Skip to comments.
Nazi escape plan revealed to fly leaders to Greenland
news.scotsman.com ^
Posted on 12/29/2003 10:52:43 AM PST by chance33_98
Nazi escape plan revealed to fly leaders to Greenland
BRIAN BRADY
A GERMAN navigator has described for the first time a daring plan by the Nazis to evacuate their surviving leaders by flying boat to Greenland at the end of the Second World War.
The plan, which was scuppered by the German surrender, would have involved Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler and other senior figures taking off from north Germany to continue their struggles from abroad.
Adolf Hitler himself was determined not to leave Berlin, where he eventually committed suicide.
The Greenland operation has been revealed by Captain Ernst Koenig, 93, who had previously been determined to keep the story secret until after his death. He was persuaded to speak earlier this month by friends in Britain.
The last-ditch mission described by Koenig also involved an attempt to pick up a copy of the Führers will from Berlin, but this had to be abandoned because of heavy Russian fire.
Koenig said he had just finished preparing two giant BV-222 sea planes for the escape flight when the Allies launched an air raid.
"The two BV-222s were completely destroyed as they sat on the water," said Koenig. But the plan was not abandoned, he added.
"We had another in the workshop and that too was made ready. It required a lot of work but it was done and once again stores arrived for loading on board."
Terry Charman, a historian at the Imperial War Museum in London, said he believed Koenigs story was credible and was backed up by incidental details revealed by other Germans.
"I believe Hitlers architect, Albert Speer, also made mention of an escape attempt to Greenland which was abandoned," said Charman. He added that Colonel Werner Baumbachs KG200, a secret special operation section of the Luftwaffe, was known to use BB-222s and may also have been involved.
Koenig gave his account of the operation from his home in his sheltered housing complex in the north German port of Travemunde, from where the flight was to have begun.
Koenig, who became Travemundes harbour master after the war, spent his early years as a navigational expert. During the war he worked at the secret sea plane research centre in the town.
"Previously I had been in the merchant marine and studied for my navigational qualifications," said Koenig. "That is why I began working at Travemunde. It was a centre of excellence. We tested all the latest flying boats and equipment."
Koenig was drafted in to improve the Luftwaffes navigational techniques, which were primitive at the beginning of the war. The centre was connected to the rocket research complex at Peenemunde, further east along the coast.
Among the aircraft tested at the base was the BB-222, one of the biggest flying boats ever built. The plane, built by Blohm und Voss, had a 140-foot wing span, was 36 feet high and could carry 92 fully equipped troops at a speed of 240mph.
It had a crew of 16 and was defended by an array of machine guns. The plane could stay aloft for up to 28 hours, making it ideal for long-distance flights.
TOPICS: Germany; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; greenland; nazi; wwii
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-29 next last
To: chance33_98
Interesting post.
So anyone dare to guess where Hitlery and Daschle will head after November 2004?
2
posted on
12/29/2003 10:54:54 AM PST
by
Caipirabob
(Democrats.. Socialists..Commies..Traitors...Who can tell the difference?)
To: chance33_98
"OK, we're in Greenland. Now what?
3
posted on
12/29/2003 10:55:12 AM PST
by
billorites
(freepo ergo sum)
To: Caipirabob
To somewhere in germany near the Whine river....
To: chance33_98
"The Greenland operation has been revealed by Captain Ernst Koenig, 93, who had previously been determined to keep the story secret until after his death. He was persuaded to speak earlier this month by friends in Britain."
Sounds like a little hallucinating at Der Old Volks' Home.
To: Caipirabob
So anyone dare to guess where Hitlery and Daschle will head after November 2004?Havana. Where else would defeated communists retreat to in the Western Hemisphere, except for perhaps Ithaca?
6
posted on
12/29/2003 10:59:44 AM PST
by
dirtboy
(New Ben and Jerry's flavor - Howard Dean Swirl - no ice cream, just fruit at bottom)
To: chance33_98
7
posted on
12/29/2003 11:03:32 AM PST
by
longjack
To: chance33_98
Adolf Hitler himself was determined not to leave Berlin, where he eventually committed suicide.False. He moved to Arkansas and eventually became Senator of New York through vote buying.
8
posted on
12/29/2003 11:20:54 AM PST
by
metalboy
(I`m still waiting for the protests against Al-Qaida.)
To: chance33_98
This plan was obviously the result of too much meth....
9
posted on
12/29/2003 12:19:07 PM PST
by
telebob
To: chance33_98
By the way, where did Barbara Streisand and Alec Baldwin escape to after Dubya was elected?
To: metalboy
Wrong again. Mexican newspapers have sighted old Adolph sunning himself on a beach in Argentina.
To: snippy_about_it
ping
12
posted on
12/29/2003 12:25:33 PM PST
by
colorado tanker
("There are but two parties now, Traitors and Patriots")
To: Caipirabob
To the Palace of Sauron, never to be seen again (oops, fantasizing again...)
13
posted on
12/29/2003 12:38:24 PM PST
by
richardtavor
(Pray for the peace of Jerusalem in the name of the G-d of Jacob)
To: All
For those who like strange sci-fi?
Snag a copy of "The Twilight Men" by Otto Basil.
14
posted on
12/29/2003 12:40:26 PM PST
by
backhoe
(--30--)
To: longjack
That's one big ol' boat right there. No way that thing would have been able to get all the way to Greenland without get a touch or two from the RAF and our boys...
15
posted on
12/29/2003 12:50:25 PM PST
by
Sam's Army
(MTV: Get off the Air!)
To: colorado tanker
Thanks tanker.
Ping to you Sam! This is interesting.
16
posted on
12/29/2003 1:32:58 PM PST
by
snippy_about_it
(Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
To: chance33_98
I thought by this time, Hitler had issued orders for Goering and Himmlers arrest.
17
posted on
12/29/2003 1:44:47 PM PST
by
fso301
To: chance33_98
"And you! Friendless, helpless, homeless, brainless! Do you want me to send you back where I found you? Unemployed? In Greenland?!"
Vizzini
18
posted on
12/29/2003 1:51:13 PM PST
by
NarniaSC
(You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles)
To: longjack
They could have used the much larger BV-238, with a range of 3750 miles, except the only one built was
strafed into scrap metal by Urban Drew in the P-51 "Detroit Miss" at Lake Schall on Sept 25, 1944..
Someone actually built a r/c model of the BV-238. Yikes!
19
posted on
12/29/2003 2:36:50 PM PST
by
wolficatZ
(___><))))*>____\0/____/|____"flipper to the rescue...")
To: metalboy
False. He moved to Arkansas and eventually became Senator of New York through vote buying.but first he had a sex change operation
20
posted on
12/29/2003 2:49:02 PM PST
by
Kaslin
("The way to dishonor a fallen soldier is to quit too early." President George W. Bush)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-29 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson