A Taifun that changed history

Text and images: Webmaster Leo
Taifun D-EBEI and D-ESBH images: wikipedia GFDL

World War II, January 1940. Germany had already occupied the Czech Republic (1938) and Poland (1939) and declared several other regions as native territory. All over Europe troops were being mobilized at the borders. It was just a matter of time until Nazi-Germany would attack more countries. Fall Gelb ("Case Yellow"), the highly secret plan to attack France across Belgian and Dutch territory, was about to become reality. Hitler decided that 17th of January 1940, after being delayed 4 times, would be D-day for the German army. However, on 10th of January, one week prior to D-day, something occurred that made history. Fall Gelb was postponed until the 10th of May 1940.

January 9th 1940.
In the evening two friends meet each other in the officers' lounge at Münster airbase (Germany), better known as Loddenheide airfield. Both of them, Erich Hoenmanns as well as Helmut Reinberger, were majors in the Deutsche Luftwaffe (German airforce) and hadn't seen each other for quite some time.
Hoenmanns was a veteran of Wold War I, but because he suffered minor heart problems, he was not allowed to have combat flights anymore and instead had been given command of the airbase Loddenheide.
Reinberger had previously been head of the paratroopers school in Stendal, and at the beginning of 1940 he was assigned to the planning staff of the 7th Air Division. It was this division, headed by General Kurt Student that was about to play a leading role in the invasion of Southern Holland and Belgium.
Plans for this invasion were being kept strictly secret and only a very small group of officers knew that Hitler had ordered 17th of January 1940 to be the day that Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), as it was called, would commence.
Once the Benelux countries were conquered the second phase would start, Fall Rot (Case Red), in which the Germans planned to move forward to invade France.
Hoenmanns, though being head of Loddenheide, not that far from the Dutch-German border, knew nothing about these plans, entirely in contrast to Reinberger, who was carrying a briefcase containing a yellow document. This yellow document was the detailed plan of Fall Gelb and Reinberger had received orders by his superiors to bring this document to Köln (Cologne, some 70 nautical miles south of Loddenheide). Reinberger planned to go to Münster railway station next morning and travel to Cologne by train. There he would have to hand over the document to the 2. Luftflotte (2nd Airfleet) for an important meeting in preparation of the German invasion of Holland and Belgium.

Major Dr. Erich Hoenmanns

Major Helmut Reinberger

Hearing that Reinberger had to go to Cologne, the city where his wife was living, Hoenmanns offered to fly Reinberger to Cologne. Although it was against all rules to carry important documents when flying, Reinberger agreed.

January 10th 1940.
After a good nights' sleep, at 10 o'clock in the morning Hoenmanns and Reinberger climbed into a Messerschmitt Me 108, also known as Bf 108 Taifun.
Their intention was to fly from Münster to Köln on visual and with moderately blue skies this appeared to be no problem.

The BF 108, developed in 1934 as a sports aircraft and built within 9 months, was famous for its elegant lines and its flying capacities. The aircraft even was equipped with a retractable gear, not that common in those days. It was nicknamed Taifun (Typhoon) by the legendary woman pilot Elly Beinhorn after setting a world record by flying over three continents in one day. She took off in a Bf 108 from Berlin airport Tempelhof on August 2nd, 1936 and after a short stop in Budapest for fuel and another stop in Damascus she landed in Cairo. From there Elly flew back to Budapest and landed in Berlin again. She had flown over 3,750 km and 3 continents in one day.
In 1939 another pilot set a world altitude record with a Bf 108 Taifun by reaching 9125 meter.
During a controversial visit to Germany even Charles Lindbergh called the plane the best aircraft of its type after making a testflight.

The reason the Bf 108 was built was that Germany needed an airplane that easily could be transformed into an army plane. After world war I the German army, by the treaty of Versailles was not allowed to build any military aircraft and therefore they concentrated on gliders and sportsplanes that could be transformed to military planes when needed.
The original design was for a light tourist double seater, developed for the German team taking part in the 4th international air race Challenge in 1934. The production of the improved version, the four seat Bf-108 B, was set-up in November 1935. After that the military acquired the next version, the Bf-108 B2.

Often Messerschmitt planes are given the annotation Me, whilst other times Bf is used.
The reason for that is that during the course of 1938 the manufacturing company Bayrische Flugzeugwerke (BF) changed its name into Messerschmitt A.G. (Me).

Messerschmitt Me 108 B also known as "Bf 108 Taifun", owned by the Messerschmitt Stiftung, photographed in 2005.

The same Bf 108 Taifun, right after take-off.

Taifun D-EBEI nicknamed "Elly Beinhorn" made its maiden flight on 1st of June 1940. It was transferred to the Luftwaffe and discovered by the US/Navy in Tunesia in 1943. Once recovered it was flown via Sicily to the USA. It returned to Germany in november 1990 and was restored at Lufthansa Base Hamburg. In May 1993 it was baptised by Elly Beinhorn herself hereby giving it her own name. Today it is owned by Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung and can be admired at airshows in airworthy condition.

A little while after taking of, flying above the Ruhrgebiet (Ruhr valley, a large industrial area in Nordhrein-Westphalen) the two majors in their Taifun encounter several fog banks, and a little later they find themselves surrounded by severe thick clouds. Not knowing where they are, flying with almost zero visibility, Hoenmanns sets course for SSE, assuming this course will take them to the Rhein river (eng. Rhine). Since Cologne is situated along the Rhine, they will simply have to follow the course of the river to be taken to Cologne. A little later Hoenmanns decides to descend, but when they finally can see some ground beneath, there's no sign whatsoever of the Rhine-river.
Hoenmanns panics and decides to change course again.
After a while the two lost majors spot a curved dark line on the horizon, and thinking it's the Rhine river set course for this line.
Some historians say that Hoenmanns, in an attempt to get a better look of the river, by accident hit the fuel switch, others claim that the engine stopped purely by lack of gasoline, but fact is that the flight ended in a crash near the river instead of a smooth landing at Cologne airport.

One of three known existing pictures made after the crash of the Bf 108 Taifun D-NFAW on January 10th 1940.

Although the Bf-108 Taifun lost both wings when crash-landing, its two passengers survived with minor injuries.
The panic of the crash was replaced by an even greater panic when the two German army officers discover that they didn't land next to the Rhein river in Germany, but near the river Maas on the Belgian-Dutch border, some 50 miles East on Belgian territory!

The green line represents the course Reinberger and Hoenmanns should have flown, the red line is about the way the Bf-108 must have flown. They had mistaken the river Maas (Meuse) for the river Rhine (Rhein)!

Talking to a local farmer Reinberger and Hoenmanns finds out they had crashlanded in the Belgian village of Vucht (near Maasmechelen)!
Realizing that he is carrying top secret information that would be of great value to the enemy, Reinberger tries to burn the papers in front of the eyes of a highly surprised Hoenmanns. Again historical records tell two different versions. In the first version it is told that Reinberger asked a farmer working nearby for some matches, in the second version it is told that Reinberger tried to burn the documents after being arrested and taken to the nearby Maasmechelen police station.

The Belgians were able to rescue 10 typewritten pieces of paper and two parts of maps showing the invasion plans. The plans were soon handed over to the Belgian and later also to the French army.

Panoramic image of the winter dike of the river Meuse near the spot the Taifun crashlanded on the 10th of January 1940.

The same evening Belgian army staff was called together. The remaining documents showed German plans to drop airforce troops west of the Meuse river, thus invading the Netherlands and Belgium, in order to force through both countries and attack France this way.
To some Belgian officers these plans that "fell off the sky" caused great alarm, but French and Dutch army staff thought of it as a tactical trick to mislead them. It was almost inconceivable that a German airplane would fly above Belgian territory with such secret plans. "It must be a diversion trick", so they thought.

Anyway, Hitler postponed the invasion of January 17th, and ordered his staff to alter the plans.
The original plan was used to divert the enemies' attention during the real invasion on May 10th 1940.
By dropping dummy parachutists west of the Meuse river he mislead the Belgian army (some French troops even moved to the Dutch city of Breda and were cut off later that week) and breaked through the Belgian defence on another spot.
Of vital importance to this breakthrough was the conquering of the Belgian newly built fort at Eben-Emael (considered to be impregnable, but actually taken within 36 hours) and a quick movement of troops through the Ardennes to Northern France.

Today
At Vucht after the war a kind of "remembrance wall" was erected to commemorate the event that caused Fall Gelb to be postponed. Last year (2005) the wall was replaced by a 3 meter high piece of art and within a few months an information sign will be added. Also local government plans to create a small field that will reveal the outlines of the crashed Bf 108 Taifun.

The monument (april 2006) were once the Taifun crashed. Little more than a small footer in WWII history, local
movements are planning to extend the information near the monument.

Update July 2006
The monument for the crashed Taifun has been finished some weeks ago!
As I made a ride by bike through the area, passing by the site there was this nice worksman from Maasmechelen municipal services who was busy finishing the monument. The outline of the Bf 108 Taifun has been created by stainless steel plates, placed on a concrete underground and is surrounded by a small grass field, some flowers and flags and a stone remembrance plaque. On the dike there's also a provisory information standard providing some background info on the story and showing the pictures of the crashed Taifun and its two passengers. Really a beautiful sight as you can see below.

The monument photographed on July 14th 2006. The outlines of the Taifun Bf 108 have been constructed in scale 1:1

The same day, a worksman of Maasmechelen village came to repair the propellor part that had come off a few days earlier.

The stainless steel used to outline the crashed Taifun is polished in a certain direction.
Some plates are turned 180 degrees in order to reflect the sunlight in another way, so that
it appears that two kinds of stainless steel with different colours have been used.

Stone plaque on which is written in Dutch: 10 JAN 1940 HIER VIEL MET DOCUMENTEN ZWAAR DE EERSTE DUITSE ADELAAR JONG EN OUD HEUGE 'T U GOED VIER MAAND LATER KWAM DE VLOED A rhyme which can be freely translated as: "This is where, loaded with important documents, the first German eagle crashed, young and old should remember well that four months after, the flood arrived." The monument has been erected by the municipal authorities of Maasmechelen village, Vochte (the local history society) and the people living in Vucht.

And so it came that nowadays everyone is free to walk around and remember this little known WWII event.

© Webmaster Leo, april 2006, updated july 2006