The Luftwaffe’s ‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing’
Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates, and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.
After last weekend’s bumper Battle of Britain 85th Anniversary edition and Hawker Hurricane linked feature in Airfix Aerodrome, we’re taking things just a little bit easier this week for a number of reasons, mainly scheduling and holiday related. That being said, there is no let-up with regard to Workbench exclusives, as we have an appealing new selection of built model images to bring you this time around.
As we continue to retain a subject link with the Battle of Britain, or at least with one of the aircraft types which contested this aerial dual, we will be revisiting a subject covered just a few weeks ago, not just because we now have built model images which weren’t available at the time of previously posting, but because the kit is now in stock and available, and is in our opinion, unquestionably one of the most appealing kit releases of the year. Our latest Heinkel He-III kit release presents this famous bomber in H-6 torpedo carrying variant configuration, however, modellers looking to produce a scale tribute to the Luftwaffe’s most famous bomber currently have TWO individual kit options available on the Airfix website. We will be including details of both kits and their featured scheme detail options in this latest update.
We have double Heinkel He III kit release updates for you in this latest aviation ‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing’ edition of Workbench.
A transport aircraft secretly designed to carry bombs
Early variants of the Heinkel He III looked very different from the ‘P model’ onwards, which featured the distinctive fully glazed front cockpit section, the profile which became so synonymous with the aircraft.
The modelling of scale representations of aircraft tracing their lineage back to the tumultuous years of the 1930s has been a popular subject since the very beginning of our hobby, and continues to be so to this day. That was a time when most of Europe was attempting to put the horrors of the Great War behind them, despite the fact Europe appeared to be moving inexorably towards conflict once again, one which could potentially be even more devastating than the previous one.
Senior military planners who were guiding the reunification of Germany were not alone in their convictions that air power would have a significant role to play in any future conflict, and were determined that the new Luftwaffe would be ready and equipped when their services were called upon. Working under the restrictions imposed by the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, German aircraft manufacturers produced a succession of designs which were promoted to the outside world as advanced passenger and transport aircraft, but were clearly capable of being used with more sinister offensive intentions.
Crucially, all this clandestine work was giving the German aviation industry valuable experience in not only designing high-tech, world-leading aeroplanes, but also in perfecting methods for the effective mass production of such machines, clearly a more overt indication of their actual intentions.
The Heinkel Aviation Company were amongst the most accomplished aircraft design and manufacturing companies in the world during the 1930s, producing a succession of designs to compete for most contracts issued in Germany during this period. One of their most successful aircraft was the single engined Heinkel He 70 ‘Blitz’ (Lightning) four seat touring aeroplane, a machine which was extremely distinctive in appearance, and one which would go on to set several significant aviation records from the moment it first took to the air. Many of its distinctive design features would later be seen in a later, slightly larger design, an aircraft which would go on to become one of the most famous aircraft of the Second World War. It would also become synonymous with the might of an all-conquering Luftwaffe rampaging its way across Europe, the Heinkel He III medium bomber.
The advanced Heinkel He-70 Blitz would donate many of its design features to the larger He III which followed it off the production lines.
This Heinkel He IIIE serving with the Condor Legion in Spain shows how different the originally configured aircraft were from a cockpit and forward fuselage perspective. Photo credit the Bundesarchiv.
The ‘Doppel-Blitz’, or as the world would come to know it as, the Heinkel He-III pictured at around the time of the Battle of Britain. It would become one of the most famous and feared aircraft of the Second World War. Photo credit the Bundesarchiv.
The Heinkel Company initially referred to their new aircraft as the ‘Doppel-Blitz’ (Double Blitz), as it was, for the want of a better description, a larger, twin engined version of their existing He 70. The new design retained the large and distinctive elliptical wing of its predecessor, and also adopted something of a traditional stepped layout for the main fuselage design. It was an attempt to produce a fast and sleek modern aircraft to capture the world speed record for a civilian aircraft and whilst it was outwardly presented as an airliner/transport aircraft to remain within the conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, its impressive performance suggested it may possess more sinister intentions.
The aircraft made its first flight in February 1935 and was found to possess exceptional handling characteristics, particularly at lower speeds, something which made both landing and taking off relatively trouble free for pilots.
This aircraft and the ones which immediately followed it, would be passed over to Lufthansa in an attempt to continue the civilian aviation subterfuge, with the type being unveiled to the German public and wider aviation world at Berlin Tempelhof Aerodrome on 10th January 1936. By this time, development of the military version of the aircraft was well underway, with Germany now no longer concerned with attempting conceal such military ambitions from other European nations. Germany's 'secret bombers' were secret no more, and Europe was on course for war.
The earliest versions of the Heinkel He III were quite different in appearance from the aircraft which took part in the Battle of Britain and the profile which many people associate with this famous bomber. Although still adopting the large whale-like fuselage, distinctive elliptical wings and horizontal stabilisers, the nose of the bomber was very different, as it was longer and more pointed in appearance, arguably of a much more traditional design. Although these early machines did now feature the machine guns which clearly identified it as a military aircraft, it has to be said that the aircraft wasn't exactly bristling with defensive armament.
As this was one of the fastest aircraft in the world at that time, capable of outrunning most of the fighter aircraft in service with the world's air forces, Luftwaffe officials didn’t envisage their new bomber having to defend itself against enemy fighter attack, a d therefore only equipped them with just three light machine guns to deal with any such unexpected aerial challenges.
An incredible wartime survivor, Heinkel He 111 P-1 Nr.1526 is on display at the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection at Gardermoen near Oslo, and was the aircraft we LIDAR scanner at the outset of this project.
Looking from the fuselage of the Heinkel, towards the cockpit, showing the vertical internal bomb carrying racks.
Wartime combat damage has been retained on this authentic restoration.
An impressive field of view, but not much in the way of protection – Heinkel crews would face the full fury of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.
From the Heinkel He III 'P' model variant onwards, the bomber underwent a significant design change, one which would see it inheriting arguably its most iconic and distinctive features, along with a host of other incremental upgrades and improvements. Now adopting the ubiquitous Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine as its powerplant, this variant also saw the introduction of a redesigned cockpit and front fuselage section, an upgrade which made for a roomier, more streamlined working environment for both the pilot and his bomb aimer.
This development certainly gave the aircraft something of a sleeker visual appearance, along with improving general visibility for its crews. With this shorter, taller nose section now being completely glazed, the famous Heinkel He III had its most distinctive feature, one which would make it amongst the most recognisable aircraft of the entire Second World War, and the backbone of Luftwaffe bomber operations.
In addition to giving the Heinkel its unmistakable profile, the new fully glazed cockpit section clearly afforded the pilot a much improved field of view, however, there was a price to pay. Having the crew clearly visible made them a tempting target for enemy fighter attack, with the unfortunate crew afforded very little in the way of protection in such circumstances, and during the Battle of Britain, it was quickly discovered that these bombers required fighter protection when operation in contested airspace.
The iconic Heinkel He-III under construction, one of around 7,000 aircraft of different variants produced between 1935 and 1944.
Despite sweeping all before them during the early stages of the Second World War, the Battle of Britain would prove to be nothing short of devastating for Luftwaffe Heinkel crews, as the advantages in speed and manoeuvrability the aircraft has possessed when it first entered service, had now been overtaken by the latest breed of fighter aircraft. Heinkel bombers operating over Britain had little chance against Spitfires and Hurricanes unless they were themselves protected by swarms of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, or operating under cover of darkness.
Although essentially obsolete as a strike bomber operating in contested airspace from the summer of 1940 onwards, the Heinkel would be forced to soldier on in a variety of offensive roles for the remainder of the war, with around 6,500 of these distinctive bombers having been produced by the time the final bomber rolled off the production line in September 1944.
Making its combat introduction during the Spanish Civil War in 1937, the Heinkel He III would continue in its role as the Luftwaffe’s main strike bomber for the remainder of the war and serve in every theatre of war contested by Germany during that time. It would be used as a nightfighter on the Eastern Front, be used to air launch V-1 ‘Doodlebugs’ and remain in service with the Spanish Air Force until the 1970s.
As we can see, in addition to making for an impressive model build project, there is much more to the Luftwaffe’s ‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing’ than initially meets the eye, and how this aircraft possesses a history which deserves to be preserved and promoted, even if only in scale modelling circles.
Every Airfix range deserves a Heinkel
Spectacular new box artwork befitting a truly fascinating kit addition to the current Airfix range.
As one of the most famous aircraft to see service during the Second World War, the Heinkel He III bomber has always been a popular subject with the world’s modelling community since the very establishment of the hobby, and has been a feature of the Airfix range since the early 1960s. Since the introduction of that first 1/72nd scale kit, with its interesting shape and historic notoriety, it has to be considered one of the most popular kit subjects in our history and has probably been built by hundreds of thousands of modellers since that time.
An aircraft which along with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Junkers Ju-87 Stuka would become the very embodiment of German military aviation might during the Second World War, the Heinkel He III has always been staple modelling fare within our beloved hobby, perhaps because it is such a distinctive looking aircraft, but maybe also by virtue of the fact that so few examples remained after the war, with even less subsequently finding their way into museum collections around the world. This type’s rarity has certainly cemented the Heinkel’s legacy as a popular modelling project over the years.
Due to the length of time this original kit spent in the range, and the enduring popularity of the aircraft as a modelling subject, the Heinkel He III attracted the attentions of a new breed of Airfix product designers back in 2014, who felt that a subject of this pedigree was deserving of a design revisit, and a new kit benefitting from all the latest design innovations the industry had to offer.
Heinkel model builds finished in both of the scheme options included with this latest kit release.
Announced with the launch of our 2015 kit range, the new Heinkel He III tooling would actually be featured in just the fifth edition of the then very new Workbench blog, where we exclusively revealed CAD imagery of the additional component frames introduced to allow the Junkers Jumo 211 powered 'H' variant of the bomber to be produced.
Arguably the most effective version of the famous Heinkel He III series of bombers, and certainly the one which was built in the greatest numbers, the He III ‘H’ series attempted to address many of the shortcomings which were evident on earlier models of the bomber, in addition to upgrading the general performance and combat survivability of this widely used Luftwaffe aircraft. Although the Heinkel He III could no longer claim to be an entirely effective attack bomber on the Western Front, following the losses experienced during the Battle of Britain, however, it would go on to serve with distinction in a variety of different roles, and in every theatre of operations where Luftwaffe aircraft flew.
Successive upgrades enabled the aircraft to deliver a more effective weapons payload over greater distances, whilst at the same time providing Heinkel crews with much more effective defensive armament. The internal weapons bay was no longer used to carry bombs, but was instead converted to house additional fuel and oil tanks, allowing for much longer sorties to be mounted, many of which would be over water. This development also allowed these later Heinkels to carry larger, more devastating weapons from external hard points, which included air launched torpedoes and the SC1000 2,200lb ‘Hermann’ bomb.
The latest release from this relatively new and incredibly popular tooling is available now and includes two interesting schemes which mark the different offensive ordnance options crews flying this variant of the aircraft had available to them.
Scheme A – Heinkel He-IIIH-6, WNr.7098/1H+GH, 1,/Kampfgeschwader 26, Bardufoss, Norway, July 1942.
Perhaps the most interesting missions carried out by ‘H’ model Heinkel He IIIs were those of the torpedo carrying maritime attack bombers, aircraft which flew at wave-top height, before delivering their payload of two air launched LT-F5b torpedoes against their target vessels. Operating from the airfield at Bardufoss in northern Norway, the anti-shipping Heinkels of 1./KG26 were involved in the infamous attack against Arctic Convoy PQ17, an episode which proved to be one of the most disastrous episodes in the history of the Royal Navy.
Leaving Iceland, bound for Arkhangelsk in Russia, the convoy consisted of 35 merchant vessels and a large protecting force of naval ships. Historically, these convoys had been established to provide the Soviet Union with a constant stream of weapons and supplies, in the wake of the German invasion of their country, allowing them to remain in the war and to keep German forces committed to combat in their country. Bringing everything from tanks and aircraft to bullets and shells, the Germans knew only too well what the British were attempting to do, and knew that if the supplies reached Russia, they would take a heavy toll of their forces, but if they could be destroyed at sea, how a great many German lives could be saved.
Convoy PQ17 was the largest Arctic convoy ever assembled to date, which for the first time, brought together warships of both the British and American navies to protect a massive shipment of war supplies for Russia. The Germans knew about the convoy and were determined to prevent these supplies from getting through, assembling a mighty force of aircraft, submarines and surface ships to be hurled against it. The scene was set for a monumental clash and an unprecedented British naval disaster.
Once detected by the shadowing Germans, and when it was within striking range, the first attack came from a large force of Heinkel He III torpedo bombers from KG26. Warned of their approach, the escort vessels put up a murderous wall of defensive anti-aircraft fire, which claimed four of the Luftwaffe bombers destroyed.
Determined in their attack, the torpedoes did their damage, and several ships were sunk and the defensive shield of the convoy disrupted. A second wave of aircraft was even more determined, but the warship ring again put up accurate defensive fire, ensuring that all but the most committed of Luftwaffe pilots would have found it difficult to execute their attacks effectively.
Full scheme details for an aircraft which took part in the merciless attack against Allied Convoy PQ17, but was one of just five Luftwaffe aircraft reported lost during these actions.
More build model delights finished in the markings of this convoy attacking Kampfgeschwader 26 aircraft from July 1942.
Back in Britain, the Admiralty started to receive reports claiming that the mighty German battleship Tirpitz had left port and was steaming towards the convoy. Despite the strength of the force protecting Convoy PQ17, senior officials knew that if challenged by Tirpitz, many of the ships would be lost, so in one of the most tragic decisions of the entire war, Allied warships were ordered to return to port, with the merchant convoy simultaneously being ordered to scatter and make for Arkhangelsk alone. In some of the most inhospitable seas in the world and with hundreds of miles still to negotiate, the Admiralty essentially abandoned Convoy PQ17 to their fate.
Over the next few days, the German air and submarine attacks on the merchant vessels were relentless, but in some way, the order to scatter did make their job more difficult. Nevertheless, 24 vessels from the convoy were sunk, and just eleven extremely overdue ships eventually made it to Arkhangelsk or Murmansk, which proved to be a miracle in itself.
A devastating loss for the Allies, official sources claim that only five Luftwaffe aircraft were lost during these operations and significantly, how Tirpitz didn’t put to see throughout the entire attack.
The scheme option presented here marks one of the 26 Heinkel He III bombers which took part in the largest air attack against the convoy on 4th July 1942, the final air attack of the day. Pilot Lt. Konrad Hennemann flew his aircraft low over the sea having selected his target, the SS Navarino, releasing a single LT F5b torpedo towards the ship in his sights. The torpedo slammed into the merchant ship causing absolute devastation, but not before accurate anti-aircraft fire from the destroyer ring had crippled the attacking Heinkel.
The aircraft hit the water and disintegrated, with the crew later being listed as missing in action. Pilot Konrad Hennemann would later be posthumously awarded the Knight’s Cross for his bravery under fire.
Scheme B – Heinkel He-IIIH-6, WNr.4856/6N+EJ, 6,/Kampfgeschwader 100, Kalamaki, Greece, April 1942.
An aircraft type which would see service in every theatre the German Luftwaffe contested, elements of KG100 were sent to southern Europe in April 1942, to operate from the airfield at Athens-Kalamaki. From there, the unit’s Heinkel bombers were in a position to cause havoc across the entire Mediterranean, mounting long range strikes against Allied held ports, enemy shipping and strategic targets as far away as North Africa.
The H-6 variant of the Heinkel didn’t employ internal bomb bays but instead had two robust ordnance hardpoints fitted beneath the forward fuselage, which were capable of accepting a wide variety of stores, including the SC 1000 (Sprengbombe Cylindrisch 1000) general purpose bomb, which was colloquially referred to as the ‘Hermann’. It’s open to interpretation as to whether this was a term of endearment, or simply reference to the rather portly appearance of these bombs, an appearance which was likened to the physique their beloved Commander-in-Chief.
These bombs were designed for maximum blast effect, used to shatter industrial infrastructure, such as docks, airfields and production facilities, but could also be incredibly effective when used against shipping, even if the bomb only exploded near its intended target.
On the evening of 24th April 1942, six Heinkel He IIIs of II./KG26, along with five Junkers Ju88s from I./LG1 and a Heinkel from KG26 acting as the force pathfinder, carried out a bombing attack against the British held airfield complex at Qotafiyah II (LG 104) in Egypt. Although the raid did cause significant disruption at the airfield, only two Wellingtons of No.70 Squadron were damaged, resulting in it only being a partially successful raid.
Full scheme details for this unusually presented Mediterranean Theatre aircraft.
The distinctive shape of the Heinkel He III is only made more appealing by the application of these unusual markings.
The aircraft covered in this scheme option took part in the attack, but was struck by the airfield’s anti-aircraft defences on the run into the target, damaging it sufficiently to cause the aircraft to crash into the desert sands nearby. Tragically, the four-man crew all perished in the crash and were officially posted as being missing in action.
This aircraft is unusual in its presentation, and therefore of great interest to the modeller. These non-standard markings were applied after the aircraft had arrived in Greece, and consisted of black undersides and large RLM 80 Olivgrün camouflage markings over RLM Sandgelb II. During the painting process, only the most vital identification markings were re-applied, making these aircraft particularly interesting.
At the time this aircraft was lost, II./KG100 were also using unorthodox fuselage codes, which is the reason why this aircraft carried the letter J in its coding, which denotes an aircraft allocated to 6 Staffel. The front section of the spinners are painted in red, marking this as a II Gruppe aircraft. The unit operated from Athens-Kalamaki airfield for just eleven days short of one year, during a particularly active period of air activity in this theatre of operations.
Another look at both scheme options included with this kit.
As you can see, the above scheme descriptions have now been updated with the inclusion of the recently received built model images, completed in both scheme options.
Not wanting to let this opportunity pass by, as we currently have no fewer than THREE Heinkel He III kit offerings available on the Airfix website (the third being in the Battle of Britain Gift Set), we also wanted to re-visit our current P-2 variant offering and include the scheme options available with this kit, primarily because it hasn’t featured here on Workbench for several years now. It also happens to mark the re-issue of the first kit release produced from the newly designed Heinkel He III tooling back in 2015, so is certainly worthy of inclusion here.
Now let’s take a look at the two scheme options available with the other standalone Heinkel He III kit available in the current range, one which marked the original release from this new tooling back in 2015, and one which is our tribute to one of the most historic preserved WWII aircraft to be found anywhere in the world.
One of the most historic aircraft currently residing in any of the world's aviation museums, this Heinkel was one of many German aircraft to be based and operated from Norway during the Second World War and despite having to make a forced landing in a snow covered mountainous region of the country following combat with British Skua fighters, is now on display in magnificent, restored condition. Heinkel He III P-2 5J+CN was assigned to Kampfgeschwader 4 'General Wever', a unit which proudly carried the name of General Walther Wever, a senior German military official and pilot who was an outspoken champion in ensuring the new Luftwaffe would have a powerful strategic bombing force prior to the start of Second World War.
On the morning of 26th April 1940, this aircraft, along with two other Heinkel He IIIs took off from Oslo/Fornebu airfield at the start of an armed reconnaissance mission, a mission which would prove to be rather eventful for all involved. Whilst the formation flew high over the Romsdalsfjord, 5J+CN was struck by anti-aircraft fire from the British cruiser HMS Manchester steaming in the waters below, but with the aircraft's crew oblivious to any damage to their aircraft, they continued on to bomb the railway station at the coastal town of Åndalsnes.
Immediately following their bombing attack, the Luftwaffe formation was attacked by Blackburn Skuas from No.810 Squadron Fleet Air Arm, which were operating from the carrier HMS Ark Royal. Whilst the other two bombers escaped unscathed, 5J+CN was less fortunate, and during an intense dogfight, the Skuas inflicted significant damage on the German bomber, with one crew member killed and another sustaining significant injury. With the aircraft now on fire and with a seized engine, it began losing height at an alarming rate, leaving the pilot with no other option than to look for a suitable place to make a forced landing.
With the aircraft flying over a snow covered mountainous region of the country, the pilot had few options available to him and was forced to bring his aircraft down at Digervarden, just south of Lesjaskog, where this fascinating story would take another twist. During the dogfight, the attacking Blackburn Skua (L2940) sustained damage to its own engine and after the fighter's crew had witnessed the Heinkel crash landing in the snow, they themselves now had to look for a place to put their own badly damaged aircraft down. That spot proved to be the frozen lake Breiddalsvatnet and after making a textbook belly landing, both pilot and his observer were fortunate to be able to walk away from the incident uninjured. They immediately set fire to their aircraft to prevent it from falling into enemy hands, but during the spring thaw in the months which followed, the wreckage slipped beneath the waters of the now unfrozen lake.
Full scheme details of the Heinkel which is now on display in the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection at Gerdermoen, in Norway.
With wartime heritage such as this, there really was only one scheme/combat engagement we could immortalise as our new Heinkel kit box artwork.
As for the Heinkel, its wreckage lay relatively undisturbed for the remainder of the war, but following the end of hostilities, it didn't take long before it started to become something of a popular attraction with locals looking to bag themselves a war trophy. During the 1970s, following receipt of a detailed proposal prepared by the Norwegian Aviation History Association, the wreckage of Heinkel 5J+CN was recovered from its mountainous resting place and taken to the Forsvarets Flysamling Gardermoen, where it would be the subject of a lengthy and painstaking restoration project to as near to its wartime configuration as could be achieved. This magnificent aircraft is now on display as part of the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection, one of the rarest examples of a combat veteran wartime Luftwaffe aircraft to be found anywhere in the world.
Heinkel He III build number 1526 was constructed in 1938 as a P-2 variant of the bomber and would go on to play an active role in operations supporting the invasion of Norway, first flying from bases in Northern Germany, and later from captured airfields in Norway itself. She is now a beautifully restored example of this important aircraft type, one of the few combat veteran Heinkel bombers enthusiasts are able to see on public display anywhere in the world.
Interestingly, the Blackburn Skua which shot this Heinkel down was also recovered from its Norwegian resting place during the 1970s, and is now on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton. Fascinatingly, this is a rare occasion where two aircraft involved in the same combat engagement both made forced landings, but were both subsequently recovered to take their places in different aviation museums in Europe.
Clearly, different things appeal to different people when deciding which kit will be taking its place on our workstations as our next build project, but if interesting wartime stories play a part in such decisions, then the details behind this particular Heinkel scheme will surely have this kit appearing on many a winter build schedule this year.
Scheme B - Heinkel He 111 P-2 G1+HP, 6./Kampfgeschwader 55 'Greif', Villacoublay, France 1940.
With the 'H' variant of the Heinkel He III having entered Luftwaffe service immediately prior to the invasion of Poland, this latest version of the bomber was in widespread service by the time of the Battle of Britain and as a consequence, it was unusual, but not impossible to find earlier variants of the aircraft committed to combat operations over Britain. Up until this point in the war, the He III had proved to be incredibly effective as a strike bomber, and so with their crews being supremely confident in their abilities and with their commanders confidence of a swift victory against a depleted Royal Air Force ringing in their ears, they looked forward to continuing their successes over England.
As we now know, this confidence was cruelly exposed as being wildly over-optimistic at best, and perhaps even bordering on complacency. For the first time, bomber crews would be operating over enemy territory with the natural barrier of the English Channel making any technical problem or combat damage likely to at least knock them out of the war. Of even greater significance than this, they would now be coming up against a determined, well organised enemy, one equipped with effective fighter aircraft, manned by well-trained pilots – things were going to be very different over England.
RAF fighters could return to their base, refuel, rearm and be back in the fight almost before the bombers had turned for home themselves, and even if a British fighter was shot down, there was a possibility that the pilot could be back with their squadrons and in the air fighting again in just a matter of days. Now for the first time, the Luftwaffe were not going to have all the odds stacked in their favour.
In combat operations over Britain, the Heinkel proved to be extremely vulnerable to fighter attack and if intercepted by the RAF without the support of their own fighters, the Heinkel may exactly have been a sitting duck target, but they were certainly at a huge disadvantage and would suffer terrible losses at the hands of Fighter Command's Spitfires and Hurricanes.
Full scheme details of the second livery option included with this kit, and aircraft which has to be considered one of the most uniquely presented Heinkel bombers of the entire war by virtue of its stunning rudder artwork.
A small selection of built model images featuring the Heinkel kit finished in this fascinating Battle of France era scheme, complete with its unique rudder artwork – a truly stunning model.
Despite the bombers chastening experience during the fighting over Britain, they would go on to see service throughout the rest of the war with varying degrees of success, but in the knowledge that it was now outclassed as a daylight bomber type when operating in contested airspace, particularly when facing a determined and well equipped enemy force. The lack of a suitable upgraded replacement aircraft would also prove to be a major contributory factor in the Luftwaffe's failure to gain a strategic advantage during the rest of WWII, placing an increasing German reliance on the introduction of technologically advanced 'wonder weapons' in an attempt to stem the tide of Allied military supremacy.
The particular Heinkel presented here has to be considered one of the most distinctive and interesting aircraft of its type in the entire war, by virtue of the impressive and unique artwork carried on both sides if the aircraft's rudder.
Although a rather famous Kampfgeschwader 55 'Greif' Heinkel He III carrying the fuselage codes G1+HP did operate over Britain during the Battle of Britain, and would actually fall into British hands, it wasn’t this aircraft – research shows that this aircraft, Werk Nummer 1992, didn't make it to the air operations against Britain. It’s thought that this Heinkel was brought down by RAF Hawker Hurricanes of Nos 1 and 73 Squadrons during the Battle of France, with the bomber crashing and burning out on farmland between the towns of Mairie and Amblimont in norther France, close to the border with Belgium.
Although spectacular, the origins of the rudder artwork remain something of a mystery, so if any Workbench reader has information which might shed some definitive light on this fascinating subject, we would be extremely interested to hear from you.
As a modelling subject, the Heinkel He III possesses huge appeal, and has to be considered one of the most popular subjects our hobby has known over the years. The unmistakable profile of this famous Luftwaffe bomber would make for an appealing addition to any model collection, with the large, elliptical wings of the bomber ensuring it will be receiving plenty of admiring glances when it does.
As mentioned previously, the current Airfix range actually includes three different kit options featuring the Heinkel He III, with this A06014 Heinkel He III P-2 kit being joined by the new A07007C Heinkel He III H-6 attack against Convoy PQ 17, and the one featured in the hugely popular A50173A Battle of Britain Gift Set, which also includes this Heinkel kit.
All are in 1/72nd scale, and all feature the most recent tooling incarnation of this most famous of fighting aeroplanes. As far as winter build projects go, can you think of a more appealing subject, particularly in this Battle of Britain anniversary year?
We're afraid that's all we have for you in this latest edition of the Airfix blog, but we will be back next Friday with more project development updates and the very latest Airfix kit exclusives. In the meantime, we're always keen to hear your views on all things Airfix and in particular, any thoughts and opinions you may have regarding our Workbench blog. If you would like to drop us a quick line, could we please ask that you use our workbench@airfix.com email for all correspondence.
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