Heinkel He 111H WNr 6853/AW177 was an Oranienburg-built aircraft and was delivered to 5/KG26 at Westerland near the German-Danish border as 1H+EN in August 1939.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

WNr 6853 is transported through the streets of North Berwick on the first leg of its journey to the RAE at Farnborough.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

AW177 was flown by No 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight at Duxford for two years, but was destroyed in a collision with a captured Ju 88 in late 1943.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

The placing of the ventral gunner’s gondola was far from ideal as it occupied most of the space where the beam gunner stood.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

The unusual cockpit layout of the glazed nose He 111, with most of the instruments mounted in a panel above the pilot’s head. Note the Patin repeater compass on the far right.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

Another view of the instrument panel, with a crew member in typical Luftwaffe battledress attaching his oxygen supply.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

The originally-unarmoured pilot’s seat was fitted with 10mm armour plate after several losses.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

The pilot sits on the left and the navigator/bomb aimer on the right. For bombing, he moves forward and, pulling up a flap, gets into the prone position for using the bombsight. On the right of his seat, which is of the tip-up type so that he may go aft easily, is the Patin repeater compass. This is connected to the Mutterkompass (literally “mother compass”), illustrated here, which is also a Patin instrument and is mounted on the floor of the fuselage well down near the tail, as far away as possible from all steel. The mother compass is mounted on gimbals, and has radial vibration-absorbing springs around the circumference. A small window in the top cover allows the bearing to be read directly if required.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938

The rudder pedals and brake cylinders for the He 111 were mounted on an arm to allow the maximum possible downward visibility.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Heinkel He-111P/H - ГерманияGermany - 1938