"Operasjon Jonsvatnet"

 Latest update: 4.6-2006 - 02:30 CET



old photos © nrk.no / adressa.no / kg100 logo © unknown

History:

During the first weeks of the invation of Norway in April, 1940, the frozen lake Jonsvatnet, 10km south-east of Trondheim, was used as a temporary airfield by the axis forces. Værnes airport in Stjørdal (approx. 30km east of Tr.heim) didn't have paved runways at the time, and was unsuitable for heavy aircraft like the ju-88 and he-111, so the lake was found to be an acceptable temporary solution to the problem. According to people from the Norwegian museum of defence, the planes stationed there were Messerschmitt bf-109, Junkers ju-87 "sturzkampfflugzeug/stuka", Junkers ju-88 and the Heinkel he-111. As the ice on the lake got thinner, two German bombers, a Junkers JU-88 from KG30 and a Heinkel 111 from KG100 (the viking ship seen on some of the pictures is the logo of Kampfgeschwader 100), were unable to escape, and sunk to the bottom of the lake. The Heinkel was partly disassembled before sinking. The fuel tanks of the Junkers had exploded (I don't know how this happened. Either the Germans set it on fire when they saw that it was lost, or someone attacked it), damaging both wings. The little I have seen of the fuselage seems to be in good condition.

There have been several reports about other planes crashing in the lake during the war, but at the moment, the only one they have found is an Arado 196 which crashed in the lake in '45. However, this plane was in too bad a condition to be recovered.

The following links contain my pictures from the raising of the aeroplanes from the lake. None of these pictures may be used in any way without my permission. E-mail me at jaasland@bluezone.no if you are interested in using these pictures on websites, in publications etc.

4.6-2006: This site has unfortunately not been maintained for some time (nearly two years), and some of the pictures have been deleted by my webhost for unknown reasons. I have now moved the site over to a new server, so everything should be back to normal.

Current location of the aircraft:
  • JU-88 U4+TK is currently being restored to display condition by Forsvarets Flysamling (the armed forces aeroplane collection) at Gardermoen. Check out JU88.net for more info.
  • 6N+NH is being restored by Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin. I haven't found any info on the progress of the restoration, but their website could perhaps provide som info in the future. The restoration of a Focke-Wulf FW-200 Condor they salvaged from the Trondheim fjord some years ago is expected to finish in 2013. A visit to this museum is compulsory for anyone visiting Berlin. Lots of historic aircraft (Arado 96, Ju-87 wreck, Bf109, Bf110, MiG-15, plus too many to list) presented in a very nice way.
    Thanks to Xavier Méal, some of my pictures were printed in the October 2004 issue of the french aviation magazine "Le Fana de L'Aviation". If anyone knows of any other magazine articles about the salvage operation at Jonsvatnet, please let me know so I can get my hands on a copy.


    3.9-2004: Gallery #1
    - the Heinkel 111 is brought to the surface and towed to land.
    3.9-2004: Gallery #2
    - the Heinkel has been lifted on land, and is being prepared for disassembly.
    5.9-2004: Gallery #3
    - the Heinkel is disassembled, and people from the technical museum in Berlin are taking notes of all the different markings.
    6.9-2004: Gallery #4
    - finally, the ju-88! More pictures wil be added during the day.
    6.9-2004: Gallery #5
    - the junkers is almost out of the water, and some extensive damage to the left wing can be seen. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more pictures during the day.
    6.9-2004: Gallery #6
    - the junkers is finally out of the water, and the disassembly has started.
    6.9-2004: Gallery #7
    - I could finally get close enough to the Heinkel to get som pictures from inside the fuselage. It seems to be more or less ready to be sent to Germany, so these may be the last pictures of it for now.
    7.9-2004: Gallery #8
    - the left wing of the JU-88 is being removed.


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