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Luftwaffe fighter (WW2) question; Gun cameras or not?
Topic Started: Apr 12 2018, 02:55 AM (226 Views)
jvenables
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Hawk
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I am currently reading "The One That Got Away" which details the events surrounding the capture, imprisonment and subsequent escape of Franz von Werra, who was the only German POW to escape and return to Germany during WW2 (and whose Bf-109E that crash landed in England is covered by both Airfix & ICM kits).

Apparently, during his interrogation following capture, the British accused him of fabricating some of his victories. In particular, he claimed to have been on his way back to France after a dogfight over England in which he lost sight of his comrades, when he noticed several Hurricanes preparing to land at an airfield. His claim stated that he surreptitiously joined them in the circuit and then shot them down, in addition to destroying some aircraft already on the ground. This "multiple victory" was heralded in the German press and would have been sufficient to elevate him to the 4th ranking "Ace" in the Luftwaffe at the time, in addition to earning him the Knight's Cross.

British records contained no indication of an action of that type nor that many Hurricane losses on one airfield, so interrogators accused him of fabricating the events simply to satisfy his already boisterous ego. In an effort to encourage his to be more cooperative in providing information, they threatened to reveal the discrepancy to his POW comrades.

So this brings me to a simple question: if von Werra's claim was accepted without question by the Luftwaffe, does this imply that German fighters of the Battle of Britain era did not carry gun cameras?
Edited by jvenables, Apr 12 2018, 09:12 AM.
James from Brisbane, Australia
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FAAMAN
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Beast
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If you look on Youtube under "Luftwaffe Gun Camera Footage" you mat get an answer to your question. _^
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peebeep
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I've no doubt that Werra was winding up his captors by exaggerating his exploits. At the time of his capture he had eight confirmed kills and after his return to Germany added another thirteen on the eastern front before his death in an accident, so by Jagd standards his tally was pretty modest. The Knight's Cross was awarded for his successful escape and return to Germany from captivity. The Allies were always sceptical about Luftwaffe claims because some of the ace scores appeared to be fantastical compared to Allied aces, but subsequent analysis seems to confirm that Jagd claims were never far adrift from Allied losses.
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Paul Brown, Chelmsford, UK Posted Image
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Aaron_w
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There have always been disputes over victory claims even with gun cameras.

You frequently read of one side claiming far more kills than the other side admits as losses and that goes beyond WW2, you find the same in Korea, Vietnam and the various Middle East wars.
Aaron Woods
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Ruudster
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In having read the 2nd Tactical Air Force series and Air war over Italy (fall of Rome till the end of the war), both try (esp the 2 TAF) match up losses to claims. It can be all over the map, some times under estimating claims, usually overestimating claims. This was so for all participants. Felt to me like actual losses were at about a 2/3 clip of the claims on average (but i have not added up all the losses and claims to prove that ;) ).
Ruud van der Salm
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Graham Boak
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If it had previously been reported in the German press, then it wasn't a case of von Werra winding up his captors. The matter is perhaps open as to whether he made such claims to his unit or (perhaps more likely) told a tale to the press to keep them happy. If he had made such claims to his unit then the question of gun cameras arises. Quite what his fellow pilots thought of such claims might be informative.
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jvenables
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Hawk
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Thanks for all the replies. Good discussion but nobody has yet answered the question: did German BoB era fighters carry gun cameras?

As for the von Werra claims, Graham is quite right. He was not "winding up his captors" at all. The British interrogators had a surprising amount of information about von Werra and his unit. They seemed to have compiled a very comprehensive dossier on him before his capture, even including details of his birthplace and foster-parentage which von Werra had even tried to keep secret from his Luftwaffe superiors. The British even had German newspaper clippings regarding his pre-capture exploits, a copy of a German magazine in which he was pictured on the front cover with his pet lion cub, details of his closest friends, and a recording (and transcript) of a Berlin radio broadcast from only a week or so before his capture, in which von Werra was interviewed about his multiple Hurricane claim. Von Werra himself wrote later that he was stunned at the depth of detail the British had on him.

As I indicated previously, that multiple kill claim was made after an action in which von Werra had become separated from his own unit and was making his way back to France alone. He therefore had no witnesses among his own countrymen. There was even a discrepancy (embellishment) in his radio interview of this exploit, when von Werra stated that he was so low on fuel that he made an emergency landing at an airfield on the coast in Calais to refuel, then arrived back at his own airfield two hours late. In fact, his own airfield was on the coast in Calais!

With all these discrepancies regarding this claim, one can only assume that the German aircraft of the time did not carry gun cameras. Or perhaps the embellishments and exaggerations were simply allowed to pass in preference of propaganda benefit back in Germany?

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the 13 victory markings on the fin of von Werra's Bf-109 at the time of his capture included 5 Hurricanes that he claimed to have shot down at one time (he actually claimed 8, but was only credited with 5; reason unknown). So the multiple victory claim was not just for the benefit of the German press, either.
Edited by jvenables, Apr 14 2018, 08:32 AM.
James from Brisbane, Australia
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