German hydrofoil sunk in a fjord

After 70 years since it was sunk, the unique German aircraft will return to its home base, which in the meantime… has turned into a Museum of Aviation History. On 26 December 1942, when the Germans occupied Norway, a Heinkel 115B hydrofoil, part of the Kustenfligengruppe 906, made such an unfortunate landing in Harfsfjord that it damaged one of the floats, which was the direct cause of the sinking.

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The crew and some of the equipment were rescued, but the machine lay forgotten in the depths for the next seven decades. It was found by accident, during a routine test of a new sonar!

The irony and perversity of fate was on full display here. A machine so rare that no copy has survived to this day, rested peacefully at the bottom, less than 3km from the Aviation History Museum in the town of Sola.

The excavation of the wreck is scheduled for June 2. Initially, the main objective of the whole project, will be to extract and transfer the aircraft to a fresh water tank and… present it at the Sola Airshow, an aviation event that will take place at the same time.

Harfsjord is a special place. The inner part of it, where the wreck is located, has a very low oxygen content. Until recently, this was mainly a problem, as such a situation makes it very difficult for life to develop, but wreck enthusiasts are already guessing how such conditions have affected the German hydrofoil. Corrosion has affected the wreck only minimally, and according to reports coming from Norway, its condition is sensational! The low oxygen saturation and the lack of any movement of the surrounding waters have been very beneficial for the 70-year-old wreck.

The only problem, it seems, is the very high salinity of the basin. Therefore, immediately after its excavation, the Heinkel 115B has to be cleaned and thoroughly washed out. The whole operation is already planned by the museum management and it seems that the visiting tourists will have a great new attraction to admire.

Source: tu.no