Manufacturer: Revell/Matchbox
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: parts from an Airfix Do 217
Model build: Feb - Apr 2019
Luftwaffe Heinkel He 115 N
Revell/Matchbox
1/72
1/72
Nachteule Rising
Made with Suno
Heinkel's Night Watch
Made with Suno
Night Eyes Over the Thames
September, 1940
Hauptmann Franz Schmidt gripped the control yoke of his Heinkel He 115 N, the “Nachteule,” his night owl. Moonlight spilled across the instrument panel, casting an eerie glow on the dials and switches. Tonight, Franz wasn't hunting mice; he was a predator of a different kind, his quarry the sprawling city of London, still smoldering from the relentless Luftwaffe attacks.
Franz wasn't your typical bomber pilot. His He 115 N, a modified version of the lumbering seaplane, was stripped of bombs and bristling with cameras. His mission: capture infrared images of the city, intel for the next wave of bombers. It was a vital, but lonely job.
Tonight, though, the usual hum of the BMW engines was punctuated by a staccato stutter. Franz cursed under his breath. Engine trouble. He nursed the aircraft onward, the vast sprawl of London creeping closer. He could almost feel the heat of the fires below.
Suddenly, a flicker on the radar. An enemy fighter! Unlike the lumbering bombers, the He 115 N was surprisingly fast, but against a dedicated night fighter... Franz pushed the throttles forward, the whine of the engine drowning out the frantic beeps of the warning system.
The darkness behind him erupted in flame. Tracers arced towards his plane, stitching lines of fire across the night sky. Franz felt the aircraft shudder as a round found its mark. Smoke filled the cockpit, stinging his eyes. He fought back panic, focusing on the instruments. He had to get those photos back.
He banked the He 115 N sharply, throwing the fighter off balance. The g-force pulled at him, threatening to dim the already flickering instrument lights. He glanced at the Thames River below, a dark ribbon winding through the city. A desperate plan formed in his mind.
With a final burst of speed, Franz skimmed the water, using the river's twists and turns as cover. The enemy fighter roared in pursuit, its tracers splashing harmlessly into the water. Franz pushed the He 115 N even harder, the engine screaming in protest.
He knew he couldn't keep this up forever. But then, a stroke of luck. A low-hanging bridge loomed ahead. Franz gambled everything. He dipped the nose of the He 115 N, skimming beneath the bridge with inches to spare. The sound was deafening, a scraping screech against the metal beams.
He heard a startled yell from behind, followed by a sickening crunch. He glanced back, a brief flash of fire illuminating the wreckage of the enemy fighter tangled in the bridge supports. Relief washed over him, so intense it almost made him dizzy.
Franz nursed the battered He 115 N back to base, the precious infrared images safe in the belly of the aircraft. He landed with a groan of tortured metal, the aircraft barely a shadow of its former self. But it had flown, and Franz had done his duty. As he climbed out of the cockpit, exhausted and exhilarated, he knew this wasn't just about capturing images. It was about survival, his own and that of his city. He was the Nachteule, the hunter who flew in the dark, and tonight, he had emerged victorious.
Heinkel He 115 N “Nachteule” — The Long-Range Eye of the Luftwaffe
Origins of the Night Owl
In late 1938, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) issued a requirement for a new long-range reconnaissance aircraft capable of 4,000 km range and speeds of at least 420 km/h—fast enough to evade hostile fighters, and with endurance sufficient to observe targets deep beyond enemy borders. Heinkel, already producing the maritime He 115 floatplane, responded with a bold proposal: a land-based, high-speed reconnaissance derivative of their seaplane design.
Designated He 115 N (for “Landversion” / “Neuaufbau”), the floats were removed and replaced with a fully retractable undercarriage. The airframe was strengthened, and more powerful BMW 801 A/B radial engines (1,600 hp each) replaced the earlier BMW 132 motors. These modifications increased the aircraft’s top speed to 495 km/h, a dramatic improvement over the float-equipped original.
To meet the range requirement, the He 115 N used:
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Additional internal fuel tanks in the bomb bay,
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External droppable wing tanks, and
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A converted bombardier’s position fitted with advanced long-range reconnaissance cameras.
Service Introduction and Shadow Over Britain
The first prototype flew in March 1939, though it was damaged in a crash landing just six weeks later. Regardless, the Luftwaffe—impressed by its capabilities—ordered 20 He 115 D-0 pre-production aircraft, followed by improved D-1 and D-2 variants, totaling 232 aircraft built—more than the original seaplane.
The He 115 N entered service in late summer 1940, just as the Battle of Britain began. There, it quickly earned the nickname “Nachteule” (Night Owl) for its nocturnal reconnaissance missions. In daylight, the aircraft proved too vulnerable—Hurricanes and Spitfires intercepted them with ease. But under cover of darkness, equipped with infrared-sensitive film, the He 115 N documented the aftermath of bombing raids, providing crucial intelligence on destroyed infrastructure, burning cities, and undamaged targets.
War on Two Fronts
In Operation Barbarossa (1941), the He 115 N excelled over the vast expanses of the Eastern Front. Its long range allowed it to shadow Soviet troop movements, scout river crossings, and observe railway logistics far behind the lines.
By 1943–44, however, the aircraft was increasingly outdated. When redeployed for night reconnaissance over Britain once more, it encountered a new adversary: the Mosquito night fighter. The British “Wooden Wonder,” equipped with airborne radar and superior speed, inflicted heavy losses. By mid-1944, only a handful of aircraft remained operational.
Fate and Legacy
No He 115 N survived the war. Many were destroyed in combat or scrapped to reclaim aluminum. Not even a partial airframe remains in museums today.
The model shows a Heinkel He 115 N during operations over Britain in April 1941.
This is an old Revell 1/72 scale He 115 kit. I had used the floats for an other projects, so i decided to build the He 115 on wheels. Wheels and drop tanks are from an Airfix Do 217 kit and the photo recon pod is taken form the spare par box. The rest of the model is build OOB. The model was airbrushed using Revell Aqua Colour.
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