Rare German aircraft recovered off Denmark
05/01/2012
What was once a state-of-the-art German fighter plane has been recovered off the coast of Denmark and is the process of being readied for restoration.
A Heinkel He 219 found recently in Tannis Bay off the coast of northern Jutland was a night-fighter that was the first military aircraft in the world to be equipped with ejection seats and said to be one of the first operational aircraft with a pressurized cockpit.
Fewer than 300 of the aircraft, nicknamed Eagle-Owl, were built for the Luftwaffe and the only other known survivor is at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex at Washington Dulles Airport.
It’s unclear what happened to the example found off the Danish coast, according to Politiken.dk.
”The only parts of the aircraft that remain to be found are one of its two engines and part of the tail, which probably included the aircraft number, which in turn would help determine why the aircraft ended up in Tannis Bay,” according to the website.
The Heinkel He 219 was also equipped with an effective VHF intercept radar designed to seek out and attack allied bombers and it featured a tricycle landing gear.
