Heinkel He-111 H-6, W. Nr. 4500, A1+FN, Lt. Erich Horn, 5./KG53, Crashed behind German Lines, Yukhnov, West of Moscow, 21st January 1942
Heinkel He-111
H-6, W. Nr. 4500, A1+FN, Lt. Erich Horn, 5./KG53, Crashed behind German Lines, Yukhnov, West of Moscow, 21st January 1942
If the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the most famous Luftwaffe fighter aircraft of the Second World War, then its direct bomber equivalent had to be the Heinkel
He-111, an aircraft which can trace its origins back to the early 1930s and its development as a supposed fast civilian airliner, due to the restrictions imposed
on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. Once the country was no longer concerned with the pretence of trying to plicate the other European powers, the
Heinkel showed itself to be a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ and thanks to its large, fully glazed ‘greenhouse’ nose, would become one of the most famous aircraft
of WWII. Possessing greater range than other Luftwaffe strike aircraft, the Heinkel He-111 would see heavy use during Operation Barbarossa and the air
battles which raged over the Eastern Front from 1942 onwards, but not always in its primary strike role. Due to the rapidly deteriorating situation for the
Germans, Heinkel He-111 bombers were also used for casualty evacuation and re-supply duties, where they would supplemented the efforts of the lumbering
Junkers Ju-52 Trimotors. This particular Heinkel has added rather effective whitewash blotches over its standard camouflage, something which would have
looked rather effective against the frozen Russian tundra from above. Whilst attempting a low level bombing attack against targets in the Kaluga area, south
of Moscow, this bomber was hit by accurate Soviet anti-aircraft fire and was forced to crash land, thankfully for the crew, safely behind German lines.
Although the Soviet High Command had a strong mistrust of the Germans, they did not necessarily want to do anything militarily that would provoke them into
an attack. Also, despite the fact that their massive air force was coming towards the end of a significant period modernisation and reorganization, this work
was still ongoing and on the eve of Operation Barbarossa, even though more modern aircraft were now slowly being introduced, pilot conversion and the
general organisation of the force still left much to be desired. With Soviet airfields in the Western districts regularly undergoing air raid drills, when the sirens
sounded in the early hours of 22nd June 1941, few on the seventy-six airfields identified for attack by Luftwaffe aircraft that morning actually took any notice,
with crews remaining in their tents sheltering from the rain, only rushing to their posts once the explosions started. These early Luftwaffe strikes proved to be
devastatingly effective, with reports sent back to headquarters later claiming almost 1500 Soviet
aircraft destroyed on the ground alone, figures which seemed so incredible that Herman Goering
had them independently verified.In fact, the figures proved to be a little conservative and as
German ground troops overran numerous Soviet airfields during their lightning
advance, it became clear that this figure was actually well in excess of 2000
aircraft destroyed. In the air it was a different story and despite flying
obsolete Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighters, Soviet pilots proved to be
tenacious and brave, resorting to ramming their German foes if
they could get close enough. This would prove to be the sign of
things to come and whilst initial German victories were indeed
spectacular, the Russian winter and the nation’s manufacturing
prowess and fighting spirit would soon turn the tables in their favou
