Heinkel He 170 Hungarian Air Force Eastern Front summer 1941

This painting depicts a German-built Heinkel He-170 reconnaissance aircraft of the Hungarian Air-Force encountering a Russian MiG-3 fighter in early July 1941 during the early weeks of the Axis invasion of Russia (Operation 'Barbarossa').
The He-170 (referred to as the 'He-70' by Hungarian pilots) was an upgraded version of the Heinkel He-70. The He-170 was fitted with a radial Gnome-Ron engine unlike the original He-70 which had been powered by BMW piston-engines. 18 He-170s were delivered to the Hungarian air-force in 1937.
The Hungarians operated the He-170 as a reconnaissance aircraft. Several briefly took part in the Axis-occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Hungarian He-170s flew secret high-altitude reconnaissance missions over Romania in the summer of 1940 during a period of increased tensions between the two countries due to a disputed claim over former Czech territory.
On June 22, 1941 Hungary sided with Germany and other Axis nations in the commencement of hostilities with Russia when the Germans invaded the former. Hungarian-flown He-170s flew their first reconnaissance sorties over Russian territory on June 26. It quickly became obvious that the ageing Heinkel He-170s were unsuited to operating in combat zones- the type lacked defensive firepower, lacked speed & agility against modern enemy fighters and the engines & fuel system was unreliable, the aircraft prone catching fire in mid-air. Hungarian He-170s flew only 20 missions over Russian territory before the type was withdrawn from combat. One He-170 was shot down by a Red Air Force fighter, another crashed after its engine caught fire due to a mechanical fault. The remaining He-170s were used by the Hungarians as trainers and non-combat transports.

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Born in Casterton 1970. Studied fine arts at Ballarat University. I worked as a Secondary School Art and Visual Communications Teacher in western Victoria for 11 years between 1994 and 2004, teaching in Dimboola, Casterton and Rainbow. Currently employed as an Enrolled Nurse in Community & District Nursing with West Wimmera Health Services. I live in the Wimmera-Mallee region of Victoria. I enjoy painting in oils and acrylics and do so as an active hobby in my spare time. My favourite topics to paint are landscapes, still lifes and military aviation scenes. I have produced paintings of railway, maritime, science fiction and wildlife subjects and pets as commissions. I have been an active hobbyist painter for over 30 years and devote much of my spare time to the pursuit. I have exhibited at a large number of community art shows across Western Victoria and also in south-east Melbourne. On average, I produce between 50- 60 paintings of various sizes and mediums per year, sometimes more.