Mystery German Fighter Hero - Hilfe?

[alan newark]

Dear All

Greetings from England and best wishes to all. Can anyone help?

Somewhere, in a Norfolk, England, churchyard, but WHERE, near a wartime USAAF airfield location, is said to be a lone Luftwaffe pilot's grave.

Bearing the Luftwaffe insignia and, it is said, a swastika, the gravestone is said to be that of a young Luftwaffe fighter pilot who, after an American daylight Hamburg, defied orders - heard by a German-speaking American B-17 crew member - to return as he would run out of fuel, and pursued US aircraft all the way to Norfolk. According to the story heard by this writer, the defiant German told his controllers that after the American raid on Hamburg he had nothing to go back to.

En-route to Norfolk, the young German reportedly harried and shot up various homeward Allied bombers. Seeming to have a charmed life, he evaded all out-going machine gun fire from B-17's. Crossing the English coast he got through the anti-aircraft fire and even, it is said, dodged the fire of two Spitfires which tailed him to the above Norfolk airfield.

From somewhere over Germany or Holland the German pilot tailed one particular B-17. Seeking cloud cover the B-17 crew thought they had lost their dogged opponent but when they dropped below that cover, over the Dutch coast, darn but there he was again.

According to a third hand citation of a 1990's Norfolk newspaper report - newspaper not named - the German followed the B-17 all the way to its airfield where he again fired at the huge aircraft. The American plane crash-landed and the German pilot allegedly nose-dived into the stricken bomber thereby giving his life in a final moment of sacrifice.

Because, it is believed, his fuel tanks were empty the young German hero's fighter did not catch fire and his body was recovered from the wreckage. Thought to have been about 19 or 20 years old the German carried no papers so his gravestone - in a local churchyard plot which the much impressed village vicar immediately offered for his military honours burial - bears no name. Local residents have long wondered who the brave young German pilot was and would like to be able to tell his family how he died and where he was laid to rest.

This dramatic but poignant wartime tale takes a somewhat sinister twist when we add that decades later a group of political militants from London - angry about the swastika on the German's grave marker -travelled to the above Norfolk village with the aim of defacing his headstone. Legend has it that the local police man and some quickly assembled local men saw the militants off with a flea in their ear.

This story could well be apocryphal but one assumes that the reporter had the good sense to visit the churchyard and to check that the gravestone existed.

If true - and the original newspaper report is said to quote a American B-17 crew member who described how, shortly before the Luftwafe fighter was nosedived into his bomber, he and fellow crew members quickly exited their aircraft and ran for cover - the above story is not only one of outstanding bravery beyond the call of duty but also has all the makings of a documentary or feature film. Meantime,I am putting together a blog and ask fellow Feldgrau users to trawl their archives, to check the German war graves registration service and to circulate this appeal for more information.

Besten, groetjes, a bientot and arrivederci.

Al:->
http://www.dpcamps.org
http://www.1945.lighthouselane.co.uk

[Me-109 Jagdfleiger]

WOW thats an impressive story, im looking forward to hearing what comes about in your search good luck

[sebastian]

very brave and stobburn pilot :-),hope you can confirm this story,1st work is to find the gravestone!

[Richard Schoutissen]

There are several cemeteries with german soldiers in England, about 99 in our database.

For example the St.Mary churchyard King's Lynn (Norfolk).

Is there any chance to find out where this gravestone is exactly ?

Richard

[Fahrdienstleiter]

This is so improbable that it doesn't sound the slightest bit true to me. Hamburg wasn't levelled by the USAF, but by Bomber Command in operation "Gomorrha" in July 1943.

*moderator amendment*

[Richard Schoutissen]

This is so improbable that it doesn't sound the slightest bit true to me. Hamburg wasn't levelled by the USAF, but by Bomber Command in operation "Gomorrha" in July 1943.

*moderator amendment*

Sorry Fahrdienstleiter but I'm afraid you entered the wrong track. You should have taken track 5 . . .

[alan newark]

Howdy cowboys

Many thanks for all of your replies and for the Norfolk graveyard list.

I have taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and have written seeking help to the Luftwaffe Museum in Berlin. I hope that they will have heard of the mystery hero tale and will be able to tell us us if it true or not and who the pilot might have been?

Rfe the 'moderator amendment'..no offence Mod but a simple Google check produced several references to American aircrew who have told of raids they flew against Hamburg. At least one veteran mentions a 1944 raid.

As always I remain wholly open-minded about and make allowances for even the most unlikely wartime tales having at least a little truth in them. I am also quite dogged and - especially with my searches for users of www.dpcamps.org and with family history queries - have unlimited patience. In all searches it is normal to feel that a time has come when all reasonable efforts have failed and that a file should be closed but the families of Missing / unaccounted for service personnel and civilian victims of war never cease hoping.

I will dig a bit more and see what is unearthed.

Best to all.

Al:->
www.dpcamps.org
www.1945.lighthouselane.co.uk

[Me-109 Jagdfleiger]

thanks for the update please keep us informed im looking forward to seeing what you find out,
best of luck
Jonathan

[phylo_roadking]

Rfe the 'moderator amendment'..no offence Mod but a simple Google check produced several references to American aircrew who have told of raids they flew against Hamburg. At least one veteran mentions a 1944 raid.

For information - the *Moderator Amendment* entry refers to a part of the post that was deleted, NOT the USAAF comment that is viewable...

[alan newark]

Dear Mod

Thanks Mod for guidance. Noted with respect.

Ironically, I copied and, I thought, pasted the original version into an e-mail which I then sent myself. It arrived in my Inbox blank. Can you remember which part of my message you deleted? If so, can you PM me so that I don't make the same mistake elsewhere?

Best

Al:->

[panzermahn]

Hi Alan

I am not sure if the B-17 crew could hear a German pilot's conversation with his controllers as most likely they are not using the same frequency unless somehow, the B-17 crew were switched to the German pilot's frequency. Another thing is that Me-109 would have enough fuel to reach Norfolk all the way? (without drop tanks?)

But nevertheless, it is an interesting story.

Panzermahn

[jerijerod]

Have you tried contacting the Imperial War museum (sorry another shameless plug!) in your search for the grave?

They have the Printed books department who may have a list of German war graves or the National UK war memorial group that may have a list as well.

Cheers
Chris