Heinkel He 111H-20, WNr. 701152
History
The Heinkel He 111 H-20 displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum is one of the most historically significant surviving German bombers of the Second World War. Built in 1944 as a Heinkel He 111 H-20/R1 troop transport and paratroop aircraft, it carries the Werknummer (factory serial) 701152 and originally flew with the Luftwaffe under the code NT+SL.
By the time aircraft 701152 was built in 1944, the He 111 design was already becoming outdated. Instead of serving purely as a bomber, this H-20 variant was adapted for transport duties. It could carry sixteen paratroopers in addition to its crew of three, and many of the original troop seats and straps remain inside the aircraft today. Historians believe that late-war examples like this one may also have been intended for covert operations, including the insertion of agents behind Allied lines.
At the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, the aircraft was captured by Allied forces in France. It was initially selected for evaluation by the United States Army Air Forces as part of a program collecting advanced German aircraft technology. The Heinkel was flown to Cherbourg for shipment to the United States aboard HMS Reaper, but there was insufficient space on the ship and the aircraft was left behind.
When the American unit prepared to return home later in 1945, the pilots feared the aircraft would simply be scrapped. Instead, Major Carter secretly flew the Heinkel to RAF North Weald at dawn on 12 September 1945 and abandoned it there for the RAF to discover. The unusual sight of a German bomber suddenly appearing on a British airfield caused considerable surprise, but the aircraft survived because of this act.
In the years after the war, the Heinkel was displayed at several RAF stations and at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. During the late 1960s, parts of its interior were even used during filming for the movie Battle of Britain. Finally, in 1978, the aircraft was transferred to the RAF Museum in London, where it remains on public display in Hangar 5.
Today, this Heinkel is exceptionally rare. Only a handful of original German-built He 111s survive worldwide, making the RAF Museum example one of the most important preserved Luftwaffe aircraft in existence. Its survival is remarkable not only because it represents one of Germany's most famous wartime bombers, but also because of the unusual story of the American pilots who saved it from destruction.