Was 1H+FN an Heinkel He111P or an He 111H-3 & Other Questions (1 Viewer)

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Oct 25, 2018
Atlanta
Hi fellow air history devotees - I very much need your help. I am modeling an Heinkel He 111H-3 and would like to use my decal collection to model 1H+FN (WNr. 3935) during September 11, 1940. I have read on a/c history / model sites that the subject was an H-3 and was damaged on that date during an attack on London but returned to base in Gilze-Rijen. Nonetheless, the book of a/c illustrations, "Luftwaffe: Bomber Camouflage and Markings 1940 - Heinkel He.111, Junkers Ju.88, Dornier Do.17" compiled by Peter G. Cooksley and Richard Ward, text by Christopher F. Shores, shows the 1H+FN during that Sept. 11 time to be an He 111P and not an H-3.

Questions: (1) was 1H+FN an He111P or an He 111H-3, (2) can you provide a reference showing it to be an H-3, and, someone said the verification is through the "EoE Luft Loss DB" but can't find it, so (3) please name in full what "EoE Luft Loss DB" stands for, and (4) where I can find it?

Vielen Dank, Dave
 
The "EoE Luft Loss DB" is a project in progress as memo serves and stands for Eagles over Europe Luftwaffe Looses DataBase. Because you are the member of the 12oclockhigh.net forum as well , you may ask about it them there too.

Secondly, is the book mentioned above of Osprey Aircam Aviation series S10 vol.1? When it was published... in 1972? If I'm right the older books contain quite many mistakes. All pics of He-111s of the 5./KG26 unit in 1940 I've found so far, show the H version. So I wouldn't be surprised if the profile from the Osprey Aircam book was wrong.
 
It is possible that the designation was assigned to two different aircraft at different times. As a particular squadron aircraft was lost or replaced, the identifier could be re-used on a newer machine. I can't speak to this specific instance though other than to say that the caption for the picture showing the P model could either be correct or that the picture might have been taken at a different time.
 
Andy , the trouble is that there is no pic but two profiles only in the book. Unless there is a newer issue of the publication with the shot attached.
 
As mentioned in my reply to your similar request in the modelling section, KG 26 were equipped with Jumo-engined He111-H series, and at this period operated the H-3 and H-4 variants, both of which were externally virtually identical, apart from the possible small detail differences at the front end of the tubular exhausts. The earlier H-3 had it's armament increased during late August/ early September 1940, often with a forward firing MG15 in the front of the belly gondola, and an extra MG15 in the roof of the forward cockpit glazing.
The He-111P had the Daimler Benz engines, which had the supercharger intake on the opposite side (port) to the Jumo engine, and this is the main external recognition feature in photos.
Here is my recently completed He111-H4 in 1/48th scale, when this aircraft, based at Stavanger, Norway, ditched in the North Sea 30 miles off Middlesborough, on 15th August 1940, and the full story can be found in the build thread in Group Build 37.

He-111 KG26 Build 462.JPG
 
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Hi fellow air history devotees - I very much need your help. I am modeling an Heinkel He 111H-3 and would like to use my decal collection to model 1H+FN (WNr. 3935) on September 11, 1940. I have read on a/c history / model sites that the subject was an H-3 and was damaged on that date during an attack on London but returned to base at Gilze-Rijen. Nonetheless, the book of a/c illustrations, "Luftwaffe: Bomber Camouflage and Markings 1940 - Heinkel He.111, Junkers Ju.88, Dornier Do.17" compiled by Peter G. Cooksley and Richard Ward, text by Christopher F. Shores, shows the 1H+FN during that Sept. 11 time to be an He 111P and not an H-3.

Questions: (1) on Sept. 11, 1940 was 1H+FN an He111P or an He 111H-3, (2) could 1H+FN been confused in some of the websites I saw with 1H+EN that was damaged over England and ended, also, at Gilze-Rijen on the same date (3) if possible, can you provide references?

Vielen Dank, Dave
 
It could actually be a fictitious aircraft code marking - The Luftwaffe system for Luftflotte, Kampfgeschwader, Staffeln and individual aircraft coding is quite a complicated arragement of Arabic & Roman numerals and letters -

As I have just recently started reading a book about the Luftwaffe Pathfinder Operations Over Britain, 1940-44, it firstly appears that the He-111 P variants preceded the He-111 H series and as already stated, the main difference between them were the types of engines used -

From 1940-42, He-111 H1, H2, H3, and H5 variants were used by KGr 100. The He-111 H5 was also used by III./KG 26, and the P2 and P4 by II./KG 55. From 1942 the H6 was used by KG100 and EprKdo 100/XY/17, the latter also using a few H8s. The suffixes 'x' and 'y' were sometimes added to variant designations to indicate aircraft that were equipped with X- or Y-Gerat precision bombing equipment (viz.,He 111 H3x and He 111 H5y)....

I hope this may help ~
 
It could actually be a fictitious aircraft code marking - The Luftwaffe system for Luftflotte, Kampfgeschwader, Staffeln and individual aircraft coding is quite a complicated arragement of Arabic & Roman numerals and letters -

Why would it be fictitious?

Can you show examples of the "complicated" coding using Roman numerals? As far as I know, the Luftwaffe coding system for bombers and other aircraft was quite logical and uncomplicated and I'm not ware of ANY Roman numerals being used.
 

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