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The One Who (Almost) Got Away

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The One Who (Almost) Got Away The One who (Almost) Got Away. Leutnant Heinz Schnabel, 1/JG3. Most people are familiar with the story of Franz von Werra, the Luftwaffe pilot who was the only German to escape from captivity in the West, and return to Germany to continue his service. His story has been well documented, in books, magazines, and in a movie, entitled ‘The one that got away’ , starring Hardy Kruger as von Werra. Perhaps not so well known is the story of another Luftwaffe ‘ace’, Leutnant Heinz Schnabel who, together with Oberleutnant Harry Wappler, carried out an audacious escape attempt which very nearly succeeded. Heinz Schnabel was a 29 year old fighter pilot with the First Staffel, of 1 Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 3 (1/JG3), equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf109E, and based at Colombert, due east of Boulogne, France, in September 1940. He had already gained ‘ace’ status, by shooting down three R.A.F. Blenheims during the Battle of France, and three Spitfires, the most recent being on 28 th August, but not without cost. During an air battle over France earlier in the year, he had sustained a bullet wound in the lungs and, semi-conscious, force-landed his ‘Emil’. With this wound not completely healed, it transpired that he would never regain full health, but he eventually rejoined his unit to continue flying and fighting. On the morning of 5th September, at the height of the Battle of Britain, JG3 were tasked, along with other units, with escorting a force of Heinkel He111 and Dornier Do17 bombers on a raid against England. The formation consisted of around 140 bombers, escorted by a total of approximately 280 fighters, with targets around the East End and docks of the City, and the south-east suburbs. Part of the force was to attack Croydon airport, with the intention of drawing-off the R.A.F. fighters whilst the main attack was made against Biggin Hill. Leutnant Schnabel was flying Bf109E4, W.Nr 1985, ‘White 6’ which, it is thought, was not his regular mount. This aircraft was finished in a colour scheme of RLM 65 on the under surfaces and fuselage sides, with a ‘splinter’ pattern of RLM 71 and RLM 02 on the upper surfaces, the fuselage colour demarcation being level with the bottom of the cockpit canopy, and the fuselage sides had a light mottle of RLM 02. The tips of the main wings, and the entire rudder, were painted white, and the aircraft carried the white ‘Tatzelwurm’ badge of 1/JG3 on both sides of the engine cowling. The spinner was half white, half RLM 70, with a white tip. Two black ‘ Abschuss zeichen’, or ‘kill’ markings, were displayed on the top of the rudder, thought to be those of another pilot. The white number ‘6’ was in the ‘square’ style, and wider than was normal. Bf109E4, W.Nr.1985, ‘White 6’, 1/JG3. (Profile from Jagdwaffe vol 2, by Eric Mombeek. ) 1 The R.A.F. did not fall for the feint attack on Croydon, which was bombed again, but intercepted the bombers on their return, with fighters including the Hurricanes of 79 Squadron, and 41 Squadron’s Spitfires, attacking the bombers and their escorts. Schnabel’s Messerschmitt was hit and damaged, and once again he had to make a forced- landing, which he accomplished, although not without severely damaging his aircraft even more, in a field at Handen Farm, near Aldington, north-west of Folkestone, in Kent. The Messerschmitt landed heavily at 10:10 hours, GMT, crumpling the port wing tip, and pushing the engine out of the engine mounts, with the cowlings buckled and dislodged. Heinz Schnabel suffered injuries also, seriously enough to be in a plaster corset for some time afterwards. Coincidentally, at exactly the same time, Franz von Werra, of Stab, II/JG3, a victim of the same air battle, crash-landed his Bf109 at Marden, south of Maidstone in Kent. Schnabel’s ‘White 6’ in the field near Aldington. (Flugzeug magazine via R Conyers Nesbit and Jagdwaffe vol 2 .) 2 After receiving medical treatment, and when recovered enough to be moved, Schnabel would have been sent to the London District ‘Cage’, at 8, Kensington Palace Gardens (now replaced by a modern apartment building), which was the Reception Centre for new P.o.W.’s. From there, he would have gone on to Air Intelligence 1(k), Camp Number 10, at Cockfosters in Hertfordshire, north of London, the equivalent to the Luftwaffe’s interrogation centre at Dulag Luft, at Oberwesel, Bavaria, where basic interrogation would have taken place. This was routine, in an attempt to gain information about Luftwaffe units, equipment, tactics etc. Apparently, Schnabel did not disclose any information of value, and the British interrogators found him ‘of good morale’. He was soon moved to a permanent Prisoner of War camp, in the Lake District, in the far north west of England. This was Camp Number 1, at Grizedale Hall, an old, sprawling stone-built ‘country house’, deep in Grizedale Forest, in what was then the County of Cumberland, now Cumbria. (It was from this camp the von Werra made his first escape attempt). Today, only an outline of some of the foundations remain, but in 1940 the imposing Hall and its grounds were surrounded by high barbed wire fences, with guard towers, sentries and dog patrols, and searchlights which played across the grounds at night. It was here, at Grizedale, that Schnabel met Oberleutnant Harry Wappler, a pilot from 8/KG27 ‘Boelcke’, who’s Heinkel He111Ps were based at Rennes. Wappler, a little under one year younger than Schnabel, had been captured on the night of September 12 th, on his fourteenth operation, after a raid on Ellesmere Port, on the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. After bombing the target at 02:30 hours, and without observing the results, Wappler set course for the return flight. Over Newport, in (then) Monmouthshire, Wales, the Heinkel, W.Nr. 2670, coded 1G + DS, collided with a barrage balloon cable at 6, 500 feet (1,950 m), an unusually high altitude, as the balloons normally ‘flew’ at around 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The Heinkel was slewed around by the impact, and the aircraft’s cutting links worked as intended, severing the cable. Unfortunately, the cable dragged behind the wing and fouled that of another balloon, sending the Heinkel into a steep, uncontrollable dive. After shouting orders to abandon the aircraft, Wappler bailed out, deployed his parachute, and landed heavily in Queens Street, Newport, breaking his right forearm and being knocked unconscious. It is not known if the rest of the crew were unable to leave the aircraft, or perhaps did not hear the order, but whatever the reason, they all went down with the Heinkel, which hit the ground and careered into the ground floor of a house in Stow Park Avenue, Newport, bursting into flames and engulfing the house. Out of the family of four, asleep in the house, the son and daughter perished, despite an attempt by the son to rescue the girl. Only Mr. And Mrs. Phillips survived. The Heinkel crew, observer, Unteroffizier Fritz Berndt, radio operator Oberfeldwebel Johannes Elster, and the flight engineer, Unteroffizier Herbert Okuneck, were all killed in the crash. At Grizedale, Wappler and Schnabel, who had the nickname ‘Hannibal’, due to his short stature, became good friends and, as time passed and it became evident that the expected invasion of Britain was not to be, they talked of planning an escape. Soon, it was winter, and the likelihood of making good an escape, and surviving in the harsh climate and inhospitable terrain of the Lake District lessened any chances of success, and plans were shelved until the spring. Not long after, in early 1941, both Officers were transferred to a new camp, Camp Number 15, approximately 25 miles (40 km) to the east of Grizedale, and 12 miles (20 km) south of Penrith, at the former Shap Wells Hotel, commandeered for the duration as a P.o.W. camp, and today an extended, modernised hotel in the Best Western Group. The hotel, like 3 Grizedale Hall, was surrounded by barbed wire fences, and patrolled by the usual guards and dogs, and again, searchlights swept the grounds at night, at which time prisoners were locked in their rooms, following the usual roll call, a practice which was also repeated a further three times, during the course of each day. The prisoners kept themselves occupied during daylight hours, by working at handicrafts, and landscaping part of the grounds, something which was to aid the eventual escape plan. They were also allowed out, under armed guard, to collect firewood and for exercise, and it was during these outings that ‘intelligence’ was gathered concerning the immediate surroundings and local area. By mid 1941, it was soon discovered that the main London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway line, the route from London to Glasgow, passed close by the camp, over Shap Bank. This was a notoriously steep gradient on the rail line, where heavily–laden trains slowed, almost to walking pace, on the long climb to the summit. It was also noticed that aircraft, R.A.F. training types such as Tiger Moths and Magisters, flew overhead daily, when weather permitted, and that they always departed to the north. By some means unknown, the German prisoners found out that these aircraft were from R.A.F. Kingstown, the former civil aerodrome just to the north of Carlisle, and came up with a plan to reconnoitre the airfield. After complaining that the dental treatment received at the camp was acutely painful, prisoners were allowed to be taken by road, and under guard, to a dentist near Carlisle.
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