Own a piece of Germany's desperate last stand of the Second World War:
Heinkel He 219 “Uhu” — Night Fighter Relic Display
The Heinkel He 219 “Uhu,” or “Eagle Owl,” was among World War II’s most advanced night fighters. Developed to intercept RAF aircraft after dark, this twin-engine, two-seat fighter combined formidable cannon armament with sophisticated airborne radar, including the VHF-band Lichtenstein SN-2 system. Its tricycle landing gear and ejection seats for both crew members reflected an unusually forward-looking design.
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The He 219 made a remarkable combat debut on the night of 11–12 June 1943, when Major Werner Streib and his radar operator brought down five RAF bombers. Accounts of the following ten days credited three He 219s with destroying 20 RAF aircraft, including six of the elusive de Havilland Mosquitos. Although the Mosquito tally remains disputed, the debut demonstrated the aircraft’s potential as a dedicated nocturnal interceptor.
Complex and costly to manufacture, the He 219 never entered service in sufficient numbers to realize that potential. Production delays, competing priorities, and opposition within Germany’s aviation leadership restricted its deployment. The Smithsonian records only 294 aircraft built across all variants—a small production run for one of the Luftwaffe’s most distinctive night fighters.
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This 8.5 × 11-inch relic display pairs Ron Cole’s original artwork with authentic sections of aircraft skin from a He 219 A-2 partially excavated in Holland in 1984. These recovered fragments provide a tangible connection to the aircraft portrayed in the painting and to the wartime struggle in Europe’s night skies, preserving original material from a rarely surviving aircraft type.
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These rare pieces of aluminum - each carefully selected and cut from the above sample - retain a fascinating variety of late-war Luftwaffe night fighter original paint, including RLM 22 black, RLM 76 light blue, and RLM 75 medium gray. The reverse of this material retains its appropriate medium brown/gray paint consistent with Heinkel and some other wartime German aircraft manufacturers.
Each of these displays have been signed & numbered and are limited to 120.
Handmade in Zanesville, Ohio!
