Preorder Expected Arrival - JAN 2025

Franz von Werra was "The One Who Got Away," the subject of a best-seller and two movies. He was a German ace whose escape exploits were far more exciting than his brief career as a fighter pilot. On 5 September 1940, Spitfires shot down von Werra's 109 over Kent as he escorted bombers attacking the Royal Air Force at Biggin Hill. He crash-landed and was quickly captured. In late September von Werra was sent to a POW camp at Grizedale Hall in Lancashire and began planning an escape. On 7 October he slipped away from an exercise party without being noticed by the guards. Von Werra eluded pursuit for six cold, rainy days on the barren hills of the Lake District. Recaptured in Cumberland, he was sent to another POW camp at Swanwick in Derbyshire. Immediately he began a tunnel with several other prisoners. On the night of 17 December five Germans escaped through the tunnel. Four were soon captured. Von Werra posed as a Dutchman flying with the RAF and attempted to steal a British fighter. He bluffed his way past Scotland Yard investigators and onto Hucknall Aerodrome on 21 December. More bluff got him into the cockpit of a new Hurricane II fighter with a mechanic to start his engine. Moments before take off, an RAF officer apprehended him at gunpoint. Von Werra and other German POW's were sent via ship to Canada. In late January, von Werra jumped from a moving POW train southwest of Montreal and headed south for the St. Lawrence River, the border between Canada and neutral United States. He managed to cross the frozen river near Ogdensburg, NY and turned himself in to the first policeman he found. American reporters were charmed by "Baron" von Werra's bravado and fluent English, and his escape made headlines across the USA and Germany. Canada attempted to extradite him, but the German Consul in NY assisted von Werra to return to Germany via Mexico, Brazil and Italy. Hitler awarded him the Knight's Cross. He joined the invasion of Russia in July and ran his score to 21 victories. Posted to the Dutch coast, on 25 October 1941 his luck and his 109's engine failed. Franz von Werra fell into the North Sea.

Designed to meet a Luftwaffe need for a single-seat fighter/interceptor, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was first flown on May 28th, 1935. Its all-metal construction, closed canopy and retractable gear made the Bf 109 one of the first true modern fighters of WWII. This versatile aircraft served in many roles and was the most produced aircraft of the war and the backbone of the Luftwaffe, and was flown by Germany's top three aces, who claimed a total of 928 victories between them. Armed with two cannons and two machine guns, the Bf 109's design underwent constant revisions, which allowed it to remain competitive until the end of the war.

Info: Bf 109E - Luftwaffe II/JG 3 Udet, Franz von Werra, Battle of Britain, 1940