American Fighter Crash Landing at Luftwaffe Field circa 1945

[Tomas224]

I'm trying to confirm a story I was told by a relative.

An American fighter (P-47 or P-51) was strafing a Luftwaffe airfield in Germany when the pilot got too low and pranged into the ground, crash landing onto the airfield he had just been strafing.

He was rescued by some Lithuanians who had been impressed into the Luftwaffe and were working in maintaining/repairing the airfield. One of the Lithuanian workers was a former university professor who taught English and said to the American pilot in English, "How far away are the Americans? We can hide you!"

The disoriented American pilot was likely stunned by the question since the Lithuanians were wearing Luftwaffe uniforms. By the time the pilot came to his senses, "the real Germans" had arrived and captured the pilot. Supposedly, the next day the war ended.

It's more likely the event took place several months before the end of the war in Europe (May 1945).

The exact location of the Luftwaffe field is unknown for certain but it could have been in the area of Zingst, Germany, near the Baltic Sea or else in the area around Wuerzburg, Germany, in southwest Germany.

Any suggestions for contacting unit historians who might have a record of such event would be greatly appreciated.

Tomas

[drmessimer]

Thomas 224: Try contacting the Air Force Historical Agency at Maxwell AFB. I think the link is www.usafha.af.mil but if not simply enter the agency in Google. Dwight