WARBIRDS WARBIRDS INTERNATIONAL WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS Extremely crude static for two months. merchant marine took part in every restoration done of White 1 This included the war operation from the evacuation of at the Texas Air Museum. battles of Narvik Dunkirk to the Normandy invasion. — an offensive With all this military action, it is against German not surprising that numerous aerial bat- forces but this col- tles took place over the nation. For the lapsed in surrender purpose of this article, we are going to on 10 June 1940 examine one that occurred on 9 when the British February 1945. On that date, withdrew military Unteroffizier Heinz Orlowski of JG5 was support following piloting Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8 WNr Germany’s massive 93182 White 1 as part of a mission sup- invasion of France. porting Wehrmacht troops that were First, let’s travel back a century ago to Norway’s king and government under heavy attack from an advancing the Great War. Norway was, in princi- escaped to Britain where they would Soviet army. This particular aircraft ple, a neutral nation but in reality the support clandestine operations in their was constructed in early June 1944 by government had been forced by the home country. Following their king Norddeutsche Dornier Werke, one of the was a small group of Norwegians with companies license-building what was A proud moment at GossHawk — British to hand over increasingly large the team stands with White 1 after sections of its substantial merchant 13 ships, five aircraft, and 500 men arguably Germany’s finest single- wing/fuselage mating. (Lindsey Goss) marine fleet to Britain — for extremely from the Royal Norwegian Navy. They engine propeller-driven fighter. low prices. Also, the country was forced would form the core of the Free Part of a force of nine Focke-Wulfs, oday, few Americans are famil- to join the trade blockade against Norwegian Forces that would grow to the German aviators soon found action iar with the fierce aerial battles Germany. Norwegian merchant ships, 58 ships, five squadrons of aircraft, and when they encountered a Royal Air that took place in the skies often carrying full Norwegian crews, 7500 military personnel. Force group of 32 Bristol Beaufighters over Norway during the T thus had to sail under the British flag A pro-Nazi government was put in and ten North American Mustangs. Second World War. Because of its and became at risk to the newest form of place with minister/president Vidkun Although heavily armed, the strategic location, the territory com- warfare — the U-Boat. Numerous ships Quisling, whose name would forever Beaufighters were greatly outclassed by prising Norway was very contested. were thus lost and with the end of the stand for treachery, but, at the same the Fw 190Fs. Orlowski engaged a AT GOSSHAWK UNLIMITED, Great War, the global standing of time, over 15,000 Norwegians volun- Beaufighter at low-level and recorded Norway’s merchant marine had fallen teered to fight in German units, cannon and machine gun strikes on the WORK IS PROGRESSING from fourth to six place. including the Waffen-SS. During the twin-engine British aircraft. Flight TOWARD THE FIRST FLIGHT OF Having learned these hard lessons, five years of German occupation, civil Officer Knight knew the Beaufighter A RARE WWII FIGHTER OWNED Norway once again attempted to stay disobedience and armed resistance had been badly hit and he tried to neutral when the Second World War grew and attacks included the destruc- make a forced landing on a steep slope BY THE COLLINGS FOUNDATION began in September 1939. However, tion of Norsk Hydro’s heavy water but the plane hit hard and broke apart German forces invaded the nation on 9 plant and the stockpile of heavy water — killing Knight and Flight Officer BY MICHAEL O’LEARY April 1940. Unprepared for the blitzkrieg, at Vemork, which crippled Germany’s Lynch. An RAF Mustang had latched the Norwegian military managed to fight nuclear program — a program that if onto the Fw 190F in an attempt to With the end of the war in Europe, the countryside was littered with the remains of the once-proud Luftwaffe and that service’s top propeller- fully developed could have changed drive the attacker away and this result- driven fighter, the Fw 190, could be found from nearly intact examples… …to aircraft that were just components. the outcome of the war. Also, Norway’s ed in a long aerial duel 12 WARBIRDS INTERNATIONAL/October-November 2018 warbirdsintlnow.com 13.