LW Ace PoW from BoB ‘Exchanged’ in 1943 –becomes a Bomber Killer!!!

[Dénes Bernád]

Could it happen the other way around, too? Namely, RAF airmen, who had been exchanged as POWs, and later on returned to flying combat missions during the war?

[George Hopp]

I vaguely recall that Americans who had been shot down over Europe, and escaped, were sent to the Pacific. So, were others also sent to other theatres? It's not quite the same conditions as above.

I cannot see that a returned person, captured again, had broken any laws. If he healed faster and more completely that his captors had imagined, that was not his fault. And, as Kaki mentioned, by the end of the war, they were using anyone who could fly -- look at a captured Rudel at war's end with part of his right leg gone.

[RT]

Someone ask about his fate , I mean the one of Walter Blume, he died in 19.juli 1965, maybe up-above they grant him some plane to hv some more fun, seems non-uncommon to die in the age of 40/50 among the pilots, gen of car accident

remi

[drgondog]

Originally Posted by George Hopp

I vaguely recall that Americans who had been shot down over Europe, and escaped, were sent to the Pacific. So, were others also sent to other theatres? It's not quite the same conditions as above.

I cannot see that a returned person, captured again, had broken any laws. If he healed faster and more completely that his captors had imagined, that was not his fault. And, as Kaki mentioned, by the end of the war, they were using anyone who could fly -- look at a captured Rudel at war's end with part of his right leg gone.

USAAF situation different. If passed through Underground, the returned pilot was taken off ETO ops - some stayed in ETO, some went to PTO where they returned to active combat duties. Yeager was an exception that went to Eisenhower for final approval.

None of the evadees that escaped alone had any barriers to returning for duty.

The 355th FG had 10 pilots shot down by flak return to England w/o Underground help and RTD.. One of them escaped (Roland Dufresne) from Germany (Koln area) after going down in Feb, 1944.

[Brian Bines]

Was Oblt. Faber who landed his Fw190 of 7/JG2 in the UK on 26-6-42 repatriated to Germany with health problems. I read somewhere he flew again on Home-Defence but have not seen any other reference to this, and cant find the original story,

regards

Brian Bines

[RT]

Was Oblt. Faber who landed his Fw190 of 7/JG2 in the UK on 26-6-42 repatriated to Germany with health problems..

The better for Faber was to not come back to Germany, of the German view the case may hv been seen "troubling",
Was Faber not already took prisoner in the Balkans in 41 nd fried ??

Remi

[Tom Semenza]

According to Prien et al. in their history of I./JG 27 Blume was with I./JG 300 in August 1943 before being posted to I./JG 27 at the beginning of 1944. He was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 27 on 22 Feb. 44. On 3 Apr. 44 he was made acting Kommandeur of I./JG 27. Sometime toward the end of April Blume was transferred to the Verbandsführerschule (VFS)which operated with I./JG 27. On 29 May 44 he was appointed Kommandeur of I./JG 27 but on 12 June 44 was again transferred to the VFS (or Stab/JG 26, contradictory info here.) This is the last mention I can find of him.

Although in their history of JG 27 Ring & Girbig list Blume with 14 victories, including 5 with JG 27 and a total of 8 4-mots, Prien lists only 4 claims for 4-mots in April 44, two of which were "engültige Vernichtungen" (final destruction.) So that would give him a total 8 or 10 depending on whether or not you count the e.V. claims; unless someone has better info.

Tom

[hanshauprich]

Hptm. Kurt-Heinz Weigel, a Bomberpilot became PoW in England 1940 and was sent to an PoW Camp in Canada. He played his roll of an mentally ill madness men so perfect, that he was exchanged in 1944 to Germany. He goes to Nightfightertraining and become Staffelkapitän 11./NJG 6. In the morning of 5. March 1945 he crashed his Ju 88G-6 2Z+BV during the landing of the Fliegerhorst Gerolzhofen. He and his other 3 Crewmembers are killed on impact. Weigel has 3 Abschüsse against Bomber Command.

[RT]

One think not to forget is that the allies exchange prisoners, not great heart toward germans prisoners, but because they are keen to recover their own ill-prisoners, so even in the one per one basis you need "stuff" to exchange, 1943 1944 the number of allies prisoners was vastly superior to the german ones


remi