Heinkel 111 crash, WWII, Listan Way, Southend-on-Sea

Heinkel 111 – Lifstan Way crash.

My father, a young teenager, on August 30th 1940 was with a friend in Southend when they saw a Heinkel 111 bomber with its port engine on fire heading towards them very low being shot at by two spitfires. The bomber circled Southend with the spitfires taking turns to shoot at it and it eventually crashed in Lifstan Way in Southend close to my father and his friend. An incendiary bomb was ejected during the fight and scored a direct hit on my Grandfather’s aviary (their meagre war ration was supplemented by racing pigeon for a few weeks). My father rushed home for a wheelbarrow and tried to cart away one the aircraft’s tyres, which intrigued them as it had ‘Dunlop’ embossed on it! Two crew managed to bail out of the Heinkel and were captured but three other crew members unfortunately died in the crash.

We still have the tail end of the incendiary in our possession.

I have a number of photographs taken of crashed wartime aircraft around Southend but I hadn’t seen some of the photographs of the Heinkel in the previous post. Can you tell me where these came from?

PS. I also have a whole folder of photographs taken at Southend Airport in the 50’s and 60’s if anyone is interested – nice Vikings, Bristol Freighters and DC4’s etc.

Graham Mee

Just thinking about this, and I recall that the late Bill Gent had some sizeable parts of this aircraft although not sure if they were ever displayed at Southend Aircraft Museum. This was around 1970, btw. As I recall he had most of the fuselage gondola, tailwheel and a briefcase full of maps.

Where are they now???

I don’t remember ever seeing these parts at the museum so it is unlikely that Bill ever displayed them there.
The traction engines were removed along with the fire engine in Priory Park on the instructions of the Health and Safety police. I am not sure exactly when but there was a time when they had a sudden clampdown on old vehicles in playgrounds. I think the Prentice at Basildon / Laindon G-AOPY which was right beside the railway line was removed around the same time.

Grahamm
I’d love to see your Southend pics. Did you used to work in ATC at the Airport?

Southend ATC

Yes I did, 18 years boy and man.

Graham
I would also be interested in the Southend pics. By all means send a PM if you want to. Thanks

Southend Airport Photographs

I have just published two of the Southend photographs under another thread on this forum entitled: Seaplane Activity at Southend-on-Sea.

Graham

Thanks for the info, certainly looks like it! The other thing I found in that garden as a kid was a toy space shuttle, so maybe a previous occupant just went to the states and bought some souvenirs.

But there were a few USAAF accidents in the area too which I’ll have a look at.

Thanks for the insight!

Gary

Looking at the helmet, I’m inclined to suggest it might be American as opposed to German! Any USAAF crashes in the area?

Hi again everyone,

I’d fully forgotten about this thread after covid ruined all those travel plans.

Happy to say the helmet has been located in my mum’s storage in Southend! I’ve attached a picture and if anyone can offer any details I’d be very grateful. This pic was hurriedly snapped and given to me before the helmet was sent to me in the post, hope it’s useful and interesting to someone. Will post again if needs be when it arrives.

Cheers!

Gary

Thanks Laurence, I’m working on it, I believe the helmet may in fact be on its way to me so I’ll do that as soon as I get it.

I did also read a couple of years back that a large unexploded bomb was found where the steamroller used to sit which required a few streets to evacuate. No idea where the steamroller ended up though 🙂 

Thanks for your post Gary, and welcome to the forum. I am no expert on flying helmets, but there is likely to be someone on the forum who is. So please post a photo if you can organise it.

Laurence

Hi Everyone,

I see this is a pretty old thread, but thought this might be of interest if anyone’s still reading.

As a kid I lived on Chinchilla Road, two roads over from Lifstan Way. I think I was about 7 when I found an old pilot’s leather helmet buried in the garden with the rubber ear pieces intact. I knew there were a few crashes in the area, including one that involved a British pilot getting a posthumous medal for skilfully avoiding Southend School High for Boys (which I later went to). I don’t know if the helmet I found is British or German, may not even be from that era but certainly old, maybe even related to this Heinkel crash, but recently I got to thinking about it and wondered where it was. Mum still lives in the area and she did some digging and found it for me, nicely intact.

I’m living in Canada now over 20 years later and if this is something that might be of interest I’ll ask mum to take a good picture of it and post it here. Maybe this kind of thing happened enough that it’s not exciting at all, but I think it’s pretty cool so thought I’d share it.

Cheers all!

Gary Bond

Old Fart Not as in age… well not quite!

Old as feeling old

Fart as in a body function I am quite proud of! that and the other way to let gas out which I am famous for! well when I say famous I should have said infamous.

Same date as my birthday… well in 1975 it would have been!

Come on…born 1975, that doesn’t even make you…

…’Middle-Aged Fart’! 😀

Same date as my birthday… well in 1975 it would have been!

30-8-1940 1715 hrs. Heinkel He 111H-2 Werk Nr. 5532 AI+JL of 3/KG55 crashed at Lifstan Way, Southend.
Wreckage was spread over a wide area so many a schoolboy would have gathered up a memento!

After much seaching for the photo I finally found it.

This part of the wreckage is help by the Southend Museum it was on a rare outing when I was just visiting the museum so grabed a shot of it, I was also alowed to pick it for for a close up view.

Parts pf the aircraft still exist, will have a scout round for the photo.

Steve
Many thanks. Spent many hours as a kid sliding down those very slopes on pieces of cardboard or playing on the steam engine in the park.

Lifstan Way Heinkel..

Hi;

I do have all the details and a photograph somewhere, but it needs unearthing. I would imagine that someone will beat me to it…but I recall that the photograph showed the wreckage lying across the road and allotments just to the north of the railway bridge. In fact, I’m sure the wreckage was scattered up the railway embankment. Apparently, three crew members parachuted to safety. Afraid that this is all I can remember until I find my notes…but I’m sure the photo appears in one of the Blitz Then And Now books…
Hope this helps for the moment..

Regards;
Steve