Heinkel He111P Luftwaffe, Oslo, 1940

Scale: 1:72
Limited Edition: Yes
Wingspan: 310mm
Aviation Archive Special Features: Armament/Weapons, Detailed Crew Figure(s), Optional Undercarriage Down, Rotatable Propellers


Early in the morning on 26th April 1940, four members of KG 4 took off in their Heinkel He111 P-2 5J+CN from Fornebu, Oslo, to look for Allied activity in and around Ĺndalsnes. Having already been attacked by HMS Manchester, the crew were taken by surprise by two Blackburn Skuas of No. 801 Squadron, flying from HMS Ark Royal. Heinkel 5J+CN was unable to regroup with other Heinkels and the pilots of Skua A7-A unleashed a hail of machine gun fire on the bomber, killing the flight engineer. With the engines either failing or on fire, Pilot Gumbrecht had no choice but to belly-land among the snow covered mountains below. With Stock dead, the remaining three crew members escaped the wreckage and made their way down the mountain.

Over four terrible days, suffering from snow blindness and exhaustion they covered over forty-five kilometres until Norwegian soldiers captured them on 30th April 1940. For 30 years the wreckage sat undisturbed (apart from the odd souvenir hunter) until two authors set out to uncover the story of the crashed aircraft and finally managed to reunite the surviving crews of the Heinkel and the Skua that shot it down an encounter that was sure to be more pleasant than their first.
This magnificent aircraft has now been restored to a very high standard and is on display in the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection, at Gardermoen, Oslo.