book "Nödlanding" published by Air Historic Research in 1998. This specific crash is mentioned on page 202 where two Werk nr´s are given. Which one is correct I don´t know.

Regards,
Jørgen

[Knut Larsson]

Hey Jørgen

I am working with some stuff about Kampfgruppe III./KG 53 and I suspect that the H-20 very well could have been from this unit. The units main task at this time was V-1 rocket launch missions in the night.

At this time they also had some unknown losses not accounted for during those dangerous missions. I will look further into it.

Greetings from Norway


Knut Larsson

www.rafandluftwaffe.info

[Norbert Schuchbauer]

Hi,
I have 2 losses reported on this day from the Qartermaster General. They are only as corrections to earlier reports. Both are with KG 53 and only indidcate crews that were injured. There are no other losses reported on this day of units that could have operated He 111 aircraft.

03-01-45 I./KG 53 correction Uffz. Büttner Klaus F WIA
Uffz. Pönicke Herbert Bm WIA
03-01-45 II./KG 53 correction Uffz. Schmidt Paul WIA

Hope this helps,

Norbert

[Brian Bines]

I do not know if this helps a NVM gives that He 111 H-20 of 4/KG 53 w.n. 700570 code AI+BM crew of Uffz Heinz Krause was reported missing from an attack on England.

[Jørgen E. Larsen]

Hi guys,

Once again thank you very much for your help on this matter. Norbert do you have w.n. for the two He 111´s lost on January 3rd, 1945? And Brian do you have a date for the loss of 700570?

Regards,
Jørgen