Part of FW Condor found N of Iceland.

[Angus]

In 1943, 2 Lightnings intercepted and shot down a FW-Condor N of Iceland, roughly at the polar circle.
Pictures here, text is in Icelandic though.
http://www.sksiglo.is/is/news/hvad_er_thetta__ruder-trim_/
The German aircraft was a Focke Wulf FW 200 Condor F8+FL, from III/KG-40. The Lightning Pilots were Dick Holly og William Bethea, flying from nearabouts Akureyri. All 7 hands were saved. The crewlist is here: Captain Karl Holtrup  (Oberfeldwebel) frá Dusseldorf. The others: Ofw. Karl Holtrup, Uffz. Günter Karte, Fw. Josef Teufel, Uffz. Herbert Richter, Ofw. Emil Brandt, Gfr. Wilhelm Lehn og Obgfr. Siegfried Klinkmann.
Anyway, I thought I'd share this with you, and will post if there is more. Wonder if any of those is still alive...

[Angus]

Anyway, this is the piece. Has to do with the rudder trim apparently, but all info would be well appreciated.

[Ack-Ack]

Did the shoot down occur on August 14, 1943?


ack-ack

[Saurdaukar]

Thats gotta be super-rare.

Always loved the look of that bird... too bad it was (for the Germans) built like a 1970's Japanese economy car.

You'd figure that, had build-quality and foresight been better, it would have served as a development platform what what the LW really needed - a proper strat buff.

[Die Hard]

It was perfectly suited for the task it was designed for: Long-range airliner. It was the first airplane to fly nonstop between Berlin and New York, making the journey on August 10, 1938. In military versatility it was the B707 of its day being used in a multitude of military support-roles.  In wartime it was converted into a long-range maritime reconnaissance bomber; a task for which it was eminently suited. From June 1940 to February 1941, they sank 365,000 tons of allied shipping. In the pure reconnaissance configuration, lightened and overloaded with fuel it had an operational range just shy of the U.S. east coast (some say a few actually got within visual range of the U.S. mainland). Wartime stresses and overloading of equipment and ord/fuel took its toll on what was essentially a civilian aircraft; structural failure due to metal fatigue was not uncommon later in the war.

[Angus]

I think it was in August, but will have to ask, - don't have the paper and it's not available on the internet any more. I know the guy who came up with the data though. (He is a Luftwobble  )
Anyway, it is indeed a rarity. Not much remains of Condors around here, but they were here sometimes. My next door neighbour has a cast aluminum piece and uses it as an ashtray! That Condor went down overland and got smashed up quite a lot. I'll ask her about it today, - maybe there are some items there yet.
When my mom was a tottler, she witnessed a tail chase over the south, it could have been a Condor, or just a He-111. It was chased down by 2 fighters, and I think it got shot down. That's one looking into.
The Condor was quite a remarkable aircraft for it's time, and did heavy damage on shipping, and lots of Recce work. I am still reading up on our history about these times, so I'll come up with more interesting stuff later.

[Saurdaukar]

It was perfectly suited for the task it was designed for: Long-range airliner. It was the first airplane to fly nonstop between Berlin and New York, making the journey on August 10, 1938. In military versatility it was the B707 of its day being used in a multitude of military support-roles.  In wartime it was converted into a long-range maritime reconnaissance bomber; a task for which it was eminently suited. From June 1940 to February 1941, they sank 365,000 tons of allied shipping. In the pure reconnaissance configuration, lightened and overloaded with fuel it had an operational range just shy of the U.S. east coast (some say a few actually got within visual range of the U.S. mainland). Wartime stresses and overloading of equipment and ord/fuel took its toll on what was essentially a civilian aircraft; structural failure due to metal fatigue was not uncommon later in the war.

None of which falls in contrast to my statement.

Diehard attempt to create argument: Failed.

[Ack-Ack]

I think it was in August, but will have to ask, - don't have the paper and it's not available on the internet any more. I know the guy who came up with the data though. (He is a Luftwobble  )

If it was the shoot down that occured on August 14, 1943, he's got the names incorrect for the US pilots.  2nd Lt. Elza Shahan of the 27th Fighter Squadron flying a P-38F and Joseph Shaffer of the 33rd Squadron flying a either a P-40C or a P-39 were credited for shooting down a Condor on that date over Iceland.

If that is indeed the wreck of that shoot down, it is a very special find.  It was the first Luftwaffe kill for the US and Shahan is credited for scoring the first kill for the P-38 in the ETO.


ack-ack

[Die Hard]

None of which falls in contrast to my statement.

Diehard attempt to create argument: Failed.

Wasn't addressing you or anything in your post.

Saurdaukar ego trip: Failed.

[Saurdaukar]

Wasn't addressing you or anything in your post.

Saurdaukar ego trip: Failed.

Right. 

Diehard attempt to proclaim deniability: Uberfailed.

[Die Hard]

Could you possibly be more egocentric?

[Die Hard]

If it was the shoot down that occured on August 14, 1943, he's got the names incorrect for the US pilots.  2nd Lt. Elza Shahan of the 27th Fighter Squadron flying a P-38F and Joseph Shaffer of the 33rd Squadron flying a either a P-40C or a P-39 were credited for shooting down a Condor on that date over Iceland.

If that is indeed the wreck of that shoot down, it is a very special find.  It was the first Luftwaffe kill for the US and Shahan is credited for scoring the first kill for the P-38 in the ETO.


ack-ack

The first U.S. kill on the Luftwaffe on August 14, 1943? Surely the 8th AF got some kills before that. After all they had been flying combat sorties over Europe since the summer of 1942.

[Masherbrum]

If it was the shoot down that occured on August 14, 1942, he's got the names incorrect for the US pilots.  2nd Lt. Elza Shahan of the 27th Fighter Squadron flying a P-38F and Joseph Shaffer of the 33rd Squadron flying a either a P-40C or a P-39 were credited for shooting down a Condor on that date over Iceland.

If that is indeed the wreck of that shoot down, it is a very special find.  It was the first Luftwaffe kill for the US and Shahan is credited for scoring the first kill for the P-38 in the ETO.


ack-ack

DieHard, typo's happen, but everything else in Ack's post is SPOT ON.

[Ack-Ack]

The first U.S. kill on the Luftwaffe on August 14, 1943? Surely the 8th AF got some kills before that. After all they had been flying combat sorties over Europe since the summer of 1942.

Typo. /shrug


ack-ack

[Die Hard]

CC, however Angus is asking about a specific shoot-down in 1943. Ack-Ack then connects that to a 1942 kill in two separate posts. So it's not a typo. It's an error. No big deal; just wanted it clarified that the Army Air Force didn't sit on their collective tulips for over a year in the ETO before scoring a kill.