During World War II, the Kaleva plane was shot down by Soviet bombers outside Tallinn.
On board were several diplomats and the Swede Max Hettinger.
More than 80 years later, divers have found the plane at the bottom of the sea.
– I have thought about this so much for so long. I really got goosebumps, says his grandson, Rolf Hettinger.
What happened to the Finnish passenger plane Kaleva was a mystery for a long time.
Several newspapers reported that the plane had caught fire after an accident and crashed into the sea off the coast of Estonia on June 14, 1940.
For a long time, the Finnish government covered up what actually happened – that the plane was shot down by Soviet bombers. Finland had signed a peace treaty with the Soviet Union after the Winter War three months earlier and did not want to clash with the Soviet Union.
The truth only came to light 50 years later when an aviation historian found the memoirs of a commander in the Soviet Air Force, who described how a passenger plane was shot down over the Gulf of Finland.
“Really got goosebumps”
More than 30 years later, the next news came. This week, divers found the plane on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, seventy meters below the surface. On board the plane were nine people, several of them diplomats. But also the Swedish chemist Max Hettinger who was on a business trip.
– Just a couple of hours before I received the message, I had been sitting with a map book and studying the area where the plane is supposed to have been shot down. I have thought about this so much for so long. I really got goosebumps, says Rolf Hettinger, grandson of Max Hettinger.
Rolf Hettinger.
Rolf Hettinger.
Photo: Private
Fantasized that he was trapped
Over the years, Rolf Hettinger has taken part in all the reporting and research surrounding the incident. He himself has tried to find the truth and has thought for a long time about what actually happened to the plane.
– I was completely taken by this for several days and could hardly think of anything else. It’s a relief to finally get clarity on what happened.
As a child, he fantasized that his grandfather was still alive, that he had survived the crash and was in Russian captivity.
– I feel sad that my father and his brother were never told that the plane had been found, says Rolf.