|
Registration or Serial: Unknown
Operator: Deutsche Luftwaffe
Operating Base: Soesterberg Air Base
(NG1 Staffel auf
Kampfgeschwader 4
(NG1 Squadron of Battle Wing 4
(a Bomber squadron))
Base Location:
Huister Heide; 10km / 7miles from Utrecht, Holland
Current Airport
Status: Operational Military Airport (Royal Netherlands Air
Force)
(Soesterberg
Air Base was due for closure in 2007. However, this has been
postponed until 2009. Existing squadrons will be
transferred to Gilze-Rijen Air Base)
Current Airport Name
(until 2009):
Soesterberg Air Base (EHSB)
(Incorporated USAF Camp New Amsterdam until 27 September 1994)
Aircraft Nickname: Pedro
(Condor Legion)
Aircraft Type & Background
The Heinkel He 111 was
the Luftwaffe's main medium bomber. The He 111-H4 version was
equipped with two 1,100hp (820kW) Junkers Jumo 211D engines; although later,
this was changed to type 211F —a 1,350hp liquid-cooled inverted V12 powerplant.
This aircraft could
carry a
crew of five: pilot, navigator/ bombadier, nose gunner, ventral
gunner, & dorsal gunner.
The Heinkel He 111
could carry 2,000kgs bombs internally, plus additional munitions in
an external bomb rack. It had a top speed of 436km/h (271mph),
although this reduced to 405km/h (251.5mph) when the aircraft was
fully loaded.
Some of these aircraft
were built under licence by the Spanish manufacturer, CASA. During
the war, these aircraft were equipped with Junkers engines supplied
from Germany. Post-war, however, the Spanish-built Heinkels
(designated CASA 2.111) were fitted with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
Aircraft Accident Details
Apparently,
the Heinkel crew had been scheduled to lay mines in the Belfast
coastal area. However, shortly before reaching the target area, the
crew lost their bearings and were forced to abort their mission.
On attempting
to return to their base, the still heavily laden Heinkel failed to
clear the Solway hills,
crashing on Cairnsmore of
Fleet not far from Newton Stewart. The bombs / mines and other
munitions on board exploded on impact, killing all crew
members.
Those who perished in this accident were:
-
Leutnant A.
Zeiss (25),
-
Underoffizier G.T. Von
Turckheim
(31)
-
Underoffizier W. Hajesch (21)
-
Underoffizier W.
Mechsner (23).
|
Accident Date
8 August 1940
Accident
Site
Cairnsmore of Fleet
(711m / 2,333ft)
('Solway Hills')
Region:
Dumfries & Galloway
Nearest
town or village:
Newton Stewart
OS Grid Refs:
NX 504671
83 /
497673
(impact point)
Present Condition
Traces of the
impact point and tiny fragments of metal are all that remain onsite.
The last remaining wreckage (the tail section) was removed from the site
in 1979
for the North East
Aircraft Museum (NEAM), in Newcastle-on-Tyne. The
Junkers Jumo engine was recovered in 1980 and is now on
display at the
Dumfries
and Galloway Aviation Museum.
Related Links
Museums
Other Links
Detailed
colour photos of Heinkel He 111 type at:
Above: A Heinkel He 111 Bomber
Photo: 1940.
Published in Aircraft of the Fighting Powers Vol I.
Ed: H J Cooper, O G Thetford and D A. Russell Harborough
Publishing Co, Leicester, England 1940. (Courtesy,
Wikipedia)
|
