Mixed photo's of Swedish Airforce Heinkel He 115's

Heinkel He 115A2 Swedish AF Wasserflugstaffel F102 WNr 3026 Sweden May 1939 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce 102 archipelago of Stockholm Sweden 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce 106 moored Sweden 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce 106 WNr 3031 at Sweden 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce 106 WNr 3031 before take off Sweden 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce 107 archipelago of Stockholm Sweden 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce 109 taking off Sweden 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce at Galo archipelago of Stockholm Sweden 01

Heinkel He 115 Swedish Airforce observer with 7.9mm machine gun Sweden 01

The Swedish Air Force

T 2 - Heinkel He 115 (1939-1952) Page 7 (7)

The T 1 was not a success, but had at least given the experience that a new torpedo aircraft had to be twin engined. The choice for the successor to the T 1 fell on another Heinkel design, the He 115. Twelve aircraft of the variant Heinkel He 115 A-2 were ordered in the summer of 1938. The dozen Heinkels were delivered to Wing F 2 at Hägernäs near Stockholm from April to October 1939. The Swedish designation was T 2. They got the Air Force numbers 101-112. Further six aircraft were ordered, but were never delivered due to the outbreak of WWII.

About 400 He 115 were manufactured between 1937 and 1944. All, except six aircraft for Norway and the twelve for Sweden, were built for the German Luftwaffe. He 115 was a big aircraft with weak defensive armament. It was an easy prey for the Allied fighter aircraft and suffered from heavy losses.

The variant for the Swedish Air Force, He 115 A-2 was equipped with two BMW 132 K engines, each delivering 850 hp. This engine was a German licence manufactured Pratt & Whitney Hornet. The armament consisted of two moveable 8 mm machine guns and one torpedo m/38 or m/41. As an alternative to the torpedo, two 250 kg bombs could be carried. The crew consisted of three; pilot, observer and radio operator/gunner.

The trials were very successful. The He 115 showed itself to be a sturdy aircraft that behaved well both in the air and on water. They made an invaluable contribution to the neutrality guard during the WWII. Except for torpedo launchings missions, the aircraft also were intended to be used as a bomber, smoke screening and long distance reconnaissance missions. Unfortunately, five of the twelve aircraft were lost behind repair in crashes.

On the 9th of April 1940, Germany occupied both Denmark and the most important parts of Norway in a lightning attack - operation Weserübung. In connection to this, Germany dictated a number of terms to Sweden, terms which were impossible for the Swedish government to agree with. The Germans demanded, for instance, that Sweden did not mobilize further troops. Germany demanded also Sweden to let three railway trains each of 30-40 wagons loaded with war material to be transferred trough Sweden to Narvik.

The Swedish refusal resulted in a crisis in the relationship between Sweden and Germany. As a war situation seemed possible, the T 2s left their permanent base at Hägernäs. They were relocated to Gålö, a war base in the archipelago south of Stockholm. The work to enlarge the Gålö base started immediately. Until more workshops and living quarters were built ashore, the navy ships Dristigheten and Rane was use as floating accommodation.

As alternative bases, Märsgarn (south of Gålö, see chart at page 5), Gryt and Loftahammar were also used during the years of preparedness. The story of the Lucerna war base, see page 6.

Other war bases were also used. The widespread archipelago provided many suitable places for operations and good camouflage of the aircraft and equipment.

The aircraft were based off F 2 at Hägernäs until the WWII was over.

List of aircraft in the Swedish Air Force

Air Force Number Werk Number Delivered Approved Written off Due to Running time (h) Markings m/37 Markings m/40
101 3026 1939-04-24 1939-06-20 1939-11-21 Crash 80 2 - 21 2 -1
102 3027 1939-06-29 1939-06-30 1952-12-13 Bad condition 1702 2 - 22 2 - 2
103 3028 1939-06-22 1939-06-27 1948-06-17 Full running time Full 2 - 23 2 - 3
104 3029 1939-06-29 1939-06-30 1943-09-10 Crash 713 2 - 24 2 - 4
105 3030 1939-08-10 1939-08-15 1941-12-12 Crash 360 2 - 25 2 - 5
106 3031 1939-08-01 1939-08-04 1952-01-23 Bad condition 1377 2 - 26 2 - 6
107 3032 1939-08-22 1939-08-25 1944-09-13 Crash 808 2 - 27 2 - 7
108 3033 1939-08-26 1939-08-29 1948-05-21 Spare parts a/c 1001 2 - 28 2 - 8
108 3034 1939-09-21 1939-09-26 1944-01-22 Crash 498 2 - 29 2 - 9
110 3035 1939-09-29 1939-10-03 1949-12-14 High man. costs 1063 2 - 30 2 - 10
111 3036 1939-10-06 1939-10-10 1949-04-13 No further maintenance 892 2 - 31 2 - 11
112 3037 1939-10-17 1939-10-20 1951-02-15 High man. costs 1444 2 - 32 2 - 12

    Heinkel He 111 Bibliography: +

  • Andersson, Lennart (2008), A History of Chinese Aviation: Encyclopedia of Aircraft and Aviation in China to 1949, Taipei, Republic of China: AHS of ROC, ISBN 978-957-28533-3-7
  • Bergström, Christer. Bagration to Berlin - The Final Air Battle in the East: 1944-1945. London: Chevron/Ian Allan, 2008. ISBN 978-1-903223-91-8.
  • Bergstrom, Christer. Barbarossa - The Air Battle: July December 1941. London: Chevron/Ian Allan, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85780-270-2.
  • Bergström, Christer. Kursk - The Air Battle: July 1943. London: Chevron/Ian Allan, 2007. ISBN 978-1-903223-88-8.
  • Bergström, Christer. Stalingrad - The Air Battle: 1942 through January 1943. London: Chevron Publishing Limited, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85780-276-4.
  • Bergström, Christer, Andrey Dikov and Vladimir Antipov. Black Cross Red Star: Air War Over the Eastern Front: Everything For Stalingrad, Volume 3. London: Eagle Editions, 2006. ISBN 978-0-9761034-4-8.
  • Bridgeman, Leonard (1946), The Heinkel He 111 H, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II, London: Studio, ISBN 1-85170-493-0
  • The Classic Heinkel:Part Two - From First to Second Generation. Air International, September 1987, pp. 128-136. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. ISSN 0306-5634.
  • Cruz, Gonzala Avila. "Pegqenos and Grandes: Earlier Heinkel He 111s in Spanish Service". Air Enthusiast, No. 77, September/October 1998, pp. 29-35. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • de Zeng, H.L., D.G. Stanket and E.J. Creek. Bomber Units of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945: A Reference Source, Volume 1. London: Ian Allan Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85780-279-5.
  • de Zeng, H.L., D.G. Stanket and E.J. Creek. Bomber Units of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945: A Reference Source, Volume 2. London: Ian Allan Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-903223-87-1.
  • Donald, David (1998). An Industry of Prototypes: Heinkel He 119. Wings of Fame. 12. London/Westport, Connecticut: Aerospace Publishing. pp. 30-35. ISBN 1-86184-021-7.
  • Dressel, Joachim and Manfred Griehl. Bombers of the Luftwaffe. London: DAG Publications, 1994. ISBN 1-85409-140-9.
  • Griehl, Manfred (2006). Heinkel He 111: The Early variants A-G and J of the Standard Bomber Aircraft of the Luftwaffe in World War II. World War II Combat Aircraft Photo Archive ADC 004. Part 1. Ravensburg, Germany: Air Doc, Laub GmbH. ISBN 3-935687-43-5.
  • Griehl, Manfred (2008) [1994]. Heinkel He 111: P and Early H variants of the Standard Bomber Aircraft of the Luftwaffe in World War II. World War II Combat Aircraft Photo Archive. Part 2. Ravensburg, Germany: Air Doc, Laub GmbH. ISBN 978-3-935687-46-1. ADC 007.
  • Hayward, Joel S.A. Stopped at Stalingrad: The Luftwaffe and Hitler's Defeat in the East, 1942-1943 (Modern War Studies). Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1998 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7006-0876-1); 2001 (paperback, ISBN 0-7006-1146-0).
  • Heinkel He 111(film). Network Projects Production, 1993.
  • Hooton, E.R. Luftwaffe at War, Blitzkrieg in the West: Volume 2. London: Chevron/Ian Allan, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85780-272-6.
  • Hooton, E.R. Luftwaffe at War, Gathering Storm 1933-39: Volume 1. London: Chevron/Ian Allan, 2007. ISBN 978-1-903223-71-0.
  • Joachim Dressel and Manfred Griehl. Bombers of the Luftwaffe. DAG Publications. 1994. ISBN 1-85409-140-9
  • Janowicz, Krzysztof (2004), Heinkel He 111: Volume 1, Lublin, Poland: Kagero, ISBN 978-83-89088-26-0
  • Kober, Franz. Heinkel He 111 Over all Fronts. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History. 1992. ISBN 978-0-88740-313-2.
  • Mackay, Ron (2003), Heinkel He 111, Crowood Aviation Series, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press, ISBN 1-86126-576-X
  • Munson, Kenneth. Fighters and Bombers of World War II. London: Peerage Books, 1983. ISBN 0-907408-37-0.
  • Nowarra, Heinz J (1990), The Flying Pencil, Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-88740-236-4
  • Nowarra, Heinz J (1980), Heinkel He 111: A Documentary History, London: Jane's Publishing, ISBN 0-7106-0046-1
  • Punka, György (2002), Heinkel He 111 in action, Carrolton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., ISBN 0-89747-446-5
  • Regnat, Karl-Heinz (2004), Black Cross Volume 4: Heinkel He 111, Hersham, Surrey, UK: Midland Publishers, ISBN 978-1-85780-184-2
  • Rise and Fall of the German Air Force: 1933 - 1945 (Public Record Office War Histories). London: Public Records Office, 2000. ISBN 978-1-905615-30-8.
  • Smith, J. Richard and Anthony L. Kay. German Aircraft of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55750-010-X.
  • Warsitz, Lutz (2009), The First Jet Pilot: The Story of German Test Pilot Erich Warsitz, London: Pen and Sword Books Ltd., ISBN 978-1-84415-818-8 (Including early developments and test flights of the Heinkel He 111 fitted with rocket boosters)
  • Wagner, Ray and Nowarra, Heinz. German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945.New York City, Doubleday. ISBN

    Magazines: +

  • Airfix Magazines (English) - http://www.airfix.com/
  • Avions (French) - http://www.aerostories.org/~aerobiblio/rubrique10.html
  • EDUARD - https://www.eduard.com/
  • EDUARD - Are in my opinion are what modelers are looking for loads of pictures and diagrams and have become a leading historical information source. *****
  • FlyPast (English) - http://www.flypast.com/
  • Flugzeug Publikations GmbH (German) - http://vdmedien.com/flugzeug-publikations-gmbh-hersteller_verlag-vdm-heinz-nickel-33.html
  • Flugzeug Classic (German) - http://www.flugzeugclassic.de/
  • Klassiker (German) - http://shop.flugrevue.de/abo/klassiker-der-luftfahrt
  • Luftwaffe IM Focus (German) - https://www.luftfahrtverlag-start.de/
  • Embleme der Luftwaffe Band-1 (German) - https://www.luftfahrtverlag-start.de/
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://boutique.editions-lariviere.fr/site/abonnement-le-fana-de-l-aviation-626-4-6.html
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://www.pdfmagazines.org/tags/Le+Fana+De+L+Aviation/
  • Osprey (English) - http://www.ospreypublishing.com/
  • model airplane international magazine - https://adhpublishing.com/shop/store/magazine-backissues/model-airplane-international-backissues/
  • Revi Magazines (Czech) - http://www.revi.cz/

    Web References: +

  • eBay - https://picclick.de/ or https://www.ebay.com
  • Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com
  • Nordic Aviation in World War 2: http://www.rafandluftwaffe.info/
  • Photographic Site Airliners.net: http://www.airliners.net/
  • Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_111
  • Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_111_operational_history
  • Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_115
  • http://www.preservedaxisaircraft.com/Luftwaffe/heinkel/he111.htm List of He 111 survivors
  • http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/index.php/om_flysamlingen/utstillinger Museum with He 111P in Norway
  • http://ju88.net/ Museum volunteers site, click on: OTHER - OTHER PROJECTS - 111P
  • http://www.preservedaxisaircraft.com/Luftwaffe/heinkel/he111.htm List of He 111 survivors
  • http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/buvikvoll.html An article on a He 111 wreck site in Norway
  • http://www.battleofbritain.net/0017.html BattleOfBritain.Net He 111

 

This webpage was updated 20th February 2023

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