Luftwaffe Pilot Defected in Stolen Messerschmitt 109

On 15 May 1944 a strange German fighter appeared over a tiny village on the coast of Norfolk, in Eastern England. Its undercarriage was down and it appeared to be preparing to land! This is the story of the Austrian Luftwaffe pilot who stole a rare variant of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and flew over 400 miles without any maps to defect to the British!
Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
Visit my audio book channel 'War Stories with Mark Felton': • One Thousand Miles to ...
Help support my channel:
www.paypal.me/markfeltonprodu...
/ markfeltonproductions
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Sources:
- 'Escape from the Nazis that ended in coastal crash' by Steve Snelling, Eastern Daily Press, 14 September 2014
- 'Letters from Lowestoft - The letters - 1944', www.oldlowestoft.co.uk/ajt/?Le...
Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Bundesarchiv; LEJ.approach; Tamás Unyatyinszki; Eastern Daily Press
Thumbnail: Modelling Madness: modelingmadness.com/scott/axi...

[@joanofarc1338]

This is a new one on me. I’m a retired USAF fighter pilot, the son of an 8th Air Force pilot, and have thought I knew a thing or two about the Luftwaffe. I had no idea the Luftwaffe had a two seat trainer version of the BF-109. I have NEVER been disappointed by your mini-documentaries, but this one is especially good‼️ As always backed up with impressive photo evidence. Well Done Dr Felton‼️

[@martinluton6513]

There is a two seat 109 in England that for around £2500 you can get a ride in and some stick time on. It’s based at Sywell near Northampton.

[@joanofarc1338]

@@martinluton6513 Thanks, I’ve seen video of this aircraft, but thought it was converted into a two seater after the war. Once again, never knew there were two seater 109s used for training during the war. Appreciate the comment👍🏼

[@AcroAirwolf]

The Czech built also 109s after the war, named Avia S-199, equipped with Jumo-engines. They also made twoseaters, Avia CS-199. 25 of the S-199 went to Israel. Israel had no twoseaters.

[@chriscarbaugh3936]

Also made two-seat FW-190s. There is one at the RAF Museum at Hendon, outside London.

[@AcroAirwolf]

@@chriscarbaugh3936 BTW: German types are not written with "-". It´s Bf 109 or Fw 190.

[@roscoewhite3793]

Since this is about a crash-landed Bf-109 in England... I was scrolling through a Twitter page devoted to colourised photographs of military scenes, and found one showing a Bf-109 that had crash-landed in Britain in 1940, with the pilot surviving to be taken prisoner... and I gasped with surprise when I read the pilot's name. Back in my childhood, I'd met him, because my sister had been on an exchange program with a German family, and he'd come to visit.

[@hawnyfox3411]

* What is the pilot's name BTW for those of us that are curious ??

[@roscoewhite3793]

@@hawnyfox3411 Joachim Schypeck. He was an Oberleutnant when captured.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

I admire the chap for sticking to his principles. He didn't want to fight Hitler's war and took a massive risk so's not to.

[@empirednw6624]

He still betrayed his county and people though. Soooo principled…..

[@almightyyoke]

​@@empirednw6624He ""betrayed"" the Nazi regime. That's a very principled thing to do.

[@rebel-yellenterprises1479]

@@empirednw6624he was an Austrian citizen. Hitler and Austria had a forced, shotgun wedding with Hitler holding the shotgun. The man was an Austrian national patriot and felt some kinda way about the “wedding”.

[@cactuslietuva]

​@@empirednw6624 what comment is that...he was Austrian, his country was annexed by nazi Germany, and he didn't wanted to fight for occupiers

[@RedXlV]

@@empirednw6624 He wasn't German, he was Austrian. Germany wasn't his country.

[@HughLyon-Sack]

Mark, your narration is better than 95% of all the other content providers on KZbin.

[@AntoinetteDeLaBourne]

I agree 😊i m French and his slow narration and good accent is perfect for me even sometimes it s a bit hard 🥴🤪but never mind. Mark is defenetely the Best👍.Ty sir

[@gregb6469]

Especially since he is a real human being, not a computer-generated voice that mis-pronounces words.

[@pablo2426]

Good narration but not the best channel on ww2. I prefer Yarnhub for his extraordinary animations et Opération rooms for his narration+ animations. Mark doesn’t explain with animation but with only real videos. It is also very good but classic.

[@Peace2U-ec6es]

Interesting to hear more and more stories related to acts of kindness and civil decency during the madness of WWII. Thanks to Dr Felton for bringing this one to a new light.

[@DaveSCameron]

That surely depends on the point of view.

[@luciaconn6788]

Peace-nick here, Ukrainian deaths are driving me crazy. "... When he sees war he tries to stop it," Bobby Kennedy eulogy to JFK. Present day leaders want power for power's sake.

[@jensenhealey08]

Love these little vignettes of the war that give a more person feel for different participants' perspectives.

[@joakimkarlsson9255]

A video about Paul Hiul, the danish mechanic who stole a Heinkel He-111 and flew it to Sweden, would be cool.

[@superjonboy873]

Unlike the Pilot in this video, Mark NEVER fails to land a successful video!

[@shed66215]

Capt. Eric Brown CBE DFC AFC RN said of the Bf109G-12: 'One of my rashest adventures was to fly the Bf109G-12 tandem two-seater from the rear cockpit with no one in the forward cockpit. I was interested to ascertain what sort of view the instructor had for landing. The answer was none! I had to make three very frightening attempts before regaining terra firma. The periscope sight in the rear cockpit was of no use whatsoever in the vital final stage of flare, touch-down and landing run. One can only assumed that Luftwaffe instructors finding themselves in a Bf109G-12 acquired a fatalistic acceptance of an inevitable reliance on their pupils for the finale of each training flight. I would certainly not recommend the ultimate solution that I adopted of a split-S turning dive at the runway, and then a burst of power to avoid cratering the tarmac, and making tail-up contact on the mainwheels. After the tail dropped it was anybody's guess as to the direction in which the aircraft was heading. I had certainly not the vaguest idea.' (From 'Wings of the Luftwaffe'...a thoroughly interesting book.) To be a test pilot of a newly-manufactured aircraft is one thing, to fly an enemy combat aircraft is another - to fly as many as Capt. Brown did was certainly on another level!

[@EdMcF1]

His auto-biography gets to a point where I read two 'suicide missions' per page, then it tails off to one per page. I had the immense honour of meeting him and hearing him talk about his experiences, beyond jaw-dropping.

[@stuartclemmons3832]

Eric Brown managed the landing because he was a first rate pilot with exceptional skills. An average pilot would have likely ended his life doing that!

[@georgehugh3455]

Seems like he could have figured out that 'view problem' while taxiing for take-off....

[@kiwisteve6598]

At the 6.28 mark in the video you can see the a comment on the drawing of the wreck that the rear canopy had triangular inserts in it to improve the forward view. Maybe Eric’s plane lacked that modification.

[@memkiii]

@@georgehugh3455 Not really considering that you can't see where you are going even from the front seat.

[@jonclassical2024]

So interesting...great book on this subject.... (Arrival of Eagles: Luftwaffe Landings in Britain 1939-1945, by Andy Saunders, is published by Grub Street, priced £20.) In one review I found it states "As for his eventual fate, little more is known about the brave Austrian. “Several years ago, I tried to track him down but got absolutely nowhere,” says Saunders. “He’s probably dead now, but I’d have loved to have met him and found out what really motivated him to risk everything in such an incredible flight." Thanks Dr. Felton for brightening my Wednesday!

[@jonclassical2024]

I think you are very correct Dr. Felton, he was a brave Austrian, like "Capt. von Trapp"...hated the Germans and took the ultimate decision. I would bet he went home to live in Austria as soon as he could!

[@derin111]

Ah! I didn’t see this. You may have answered my question above.

[@tomyeplcharger]

My grandfather flew on this type (G12) in the JG105 based in Helmstedt Markersdorf in early 1945.

[@userbosco]

The irony is history never gets old.... Thank you again Mr. Felton for another fascinating story from our past.

[@stangace20]

Didn't even know they made 2-seat 109's, I thought the closest thing to that was an ME 108

[@glennpatton722]

True, there was a 2-seat 109 in Where Eagles Dare(?) I thought it was a Spanish CASA only trainer, well it wasn't (it had a Merlin!)

[@shed66215]

@@glennpatton722 The 109s in the Battle of Britain film had Merlins, they too were also from Spain.

[@wannabe4668]

Training planes

[@JeffHenry-cq3is]

Most aircraft have a training model

[@Thorr-kl6jl]

The training version of the Bf-109 was the Bf-109G12.

[@bongobrandy6297]

This is the first time I've seen or heard of the two seater Me109.. Danke!

[@nicolas2419]

I didn't know this story. Seeing the title, I initially thought that the video was going to tell the story of René Darbois, a Frenchman from annexed Alsace-Lorraine who was drafted into the Luftwaffe and who found a way to become a fighter pilot despite his suspicious origins. In July 1944, he defected to Italy with a Bf-109G which can be seen today at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

[@Ken-fh4jc]

I’ve seen it!

[@robertvermaat2124]

It's from the book: Arrival of Eagles: Luftwaffe Landings in Britain 1939-1945, by Andy Saunders, published by Grub Street.

[@threechevy4203]

I remember hearing about Bob Hoover escaping from a German pow camp by walking up to a parked airplane and flying it back across Allied lines. Saw him at an air show once, he was an amazing pilot!

[@autocad3227]

Mark Felton needs to do a video on that one

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

@@autocad3227I think he has?

[@tonyholden5254]

I was born and raised in Lowestoft, into all things airplane since I was a small boy. Never heard of this incident. I have learned so much about local WW11 history from you Mark, thank you!

[@boinkporkpork]

I read this as defecated rather than defected. Although with that landing who knows. Another great video, thank you Dr. Felton

[@garylawson5381]

Thank you Mark Felton Productions!

[@JackRoss90]

This isn’t related to the video but I want to thank you for these videos. I found your channel when I was sick with COVID and I binged everything you put up. Cheers!

[@x-TheTheo]

Love your videos, DR. Felton! Keep up the great work.

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

The wing in the foreground had Italian markings. Probably from a C202 or C205.

[@samnewman5927]

Absolutely loved this episode. Norfolk had a crazy amount of air bases during the war, my grandparents met at one of them, my grandfather being a navigator in a wellington and my grandmother being in the WAAF. I never met my grandfather but he was shot down over Germany, survived spending the rest of the war at Stalag Luft 3. I’d love an episode regarding all of the airbases once in Nofork, most of which are abandoned or overgrown.

[@hawnyfox3411]

* Sounds like your Grandad might've been based at either Marham or Feltwell - ( just inside the Norfolk border ) Also sounds like an interesting tale/event Did YOU know which base it was by any chance ?

[@oliviersavard8676]

i've been doing a list of old raf airbases in england on google earth and there's indeed an absolute ton, i'm not even done and so far i've found upwards of 200 bases, and that's only the air bases that have survived enough to be noticeable from the sky, not even the bases that were demolished and covered by residential development

[@cior8837]

Many thanks for the history content Dr. Mark Felton!

[@daystatesniper01]

Yet another golden nugget of information ,many thanks .

[@mondo851]

Another great historical story. This is one of my favorite KZbin channels, very much at the top of the list. So incredibly refreshing to view historical accounts that are informed by research and obvious respect for the subject matter, and, especially, free of indoctrinating narratives.

[@jamieflame01]

That is how people, real people, stop a war of their rulers desire.

[@patrickmunneke8348]

Yeah only in fairytales

[@user-yy1rs3df3q]

It's a cool story but lets not pretend he was doing this for anything other than for self serving reasons.

[@jamieflame01]

@user-yy1rs3df3q Well I ain't no senators son, are you?

[@kevinjudia122]

Mr Felton, keep these coming! I love the individual stories like this, stuff you don’t hear too often. Good work!

[@viliamklein]

I wonder what happened to him after the war.

[@Peace2U-ec6es]

I wonder what happened to his family during the war.

[@StephanieSwift-jt3hz]

I've been wondering exactly the same thing.

[@fredbloggs8072]

I can't find anything online that says what happened to Wimberger after he was sent to the POW camp. It would be nice to know how his story finished.

[@markbrown382]

@@fredbloggs8072Yeah I can’t find anything. Hope he had a good life.

[@dennisswaim8210]

Another great story about WWII. Dr. Felton always brings the most interesting accounts to his channel. Definitely one of the best if not the best historical U- Tube sites!

[@julosx]

Another Luftwaffe pilot did even better. René Girard was a Frenchman from eastern France. When the Germans crossed the border in 1940, Girard realised that he would be sent to Eastern Front if he did nothing. Instead, he contacted the Luftwaffe asking to be a fighter pilot since he knew that it would take 4 years of training before his CO send him to some front. During his training, he engaged into his own risky mission : take microfilms of every location and base he would be sent to. The last one was a fighter unit specialized into ground attack in Northern Italy. The every first day he was in operation, he said to his "team mates" that he had a problem with his 109 G-6 aircraft. Instead he ran away with it, shutting off his Telefunken transponder as soon as he left the German controlled air space. After an hour of flight, he landed on a secondary US air base (used mostly for refuelling U.S. aircrafts coming from other locations). He was brought to the base commander and gave him all of his microfilms and a functional, operational Me-109 that still exists today. It was originally painted in two tones of grey on the upper surfaces. One of the panels on the fuselage was mounted upside down so that the left Balkankreuz didn't look right. Girard eventually survived the war. Because of a leak in a algerian newspaper, the Germans learnt about what happened to him and they tried to threaten his parents in France to have him surrender. So a Gestapo car was sent to his parents location. This car and its agents never reach their home since it was straffed by some 8th Air Force fighter somewhere along the road. So they too survive the war. René Girard became in a helicopter pilot during the Algeria war. He commited suicide in 1956 and never knew what his former 109 ever became.

[@AgencyIsland]

Cant imagine the feeling of "well the germans didnt shoot me down, hope the english dont either " so many variables that could go against you

[@Totek6]

It's always a great day when Mark uploads! Appreciate all your efforts that go into making these! 😊

[@skeetrix5577]

interesting story, as always! thanks Dr. Felton!

[@ashively1]

As always, thank you Dr. Felton for another great story.

[@htos1av]

Fantastic story! Great work as always, Mr. Felton!

[@Untersberg-lk6rc]

Thank you for your historical review and the time you invest in sharing all of this with us❤

[@AAO342]

I have never noticed that the canopies on the G-12 opens in a different way than the ordinary 109s . Only left and top panel opens while the right one stays in place . On ordinary 109s the whole canopy opens . I think your audience will find a video about the Junkers Ju88 that went down in the Kilsfjord near Kragerø in Norway interessting .

[@szykmenowic10]

Doctor Mark uploaded new video, just as I opened youtube. I've been watching your channel for so long I can finally predict when you upload sir!

[@mtathos_]

I can't remember how long it's been but I remember the comments of the older videos that kept saying how much more recognition you deserve, I am very delighted to see that you have finally gotten that recognition!

[@chrissnape9537]

I had never heard this story before. It is stimulating to learn new to me history. I stumbled across your channel a few months back. Your presentation is special and keeps one interested. This Austrian had a great deal of courage, as he must have known his piloting was less than special. Attempting a belly landing shows how much he disliked Hitler and the German goals. The home guard helping him out of the plane was very decent. I would like to think that rational attitude is still possible. Here in Canada, I believe it is still possible. I am not so sure about our neighbors to the south. It reminds me of your WWI story regarding the enormous Zeppelin, that crash landed in England. It only took two British officials to escort thirteen German airmen to the nearest police station. In both stories, the Germans and British showed such humility and integrity. Luckily, I still have many episodes left to view. Thanks, Sir Felton 😊

[@MrTuftynut]

Wow - Another great video and story. What a shame that rare two-seat 109 G 12 variant was not kept for posterity and in a museum now!

[@theonlymadmac4771]

There is a flying 2 seater in Usedom Germany

[@Franky46Boy]

Any idea what happened to this man later?

[@fredbloggs8072]

I'd love to know. It seems a bit risky sending him to a POW camp, even with a cover story. The Germans must have known he'd defected. If that intel reached the camp somehow, he'd have been in severe danger.

[@Franky46Boy]

@@fredbloggs8072 German POWs have killed defectors or traitors in other cases. In May 1945, they even executed defectors in a prison camp in the Netherlands with the consent of the Canadian guards who provided the rifles to carry out the executions. The Canadians allowed it to maintain order and discipline in the camp!

[@Franky46Boy]

@@fredbloggs8072 Here is part of the story ( maybe also interesting for Mr.Marc Felton ): ..."The two sailors were cross-examined and within fifteen minutes the matter was clear before the court-martial. Dorfer and Beek were sentenced to death for desertion during war; Major Pierce was informed of the events. The responsible German and Canadian military staffs were informed, after which the Canadians decided to let the Germans have their way. At Stein's request, Pierce provided a vehicle, eight rifles and sixteen cartridges for the German execution platoon, after which Dorfer and Beek were shot near Schellingwoude the same day at 5:40 PM and 5:45 PM. On May 17, 1945, the First Canadian Army issued further instructions regarding the further functioning of the German courts-martial. From May 26, 1945, the German courts-martial imposed the restriction that sentences of more than two years' imprisonment had to be submitted to the Allied authorities for approval. The shooting of Dorfer and Beek was no exception: in many places in Europe, after the German capitulation, German soldiers were sentenced to death by courts-martial and shot. It should be taken into account that during the Second World War 10,000 to 15,000 German soldiers were sentenced to death by German courts-martial and subsequently executed, so that the Wehrmacht was accustomed to these practices. Oberstabsrichter Wilhelm Köhn experienced no disadvantages from the "correctly" conducted court-martial hearing and made a prosperous career in the German judiciary after the war"...

[@arnoldbissen9921]

Indeed. I would love to know. I tried to google it, but couldn't find anything. Did he stay in Britain? Go back to Austria, Germany? Anybody??

[@Willigula]

More stuff we really didn’t know. Thanks, Dr. Felton!

[@Dunbar0740]

My great aunt was killed in a raid on Lowestoft, along with 31 other people, on May 12th 1943. The raid was conducted by 24 Focke-Wulf FW-190s. These were single engine fighter/bombers that resemble the 109, to an untrained eye. Suffolk's air defence was, subsequently, keen to exact revenge. The Austrian pilot in Dr. Felton's account was lucky he didn't wander across the coast slightly further south. I've no doubt the twitchy coastal gunners would have provided a less agreeable welcome.

[@AudieHolland]

No type of FW-190 even remotely resembles the ME-109, other than that they are single engine, single seat fighter mono planes. The P-51B Mustang resembled an ME-109 more than any other plane, which is why early escort pilots flying the type would not like to get close to their own bombers they were protecting.

[@Dunbar0740]

@@AudieHolland As I said "...to the untrained eye", there appears to be a resemblance between the two German single engine monoplanes. To the untrained eye. To the untrained eye...

[@MrGuto]

My eye is untrained. I just looked at pictures of both planes. Look similar indeed, to my untrained eyes.

[@AudieHolland]

@@Dunbar0740 You don't have to be trained to spot differences in how supposedly similar things look different. People not trained in identifying guns will still spot the obvious difference between a revolver and a semi automatic. You don't need to have a trained eye to see that the ME-109 differs from the FW-190 because the first one has a streamlined nose, the latter has a stub nose. To spot the differences between any ME-109 and the Mustang P-51B. Now that takes training.

[@Dunbar0740]

@@AudieHolland To "train one's eye" is an English colloquialism which means to focus. An "untrained eye" means, "at a glance" or refers to a layperson.

[@user-wv2rz1xj8x]

Mr. Felton is truly a hidden gem to his audience and the world. God bless and a long life to you.

[@DrumsByDennis]

I always follow your excellent fascinating WW2 content Dr. Felton

[@davidvaughn7752]

Wow, another riveting untold story thst I thoroughly enjoyed! Thank You, Dr.!

[@theknifedude1881]

Thank you Dr. Felton for another educating and entertaining video.

[@MoJo-eb4lt]

..I love these small stories, gives real insight into the war.

[@jonbell3020]

Sorry Mr Felton, I was sure I’d subscribed ages ago … remedied now, fabulous historical resource.

[@jeffterhune8573]

Great video, never knew they had a two seater. You never disappoint on your vast knowledge, thanks again. Dad was in the 11th airborne, Pacific theater.

[@williambarr2846]

I suppose if one is going to attempt a landing in such an aircraft, in ruff terrain you would want you landing gear 'up' and sliding in on you're belly to avoid nosing over, and cartwheeling- Thank you for another well produced 'piece'-

[@gjfreke]

I find myself in a very dark time in my life, your words of wisdom and your historical facts. Give me the glimmer of hope to carry on you are a legend Mark Felton. Thank you.

[@zen4men]

Whatever it is, Face The Fear. No test in Life is ever greater than your ability to conquer it. /

[@jknowstheway1462]

How do you find 100's of these unheard of stories Mark? I consider myself something of a buff and relatively educated in WW2, especially the German side, and you continually offer content Ive unencountered.

[@paulsmith4467]

Might be worth checking the RAF pilot who based in Wales seemingly had enough, and flew his Spitfire/Hurricane to Dublin. I read about it in the Irish Post Newspaper during the 1970's.

[@caw25sha]

I believe they put the engine in a Churchill tank.

[@TankerBricks]

Mark. Thanks for providing my Wednesday night entertainment!

[@rodvoorhies3753]

Never heard of this one! Thanks Mark!

[@charlesrabideau3474]

As always, new and interesting stories from the good Doctor 👍

[@dp-sr1fd]

I wonder what happened to him after the war. I hope things worked out well. Perhaps he felt it was best to keep a low profile when he got home.

[@robertnessful]

This was a lucky pilot. He was crossing the channel a couple of weeks before D-Day. Although he was flying a fighter type, being mistaken for a low level 7:24 recon flight would have ellicitted a response.

[@More_Row]

You sure?

[@fredbloggs8072]

I suspect he was smart enough to figure out the best flight path to minimalise the risk pf being shot out the sky. Plus flying with his wheels down was a good ploy. Still needed luck on his side though.

[@MyLateralThawts]

I know the Kriegsmarine had a secret communications line with their personnel in allied captivity, which the allies eventually found out about. I suspect the Luftwaffe may have had something similar. Among the standing orders the senior officers were supposed to follow, was to court martial any personnel who failed in their duties. That would definitely include defectors. Whatever the British did, the cover story seemed to work and the sergeant survived his incarceration.

[@JeffHenry-cq3is]

Did he? No one knows what happened to him

[@caw25sha]

​@@JeffHenry-cq3is I was wondering about that, and why Mark didn't mention what became of him. Maybe be was given a new identity to prevent any possible post war reprisals, by Werwolf for example, something the allies were excessively paranoid about.

[@markrossow6303]

another Commenter mentions meeting him + family in post-War Germany -- so he survived but didn't return to (also-Occupied) Austria

[@1969Risky]

6:47 the Bf-109 G12 has Regia Aeronautica markings on it's wings in the photo as well as the camouflaged used by them as well. It has a mixture of German camouflage & Italian camouflage. A bit strange for a Luftwaffe fighter/trainer aircraft! Great Video as always. It's always a great surprise when something out of the odd comes up on this channel.

[@nicolad8822]

I think that’s part of a different plane.

[@vangestelwijnen]

That was a daring flight. From Zerbst! Another new part of history revealed by Mark Felton. Very fascinating, again!

[@jensenwilliam5434]

Thank you Mark.

[@lawrencebarnes6893]

Good research. I'm sure that takes a lot of time. Always interesting.

[@CarLos-yi7ne]

@ 6:48 the wing on the foreground has desert camo and the sign of the Italian airforce. So I guess all kinds of aircraft parts were gathered in that place..

[@caw25sha]

I think it's probably either Farnborough or Boscombe Down.

[@alkitzman9179]

Wow Dr. Felton a 2 seater 109 . If I live to 500 I might know a tenth of what you know. Great video

[@larryburwell8550]

interesting story for sure. thanks for sharing

[@M1903a4]

Another fascinating tale!! The wing in the foreground of the collected wreckage is from an Italian aircraft.

[@murrayeldred3563]

The Felton= another interesting episode. ...... as always.

[@userbosco]

Question: Wasn't it common practice to have a defecting soldier or pilot's family get a visit from the Gestapo?

[@kimwit1307]

Possibly, if they found out there was in fact a defection.

[@terminallumbago6465]

@@kimwit1307I can’t imagine they wouldn’t have thought something was up considering he never came back.

[@kimwit1307]

@@terminallumbago6465 in those days, especially in wartime, I dont think it was that uncommon for planes to just disappear.

[@markrossow6303]

"routine training flight" could crash, but not "disapear" I would think... (a Great-Uncle by marriage _disappeared_ during WW2 in a 4-engine over Alaska)

[@kimwit1307]

@@markrossow6303 crash without being found = disappear or going missing.

[@jacekpaszkowski2000]

This should be made into a movie. Awesome episode. What happened to Wimberger after the war, did he stay in England?

[@Cma2506]

I liked the weather change in Dr Felton’s intro.😅

[@benbaker2965]

This is another vignette. A gem of Dr. Felton sharing even the small but interesting events if WWII. I wonder whatever became of this lilot at war,'s end?

[@tomyeplcharger]

Same story with René Darbois, french malgré-nous, defecting from Italy to US Sicilia in his 109...The plane is now to be oberved in Washington DC, Air and space museum. My grandfather has almost the same story as René Darbois (french malgré nous, LKS7 in Tulln Langenlebarn next to Vienna, then Jagdgeschwader, then surrender, then POW)

[@perro626]

Good lord! I read "Luftwaffe Pilot DEFECATED in Stolen Messerschmitt" and thought "The hell is Mark going to tell us about this time?"

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Great story! And I couldn't help but notice the wing of an Italian airplane in the foreground at around the 6:50 mark. I wonder what the story on that one was? Another good one Doctor Felton! Thanks!

[@binaway]

After delivering their weapons Cargo ships required ballast to return their home ports. Destroyed weapons make the best cargo as most parts can be recycled. Aluminium/aluminum is very easy and cheep to recycle and relatively expensive to extract from bauxite. The metal form lots of Italian downed Italian aircraft would have been recycled into say Spitfires. The Germans would have recycled thousands of large allied bombers into ME109 and FW190's. Interesting aircraft were carefully examined before being melted down.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@binaway I figured that's what it was all about.

[@bigsarge2085]

I never knew. Thank you!

[@larryjohnson7591]

First, I have ever heard of this flight. Thanks for making me a little smarter Mark.

[@greyfox4577]

Makes you wonder how many fascinating similar WWII stories of soldiers, airmen, sailors, etc. that defected to other countries for whatever reasons are still out there.

[@dad_jokes_4ever226]

For a second there I thought it said " Defecated" instead of "Defected " 😅😅😅

[@samsum3738]

Excellent video as usual . I wonder what happened to him after the war ended ?

[@anthonygreen2799]

Awesome story as always Mark. Have you heard about the Spitfires that delivered barrels of beer to the men on the front line just after D day? I have a photo of a spit carrying barrels of beer. That would make a great story for you to tell.

[@carsonm7292]

Where does the doctor find these obscure stories? Always interesting! Great presentation, thanks.

[@trent847]

The very last photo had a German marked Bf 109 fuselage with wings in the foreground that had Italian Regia Aeronautica camouflage and markings.

[@bobschenkel7921]

So you are decided on Bf 109, instead of Me 109. Your previous posting on the conundrum between the two is still in my mind, but I wasn't sure if a final decision was made. Very interesting story about the "nicht so gute" pilot, glad he made it to Eastern England. Your home area, correct, Dr. Felton?

[@MarkFeltonProductions]

Yes, I live in Norwich, Norfolk but was born in Colchester, Essex.

[@m.brizzy5407]

Mark, I found this particular doc. of yours interesting, because where I live now in Germany is not too far away from where he took off. Somerlyton is not far away from where I grew up and where he was taken to hospital in Lowestoft! I went to school in Lowestoft, and I think the hospital he went to was the same one I visited in the early 60s.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

The first time I heard about such attempted ...thanks

[@mikefranklin1253]

I know some German pilots flew planes to England to surrender late in the war. Did any Allied pilots fly to Germany to surrender?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Yes... There was an American pilot who stole a P-38. There also were a few who landed in neutral Sweden or Switzerland.

[@alfiesmith768]

I live in eston in Middlesbrough and there is a story about a German plane getting shot down over the eston hills while on a reconnaissance mission to/from Manchester. The crash sight is roughly known but there is conflicting stories of what happened to the crew on board. A video on this would be great if possible. Another excellent video. Thank you mark 👍

[@alekhidell7068]

Everybody wants an Operation Downfall episode, Mark!

[@debbiestyer453]

What happened to him?

[@utpalbasu3353]

It's a great story from Dr Felton. I wonder about the post war life of this Luftwaffe pilot.

[@FRIEND_711]

An interesting story but question, what's the wings of that Italian aircraft next to trainer bf-109 in the final shot?

[@NoahSpurrier]

How many Luftwaffe defection incidents were there over the war?

[@constantinkotroba9784]

Hello Mark Would it be possible for you to look at the crash cite for remains of the Airplane?

[@Spitfiresammons]

The bf-109G-12 would be a better two seater Messerschmitt rather than the two seater Spanish Messerschmitt great video Dr Felton.

[@gmotuel]

I would imagine he ended up at Queen Victoria Hospital East Grinstead rather than Lingfield. It's where all of the injured pilots went to for surgery, burns treatment etc.. It developed as a specialist burns unit under the leadership of Sir Archibald McIndoe, and became world-famous for pioneering treatment of RAF and allied aircrew who were badly burned or crushed and required reconstructive plastic surgery. It was also where the Guinea Pig Club was formed in 1941

[@aprylrittenhouse4562]

What a brave young man, for taking a stand❤❤