Franz von Werra
| Franz von Werra | |
|---|---|
Franz von Werra
|
|
| Born |
13 July 1914 Leuk, Switzerland |
| Died | 25 October 1941 (aged 27) near Vlissingen, the Netherlands |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Luftwaffe
|
| Years of service | 1936–41 |
| Rank | Hauptmann |
| Unit | JG 3, JG 53 |
| Commands held | I./JG 53 |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Iron Cross, Second Class |
Iron Cross, Second Class
Iron Cross, First Class
Franz Xaver Baron von Werra (13 July 1914 – 25 October 1941) was a German World War II fighter pilot and flying ace who was shot down over Britain and captured. He is generally regarded as the only Axis prisoner of war to succeed in escaping from Canadian custody and returning to Germany, although a U-Boat rating, Walter Kurt Reich, is said to have jumped from a Polish troopship (presumably the ex-liner Sobieski) into the St. Lawrence River in July 1940. Werra managed to return to Germany via the US, Mexico, South America, and Spain, finally reaching Germany on 18 April 1941. Oberleutnant von Werra was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 December 1940. His story was told in the book The One That Got Away by Kendall Burt and James Leasor, which was made into a film of the same name, starring Hardy Kruger.
Franz Baron von Werra was born on 13 July 1914, to impoverished Swiss parents in Leuk, a town in the Swiss canton of Valais. The title of Freiherr (equal to Baron) came from his biological father, Leo Freiherr von Werra, who after bankruptcy, faced deep economic hardship. Because his relatives were legally obliged to look after the Baron's wife and six children, his cousin Rosalie von Werra persuaded her childless friend Louise Carl von Haber to permit the Baron's youngest, Franz and his sister, to enjoy the benefits of wealth and education. The von Habers did not tell the children their true origin.
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