Pieces of paper thrown out of a Me 109

[Adam]

surely the place of the incident might also be relevant? It seems the assumption is it was intell for the enemy, but if the pilot was miles from the front lines inside friendly territory, then perhaps it was something he wasn't supposed to have - either at all, or just in the aircraft at the time?

[Dan O'Connell]

How about you were just in the process of getting shot down....I wouldn't be thinking to smartly at the time either LOL You're told to protect these papers, and you're maybe 19 or 20 years old...you are going to do what you remembered being ordered, even if it wasn't the best use of your time at the moment.

[BABIN]

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your replies.

The German pilot was a young Unteroffizier, belonging to a Jagdeschwader. His Me 109 crashed close to his airfield, located about 200 km from the Normandy front, in a still occupied area ... and an already straffed or bombed airfield by the Allied Air Forces ! Probably the thrown up documents were intelligence, but the way this young pilot took to get rid of them, wasn't the best : they could be picked up by French partisans or Jetburg commandos who spied on the German airfield (and other German camps or installations) in the area.

I guess German pilots and crews had specifical instructions to get rid of intelligence documents when their aircraft was hit and about to crash, but was it more important than saving their life : to waste some seconds before bailing out could be fatal ...

Pierre