The Heinkel He III Propeller by Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DFC (1918 – 1944). Found Objects , Metal , Steel, Unique 370cm high by 275cm wide by deep , Aeroplane , Transportation sculpture
This piece by Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DFC (1918 – 1944). Found Objects , Metal , Steel, Unique 370cm high by 275cm wide by deep , Aeroplane , Transportation sculpture The Heinkel He III propeller was shot down by Guy Gibson over Skegness on 15 March 1941.
It features three blades mounted on an impressive steel stand, recently built for a television programme. The stand measures 200 cm from floor to the centre pin, 173 cm from the centre pin to the top of the propeller, giving an overall height of 370 cm. The propeller blades span 275 cm from tip to tip. Fisherman James Walked of Habertoft recovered the Heinkel He III H-3 propeller in September 2007 while trawling off Ingoldmells Point in his boat, Thalassa.
The piece appeared on Salvage Hunters: The Restorers in September 2020, available to watch online via Quest TV. Authorities from East Kirkby and the Lincolnshire Aircraft Recovery Group confirmed that only one Heinkel crashed in that area during WWII. The aircraft went down off Skegness Pier after a Beaufighter, piloted by Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DFC, engaged it. This was Gibson’s first successful Beaufighter mission. All three crew members perished when the plane sank into the sea. Corporal Helmut Seidel washed ashore in June 1941 and is buried at Great Bircham Cemetery in Norfolk.
Guy Gibson, with Sergeant James as A.I. operator, spotted a Heinkel flying north. He immediately got behind the aircraft and into firing range. At the crucial moment, Gibson’s guns jammed. By the time James cleared the issue, the Heinkel was turning out to sea and diving home. In Gibson’s account of the encounter, he says – “At last James got one cannon going and we aimed at the port engine. As shell after shell banged home, there was a yellow flash, sparks flew out and the engine stopped. Then we aimed at the starboard engine and this stopped within seconds. The Heinkel was careering down towards the earth at 120m.p.h., someone baled out but we were a long way out to see. We followed it right down, and watched it land on the sea off Skegness Pier…” Lincolnshire Crash List refers.
