Lynching of Luftwaffe airmen by British mobs

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

I'm sure that some were killed on both sides. People tend to get angry when their cities are bombed.

Such an account about a Polish airmen - survivor from the crew of "Karas" reconnaissance / light bomber plane, which was shot down by friendly fire of Polish AA defence over Plock on 6 September 1939. The town of Plock and nearby villages fell victim to Luftwaffe bombings several times before that day:

- on 01.09.39 in the morning Plock was bombed by Do-17Z bombers from II./KG2 (as the result 10 civilians were killed and 14 wounded; 1 policeman was killed; 1 soldier was killed and 12 wounded; buildings destroyed, etc.)
- on 01.09.39 in the evening the town was bombed by 19 Do-17Z bombers from I./KG3
- on 03.09.39 the area around the town was under air attacks
- on 04.09.39 one of bridges in Plock and other places in the Plock County were under air attacks
- on 05.09.39 in the early afternoon Plock was bombed by 20 Ju-87B dive bombers from II./StG1, many civilians were killed or wounded, several artillery units were wounded; buildings including the Cathedral destroyed, etc.
- on 05.09.39 45 minutes after that Stuka attack, a Do-17P was sent to photograph the damage inflicted
- on 06.09.39 - roughly at the same time when that Polish plane was shot down

From memoirs of general Wladyslaw Anders, commander of Nowogrodzka Cavalry Brigade:

6 September 1939:

"(...) Germans bomb Plock. We shot down 4 planes, including unfortunately 1 Polish. (...)"

That plane was PZL-P23 "Karas" light bomber-recon plane from 65. bomber squadron, the crew of which was Lieutenant Observer Kazimierz Stangret (died in a crash), Corporal Pilot Walerian Nowakowski (jumped with a parachute) and Corporal Gunner Janusz Sawicki (died in a crash). They were performing a recon task.

Below I quote an excerpt from this account (it is from the book "Plock 1939" by Piotr Wodtke - he doesn't provide his primary source for this account, but it appears from both context and text of the account, that - if it is authentic - its author is corporal pilot Nowakowski, who speaks about himself mostly in the third person singular):

"(...) A Polish soldier with a rifle ready to fire appeared in the gate. Apparently he was searching for the parachutist. Nowakowski in full gear, only without his parachute, came out of hiding.
- Hands up! - the infantryman shouted.
Protest and explanations of the pilot did not help. A shot rang over the airman's head. Another order given by that soldier was to throw away the pistol. Second soldier came and asked his companion with pretense:
- What, you are still playing with this Krauthead?
Nervous pilot asked to call an officer. One of soldiers replied:
- What do you need an officer for, we can deal with you on our own...
Fortunately a Lieutenant from Nowogrodzka Cavalry Brigade, stationing in Plock, came. Officer demanded a service identity card from the pilot, not knowing, that airmen performing combat duties were forbidden to have documents with them. Steel colour of uniform, buttons with eagles, "gapa", Polish Vis pistol and Polish anti-gas mask convinced the officer. Under escort of the Lieutenant and two armed soldiers the convoy left the farm.
On the road a police leader and a woman carrying a heavy stone came close to me. The policeman, snarling from anger, stammered:
- You Krauthead swine.
The woman aimed a punch at the airman with her stone. Hostile attitude of that couple suddenly changed after the statement of the Lieutenant:
- This is a Polish airman.
The stone fell from woman's hands, she burst into tears and the policeman opened his mouth with astonishment.
Nowakowski asked the officer to lead him to the place where the plane crashed. They passed 400 meters and found themselves on the area of the seminary. Near the building one of clergymen asked the pilot in German:
- Bist du deutsche Flieger?
Nowakowski of course denied. He saw his "Karas". The plane fell on a library in the corner between both wings of the building and caused a fire (apart from fire brigade also alumni, secular personnel of the seminary and local civilians participated in fighting that fire). Ammo heated by fire exploded. A pile of iron left on the ground. (...)"

[Peter]

From Armchair General

I couldnt get this to open last time I tried so I saved it this time.

THE STORY OF ROBERT ZEHBE.





September 15, 1940: a day that has been passed down in history as Battle of Britain Day. On this day on the airfield of Nivelles near Beauvais, 1/KG 76 were about to take off shortly after 10-30am. Their Do 17s were to form up then head across the English Channel to make a landfall at Dungeness. Their route would then take them to their target of London’s dockland area. In the pilots seat of Do 17 werke No 2361 coded F1+FH, sat Oberleutnant Robert Zehbe a 27 year old from Kiel.

The attack was proceeding according to plan until the bomber force and its attending escort of Me 109s, had crossed the English coast. From now on the fighters of RAF Fighter Command would relentlessly attack the bomber force until it left the coast again on its return. Zehbe and his crew had been lucky. They had avoided the attacking fighters and even later, avoided the AA that had opened fire on the formation. However, their luck was to run out as they neared London. An engine was proving troublesome and would not provide full power. This caused the Do 17 of Zehbe to begin to lag behind the main force. When they reached the outer area of London, the Do 17 was some 500 yards behind the main force and presented itself as a target for any preying fighter.

A number of RAF fighters had attacked the formation and as many as six had put the Do 17 of Zehbe under attack. Another Hurricane had spotted the lone Do 17 and was to put it under attack. This was the Hurricane of Squadron Leader John Sample, Commanding Officer of 504 Squadron, who was to note that the aircraft was showing, what appeared to him, as a red light. This, as he was later to note, was the burning interior of the Do 17. After delivering his attack on the hapless bomber, John Sample broke away and watched as one of his pilots, Sergeant Raymond Towers Holmes, carried out a further attack. However, running out of ammunition, Holmes’ Hurricane, whether intentional or not, collided with the Do 17 and finally sealed its fate. The Do 17, with its tail unit missing and its wings cropped outboard the engines, fell to earth in Central London.

By now Zehbe had abandoned his aircraft and was floating down on London, as was Holmes. Zehbe was to come down in Kennington his parachute fouling on a telegraph pole. Drawn out into the streets by the sound of the overhead battle, the people of Kennington watched as Zehbe descended on them. Zehebe’s parachute already damaged, would be descending at a higher rate than usual, one of the panels being damaged. The populace of the surrounding area began to follow his line of descent arriving at an area where it was thought he would land. Zehbe’s parachute, unfortunately, snagged on a telegraph pole leaving Zehbe some feet from the ground. So far, all is fact and traceable. It is what happened next that is shrouded in myth and half-truth

The crowd that had gathered around Zehbe were in an angry mood, of that there seems to be no doubt. A local ARP Warden was to record in his diary: ‘Enemy parachutist descended among hostile populace in Kennington.’ A reporter from the Daily Herald was also to note that Zehbe was to state: ‘Kamerad, Kamerad. I am an officer. I am an officer.’ Some sources still state that: ‘…the hapless Zehebe came down in Kennington where he was fiercely attacked by a mob of angry civilians…he died of his injuries and was buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery.’ No one doubts that Zehebe died from his wounds but these included probable bullet wounds as well as probable burns. It would appear that the ‘mob’ was made up mainly of women who were after one thing, the silk of Zehbe’s parachute. Grabbing Zehbe by the legs, they attempted to pull him down from his entrapment on the telegraph pole. No doubt Zehbe, faced with a shouting, baying crowd, was in some distress. As can be seen from the account of John Sample, the Do 17 was well ablaze at the time he attacked it. It had come under attack from no less than six fighters before John Sample attacked it. It would, therefore, be acceptable to believe that Zehbe, was at the very least, slightly wounded from any one of those attacks. He may well also have been burned judging by the eyewitness account of John Sample as to the state of the Do 17 when he saw it. However, some sources remain adament that, when Robert Zehbe descended on London, there was a violent assault against the German airman. This remains unsubstantiated

Robert Zehbe was rescued, by the local police. Superintendent Gillies of Kennington Road Police Station who rescued Robert Zehbe from what was described as a ‘lynch mob’ arrested him. The police van then drove off, not along the road, but across the hallowed turf of the Oval cricket ground, as it took Robert Zehbe to Millbank Military Hospital. Was this move to escape the angry ‘lynch mob’ or an attempt to get Robert Zehbe to hospital as soon as possible because of his wounds? Either way, Robert Zehbe was to die the next day. The local police later handed a leather case, with personal items as well as documents belonging to Robert Zehbe to the RAF. This same case was later presented to Superintendent Gilles who, in turn left it to the metropolitan Police Museum where it still resides.

In mid 2004, a TV documentary, formed around the recovery of Holmes’ Hurricane from beneath a London street, implied that Holmes was responsible for the destruction of the Do 17 on his own. No other pilots were mentioned in connection with the attack, neither was the plight of Robert Zehbe. The programme also stated that, the Do 17 was enroute to bomb Buckingham Palace. This appears to stem from the myth that one of the bombs landed in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. This bomb appears to have been thrown through the side of the stricken bomber by centrifugal force when the bomber was spinning down out of control. However, the truth does not sit so well as the myth, when applied to TV. Over the years Holmes’ own account of the incident has changed. It is reported that Holmes: ‘…later stated that his wing struck something during his attack….’ This is a different story from Holmes deliberately ramming the Do 17, a statement now widely accepted as fact in the myth of the Battle of Britain.

If, as some have suggested, Robert Zehbe was attacked by an angry mob and beaten to the extent that he was later to die of his wounds, then this would be classed as a criminal act. However, the Metropolitan Police pass all enquiries on to the Metropolitan Police Museum. While they proudly exhibit Robert Zehbe’s Leather case, they remain noncommittal on anything to do with an attack on Robert Zehbe.

[pacifritz]

I thought it was awful, recent news I heard about British farmers murdering a baled-out-parachutist: he was a Polish pilot flying for the RAF during the war.

The over-reactive farmers thought his accent was German, and he lost his life.

The report I heard seemed different in detail from the account above, with the pilot killed almost immediately.

[rpj57]

Hi, I am new to this forum and came across this thread during some research.

Regarding a comment posted by Pete regarding Oberleutnant Robert Zehbe (actually it was Robert Grehbe) being beaten to death by an angry London mob, I am afraid this isn't strictly true and pete and I believe you are mis-informed. Robert Grehbe had been attacked on his raiding flight over the English Channel by fighter aircraft and his Dornier was damaged in this conflict. Two of his crew bailed out over The Crystal Palace area of London, Robert Grehbe was wounded in this initial action and his co-pilot killed. His damaged plane continued over London when, at 15,000 ft over Central London, he encountered a Hurricane flown by fighter pilot Ray Holme out of RAF Hendon who attacked his aircraft. Ray Holme had already used all his ammo in previous skirmishes on this sortee and decided to ram the bomber mid-fuslage. The tail section was cut from his Dornier, which plummeted to earth and embedded itself outside Victoria Station. Ray Holme bailed out and his Hurricane crashed in Buckingham Palace Road. Robert Grehbe bailed out and his damaged parachute drifted him across the Thames through Vauxhall and over the cricket pitch at the Oval were it snagged on a telegraph pole, leaving him dangling just off the ground. Yes, an angry crowd did gather, punches and blows were thrown as Robert Grehbe pleaded to the angry crowd but very quickly a military guard unit swiftly arrived to take him away. He was taken across the cricket field in a military ambulance to the military hospital at Millbank but died the following morning due to the injuries he received during the initial fighter plane attack. He is buried at Cane Hill cemetery. The reason I know this? My mother was present at that moment in time. She is to this date the sole surviving witness to this and has appeared on several TV shows recounting this sad event. It was 5.15pm on Sunday 15th September 1940 and she was 14 years of age. She remembers quite clearly and with great sadness and sorrow his pleas for clemency and his mortally wounded body hanging from his parachute harness. Many years later my mother has met up with Robert Grahbe's daughter and shared this sad moment with great sorrow between themselves. I have also met Ray Holme, the Hurricane Pilot who is since deceased, and I was present when the remains of his Hurricane were exhumed in 2004 in an archeological dig. The tailplane of the Dornier can be seen at the RAF Museum at Hendon along with brief black and white footage of the bomber plummeting to the earth. These facts have been substantailly researched by a member of my family with help from the RAF, The Imperial war Museum and the Luftwaffe all of which were very helpful in aiding his research. So I'm sorry to say Pete, although I dare say that some downed Luftwaffe pilots were attacked by hostile civilians, I'm afraid your facts are not strictly true in this instance.

[David Thompson]

rpj57 -- and thanks for that detailed post.

[little grey rabbit]

She is to this date the sole surviving witness to this and has appeared on several TV shows recounting this sad event. It was 5.15pm on Sunday 15th September 1940 and she was 14 years of age. She remembers quite clearly and with great sadness and sorrow his pleas for clemency and his mortally wounded body hanging from his parachute harness. Many years later my mother has met up with Robert Grahbe's daughter and shared this sad moment with great sorrow between themselves

That was nice of her.

I just thought I would check "the first draft of history"
[Ray Holmes was a former newspaper man so I think it must be the same guy]
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kF ... hute&hl=en

the sergeant-pilot credited with downing the Nazi raider today landed unhurt in the backyard of a nearby residence, shook oof his parachute harness and reported by telephone to his airdrome.
The pilot emerged from the house to the cheers of a great crowd which quickly assembled and his parachute was torn to shreds by admiring souvenir hunters who called out "good work lad!" He finally was rescued by soldiers.
Asked for comment on his feat, the pilot countered:
"Who do you work for? I was a newspaperman myself before the war."
Countless persons witnessed the bombing.
"I saw the plane break into pieces" said one witness. "The wings fluttered down in one direction and fuselage fell almost like a stone.
"One of the crew jumped out his parachute failed to open and he fell on the roof of a building close by. He was killed instantly."

That's the wonderful thing about history, if you don't like the first draft, you can write a second draft, a third or as many drafts as you like until you get a version you are comfortable with.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Guys,

I was born while my father was serving in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in the 1950s, so I took a close interest when I saw above:

"On 26 Aug 1940 a Heinkel He111 of 4 Staffel, Kampfgeschwader 55 based at Chartres in France was shot down by RAF fighters and was crash landed by its wounded pilot Leutnant Albert Metzger on the beach at East Wittering in Sussex. Metzger couldnt get out of the bomber due to wounds but his crew Uffz. Rudolf Schandner (Observer), Fw. Julius Urhahn (Flight Mechanic), Uffz. Rudi Paas (Radio Operator) and Flgr. Rudolf Fessel (Gunner) climbed out to surrender to A Company, 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. They were all shot dead on the beach."

I have several histories of the DCLI and they confirm that 2DCLI was on beach defence duty in the right place and at the right time.

However, the German side has inconsistencies with information on p.310 of Battle over Britain. This states that Metzger's HeIIIP was part of II/KG55. Metzger is down as missing and his four crewmen as dead. They were shot down by a Hurricane of 43 Squadron and crashed near Waterlooville at approx.1630 on 26 August.

Waterlooville is inland and would appear to be a bit outside 2DCLI's area, though it did have a cycle company in reserve inland in its own area.

Some clarification is needed as to sources. Presumably this story comes from Metzger. Does anyone know the source trail?

Cheers,

Sid.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Guys,

The story doesn't seem to originate with Metzger at all, but with ill-informed post-war gossip in the UK. Indeed, Metzger, who was tracked down and interviewed for After the Battle Magazine No.23, seems to have been completely unaware of the accusations. The following is on the internet:

"Leutnant Metzger meanwhile struggled with the controls of the crippled Heinkel, having part of the undercarriage hanging down, and not hearing any reply from any of his crew, decided to try and land the aircraft on a stretch of sand at West Wittering below him. Unluckily for him, situated on this same stretch of beach, was a company of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, who were engaged in target practice, who soon turned their attention onto the crippled aircraft and opened fire.

The Heinkel came to rest on the sand, facing out to sea, with its undercarriage completely collapsed, the pilot wounded with two bullets in his thigh, and the rest of his crew dead. Some of the soldiers lifted the wounded pilot from his seat and laid him on the sand and dressed his wounds, whilst others carried the dead crew from their positions within the aircraft.

They were later buried with full military honours in Chichester Cemetery.

The local and national papers had a field day with this great propaganda story of soldiers helping to shoot down a Heinkel, and killing most of its crew. Even the War Diary of the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry claimed that A Company had brought down a ‘ bomber’ at 1627hrs on 26.8.40.

This would evolve into local folklore, that in later years was hinted to be a ‘ war crime’ committed by the Army on the unarmed Luftwaffe crew on English soil.

It would be only in 1979 that diligent research by Peter Cornwall and Andy Saunders, would unravel the mystery, which Peter later published in After the Battle Magazine No 23 of that year. Peter and Andy had located the pilot, who was living in Bonn, and obtained a testimony from him stating that the crew were already dead (from the attack by Sergeant Whall) by the time he landed on the beach.

He recounted that after the first attack, the port engine stopped, and he cut the fuel supply and tried to keep the aircraft in formation. He could not hear any noise from the aircraft’s rear MG15 guns, nor get a response from either the Flight Engineer or Wireless Operator. He sent the Observer, Rudolf Schandner aft to find out why when they were attacked again, the aircraft being peppered along its starboard side with gunfire from an attacking Spitfire, killing the Observer. This resulted in the oil supply to the remaining engine being cut, leaving him no alternative but to crash land on the beach and being captured.

In 1941, Metzger was shipped across the Atlantic to a Prisoner of War camp near Lake Superior in Canada, where he stayed until the end of the war."

After the Battle No.23 is still available from the publishers, if anyone wants to follow this up further.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Penn44]

"This would evolve into local folklore, that in later years was hinted to be a ‘ war crime’ committed by the Army on the unarmed Luftwaffe crew on English soil.".

Just further proof that war stories are to be treated with some degree of skepticism and require further research and collaboration.

Penn44

.

[Sid Guttridge]

Absolutely!

And we should be particularly careful here on AHQ, because this site is perhaps the most influential in its field.

Cheers,

Sid

[little grey rabbit]

After the Battle No.23 is still available from the publishers, if anyone wants to follow this up further.

Does After the Battle (# 1 - 23 inclusive) have a particular strong track record of exposing British war crimes?

It sounds like a publication for the Rah-Rah Brigade - as such I would put it on a par as local folklore. Perhaps the diligent researchers should have also investigated the basis of the local folklore, it might have been quite robust or it may have been just unsubstantiated rumor, but there isn't a market or institutional support for such investigations.

[little grey rabbit]

Just for the record - for reasons I won't speculate - Sid neither gave a link and started his quote from a rather curious position.

The link - for completeness - is the Independent
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2010/08/ ... ir-gunner/

The immediate preceding text - not quoted but I think is of relevance - is the combat report of the pilot who downed the fighter

After attacking two Me 109’s without any visible damage, I dived down onto bombers, selecting one He 111 on a SE course. Adopted full beam, attacked slightly in front from 1000 feet with 2 second burst, and saw port engine stop and E/A drop out of formation. Followed this E/A down doing four more attacks with short bursts, all on the beam and saw second engine stop and port engine in flames. This E/A landed on the beach at West Wittering. Circled it and saw Army taking crew prisoners, then climbed to attack single He 111 flying south below cloud at 1000ft. Caught this E/A 10 miles out to sea and adopted quarter attack starboard side from above. Starboard engine belching clouds of white smoke. Attacked again quarter on port side and E/A caught on fire and crashed in sea.

I then returned to land at West Hampnett, pausing to circle around pilot of friendly fighter in water.


Claim 2 He 111’s destroyed over Selsey Bill at 15000ft 1625hrs.

[little grey rabbit]

The source for the execution at Wittering claim comes from a book called Eagle Day by Richard Collier

You can sort of read it here.
http://tera-3.ul.cs.cmu.edu/NASD/d23d38 ... /3644.sgml

"Don't You Know There's a War On?" 199
firemen arrived to cut him down. Near Canterbury, a pilot officer ran the length of a village street pursued by housewives armed with rolling pins, convinced he was a German. An ambulance picked him up in the nick of time. Gos's George Gilroy, pounded almost insensible by Local Defence Volunteers, received a �10 whip-round in his hospital bed when the shamefaced locals realised their mistake.
If a few men were roughly handled on landing, it wasn't surprising. Despite the Air Ministry's endeavour to play down losses, the feeling of loss was in the air; baling out over a Kentish hopfield, Pilot Officer Robert Deacon-Elliott was told: "Wed hoped you were a German�we're picking up too many R.A.F." And as the battle continued, not every man on English soil was in the mood for mercy.
At Tandridge in Surrey, blood-crazed troops did a tribal dance round a hayrick, parading a German's head on a pitchfork. On the beach at East Wittering in Sussex, a local gardener, Ernest Collier, saw a Heinkel belly-land at the high watermark; as the first crewman, unhurt, clambered out on the wing, a soldier raised his rifle and shot him dead. Local Defence Volunteer Richard May, hastening towards Coulsdon Golf Course in Surrey, where a German had baled out, met two soldiers who'd get there first. One of them, carrying a pilot's gauntlet glove, announced tersely, "We've fixed him." In the field, May found a tall man wearing the Iron Cross, his head smashed to pulp.

He credits the story to an eyewitness account:

The Eye-Witnesses
The 434 men and women listed below contributed untold help in the preparation of this work through furnishing specially written accounts, through the loan of contemporary letters and diaries, or by patiently submitting themselves to a detailed question-and-answer interview. To avoid confusion, the ranks and in some cases the names given are those which then pertained, followed by the vantage point from which he or she witnessed the Battle.
......

Ernest Collier, Wittering, Sussex.

This is something about Richard Collier
http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/richard-collier/
Eagle Day was published in 1966

[Orwell1984]

After the Battle No.23 is still available from the publishers, if anyone wants to follow this up further.

Does After the Battle (# 1 - 23 inclusive) have a particular strong track record of exposing British war crimes?

It sounds like a publication for the Rah-Rah Brigade - as such I would put it on a par as local folklore. Perhaps the diligent researchers should have also investigated the basis of the local folklore, it might have been quite robust or it may have been just unsubstantiated rumor, but there isn't a market or institutional support for such investigations.

Here you go, familiarize yourself with their work.

http://www.afterthebattle.com/introduction.pdf

Much more useful and less biased than dismissing them without knowing anything about them isn't it?

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi LGR,

1) You ask, "Does After the Battle (# 1 - 23 inclusive) have a particular strong track record of exposing British war crimes?" I have no idea. But it doesn't have to have. It merely has to be accurate in this particular case, and, as it seems be the only source to have gone to the trouble of contacting the German pilot concerned, it would appear to have some authority in the matter.

2) I am very happy that you agree that I gave an accurate rendition of the source regarding the war crimes alegation. I did not include the combat report of the British pilot for two reasons - brevity and its irrelevance to the war crimes alegation, which concern later events on the ground. Everyone is agreed that Metzger's aircraft was shot down, so it was not a point of controversy. It still isn't. (You are absolutely right that I should have given full details of the link, for which I apologize. Fortunately, search engines are perfectly capable of tracking down sources from a piece of text, and you were able to find it without having to ask me.)

3) The immediately relevant part of your Richard Collier quote is, "the beach at East Wittering in Sussex, a local gardener, Ernest Collier, saw a Heinkel belly-land at the high watermark; as the first crewman, unhurt, clambered out on the wing, a soldier raised his rifle and shot him dead." Leaving aside the coincidence of surnames, and assuming that this reports the same incident, it (1) contradicts the pilot's statement that his crew were already dead and (2) the alegations that all the crew were shot.

I am perfectly open to the proposition that British civilians and/or service personnel may have killed surrendering German aircrew, but it needs better evidence than is currently offered in this particular case, especially in the face of a flat contradiction by the pilot of the alegedly murdered aircrew!

Cheers,

Sid.