Early in the morning of September 5th 1940. It is a pleasant morning, the forecast is good and JG 3 prepares for cross channel operations.
Hauptmann Franz von Werra, Adjutant of II Gruppe, has walked out to inspect his Bf 109 E-4 and is taking the opportunity to explain to one of his long suffering ground crew how the aircraft received the damage that has had him up half the night replacing the front cowlings.
Simba the lion cub has joined him for an early morning walk and has found something interesting (to a lion cub) in a bucket.
Later this morning von Werra will be shot down, making a forced landing at 10.10.a.m. at Loves Farm, Marden in Kent.
Who shot him down?
AIR 50/18 pages 455 and 456 contains the combat report, dated 5 September 1940, of the pilot who was initially, officially, responsible for the shooting down of von Werra, Flight Lieutenant John Terence Webster of No. 31 Squadron. It is possible that Webster in fact shot down two Bf 109s that morning, neither of which was von Werra. Sadly he was killed on another operation later the same day.
Others believe it to be a shared victory by Pilot Officer George Bennions of No. 41 Squadron who initially damaged Von Werra’s aircraft and Pilot Officer Basil Gerald Stapleton of No. 603 Squadron who finally forced him down.
Some have attributed the victory to Flight Lieutenant Paterson Clarence Hughes of No. 234 Squadron. Eventually the credit went to Stapleton, but Hughes final DFC citation in the London Gazette of 22 October 1940 awarded him a half credit for the same victory
That, gentlemen, is a perfect illustration of “the fog of war”.
Here’s some photos of the early morning scene, before the drama unfolds.
After his capture,by an unarmed cook from a near by search light battery, von Werra was taken to the London District Cage for Prisoners of War in Kensington Palace Gardens where he was initially interrogated.On 7th September 1940 he was transferred to Trent Park, Cockfosters where he was kept for four days before being transferred to Number 1 Grizedale Hall, Satterthwaite Prisoner of War Camp. After trying to make his first escape from this camp on 7th October 1940, he was transferred, on 3 November 1940, to 13 Swanwick Prisoners of War Officers Transit Camp, where he attempted to escape again.
The story of his escape attempts and eventually successful return to Germany are chronicled in the film “The One That Got Away” with Hardy Kruger as von Werra.
At one of the camps a 12 year old boy asked for his autograph and received this reply, dated confusingly the day he was shot down.
.
Von Werra died on 25th October 1941 when his aircraft disappeared over the North Sea. His body was never found.
The Bf 109 is the superb Cyber-hobby 1/32 scale kit. The figures are by DMM and Simba is actually a cat painted to represent a lion supplied by a friend of SWMBO who makes and decorates Doll's Houses etc. I've no idea who makes it.
Cheers
Steve
Hauptmann Franz von Werra, Adjutant of II Gruppe, has walked out to inspect his Bf 109 E-4 and is taking the opportunity to explain to one of his long suffering ground crew how the aircraft received the damage that has had him up half the night replacing the front cowlings.
Simba the lion cub has joined him for an early morning walk and has found something interesting (to a lion cub) in a bucket.
Later this morning von Werra will be shot down, making a forced landing at 10.10.a.m. at Loves Farm, Marden in Kent.
Who shot him down?
AIR 50/18 pages 455 and 456 contains the combat report, dated 5 September 1940, of the pilot who was initially, officially, responsible for the shooting down of von Werra, Flight Lieutenant John Terence Webster of No. 31 Squadron. It is possible that Webster in fact shot down two Bf 109s that morning, neither of which was von Werra. Sadly he was killed on another operation later the same day.
Others believe it to be a shared victory by Pilot Officer George Bennions of No. 41 Squadron who initially damaged Von Werra’s aircraft and Pilot Officer Basil Gerald Stapleton of No. 603 Squadron who finally forced him down.
Some have attributed the victory to Flight Lieutenant Paterson Clarence Hughes of No. 234 Squadron. Eventually the credit went to Stapleton, but Hughes final DFC citation in the London Gazette of 22 October 1940 awarded him a half credit for the same victory
That, gentlemen, is a perfect illustration of “the fog of war”.
Here’s some photos of the early morning scene, before the drama unfolds.
After his capture,by an unarmed cook from a near by search light battery, von Werra was taken to the London District Cage for Prisoners of War in Kensington Palace Gardens where he was initially interrogated.On 7th September 1940 he was transferred to Trent Park, Cockfosters where he was kept for four days before being transferred to Number 1 Grizedale Hall, Satterthwaite Prisoner of War Camp. After trying to make his first escape from this camp on 7th October 1940, he was transferred, on 3 November 1940, to 13 Swanwick Prisoners of War Officers Transit Camp, where he attempted to escape again.
The story of his escape attempts and eventually successful return to Germany are chronicled in the film “The One That Got Away” with Hardy Kruger as von Werra.
At one of the camps a 12 year old boy asked for his autograph and received this reply, dated confusingly the day he was shot down.
.
Von Werra died on 25th October 1941 when his aircraft disappeared over the North Sea. His body was never found.
The Bf 109 is the superb Cyber-hobby 1/32 scale kit. The figures are by DMM and Simba is actually a cat painted to represent a lion supplied by a friend of SWMBO who makes and decorates Doll's Houses etc. I've no idea who makes it.
Cheers
Steve
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