A Funny Thing Happened......

[Njaco]

from:
NE Diary 1939-45; Incidents 22nd February 1940 to 13th June 1940
British Military Aviation in 1940 - Part 1

A Heinkel He 111P was forced to land, with smoke streaming from its port engine, at East Coldingham near St Abbs Head, Berwickshire at 12.30 hours. The enemy aircraft landed in a field in a very remote spot, and as Squadron Leader Douglas Farquhar of No.602 Squadron (whose kill it was) wanted the authorities to examine the Heinkel, he decided to land his Spitfire beside it, to prevent the Germans from destroying their plane, he landed his plane alongside at high speed, the bombers crew looked on in disbelief as it trundled on down the hill and cartwheeled into a bog. They first hauled out their injured rear gunner and set fire to their plane, then ran down the hill to rescue the gallant Squadron Leader, who was suspended upside down by his safety harness, the bomber's crew all took part in this rescue.

By then, the Heinkel was well alight so they all rushed up the hill (Sq Ldr Farquhar included) to pull the German rear gunner further from the flames. The comedy of errors was not quite over, the LDV arrived on the scene over the crest of a nearby hill and because they hadn't seen the Spitfire at the bottom of the hill, assumed that the Squadron Leader was part of the Heinkel's crew, so they arrested him too. It was only when he produced an OHMS envelope bearing his latest income tax demand that they transferred him to the side of the 'goodies'. One of the Heinkel's crew, Fw Sprigarth, was mentioned in Parliament for his part in the rescue.

Squadron Leader Farquhar also took the first British gun-camera film of the war, while attacking and destroying the Heinkel He111 over Coldingham in Berwickshire on that day.

[timshatz]

Great story!

[ccheese]

Could have been worse..... glad it was a happy-ever-after kinda thing.

Charles

[Heinz]

Great post Njaco!