Britain’s Only Remaining WW2 German Plane Wreck

Tucked away on Fair Isle, Britain’s most remote inhabited island between the Shetlands and Orkneys, lies the country’s most complete German WWII plane wreck—a Heinkel He 111.

During WWII, the Royal Air Force (RAF) built a radar station atop a hill on Fair Isle to monitor German aircraft collecting weather data for bombing and U-boat missions. RAF No. 3 Squadron, stationed in the Shetlands with their Hawker Hurricanes, patrolled the region to intercept these reconnaissance flights.

On January 17, 1941, a Heinkel He 111 was conducting a weather mission when it was attacked by nearby Hurricanes. The damaged aircraft crash-landed in an empty field. Surviving crew members were captured by the island’s citizens, and a lifeboat later transported them to Shetland for detention.

After the crash, the RAF salvaged parts of the aircraft, but much of the Heinkel was left behind. Today, 80 years later, the plane’s engines and part of its rear fuselage remain intact, resting in the grass where it fell.

Only two other examples of Heinkel He 111s are known to exist in Britain today—one at the RAF Museum in London and another under restoration at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum in Hawkinge. The wreck on Fair Isle stands as a unique and haunting reminder of WWII’s legacy, preserved by its remote location and rugged terrain.