v2 and 3xP (Poland- planes- peoples )

Gnomey · 12-26-2006, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the lancaster kicks ass

few pilots would dare do some of the things he did in old warbirds, a truely great man..........

Agreed, he was a master with his Spitfire and others.

v2 · 12-28-2006, 03:46 AM

The Mystery of a Forest Lake

One frosty day at the end of 1940, the inhabitants of the Kamionka forest district in Pomerania heard a terrifying noise. It turned out that a German bomber had crashed in a blizzard. The machine hit the frozen surface of a lake. The tail of the plane and the corpse of the rear gunner were found in the forest but the smashed wreckage of the fuselage with the two dead pilots was either on the ice or under it. German police surrounded the accident site and the wreckage was secured and removed.

More than six decades later, at the beginning of 2006, a group turned up at the lake with strange equipment. They were members of the Historical Exploration Section of the Association of Friends of Sopot (TPS). They were looking for the wreckage of the plane. A heritage conservation officer was asked for permission for further investigations and the removal of the plane wreckage.

TPS members and the Gdańsk Brethren of Military History (GBHW) came back to the lake in June and set to work. Divers found the engine of the plane in the murky waters of the lake. The decision was taken to attach it to balloons. Lifting over a ton of heavy engine took over eight hours. Finally, the engine moved and was brought to the surface, but the lake's soggy shore meant it could not be brought out of the water.

The decision was taken to tow the engine to the opposite shore. However, a "moving island" got in the way. The participants of the expedition couldn't believe their eyes. It turned out that a large part of the peat in the lake had come up off the bed and was drifting. It posed a serious risk to the operation because it was in danger of breaking the ropes fixing the engine to the balloons. The only solution was to try and pull the island away.

A motorboat headed towards the "drifting" island. The island was slowly pulled away towards the far end of the lake with the help of ropes attached to small anchors. The path was cleared. On the opposite shore, a digger was waiting for the valuable find. It was able to pull the engine out. "It was a Jumo 211 F-1 engine! We were all happy and champagne bottles were uncorked!" recalls one of the witnesses to the expedition. Despite the six decades that had gone by, the engine was in great condition. The are a few Jumo 211 F-1 engines in the world, but none of them is complete.

On closer examination, it appeared that the wrecked machine was probably a German Heinkel He-111 bomber. The divers continued taking other parts of the wrecked plane from the lake: propeller parts, the fuselage, the pilot's cabin, the undercarriage and weaponry. A superbly preserved pillion for attaching torpedoes underneath the fuselage was another interesting find. It was a torpedo plane.

All parts was photographed, measured, described and given an inventory number by an archeologist. The engine and other parts of the plane were given to conservators. They will soon be shown at an exhibition organized by the Castle Foundation in Gniew. An attempt will be made to recreate the fate of the plane and the crew. There are many indications that ice on the plane was the reason for the catastrophe.

v2 · 12-28-2006, 04:58 PM

First, private jet in Poland...

Wurger · 12-28-2006, 06:30 PM

Interesting info and pics you've found V2.

But a small correction to the topic about the first private jet in Poland is needed.It is the first jet plane which is able to fly.The same plane, I mean TS-11, was bought by a private person some years ago.This a/c is still stored on the airfield of The Bydgoszcz flying club.