The Eagles Have Landed - Focke Wulf 190s Captured by an Armoured Car!
At an airbase in England in 1943 an extraordinary event occurred - one night German Focke-Wulf 190 fighters started landing one after the other. The pilots were lost, but the quick-thinking actions of a lowly RAF Aircraftman inside an unlikely armoured car meant that the German pilots and their valuable machines were going nowhere once they realised their terrible mistake! The eagles, quite literally, landed!
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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Credits: KZhead Creative Commons; WikiCommons; Google Commons; Mark Felton Productions; Edward Seabrook, Kogo
Sources: 'Fw 190 Operational History' - Wikipedia; 'RAF West Malling' - Facebook; Sussex History Forum.
Imagine getting into a fist fight with someone who’s on fire.
The moral of this story is: FW-190's are like buses - you wait ages for one, then three turn up at the same time!
Same thing happened with 3 B-29's that landed in SOVIET airfields 😂
Fortune is a interesting bedfellow
They out classed the mk 5 Spitfires until shortly afterwards the Mk9 was introduced and that out classed the FW190.
The US Army got one hand-delivered to them, by none other than the late, eminently great, Bob Hoover. He was able to escape from a German POW camp which was near or on an airbase. He stole the FW190 and flew it across battle lines to Allied territory. In an interview, much later after the war’s end, he was quoted as saying that it was the most stupid thing he had ever done! He went on to become a test pilot and a show plane pilot of the highest caliber. Aviation will miss Bob Hoover greatly;he was one of the best pilots ever to fly an airplane.
@@JeanLucCaptain An ally at the time they didn't return the planes but kept them and reversed engineered them to get their first long range bomber in the early days of the Cold War.
For the Luftwaffe pilots in 1943, this mistake probably saved their lives from certain death later in the war.
Freestyle Victory or death!
My father was a Bofors 40mm anti aircraft gunner protecting the 7th Armoured division and they shot quite a few down.
Your correct they probably would have certainly been shot down or killed by 1944 when the allies really started dominating the air war over Europe.
@@chrisneedham5803 I was a Vulcan gunner in the 80's, at the US Army School of Air Defense Museum at Ft Bliss in El Paso was the 40MM Bofors gun that was in the movie "1941", it was Donated by Columbia Pictures after they restored it to working order and made the film, it was interesting to see what those guys before me like your dad used.
@Craig Wooldridge and who won the war?
Imagine the 1st pilot sitting there idling waiting for a quick fluid check and windscreen wipe over and the RAF ground crew trying to explain in english sorry sir we dont service this model or any have parts in stock haha
Actually they they were inviting him for a spot of tea before topping him off with some 120 Avgas gas.. ::)
Yes, and the Pilot asking for his green shield stamps in German :-)
Sorry old chap don't have any metric spanners
@@chrisneedham5803 hahhahhaha
@@orgami100 Yea, they'd be inviting him to tea with a big Webley revolver pointed at his head, saying something like "Achtung now mo#%er fu#@er!!!".
What an embarrassing situation to be captured by an armoured car that looks like Postman Pat built it 😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨
Why have we never heard of this amazing story before?
I hope you don't mind but I've just liked my own comments. And why not it's Christmas.
Postman Pat was about all we had left after Dunkirk.
I'm hearing the Postman Pat Theme tune emanating from the Armoured Car, Ice-Cream Van style, as it raced towards the second FW 190! Guaranteed to break any German Pilot's Courage! 😊
Good one
I think that must be one of the few situations in which a beaverette armoured car was of any use!
Dads army
I had always wondered just how the German pilots had managed to make the navigation errors and land at a British airfield, a brief glimpse of the map helped me to finally understand how. It would seem that a number of those pilots were fortunate enough not to have ended up in the English Channel and probably drowned.
Mark Fryer it's very easy to get lost when flying in poor visibility. If they missed the Essex coastline, then it would be easy to confuse the north Kent coastline with that of France.
A similar event took place on 23 June 1942 when an fw190 landed in error in pembrey South Wales, mistaking the Bristol Channel for the English Channel.Bad luck for the pilot, good luck and much needed intelligence and info for the RAF.
Yes, the Thames Estuary and the Bristol Channel caused quite a few to land the right place!
Yep. They survived the war.
This is one of the most funniest True stories in History
Wasn’t funny to the pilot who was killed bailing out or to those injured and captured.
From WWII hero, to legendary rocker. Is there nothing Peter Townsend can't do?
Marry Princess Margaret.
Nope,nope,nope. See the earlier comments,please: different guy altogether. Pete Townshend (yep, spelled differently,too) was born AFTER the war, and went on to have a really neat band with a few of his mates.
Did the armor car get to sport a 190 kill mark?
"..managed to extinguish the burning German.." It's got a nice ring to it.
The first FW 190 captured was at RAF Pembrey in Wales in 1942. This is the one that was extensively tested and examined. It was a bit unfortunate that it was an A-3 model and although the RAF was very impressed with its performance especially manoeuvrability, it's speed was just OK. Just a few months later, the A-4 model came out and that was the biggest improvement of all of the A series FWs and was much more produced. So the RAF had a lower appreciation of the main production FW 190 that they would face in combat. And got a nasty shock when the A-4 came up against the Spitfire Mk 5, like at Dieppe.
Interesting , I did not know of that
As far as I know the only change from the A3 to the A4 was the radio. I think you might mean the A4 to the A5. That said later on the A4 received higher engine settings however these were also given to the A3.
Can you imagine the face on the Pilot?! he be like "OHHHH FOCKER!"😂
Great stories! My Grandfather, Richard James was based at West Malling during the war in 29 Squadron as a navigator flying Beaufighters. His pilot was the legendary Dambuster, Guy Gibson.
So did they paint an Iron Cross on the side of that Beaverette? Hopefully that guy earned some kind of medal or recognition. That armored car looked very unimposing, but it got the job done one night.
Jolly decent of them to extinguish the fire on that German pilot and capture him rather than filling him full of lead.
It wouldn't have been cricket to have shot him. He was at a slight disadvantage, being on fire.
That pilot would have valuable information on the plane and that one of the reason why they want him captured.
This Story reminded me of that time when a Japanese naval bomber almost landed on an American aircraft carrier.
No that was a Kamikaze gone wrong😂
"It is generally inadvisable to eject anywhere you have previously bombed"- ~1950s era US bomber pamphlet I'm sure it wasn't intentional, especially with night time confusion and the low fuel issue but damn is it an appropriate line.
Especially so if you have just dropped a nuclear bomb.
So basically any country in the world?
Too much peppermint schnapps causes confusion.
Don't I know that brother .
Oh but what a fresh breath!!!!
@Fried Chicken Now - Hahahahaha!!! Appreciate the humor!!
Too much toking on a 'griffa' opium cigarette
Peppermint Schnapps ... please. They were probably filled to the brim with amphetamines and that is not a joke.
What a brave man, scharlock, doesn’t matter your uniform, big respect to a man who tried fighting the enemy, on their own airfield, whilst on fire with no backup. We salute you sir 👍
I respectfully ask you Mark, on your next presentation, can you please give us a “And now for something completely different”. We love you brother!! Your presentations are awesome.
Thanks for your support
You always deliver Mark! Many thanks once again for unknown history.
Thanks
The Tank Museum recently did a video about the Beaverette, cheap and cheerful but did the job.
So, so interesting as always. Well done and thank you.
What a fantastic way to start the morning, wonderful video as always Mark!
Absolutely extraordinary story. It is amazing that so many extraordinary tales are out there. Thanks for all your work.
I believe I read a book by Wing Commander Townsend on the Battle of Britain(?). It detailed the joys of deflection shooting, etc. It has been some time tho...if I’m not mistaken he flew Hurricanes & one of the most memorable parts was his and a wingman’s first flight in a Spitfire. Great channel.
This guys videos are superb, they leave me speechless every time!
There was a similar incident at Bristol when a FW 190 landed after flying over Wales . Getting lost crossed the Seven estuary , thinking he was over France landed. Giving the British a German fighter which at that time very little was known about.
Thanks so much for your detailed analysis and research.Great story!
First 190 was captured in Pembrey, I live really close and it was pretty cool to hear how this happened so close!
Brilliant video Mark. Absolutely love your content
Another great video, Mark! A great story - and a free FW -190!
Thanks
Oh wow!, thank you for sharing this story.
I love your short but sweet little videos! They are the perfect length and very well done with great narration. Best of all they contain unusually interesting historical tidbits. I think this channel will catch on and become very popular among us WWII fanatics. Keep up the great work Mark!!!😀
Excellent as always.
Great video. Thanks for making this.
Kudos to you Mark! Fabulous research and video productions!
Thank you, Mr. Felton, for an amazing account.
Thanks
Excellent episode Mark👍
I just subscribed. Mark Felton publishes fresh and informative videos. I read extensively on WWII and had never run across this story before.
I believe that this particular Peter Townsend later went out with princess Margaret and they would have married had politicians not prevented it
Correct
You do seem to unearth some very interesting information well done mark P.s. malling is pronounced as in shopping mall
Fantastic stuff. Thank you so much.
Great and informative video, little bits of history we don’t usually hear about.
Had they not landed at W. Malling, I doubt they would have had the fuel to cross the channel.
Great video, well done
Many doesn't realise that Peter Townsend later created and start band called -the Who-.
This was the first signal of greater things to come for good old Peter Townshend. When he was little was he known as Peter Pan? He liked flying.
I rather suspect that this is the Peter Townsend that was romantically involved with a member of the British Royal Family ...
Random808 haaaa yup
Won't get fooled again !
@@alfnoakes392 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Townsend_(RAF_officer)
Incredible story!
Quality content as always!
Someone down below mentioned this. Details: In May, 1942, the US Navy met the Japanese navy in the first aircraft carrier battle in history--surface ships from both sides never saw one another. During the first of two days of maneuvering and launching air strikes, a flight of four Japanese torpedo bombers were returning to their carrier after the sun had set. They had lost track of their actual position. A carrier appeared ahead. All four began an approach to land on the USS Yorktown. The first one made a bad approach and went around for a second attempt. The second didn't realize his mistake until he was almost aboard, and he zoomed over the flight deck at very low level. The other two saw that and pulled away. All four eventually joined up and made it back to their own carrier. The Americans were so surprised (and confused) that they didn't fire on the planes. There's a good UTube video on the battle. Search for Battle of the Cora Sea.
One badass plane..
That"a true. Wonderful to handle, no problem by taking off and landing. Much better than the Bf 109.
Wow...outstanding story !!! TC
Was Aircraftsman Sharback awarded a medal for his actions and intiative in capturing one enemy aircraft, shooting down another and capturing a prisoner? Whichever way you look at it, his quick and decisive action was essential to the successful outcome.
Excellent work as always
There are similar stories of Allied pilots landing at the wrong airfield and KG200 getting pristine or lightly damaged craft for evaluation and infiltration.
The Germans actively tried to spoof allied aircraft into heading in the wrong direction at night and landing at German airfields by mistake, usually by using fake radio beacons, or by English speaking Germans claiming to be allied radar controllers and ordering pilots to follow the wrong heading.
That was for bombing ;@@greva2904
@@greva2904 actual there were a story of germans fooling some americans airplanes to land on the ice of greenland.
WOW WHAT A STORY AMAZING !!
LOUD C R A S H ! "Oh dear oh dear, I suspect something is amiss!" -good work Flt Lt Barry. Also Aircraftman Sharlock for quick thinking while the 2nd 190 tried to escape 3:05
What a story! Didn't know this one. Thanks, Mark.
A pleasure
I think I saw that same FW 190 at the EAA in Oshkosh WI a few years back. Beautiful fighter.
Well done mark. I'd not heard about this before.
What a brave and legendary driver/gunner!
Nice Interesting Video as Always
another crazy interesting story ! thanks!
Found this! 'Situated near the site of the old guard house, a memorial to the personnel stationed at RAF West Malling was unveiled on 9 June 2002. Otto Bechtold, one of the German F w 190 pilots who had landed in error in 1943, was a guest of honour at the ceremony.' from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling
ANOTHER EXCELLENT VIDEO!!!!!
Last summer, I got to see Flying Heritage and Combat Armor's FW-190 A5 fly. The BMW 801 radial purrs nicely
The german pilots were actually lucky! War was over for them...
What a great story and well told
Just an amazing story Thanks for sharing Worthy to be part of a movie
I've never heard this story. Well done.
Another good one, thanks Mark.
Thank you
My great grandfather was part of 1426 flight(the RAFwaffe) and wrote about FW 190 and the other captured aircraft in his journal. He always found the 190 the most interesting for reasons unknown. Its good to know the story behind their capture and their pilots. Great work
What a incredible story! History is the best screenwriter.
Amazing. Thanks.
How on earth do you find all this information? Brilliant topics and so much detail. Superb!
Excellent vid. I didn't know this happened.
Amazing story!
What a great story
Great vid
What a terrific story, well told. Peter Townsend became notable after the war, as well.
this would make a great movie!
great story..wonderful planes!
Very interesting tale - and well told.
You need to do a special on the Beaverette Armored Car🤗
Nice to see these old birds flying again ... Nearing 100 years of age and still amazing
Wow so beautiful I flashed back to plane and the 190 was on one of the pages
Remarkable. I'm sure the wing commanders back home were "delighted" to hear that three of their pilots gave their planes away to the British by accident.
Other germans landed a brand new Me 110 night fighter in Switzerland...
Fascinating but just a small point Malling is pronounced as MAULING.
This happened to both sides. A b-17 landed at a German airbase early on. They too thought they were landing at a friendly base. But were quickly surrounded. The plane was pristine and just out of fuel. After it landed and they realized what happened the bombardier tried in vein to destroy the bomb site which was top secret. The Germans recovered it and fixed it and actually improved it.
Brilliant!
Great story mark 👍
Thanks
CAPTIVATING STORY. BRAVO !!!
A pleasure
Great story. We just learned about the Beaverette on the Tank museum channel.
Great story!
Eu conheço esta unidade de 190's, e a SKG 10 que operava a partir de Poix na França. Era uma unidade especial da Luftwaffe usada para ataques noturnos a Inglaterra. Alguns anos construi uma pequena maquete desse caça, simbolizando esta unidade.
Never underestimate the skill of being able to read a map lol.
Wow, Quite a story !
My favorite aircraft ever. The Butcher Bird is just a pretty aircraft.
Amazing story! I'm surprised it's not more popular.
Me too!
I wonder what happened to the plane ? Great story !