WIX Archives

Fuel for the dreamers!

Posted by ErikH on Wed Jul 31, 2002 10:51:55 AM

Hi!

I do not post here very often, however I check for interesting postings every day.
I have noticed a great interest in possible wreak recoveries
in my part of the world (Norway).
I thought I should post a few words about a well known
mysterious Bf109.

I came upon this story a few years ago when I got an email from an american that had read about it in a book he had found in a library in Germany in the 50's.
The story in the book apperantly tells about a Bf109 pilot flying in formation over a snow covered landscape, when the engine starts to fail. He the makes an emergency landing on a frozen lake.
He struggles back to civilization, but plans to repair the aircraft and fly it out from the lake, fails when spring arrives and the aircraft starts to melt through the ice.
The pilots of the squadron keep overflying the lake
in the following days until nothing is seen of the
fighter. Unfortunatly my american contact could not remember
any info about where this all happened.... :-|

Part II:
I mention this story to friends of mine that is more
well-informed in such matters than I am.
They informed me of a flight of Bf109s that had been on transit from V?rnes near Trondheim flying to Gardermoen.
About 30 min into the flight, one of them developed engine
problems and had to make an emergency landing on a frozen lake.
The aircraft was supposedly never recovered and sank
through the ice.
Some years after the war a SAS pilot sweared he had seen
the outline of a small aircraft on the bottom of a lake
north of the town of Lillehammer.
Unfortunatly he could not fix the position more
precise, and that area is scattered with lakes..!
Remember, this was when the airliners flew low and slow...
If you match the cruise speed of a Bf109 to a flight time
out of V?rnes of 30min. in the direction of Gardermoen,
you end up in this area!

Mmmm!
I have thought about encouraging my PPL friends to go
along on an expedition there, checking each and every lake
from the air. It will be time consuming and the possiblity
of the fighter being covered in mud and not visible
anymore is a very likely possibility.

Keep dreaming!!

Erik

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