PoW air escapes…?

Pic of the G-1 ‘full scale model’ in the Dutch Military Aviation Museum.

In the early stages of the war, there were some amazing ‘last minute and after’ type escapes – including (IIRC the whole of the LOT DC-2 fleet from Poland)

The last surviving Fokker G-1 Reaper was flown by two Dutch pilots to England from Holland (in German occupation) after slipping their escouring German fighter and ensuring that they’d got more petrol than the Germans allowed… The rules were tightened up after that escape!

It was burned in Britain after it had finished it’s useful life (still during the war).

I heard a story of two conscripted French workers who took a 108 from a factory. I think I understood that the “pilot” only had about 2 hours on gliders but they both had read a book on how to fly. I believe they got to the UK coast before being shot down by a Hurri. Both survived..

I heard it 3rd hand so to speak. If anyone out there has the details then I’d love to learn more. Great story if its true..

“9th AF Mustang Ace, Bruce Carr went out in a 51 and came home in a 190.

Dan

http://www.afa.org/magazine/valor/0295valor.asp“

That’s the guy Dan,thanks for the link.It seems I remembered the article pretty much as it was-it’s good to know my grey matter isn’t entirely shot! 🙂

Famed American test pilot Bob Hoover learnt to fly before joing the Army Air Corps during WW2, where he did so well he was used to test fly various aircraft (possibly captured enemy types?). He was eventually sent to a combat unit, where he was shot down on his 59th mission, and served 16 months in Stalag Luft 1, a German prison camp. He finally escaped by stealing a German aircraft and flying it to Holland.

He then went on to continue flying as a test pilot (even blagging his way onto demonstrating aircraft during an actual mission in Korea). He was also a chase pilot for Chuck Yeager’s Bell X1 missions, and continues to amaze audiences today with his aerobatic ‘engine out’ performances in the Shrike Commander.

“Gentlemen, you have a race…”

Edited: I have just read that Bob stopped his sheduled airshows in 2000.

Originally posted by Paul Cushion
…how many of our guys defected to the other side during WWII?? what happened to them???

Well, there was the Czech pilot who flew a Hurricane across the Channel – which was subsequently displayed in the Berlin Air Museum. It was featured in Flypast a few years ago – W9147 of 55 OTU flown by Sgt Preucil (or similar), who I believe was shot after the war. Then there was the American pilot of a P38…(I think), and wasn’t there some Free French pilots too?

Flood.

Originally posted by Transall
Hi Flood,

I think some RAF chaps in the Mediterrenean overpowered the Italian crew of a flying boat in which they were being transported and reversed the situation.

🙂

Cheers, Transall.

I remember that story from the book “The War in the Air-The Royal Air Force in World War II”

The Beaufort crew of Lt. E.T. Strever, flying out of Malta was shot down on an anti-shipping run. They overpowered the crew of an Italian Cant flying boat and flew it back to Malta where they were attacked by Spitfires. They still managed to land in the sea and were towed in. The Spitfire pilots were upbraided by their CO for poor shooting 🙂

Dan

9th AF Mustang Ace, Bruce Carr went out in a 51 and came home in a 190.

Dan

http://www.afa.org/magazine/valor/0295valor.asp

Escaped German airmen tried to steal an aircraft (marauder) from Burtonwood once but could not get it started.

Also, when my Grandad was based at Thrapston in WWII, he witnessed an LAC who took of in an a/c (type unknown) totally unauthorised and came down in the sea. They said he was trying to get to Axis occupied territory….

A good question that is, how many of our guys defected to the other side during WWII?? what happened to them???

Paul.

Hi Flood,

Franz Von Werra indeed got that far, posing as a Dutchman.
He was a fascinating chap, a bit older than many pilots. I think he got onto a ship bound for New Orleans as a stowaway in the early 1930’s. But I’m not sure if made it to the USA that time, or how much time he spent there.

I believe Donald Pleasance himself had in real life been in Bomber Command, been shot down and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp.

I think some RAF chaps in the Mediterrenean overpowered the Italian crew of a flying boat in which they were being transported and reversed the situation.

🙂

Cheers, Transall.

Franz von Werra did indeed get his hands on a Hurricane at Hucknall and it just happenned to be one of the new Mk.II’s (perhaps even the very first,I can’t remember.) He was posing as ‘Captain Wilhelm Van Lott’,a former KLM pilot who had been posted to the ATA and had been given instructions to test fly the aircraft.(He had been driven to Hucknell after walking to a remote railway station not too far from the prison camp he’d escaped from,saying he’d just crash-landed in a Wellington in nearby fields and needed to be taken to the nearest RAF station.)
Hucknall was a dual civvy/military airfield,with the RAF on one side of the station and Rolls Royce on the other.He was very lucky to have walked into the R-R part of the field as there were many Poles and Czeks under training over on the RAF side,and who knows what they’d have done to him if they’d rumbled him!
It’s also extremely fortunate that he only saw the Hurricane as there was a Kestrel-engined He70 at Hucknall which had been used for a number of years as an engine test-bed by RR.If he’d found that,he may well have been able to fly it without having to ‘fraternise’ with the ground staff beforehand,which was what lead to him being rumbled before he could get away in the Hurri (he’d needed instruction from one of the ground staff on the navigational instruments and had also had to ask for help with a trolley-acc,all of which delayed him long enough for him to be caught.)
On the allied side,I remember reading about an American Mustang pilot who came down behind German lines and spent several days on the run.He eventually came across a Luftwaffe airfield one evening,where he saw ground crewmen fuelling up an FW190.He waited until dawn and then snuck out to the aircraft,pushing likely looking buttons and hoping for the best.Amazingly the engine fired and he took off from the taxi-way. It took him ages to get the gear retracted and when it finally did he didn’t know how he’d done it.He flew over the allied lines and found an airfield,the defences of which promptly opened up on him.He circled the field under fire for some time,trying to work out how to get the gear down again,but eventually he had to give up and belly land before he was shot down by his own side!He walked away from the landing,but the machine was a write off.
This story was recounted by the pilot at the first Mustangs and Legends show back sometime in late 90’s (97?),and was published in Flypast shortly afterwards.Could someone dig out the name of the guy and more details of the event?