Bf110C shot down 18th August 1940

[Andy Saunders]

It is fascinating how common these "urban myths" relating to German losses over the UK actually are - and how geographically widespread they are but with a common thread. I have almost lost count of the "three crew in a Me 110 and one of them was a woman" story! Another popular tale is that the pilot knew the area where he landed very well because, pre war, he a) went to school nearby or b) was a waiter at a local hotel! This tale is often accompanied with a story about how he asked after the daughter of the local pub landlord - or similar - upon capture. Most, when captured, allegedly spat on the ground, gave a Nazi salute and said "England finished!" but sometimes conceded "Spitfires too good!". The most bizarre story that has cropped up, several times, is that the airmen wore nail varnish and carried womens toiletries. Makes you wonder what these L/W types got up to in their free time!!! If I had a fiver for each time I had a variation of those stories I wouldn't need beer money for years. Curious, though, how these urban myths about L/W losses over the UK proliferate. Whilst they have no basis in fact and are, often, faintly amusing it has always fascinated me that tales like this range from Kent to Cornwall and from the Isle of Wight to Scotland.