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Aviation of World War II |
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Heinkel 59. Combat Use.![]() 1939, the aircraft were distributed as follows: 3./Ku.FI.Gr.106, base Borkum, commander Major Horn -10 aircraft; 3./Ku.FI.Gr.406, Liszt base, CO Hauptmann Bergman - 9 aircraft; 3/Ku.FI.Gr.706, Norderney base, CO Hauptmann Stein - 12 aircraft; 3/Ku.FI.Gr.506, Pillau base, CO Hauptmann Fechling - 12 aircraft. Non-59V-2 from 37Ku.FI.Gr.506 took part in the battles to capture Poland from the first day of the war. The task of the seaplanes was to bomb the Polish troops on the coast of Kepi Oksuvska and Helu. In order to destroy the coastal batteries in Helu, the crews of the Non-59B carried out several night raids. The aircraft were used most actively on the night of September 2-3, 1939, when 27 sorties were made. On September 3, aircraft from 37Ku.FI.Gr.406 and 37Ku.FI.Gr.706 began to sorties. On this day, eight He-59V-2 from 37Ku.FI.Gr.706 attacked the Polish naval base in Hel and damaged the Grif patrol vessel. On the night of September 3-4, Non-59В from 37Ku.FI.Gr.406 and 37Ku.FI.Gr.506 bombed the Poles' defenses in the vicinity of Hele. During the raid, the Germans used the tactics worked out in Spain. The crews approached the coastline at an altitude of 2000 meters, after which they turned off the engines and, picking up speed while descending, went to the target area. Polish air defense systems opened fire belatedly, when the bombs were already exploding in the port. The next day, three He-59Bs from 3./Ku.FI.Gr.406 corrected the fire of the Schleswig-Holstein cruiser. After France and England declared war on Germany on September 4, 3./Ku.FI.Gr.406 and 3./Ku.FI.Gr.706 moved to the west. During the Polish campaign, the Germans lost three He-59B. On September 13, 1939, seaplanes from 3./Ku.FI.Gr.506 flew to the North Sea bases, which from September 16 began patrolling the Baltic and North Seas, searching for enemy ships and submarines. As a rule, a pair of He-59B flew out on patrol. When a ship was found, one of the planes landed near the ship and landed an inspection team, which determined the ship's ownership. At this time, the second aircraft continued to be in the air and controlled the process of disembarking the patrol group. On September 26, 1939, four seaplanes from 3./Ku.FI.Gr.106 carried out reconnaissance of the Norwegian coast in the interests of the German cruisers Gneisenau and Cologne. A few days later, He-59В armed with torpedoes from 3./Ku.Fl.Gr.106 tried to attack the British ships. At the same time, two seaplanes due to lack of fuel were forced to land on the high seas. Crews and aircraft delivered warships to their base. In November and December 1939, German He-59 seaplanes, together with He-115, laid magnetic mines off the east coast of England and in the mouth of the Thames. At the same time, the Non-59В took on board two 500-kg aircraft mines of the LMA type or one 1000-kg LMB. The efforts of the Germans brought results. The Polish ship "Pilsudski" was blown up on exposed mines, the newest English cruiser "Belfast" was damaged, and several more auxiliary ships sank. One of the magnetic mines dropped by the Germans fell on the swampy bank of the Thames. The British managed to neutralize it and study it, which subsequently helped them fight these weapons. On November 28, 1939, the British launched a raid on the German base of naval hydroaviation in Borkume. Bristol Blenheim Mk.lF aircraft from the 25th and 601st squadrons of the Royal Air Fleet (RAF) took part in the attack. The British managed to destroy only one Ju W34/See seaplane and damage the He-59B from 3./Ku.FI.Gr.106. On the night of December 6-7, 1939, Non-59B again took part in the mining of the English coast. During the operation, the Germans lost two seaplanes. During takeoff, a Non-59B from 37Ku.FI.Gr.106 (tail number M2 + VL, serial WNr 1986, crew commander Senior Lieutenant Bernhard Bock) crashed. Only the navigator of the aircraft managed to escape. Upon returning, another He-59B from the same squadron crashed while landing (tail number M2 + OL, serial number WNr 1974). All crew members were killed. |
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