Extracts from ‘THE DAY THE ENEMY CAME TO STAY’ by George Elsey
In memory of John Iverach, the Canadian airman who wrote ‘Chronicles of a Nervous Navigator’
THE STORY OF THE THREE HEINKELL 115s
The story begins at the British Airways Flying Boat Maintenance Base at Hythe, during the summer of 1942. I joined the firm at the age of sixteen, but in a few months would be leaving to join the Navy. After commencing employment at the base I took the opportunity to join the Home Guard, so as to take advantage of a shilling or two a week. This was for carrying out guard duties at the base. We were named – Works Defence Force – though goodness knows what we could have defended to stop invading Nazis! All we had were four bullets in a cartridge clip, and one up the spout of our old Lee Enfield rifles.
At lunchtime – twelve thirty – there was always a hot meal at the canteen, or the sandwich eaters had the option if they wanted, to watch interdepartmental cricket played out on the tarmac apron in the centre of Hythe base. This apron was specifically used for running up the ‘Sunderlands’ flying boat engines on test, or any other type of aircraft we had in for repair at that time. The aircraft having satisfactorily completed its test, would be lowered down the slipway by the launching crew, who having seen the craft safely into the river would remove the launching cradles from the flying boats hull, and have the gear towed by an electric winch back up the slipway ready for the next slipping or beach operation.
Just before the War, a large private house in Mullins Lane was turned into the Golden Hind Hotel. This was specifically for Airways Flying Boat Crews. After the War – and the demise of flying boats – it was sold, demolished, and replaced by houses called Golden Hind Estate. I believe the name still survives today.
OS One Inch 7th series 1955-61
Langdown Lawn House/The Golden Hind Hotel
When air raids happened we would exit the factory, crossing Shore Road to enter the bunker type air raid shelter, deep beneath the Southampton-Fawley Railway line. This was just a short way from Hythe Railway Station, and was part of the position we would defend in the event of an invasion.
Should one get caught in the far hangar, and a sudden raid had commenced, then sometimes the younger ones would make for the cover of the heavy beaching gear at the top of the slipway. Taking shelter this way was definitely frowned upon by management, but ‘tongue in cheek’ it did provide a grandstand seat for any action that may take place and did take place, in or around Southampton Water.
Chapter Two – The arrival of three Heinkel H.E. 115 Floatplanes
The sirens’ plaintive wail burst upon everyone’s hearing, fire engines started their motors, hangar doors were rolled to the closed position, and everyone was on the move and so was I. A quick dash across the tarmac then, on hearing gun fire down river, as sudden change of direction. Could I have made the underground shelter? No. So it had to be the beaching cradles. Three sides of the tarmac apron were enclosed by hangars and office blocks. The fourth was open to the top of the slipway and the river, and before one could say ‘beaching cradles’ I was amongst them.
I suppose it must have been a reasonably clear day, for I could see the gunfire bursting quite some way down river, then suddenly shellfire increased as the Hill Head Batteries opened fire near Lee-on-Solent. Then the Cowes Battery on the Isle of Wight joined in. The trajectory of the shells burst were lower, indicating that the targets were much nearer sea level, if they were coming up the East Solent? I don’t remember if all this action was true to the letter, but I do remember the shrapnel ‘pinging’ amongst the beaching gear.
I put my head out and there they were. All this was happening because these seaplanes were flying so low. It was almost self-inflicted suicide. The sharp crack of the Bofors 3.7 guns gave the appearance of firing directly across the river. The planes were travelling too fast for the guns, were they going to target all the heavy shipping in the Docks?
They were Heinkel H.E. 115 Floatplanes and the ‘torpedoes’ were their very large floats. My Home Guard aircraft identification had stood me in good stead.
Then they were rapidly climbing over Southampton with gunfire following. I could now see that there were just three planes. Three very powerful German Seaplanes were now spread out over Woolston, crosses on their wings, and swastikas on their tails, apparently undamaged by the gunfire, and were now heading straight for our Hythe base.
Then suddenly the seaplanes turned downriver and landed on Southampton Water. The silence was deafening, the gunfire had ceased, nothing appeared to move, the planes had cut their engines and were just drifting with the tide, the whole world stood still or so it seemed.
Chapter 3 – Three German Heinkels at the British Airways Flying Boat Maintenance Base at Hythe
From Wikipedia
The very next morning some solutions started to appear in the shape of the three German Heinkels, sitting on the tarmac, in some temporary shore cradles. Later the planes were towed into one corner of a hangar, and once inside they looked very black and sinister, so R.A.F. Guards were placed around the machines. We were not told to keep our mouths shut about what was happening to these machines in the aircraft hangar. ‘’No Comment” would be the best answer if asked about the Nazi aircraft, after all we at the base never knew the exact truth ourselves as to where the German Heinkels came from.
The Base had been invaded by Service ‘Brass Hats’ and mysterious men from the Ministry of ‘Whatever’. And then three Norwegian pilots turned up at the Base. What was their presence supposed to mean? They, and our A.I.D. Inspectors went through the three aircraft with a fine toothcomb. Were these Norwegian airmen the people who flew the Heinkels to our Base?
At last it was official, the planes were to be turned over to the Base craftsmen, repaired, modified, and made ready as British operational aircraft. Now it was my turn to board the aircraft for the very first time.
Below the main plane alongside the massive float was a small aluminium ladder fixed to the topside of the float, extending up to the fuselage and bolted at the top end to the fuselage body. The top rung of the ladder allowed the boarder to step onto the wing, by means of placing the feet into spring loaded collapsible footprints, right up to the cockpit. At that level one leg over the combing and I had dropped into the driving seat. Wow! I was now sitting in an enemy plane that had flown many miles in the service of Germany, and goodness knows what action the crew what been involved in.
Looking round the cockpit, the control column that moved backwards and forward had a three quarter radius wheel at the top, very similar to the Sunderland’s manoeuvring capability. Looking round the whole interior it had a very close relationship with many of the other planes that had been in for repair. All the switches, levers, knobs and handles, gave a picture of efficient positioning, which showed quite a skill in design that even my childlike mind could accept, the only difference being the language identification. Behind me was the navigator-wireless op seat, with all its navigation paraphernalia, and beyond that seat was the rear-gunners position. The guns by now had been removed by R.A.F. Armourers.
All the seating capacity was closed in when airborne, this by a large Perspex hood that was electrically controlled and the hood slid on runners to open and close the cockpit. The whole of the aircraft nose was of Perspex construction, and a gallery ran through to the aircraft’s forward compartments. This allowed any crew member to crawl through to the nose, this gallery ran under the pilot’s seat, and when entering the nose there was a torpedo release gear, and bomb aiming equipment.
It was a very well constructed seaplane as far as I can remember. I suppose it was that Germany had started to rearm long before the war and had much more sophisticated equipment in their planes, as in all things their other weapons and military strategy at that time was always superior to the allied effort.
The floats on the Heinkel were very powerful and a heavily built support for the main body of the plane. Their length was enormous, extending from the nose to three quarters of the length of this extremely well built aircraft, and could therefore carry a large amount of ancillary equipment in their watertight compartments.
The power units on this aircraft were two twenty-four H. section Junkers petrol injected engines. I do not know their brake horsepower, but I do know that the development of petrol injection to many of the enemy’s engines gave them another considerable advantage in air strategy.
While the Nazi planes could perform certain air manoeuvres without power loss, our early Spitfires – when upside down in a “dog fight”, particularly during the “Battle of Britain” – had power loss because cylinders became short of petrol from carburettors and it cost lives.
Chapter 4 – How the Heinkels came to Hythe
In 1942 a sudden raid was launched on the Seaplane Base and Port of Stavanger, on the southwest coastal tip of Norway. Whilst mayhem may have been happening in the Port, a group of Norwegian airmen must have been seconded by some marine group to board the aircraft lying at anchor at the Seaplane Base; it was seemingly a premeditated effort. Little more was heard of the severe damage done to Stavanger but what happened to the planes?
About halfway along the south bank of the Moray Firth, lies the Port of Lossiemouth. There must have been some consternation at the Air Base when told by some sort of communication that three German Heinkel Seaplanes were coming to Lossiemouth from Stavanger. They needed to refuel and then fromLossiemouth these planes were flown down the east coast to Hythe. At the final point getting a none too friendly reception, with which this story begins.
So ends the mystery of the three Heinkels, with a lot of supposition from me, and no confirmatory facts from anyone else.
George Elsey