Did Goering fly over London in either WWI or WWII?

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Guys,

In his book Ack-Ack (London 1949), General Pile, who was in charge of the UK's anti-aircraft defences, says that after the war he interviewed Goering in prison. He says Goering told him:

".....that he had flown over London in the First World War and again in this and...... the second time was a very unpleasant journey."

Pile thinks he was trying to flatter him by complimenting him on London's WWII air defences.

Is there any evidence for Goering flying over London in either war? In WWI he was a fighter pilot at a time when fighters did not have the effective operational range to reach London. In WWII I have never heard that he ever went on operations.

Many thanks,

Sid.

[Larry D.]

Have you googled this, Sid?
The odds are 100% that it has been on the internet if there is even a grain of truth to it. IIRC, after he became Reichsmarschal, corpulent and a druggie, Göring became extremely reluctant to take personal risks or fly anywhere where it was dangerous. So it's hard to envision him in a bomber over London during WWII.

L. deZ.

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

He did fly to Croydon close to London but that was in 1937 and no idea if he flew over the centre of london.
https://mechtraveller.com/2017/10/goeri ... t-croydon/
Here‘s one claiming a WW2 visit but I‘m not a subscriber.
https://www.nytimes.com/1940/09/17/arch ... -have.html
Can‘t find anything on WW1

Waleed

[wm]

Here:

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Larry, Waleed and Wm,

Thanks for your researches and leads.

I must say that I find all the stories improbable, even the innocuous one about a visit to Croydon in 1937. If David Irving, who wrote his biography of Goering after the Croydon story was first published, doesn't mention it, then it seems unlikely. One wonders if any other Goering biographies mention it?

I think either Goering was simply lying to Pile, or had come to believe his own propaganda.

Many thanks,

Sid.

[Larry D.]

I think it's your last sentence, Sid.

L. deZ.