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Rare WW2 German nightfighter retrieved from the North Sea
The remains of a German night fighter from WW2 is salvaged in the North Sea off the Danish fishing port Hirtshals. Only one other specimen exists in the world.
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Credit: Wikipedia - Creative Commons
A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including an advanced VHF-band intercept radar. It was also the first operational military aircraft in the world to be equipped with ejection seats,
Jyllands-Posten | Tysk spøgelses-fly hentet op fra havet | 04-24-2012
Not only is the German night fighter, which was retrieved from the seabed off Hirtshals a sensational discovery but it was also a very surprising one. So much in fact that some regard it a âghost planeâ as there is no record as to why it crash-landed at sea and sank to the bottom at some time during WWII.
“
We've gone through all the sources we have, but have not found a single note on a crashed Heinkel aircraft.
”— Ib Lødsen
As chairman of the Danish Air Historical Society , Ib Lødsen examined parts of the landing gear from the German fighter, he quickly realized that he was looking at something out of the ordinary.
Surprising discoveries
"I had to go around the table a few times," he told Danish dauly Jyllands-Posten. "Because I could see that I stood with the remains of a German night fighter of which there only exists one other preserved copy, and it is in the U.S.â This is a Heinkel HE-219th
Highly advanced
The at that time highly advanced aircraft was designed specifically for night combat patrols. For example, the exhaust was hidden in a long tube, so the flames from the exhaust could not be spotted by the enemy. Furthermore, the aircraft equipped with ejection seats.
The remains of the aircraft were picked up from the sea last Monday by the salvage firm JD-Contractor. Today the wreckage taken to the Defence and Garrison Museum in Aalborg, where it will be cleaned and restored and eventually displayed.
Under 2.5 meters of water
The wreck has laying in only 2.5 meters of water about 100 meters off the coast of Hirtshals in Northern Jutland since the Second World War. The plane was already spotted by local scuba divers many year ago but at that point nobody realised what a rarity it was.
"Unfortunately, we have found that several items have been removed from the aircraft over the years. In the cockpit, all wires are clipped and the instrument panel removed. Also the tail rudder has been taken," says Ib Lødsen to jp.dk, adding that the wreckage of the plane is so fragmented and destroyed, it never will be fused into something that resembles an airplane.
The story is unknown
What happened to the aircraft and why it crash-landed at sea off Hirtshals aircraft enthusiasts are now trying to clarify . "We've gone through all the sources we have, but have not found a single note on a crashed Heinkel aircraft. Now the wreckage will be very closely examined and we hope that we find the aircraft's unique number, so to speak, its birth certificate." Once we have the number, the aircraft's history would possibly come to light.
Primary source ⺠Tysk spøgelses-fly hentet op fra havet
Further reading âş Heinkel He 219 on Wikipedia
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