# World War II Aircraft wreck sites in Norway & other countries



## Rifleman62 (21 Mar 2012)

http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/index.html

World War II Aircraft wreck sites in Norway & other countries

Fantastic site. Includes the info on the failed attempts to attack the German heavy water plants (Hosa gliders and Halifax tow planes crash sites).

I did not realize the  level of Russian air activity over Norway. Interestingly, the Russian Navy flying P-40's in combat circ 1944 and P-39's still in combat the same year.

Example: Bell P-39 Q-5 Airacobra Langryggen, Varanger Finnmark

2./255.IAP VVS SF SNo 42-20442 Code "42" JLt.Sergej Sergejevitsj Tropa (KIA) 26.05 1944

A total of 14 Bf 109's took off from Svartnes at 22.00 to protect a German convoy which were continuously attacked by a force of about 68 Russian aircraft. The Germans claimed 40 kills with no own losses. Nine Russian planes were reported lost in Russian sources! JLt.Tropa managed to perform a successful forced landing even when his leg was shot off during the air battle. He bled to death sitting in the cockpit of his Airacobra. Three years later he was found, still sitting there with a cigarette in his mouth.


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## Loachman (21 Mar 2012)

I was in Norway on two exercises in 1983, and saw quite a lot of WWII remains - two beached German destroyers (Georg Thiel and Hermann Kuehne) near Narvik and a bunch of merchant ships in deeper water there (when the water was calm, the tide out, and the sun in just the right position), huge bomb craters in the fjord and on shore where Tirpitz was sunk, massive coastal artillery at Harstad (I landed on one of the turrets, and a Chinook would have had no problem doing the same), and a Ju 52 recently brought up from a lake near Evenes. There was no corrosion on the latter due to the temperature of the fresh water, and the propellers could still be turned by hand. There were another dozen still submerged - they had landed on the lake while it was frozen, but it thawed overnight to the point where only one was able to take off the next day, leaving the rest to fall through as it continued to thaw. The museum in Narvik was fascinating, although the building itself was a little rundown in some areas. Our host Squadron (339) had a barn just off of the end of the Bardufoss runway that was stocked with pieces of wrecked aircraft that they had picked up over many years.


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## jollyjacktar (21 Mar 2012)

Fascinating post Loach, and thanks Rifleman as well.  I am still picking my way through the crashes and loving it.


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## eurowing (21 Mar 2012)

Nice find!  Thanks


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## Ignatius J. Reilly (22 Mar 2012)

Thanks for the heads up on the site. 
Very interesting.


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