on 28 october 1939 mckellar intercepted a heinkel he 111h-2 of stab./"kampfgeschwader" 26 (kg 26—bomber wing 26), code 1h+ja piloted by "unteroffizier" lehmkuhl. acting on the advice of his navigator "leutnant" niehoff, he dropped down towards cloud layers. the cover, however, quickly dispersed. their gunners were killed, lehmkul was hit in the back by machine gun fire and was wounded while niehoff suffered a fractured spine during the crash-landing. debate continues as to which squadron or pilot was the victor. post–war sources credit the victory to mckellar. it was also the war's first german aircraft shot down onto british soil.