The Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter of Franz von Werra, shot down over England, where he was taken prisoner in January 1941. Von Werra was sent with other German prisoners to Canada, where possibly he became the only German airman to make his escape from there, returning to Germany via the still neutral U.S.A. (scanned by HOS Bandit)
Franz von Werra was shot down by a burst of Lewis gun fire from a searchlight battery close to Love’s Farm in Marden, Kent (a few miles from where I now live.)
Baron Franz von Werra was born on July 13, 1914 in Leuk/Switzerland. Due to economical reasons his parents gave him and his sister up for adoption. This way the children came to the nonparous Major Oswald Carl and his wife in Germany. In August 1917 Franz von Werra obtained German citizenship.
During the reconstruction of the German air force v. Werra volunteered and became a fighter pilot.
In WW2 he flew missions (Bf-109) in Poland and France until he was shot down during a dogfight near Winchet Hill (south of London) on September 5, 1940. He had to make a crash landing on a field and was arrested by members of the British Home Guard. Werra’s opponent in this crucial dogfight was either one 1st Lieutenant Webster of No. 41 Squadron or Basil Gerald ‘Stapme’ Stapleton of No. 603 Squadron (different version exist).
After three weeks of interrogation in London Baron von Werra was brought to a POW Camp at Grizedale in Northern England.
Here he started several escape attempts, e.g. he tried to impersonate a Dutch pilot of the RAF and was arrested at gunpoint already sitting in the cockpit of a Hurricane at Huckknall airfield.
In January 1941 he was one of 1000 German POW’s shipped to Canada on the “Dutchess of York”. During a train transport through Canada v. Werra managed to escape again and made it to the (still neutral) USA by crossing the frozen St. Lawrence River. Via South America, Africa, Spain and Italy he returned to Germany where he was celebrated like a media star, Franz v. Werra (who was said to have a somewhat snobbish attitude by comrades and enemies) was received by both Göring and Hitler and was awarded the Knight’s Cross.
In June 1941 he was re-deployed as commader of 1st Group/Jagd-Geschwader 53 in Russia, raising his aerial victories to 21.
In September 1941 his unit was tranferred to Holland for coast protection. During a training flight above the North Sea on October 25, 1941 his Bf-109 got in technical problems. His last radio message was reported “My engine is pissed, try crash landing”. Since then Franz von Werra is MIA, his body was never recovered.
There is a movie about his story, called: The One That Got Away.
Didn’t survive the war, crashed in to the sea after returning to duty.