O.T. Top Pilot Who Stole Plane to Escape WWII Prison Camp Dies

[bobdina]

Never heard of this story,maybe some of you guys haven't either. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... -dies.html

[Canoerebel]

That's a cool story...and I think it inspired a Hogan's Heroes episode.

[MakeeLearn]

Lucky he wasn't shot down by the Allies.

[crsutton]

I think he was the inspiration for the stolen airplane part in "The Great Escape."

[Macclan5]

Wikipedia says he stole a FW190 from Germany (not specifically stated but probably somewhere nearby Stalag Luft 1 in Barth - North Eastern Germany) and flew it to the Netherlands to land... not stated.

This in 1944.

One presumes that the FW190 being a main line fighter unit would be in the midst of some security from the Luftwaffe personal even if the squadron group was distributed among various fields for security from Allied attack.

Further and probably with the SS on his tail.

Wow.

That he didn't get shot down by the Allies is perhaps the least of this accomplishment.

Tom Brokow at NBC news once called these men "the greatest generation".. and more and more stories we hear about with this generation passing validates this.

It is an incredibly impressive feat of courage.

[geofflambert]

That could also be inspired by Escape from Colditz.

edit: What am I saying? All three stories are true, more or less.

[Sardaukar]

Check this guy's story:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Devyatayev

On 13 July 1944 Devyataev was downed near Lwów over German-held territory and became a prisoner of war, held in the Łódź concentration camp. He made an attempt to escape on 13 August but was caught and transferred to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He soon realised his situation was perilous-as a Soviet pilot, he could expect extreme brutality; therefore, he managed to exchange identities with a dead Soviet infantryman.

With his new identity, [clarification needed] Devyataev was later transferred to a camp in Usedom to be a part of a forced labor crew working for the German missile program on the island of Peenemünde. Under hellish conditions, the prisoners were forced to repair runways and clear unexploded bombs by hand. Security was rigidly enforced with vicious guards and dogs, and there was little chance of escape. Even so, by February 1945, Devyataev concluded that, however remote, the chance of escape was preferable to certain death as a prisoner.

Devyataev managed to convince three other prisoners (Sokolov, Krivonogov and Nemchenko) that he could fly them to freedom. They decided to run away in the dinnertime, when most of the guards were in the dining room. Sokolov and Nemchenko were able to create a work gang from Soviet citizens only.

At noon on 8 February 1945, as the ten Soviet POWs, including Devyataev, were at work on the runway, one of the work gang, Ivan Krivonogov, picked up a crowbar and killed their guard. Another prisoner, Peter Kutergin, quickly stripped off the guard's uniform and slipped it on. The work gang, led by the "guard", managed to unobtrusively take over the camp commandant's He 111 H22 bomber and fly from the island. Devyataev piloted the aircraft.

The Germans tried to intercept the bomber unsuccessfully. The aircraft was damaged by Soviet air defences but managed to land in Soviet-held territory. The escapees provided important information about the German missile program, especially about the V-1 and V-2.

The NKVD did not believe Devyataev's story, arguing it was impossible for the prisoners to take over an airplane without cooperation from the Germans. Thus, Devyataev was suspected of being a German spy and sent to a penal military unit along with the other nine men. Of the escapees, five died in action over the following months. Devyataev himself spent the remainder of the war in prison.

[dr.hal]

Hoover flew Spitfires in Italy, doing 59 missions, did anyone read if he had any kills to his credit? I can't find any information on that.

[geofflambert]

After a point, the Germans stopped coming out to play. He may have had nothing but ground targets to shoot at.

Never mind, that took place before, not after he was downed. He likely would have fought fighters.

[geofflambert]

Found this, for what it's worth

[geofflambert]

got that from here.

http://raf-112-squadron.org/52ndfghonor_roll42_43.html

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: dr.hal

Hoover flew Spitfires in Italy, doing 59 missions, did anyone read if he had any kills to his credit? I can't find any information on that.

He should have got credit for at least one FW-190! [:D]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

got that from here.

http://raf-112-squadron.org/52ndfghonor_roll42_43.html

I looked at the Wartime Aerial Victory part of that site and it seemed to be all US pilots. The only Hoover listed for the Mediterranean theatre was Hoover, Charles F. with one victory.

[jcjordan]

2 things also about Hoover - his energy management routine in the Twin Commander at air shows & he's also the guy in The Right Stuff w/ Yeager when they broke the sound barrier IIRC

[geofflambert]

Hoover was a mentor for Yeager and flew a P-80 chase plane on the occasion of the SB breaking with the Bell X-1.

[TOMLABEL]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

I think he was the inspiration for the stolen airplane part in "The Great Escape."

Yes, that is correct.

TOMLABEL

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: dr.hal

Hoover flew Spitfires in Italy, doing 59 missions, did anyone read if he had any kills to his credit? I can't find any information on that.

Yes, his unit saw little action after he joined and he was flying for many months where nobody was scoring any kills. He was known as one of the best natural pilots in the theater. When a B-26 made a forced landing on a beach in Corsica, he was called in to get the plane off the beach. His commander predicted that when Hoover saw combat for the first time, he would either get shot down or become an ace in a day. Hoover did both.

On his last mission, they were jumped by a gaggle of Fw-190s and his squadron mates all cut and run. Hoover's drop tank wouldn't release, so he was tail end Charlie and got mugged by the Fws. He was alone, so his kills were not confirmed, but he claimed he got 5 Fw-190s before they got him. I think he was credited with some of them.

Hoover wrote a book. It isn't bad: https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Flying-High-flying-Barnstorming-Autobiography/dp/067153761X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477529761&sr=8-1&keywords=bob+hoover

He was in the middle of a lot of things after the war. He was Chuck Yeager's back up on the X-1 program and should have been the one to break the sound barrier as Yeager had several broken ribs from a horse riding accident. Hoover also became carrier qualified when he became a test pilot for one of the aircraft manufacturers.

I met him back in the 1980s. I worked an air show in Shafter, CA every year when I was in college. The announcer quickly learned how much I knew about aircraft and insisted I be up there feeding him information. After the first year I put together a batch of note cards with information on every single plane and pilot. Wherever possible I had information on specific airframes. As part of my information gathering I interviewed all the pilots as they came in. Hoover had his own announcer so I didn't put together a card for him, but I did get a chance to talk to him for a few minutes.

At the show Hoover flew a Rockwell airliner. It was a twin engine prop job a bit smaller than a Dash 8. It was the second most spectacular thing I've ever seen at an airshow. The most spectacular was the year before when a newly certified F-86 was taken up by a Lockheed test pilot who broke a lot of FAA rules. He flew knife edges over the crowd and the FAA tried to get him grounded, but he was a test pilot on the F-117 program at the time and there was nothing they could do.

What Hoover could do with that airliner was nothing short of spectacular. He threw it around like a P-51 and as his finale he did a loop and landed the plane all with both engines off.

Bill

[bomccarthy]

Here's a cockpit view of his performance in the Shrike (including the power-off loop at the end):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7R7jZmliGc

[rustysi]

ORIGINAL: bomccarthy

Here's a cockpit view of his performance in the Shrike (including the power-off loop at the end):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7R7jZmliGc

Awe, hell no. More guts than brains if you ask me!!! What a show though.[:D]