Heinkel He.115 In Coastal Command Service

[Ventora3300]

When I launched into the Matchbox GB in 2017 with two (maybe three) Heinkel He115's, @tonyot suggested - 'The RAF flew some ex Norwegian He 115`s for Special Duties,..... flying agents to Norway and also from Malta to N.Africa, if you fancy something a little different.....  

 

I always fancied doing a Heinkel He.115 in coastal command type colours and there seems to be a local connection as I have come across a thread which talks about one of the 'captured' He115's seen at or operating out of Woodhaven on the Tay, which is directly opposite my boyhood home of Dundee.

 

There actually appears to be pictures of a He115 in RAF Costal Command service, as below:

 

RAF Woodhaven (on the River Tay) opened in February 1942 as the base for 1477 Flight, Royal Norwegian Air Force, and their Catalina flying boats would become a familiar sight on the Tay for the next three years. The Norwegians, like their compatriots crewing submarines operating from Dundee, had all escaped from occupied Norway, many of them making hazardous passages across the North Sea in small boats so they could take the fight back to the enemy. 

1477 Flight was absorbed into a new, much larger unit, 333 Squadron in May 1943 with one flight continuing to operate the Catalinas out of Woodhaven and another, operating from Leuchars, equipped with Mosquito fighter-bombers. The squadron was tasked with hunting down U-boats operating from bases in occupied Norway against the Atlantic convoy routes and attacking enemy shipping convoys off the Norwegian coast.

 

Finn Lambrechts, the squadron’s first commander, and his flight engineer, Hans Ronningen, had flown the northern route of the Norwegian Airline DNL before they escaped from the Germans, as many others did by a variety of routes finally leading to Britain. Commander Lambrechts had observed that German defences were weak along the coast of Heligoland so that it would be possible to put agents ashore to watch and report on German coastal shipping. His proposal to form a unit was supported by the Norwegians and finally received the approval of Coastal Command.

Woodhaven was chosen as the base because of its relatively isolated location which served the need for secrecy, and Catalinas – designed for anti submarine warfare and convoy escort duties – were chosen for the work. Norwegians from all over the world provided the ground crews, flight engineers and other staff needed. Initially the unit was a detachment from 210 Squadron RAF Coastal Command designated No 1477 Flight.

 

Over 850 photos taken by 333 Squadron, Royal Norwegian Air Force during their stay at Woodhaven 1942 - 1945. They are reproduced here with thanks to Gerd Garnes, their owner.

 

 

The photos include a Heinkel He115 operating in RAF markings so that is the one I will try to reproduce.

 

 

 

[Ventora3300]

Here is the old Matchbox kit pulled out and dusted off - some parts were glued together and decals applied (that's another one of those 'bought it off e-bay' stories) but still well below the 25% threshold.

 

 

I was 'working away' this week so took this old friend with me and did a bit of work on it in the evening... Wings and stabilisers are together and joined to the fuselage. The pitot tube is on so let's see how long it will last... Floats and supporting struts are together. One of the prop blades has been broken off so a repair due to that.

 

 

Back home now and the rudder and elevator balance horns are on and painting  (all black of course) has begun on the sprues. The crew have changed into their RAF blue uniforms and the multi-position stand is ready to go. The Luftwaffe decals have been removed from the fuselage using hot water and there is a bit of flak damage to repair on the starboard side. I'm wondering if the addition of an IP and maybe a bulkhead between the pilot's position and the nose position will make this build interesting?

Edited February 22, 2019 by Ventora3300

[Dazey]

Cool! I remember doing this kit when I was a little one.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Regards,

David

[Vingtor]

This aircraft also had nose art - "The cunning foxes" if I recall correctly. It can be seen just in front of the engine on the first photo. There is a close-up among Gerd's photos.

 

Nils

[Robert Stuart]

Oh, good to see a real (multi-colour) Matchbox kit under-way - and with quick progress (though I suspect a little slower that most when that plasic was really new).

[Ventora3300]

On 23/02/2019 at 06:48, Dazey said:

Cool! I remember doing this kit when I was a little one.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Regards,

David

Thanks David. I never built a He115 or even a Matchbox kit when I was a kid so had a real blast when I entered the Matchbox GB in 2017 - here is the build thread. This is when I got the idea for the 'in RAF service' version. It's a very simple kit but amazing how much fun it is to paint and complete. All the best. Mike.

 

On 23/02/2019 at 08:49, Vingtor said:

This aircraft also had nose art - "The cunning foxes" if I recall correctly. It can be seen just in front of the engine on the first photo. There is a close-up among Gerd's photos.

 

Nils

Thank you Nils. Of course, I have seen your name already in connection with the discussion on an He115 at Woodhaven in the fascinating thread below. I am trying to think how I can include the nose art in the build - I have never printed my own decals but since I am always looking to improve my skills, I may have a go for this build. All the best. Mike.

 

On 23/02/2019 at 19:20, Robert Stuart said:

Oh, good to see a real (multi-colour) Matchbox kit under-way - and with quick progress (though I suspect a little slower that most when that plasic was really new).

Thanks Robert. You have to savour these simple old kits, don't you? - that's my excuse anyway. Plus any build has to remain clandestine because of SWMBO's radar. 'If you've got time to build models, you've got time to get on with that XXXXX.....!' (For XXXXX, substitute any household task known to Man, and a few only known to SWMBO!)

Edited February 25, 2019 by Ventora3300

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

On 2/23/2019 at 5:48 PM, Dazey said:

Cool! I remember doing this kit when I was a little one.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Regards,

David

Me too! I loved the multi colours so I did not have to paint it before taking it into battle!

 

Nice start there Mike

[Ventora3300]

Cracking on with the Coastal Command He.115 - engines were given a dry brush with Aluminium to bring out the cylinder detail then assembled to the cowlings - just 'tacked' in place at the moment so that painting can be done without breaking the props. The prop spinners are in Matt Black with the blades in Black-Green H91 - I'm going to assume that the 'new owners' just left the blades as the Luftwaffe finish. Painting of Dark Earth H29 on the upper surfaces and floats has commenced.

 

 

 

I am going with the Dark Green/Dark Earth scheme for the upper surfaces as suggested strongly by those who have investigated the He115's in RAF service. From the references I have read, there appears to be a 'sorting out' of colours in Jan 1941 with the Temperate Land scheme defined as Dark Green and Dark Earth and Temperate Sea scheme as Dark Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey (9 Jan 41 - amended to Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey by AMO A.30/41). I really fancied doing the Temperate Sea scheme but if this He.115 was flying from Woodhaven in the first years of WWII then it's entirely feasible that the colours followed Coastal Command's early scheme. I'm looking at adding some bulkheads next to fill in the interior spaces.
 

[Ventora3300]

Just as an aside, I located the intended Frog kit F418 of the He.115, which was taken on and issued by Revell - If time permits, I could do this one as a Luftwaffe machine under the 'Maritime Patrol' section of this GB. It would be interesting to do the comparison with the Matchbox kit.

 

 

 

 

[CliffB]

Just catching up with this one.  A fascinating subject 

[Ventora3300]

1 hour ago, CliffB said:

Just catching up with this one.  A fascinating subject 

Thanks, CliffB - here is where the whole He.115 thing started for me...

 

 

[CliffB]

Like others, I would have assumed that the Revell kit was ex. Matchbox.  I hope that you do get to build it too!

[Robert Stuart]

Looks good so far @Ventora3300.  And, if you have time, the Frog/Revell comparion build would be interesting to see.

[Ventora3300]

Progressing along with the Heinkel He.115 - I put in a small bulkhead at the front and a floor extending into the nose canopy. I imagined this would be the place any 'agents' would be placed on clandestine missions to the coast of Europe or Norway so I put in a pad seat (got it from a spare Airfix 'Dinah'). I also put in another bulkhead and floor at the rear gunner's position to fill in that area.

 

In line with the reference pictures, I put a small blanking plate over the hole where the front m/g would have been and set up the main canopy with aerial mast moved further back and a DH Loop aerial installed forward (a brass eye hook was handy - a bit thick in cross-section but all I've got  at the moment). I'm leaving the rear m/g in because it seems a bit mad to leave home without at least one. The crew have their uniform and boots - just the flying helmets and Mae Wests to add - (I am saying that the prone member of the crew is the 'agent' looking through binoculars on a stand, not a bomb sight). Going to complete the upper surfaces camouflage next.

[JWM]

The Revell is producing both: ex-Frog and ex Matchbox He-115.  if one study carefully this diagram on scalemates:

 https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-04276-heinkel-he115-b-c-seaplane--134593.

will be able to recognize from the number or box art which kit is inside Revell box...

The RAF He 115 was ex Norwegian, there were some intense threads on BM about differences between German "C" variants and Norwegian "N" which was close to "A".

 

And also my attempt (with link to WIP inside) 

 

The Matchbox has naceles without guns as RAF He 115 had. The most important is that the nose glass was shorter in Norwegian machines (as in He 155 A) and bottom of nose was also differnt from C.

Regards

J-W

 

[Ventora3300]

Many thanks J-W, I spent an enjoyable time reading through all that information. Yes, I think I will be able to modify the nose front 'bubble' and I am leaving off the bombsight under the nose canopy to give the different shape there. If I did put in some holes in the leading edges of the wings to represent the forward firing m/g's then I think they would be outboard of the engines and outside the arc of the propellor blades - same as on Beaufighters. An interesting thing about the Matchbox He.115 kit is that even though there is no indication on the printed matter, including the Instructions, as to the type of He.115, the decals have a 'nameplate' for the stand which includes 'He115A-2' All the best. Mike.

[Ventora3300]

Painted in the Dark Green H116 on the top surfaces now - trying to follow the patterns on the black and white photographs of the He.115 at Woodhaven. It certainly produced a disruptive pattern.

 

I am leaving the floats and props off until the masking and black undersides are done just in case there is an accident but it meant trying to hold the floats under the wings and guess where to add in the dark green to provide a bit of camouflage continuity with the wings above. I though I had done a good job on the floats until I realised that I had been holding the wrong ones under each wing - they are handed because there are indentations where the cross-struts go. The floats then had to be re-painted. There are what look like radiators of some sort on the fronts of the main float support legs and I dug out some spare PE as I remembered there was some 'grille' left over (from the Frog Sea Furies build) which could be used on the He.115. There seems to be a spare IP which could also be used.

[Robert Stuart]

That's an interesting - and different - pattern on the He.115, I don't suppose there were standard drawings for the camouflage.

[tonyot]

Looking good and glad that I managed to spark some interest in the subject! I was interested to see whether you chose TLS or TSS for your upper surfaces,..... it is hard to determine which was correct to be fair 

Good luck with the rest,

 

Cheers

           Tony

[Ventora3300]

On 08/03/2019 at 22:23, Robert Stuart said:

That's an interesting - and different - pattern on the He.115, I don't suppose there were standard drawings for the camouflage.

Thanks, Robert. I tried to follow the changes in colours from the many black and white photos of the He.115 at Woodhaven, Fife, and I wanted to compare with what @Kjetil Åkracame up with in his post in 'Captured Heinkel 115' of June 18th 2016 - his images below. I think I came up with almost the same camouflage pattern on the upper surfaces.

 

I always wondered if the RAF had a standard scheme mapped out for aircraft like the Luftwaffe did for their 'splinter' pattern but it must have been up to each factory to do their interpretation. Surely each factory had a set of masks that they used so at least all aircraft from one particular factory would look similar. Anyway, if the Norwegians painted the He.115 in the field then the camouflage pattern would have followed their own particular style.

 

 

[Ventora3300]

16 hours ago, tonyot said:

Looking good and glad that I managed to spark some interest in the subject! I was interested to see whether you chose TLS or TSS for your upper surfaces,..... it is hard to determine which was correct to be fair 

Good luck with the rest,

 

Cheers

           Tony

Many thanks, Tony - yes, once the idea had been planted, it was 'unfinished business' until it was done. I was desperate to do the TSS with the greys but the amount of research put in by the others above swayed me to DG/DE in the end. All the best. Mike

[Robert Stuart]

31 minutes ago, Ventora3300 said:

Thanks, Robert. I tried to follow the changes in colours from the many black and white photos of the He.115 at Woodhaven, Fife, and I wanted to compare with what @Kjetil Åkracame up with in his post in 'Captured Heinkel 115' of June 18th 2016 - his images below. I think I came up with almost the same camouflage pattern on the upper surfaces.

My comment was meant to be rhetorical (didn’t need an answer 😉).

To answer your query, yes there were standard arrangements of colours was worked out before the war, with A and B schemes for single and multi engine types.  You'll probably find plenty of discussions about those elsewhere in this forum. 

 

Your research of the He 115's scheme shows it was developed locally by Norwegian airmen who had more impotant things to do than to worry about than rules dreamt up in London.

[Vingtor]

There are other interpretations than Kjetil Åkra's, of the colour schemes on RAF He 115s. Especially for the Malta aircraft. There is a book with photos and illustrations by the late David Howley, that show a He 115 in a scheme different from the typical British disruptive camouflage. I have this book at home ... somewhere.

 

Nils

[Ventora3300]

Cracking along - masking on the main body is done for the undersides black and two coats of H33 are on (didn't think masking on the floats was necessary due to the well defined side angles). It dried very quickly so the masking was able to come off while it continued to dry. I remember that I was short of an elevator balancing horn (used up in the Matchbox GB build) so I made another from some spare wire - quite pleased with that piece of scratch-building. There was some PE left over from my Frog Sea Fury Build last year so a piece of 'grille' came in handy to mount on what looks like radiators of some sort on the front of the main legs for the floats.

 

 

Masking applied to the canopies now and paint going on there - the main canopy falls in a 'Green' area of the camouflage so also gets H116. I filled the hole in the nose canopy where the bombsight was to go, being left off, and sanded the back edge of the nose'bubble' to more closely represent the shape in the photos. The crew have their MaeWests and are raring to go! The m/g has been broken several times but at least the barrel is still with us.

 

 

Also there was a spare instrument panel and side consoles which I managed to fix in place - gives the cabin a bit of a fuller look.

 

 

 

 

 

[Graham Boak]

The model shows a pattern that is recognisably a distorted version of the standard AM pattern.  Whether the distortion is original or caused by interpretation of photos I can't say, but I would expect that the original intention would have been to follow the pattern.  It is of course possible that the scheme was altered with time - as Vingtor says, especially for the Malta-based aircraft.