| Sheringham
witnesses second German plane to crash |
Sheringham was to witness the second German
plane to crash on mainland Britain after only 94 days of war in December of 1939. This
aircraft made a significant contribution to the British War effort as scientists had been
working unsuccessfully for several years to perfect a rubber material to line the fuel
tanks in the event of bullets hitting them. On inspection of this plane, it was found to
have the self-sealing fuel tanks and they were able to solve the problems and save many
British aircrew lives.
The Heinkel 115 first flew in 1936 and by the end of the war it was one of the best
long-range floatplanes to be used by the Luftwaffe. It was mainly used in the role of the
mining of estuaries and coastal waters; some of the aircraft were modified to carry
magnetic mines. |
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Rodel, Wodtke and Ullman, the crew of the Heinkel 115,
collided with a radio mast at West Beckham radar station. It then started losing height
and narrowly missed the gas tank in Sheringham before it crashed at 3.15am on 6th December
1939 on the beach in front of the Grand Hotel. There was an eye witness account that one
of the crewmembers was "wearing a helmet containing airphones" and a
"leather flying jacket with four wings on the sleeve" had been washed ashore.
All three of the crew was killed. Oberfeldwebel Emil Rodel (Flight Sergeant) age 29 was
the first World War 2 Combatant to be buried in Great Bircham Cemetery with full military
honours including an RAF bearer party on 9th December 1939. Oberleutnant Zur See W. Wodtke
(Flying Officer) washed ashore on south beach on 19th December and was buried with full
military honours at Sheringham Cemetery. The RAF provided an honoury guard an eleven-gun
salute and a poppy wreath from both the RAF and the local branch of the British Legion.
It was known as 'The Gentleman's War' in the early days but all that changed when Germany
invaded Norway and Denmark on 9th April 1940.
An original newspaper report from The Daily Sketch dated 7th December 1939 can be seen in
The Two Lifeboats public house.
Photograph supplied by Peter Brooks, curator of Sheringham Museum |
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