Trying to identify Heinkel 111 at Eastleigh

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6 years 11 months

Posts: 7

Hello

Can anyone help? We are currently producing a film with the Solent Sky Museum in Southampton. In the archive are these 2 photographs from Cunliffe Owen at Eastleigh, which show an He 111 in the factory. The factory was bombed on 11th September 1940 and it appears one was taken before the attack and one after. What we're trying to establish is which aircraft is it (We believe it to be G1-HP) and why was it at Cunliffe Owen?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]252365[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]252366[/ATTACH]

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Member for

15 years 5 months

Posts: 313

The first letter code looks like an ’S’ to me.

If the code is indeed G1+HP then it could be the second He 111 with that code. The first G1+HP was He 111P-2 of 6./KG55 that was shot down on May 13th, 1940 and destroyed. The second He 111 coded G1+HP was shot down over England on August 16th, 1940 and captured intact. It may have been the aircraft flown by Gerhard Pulver.

Member for

6 years 11 months

Posts: 7

Hi DC Page

Thanks for the reply I've just been pointed to this footage on youtube that shows the aftermath of the raid. There are one or two close ups of the Heinkel it shows the number 2217 on the tail plane. Would this be a serial number?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1IkpxYnJ2E

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16 years 2 months

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Apart from the Heinkel and a Hurricane in the first photo what are the other two aircraft? Henleys?

Member for

6 years 11 months

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Yes I believe they are Henleys ... not the most successful of aircraft.

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6 years 11 months

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Here's a close up of the number on the tail ...[ATTACH=CONFIG]252378[/ATTACH]

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Member for

15 years 5 months

Posts: 313

Andy I can't find a listing for this aircraft. It's clearly W.Nr. 2217, which is probably the whole W.Nr., but may be the last 4 digits of a larger number. I don't think the work code has a '1' in it. I think it appears to be GI+HB, possibly GI+HP but in your video it looks like GI+HB to me. I can't find either of these codes being assigned to a He 111 in any databases I have or am aware of. I've tried substituting different letters of similar shapes in positions 1,2, and 4 (I'm sure position 3 is 'H') and had a few matches but none of them are for He 111s.

Likewise I can't get any hits on 2217 but maybe it's a partial, so I'll keep looking for that.

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17 years 1 month

Posts: 113

It's G1+HP which force landed at Anningtons Farm, Bramber on 16 August 1940. According to our Luftwaffe Crash Archive series Vol 2, it was subsequently put on public display in Brighton so probably ended up in the factory temporarily whilst on tour. In other photos of the crashed aircraft in the book, you can see the werke number in the same position on the other side of the fin.

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6 years 11 months

Posts: 7

Hi everyone thanks for the help on this. Now pretty convinced that it is G1-HP that came down at Bramber. It seems to have done a tour of the region afterwards!

It's been pointed out that G1-HP was carried by several different aircraft. Wheres the best place to start looking for Luftwaffe records.

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16 years 2 months

Posts: 1,528

Its interesting to read the discussion about the various aircraft carrying the code G1+HP.
I've been looking at the EA series of reports written at Farnborough covering the engineering assessments of captured/crashed enemy aircraft.
The Werke numbers are rarely mentioned in the reports let alone used to identify the aircarft which tend to describe the aircraft by Type, location found and Squadron code.
G1+HP doesn't appear in any of the Farnborough reports.

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15 years 5 months

Posts: 313

I can’t confirm any of this, but cobbled together from various notes and sources:

G1+HP #1 - He 111P-2 W.Nr. 1992 of 6./KG55 - Attacked by Hurricanes of 1st and 73rd squadrons, shot down, crashed, burned, and destroyed between Mairy and Amblimont on May 13th, 1940. Of the 5 crew, 3 KIA and 2 captured wounded.

G1+HP #2 He 111P-2 W.Nr. PROBABLY 2217 which was shot down on August 16th, 1940. Recovered intact and later flown. Seen at Cunliffe Owen before and after the factory was bombed in September 1940.

G1+HP #3 He 111 W.Nr. UNKNOWN.

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6 years 11 months

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How interesting, so she may well have flown again.

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18 years 3 months

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I can’t confirm any of this, but cobbled together from various notes and sources:

G1+HP #1 - He 111P-2 W.Nr. 1992 of 6./KG55 - Attacked by Hurricanes of 1st and 73rd squadrons, shot down, crashed, burned, and destroyed between Mairy and Amblimont on May 13th, 1940. Of the 5 crew, 3 KIA and 2 captured wounded.

G1+HP #2 He 111P-2 W.Nr. PROBABLY 2217 which was shot down on August 16th, 1940. Recovered intact and later flown. Seen at Cunliffe Owen before and after the factory was bombed in September 1940.

G1+HP #3 He 111 W.Nr. UNKNOWN.

DC P The aircraft marked 2217 seen in the film of the bombed Cunliffe Owen factory had a severely damaged fuselage which would have required a huge effort to repair, so was this one really repaired and flown again later.
Richard

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7 years 6 months

Posts: 97

Hi, it would help if the various "notes and sources" which contain the information that states WNr.2217 flew again could be listed so we can establish thier validity.

This is certainly G1+HP of 6./KG55 brought down at Annington's Farm, Bramber, on 16 August 1940.

A couple more shots, here, including a press clipping relating to its display in Reading for the Spitfire fund.

There are no references to this aircraft flying again and I am certain that it didn't.

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6 years 11 months

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Thanks Andy

Great photos and answers to the original question.

Andy

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6 years 4 months

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[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","data-attachmentid":3848581}[/ATTACH] Snapped on a trailer at Oakhill, Heinkel 111P-4 G1+HP of I found 6/KG55 was brought down during an attack on Feltham by fighter action at Annington Farm, Bramber, at 17.20 on 16 August 1940. Gunfire from S/L David A Pemberton of No 1 Squadron RAF and P/O Keith T Lofts of No 615 Squadron RAF had damaged the oil cooling system causing engine failure and killing 2 crewmen. An airman of No 49 MU was electrocuted when a jib touched overhead cables as the aircraft was being loaded.
I found this on the internet and because I know the area around Bramber well got interested and investigated more I then found a link to a video explaining more. The plane crash landed on Annington Hill ,near a farmyard known as Annington Hilltop Barn https://maps.nls.uk/view/101435157
The video tells the whole story https://it-vision.org/detail/aircraft-mystery-the-mystery-german-bomber-0CWs9j03IRw.html

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