RAF plane lands in Germany, 1939, then escapes...

[yellowjack]

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley 'L-Love' of 77 Sqn. It had been dropping propaganda leaflets over Warsaw in October 1939 and was low on fuel. The crew landed and shut down the engines, before locals informed them that they were not, as they believed, in France, but had landed about 12 miles the wrong side of the border in Germany.

They managed to outrun a German patrol and get the aeroplane up again with enough fuel to make it over the border into France...

...phew!

https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/1vya...


The Germans got their own back though. In 1941 an (unspecified) German aeroplane landed at RAF Debden, and taxied to the Watch Office. Apparently the pilot realised his error, though, and took off in rather a hurry. The control tower staff, armed with no more than a signal flare gun, could do nothing but watch if fly away...

https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/1966/ra...

Oberleutnant Armin Faber wasn't as lucky. He made a navigational error, mistook the Bristol channel for the English Channel, and landed his Focke Wulf 190A-3 intact at RAF Pembrey in June 1942, handing the Allies they "keys" to a fully functioning example of the Luftwaffe's modern and greatly feared new fighter...

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/germ...

[anonymous-user]

yellowjack said:

Oberleutnant Armin Faber wasn't as lucky. He made a navigational error, mistook the Bristol channel for the English Channel, and landed his Focke Wulf 190A-3 intact at RAF Pembrey in June 1942, handing the Allies they "keys" to a fully functioning example of the Luftwaffe's modern and greatly feared new fighter...

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/germ...

What's German for "Oh, cock"......

[ottovonskidmark]

This is a great channel for stories like the ones discussed

https://youtu.be/yhfjR0IKLrE

[tr7v8]

RAF West Malling, a group of FW190s landed there by accident.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling

[williamp]

tr7v8 said:

RAF West Malling, a group of FW190s landed there by accident.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling

Here iit is outside the control tower



The control tower still exists and is, I think a pub at Kings Hill

[tr7v8]

williamp said:

tr7v8 said:

RAF West Malling, a group of FW190s landed there by accident.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling

Here iit is outside the control tower

The control tower still exists and is, I think a pub at Kings Hill

Yup it is the Spitfire pub. Shepard Neame Worled at King Hill when the pub opened. A lot of the old buildings still exist & are council offices. Roads are named as RAF related as well. Gibson Drive being an obvious one.

[yellowjack]

williamp said:

Here iit is outside the control tower

[Img]http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/fw-190/1-Fw-190A-7_SKG10-H-WNr7155-RAF-West-Malling-1943-02.jpg[/thumb]

The control tower still exists and is, I think a pub at Kings Hill

Costa Coffee - squeezed between a doctors surgery and a Waitrose.

http://www.controltowers.co.uk/W-Z/West_Malling.ht...
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Costa+Coffee+-+K...

[CAPP0]

tr7v8 said:

williamp said:

tr7v8 said:

RAF West Malling, a group of FW190s landed there by accident.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling

Here iit is outside the control tower

The control tower still exists and is, I think a pub at Kings Hill

Yup it is the Spitfire pub. Shepard Neame Worled at King Hill when the pub opened. A lot of the old buildings still exist & are council offices. Roads are named as RAF related as well. Gibson Drive being an obvious one.

Slight correction. The Spitfire pub is a grim soulless new build, all its really missing is a flat pub roof to finish it off. The original control tower is about 200 yards away and houses an art gallery (nice) and as mentioned above, a large Costa on the ground floor (less nice; it could at least have been a tea room). The upstairs floors aren't currently used (there has been talk of many things including a restaurant) but it's sometimes opened to the public to look around.

There's a map online somewhere on the Liberty (!) Property website showing the position of the original runway and taxiways overlaid with today's housing.

[richomk6]

ottovonskidmark said:

This is a great channel for stories like the ones discussed

https://youtu.be/yhfjR0IKLrE

Thats a fantastic channel for WW2 content and one I keep a constant eye on as the subject matter rarely disappoints.