In Memoriam
Not so many left from either side, and now one fewer.
Farewell to my old and dear friend Werner Schwantje, ex Leutnant in the Luftwaffe, reconnaissance pilot in the Me 109, PoW in Russia for five years.
He returned once from Plymouth to France where, in the Mess, he heard the BBC ask after his health, hope he had got home safely, and extend regrets from his admirers in the RAF. They were sorry to have missed him on this trip, said the announcer, but would be waiting for him next time.
They were, too. He was on fire when he baled out over what he thought was empty ocean, but turned out to be one of the Channel Islands.
He sat a few times in the Me 262, engines running, but was never able to take off because of the endless circus of P.51s overhead. He was equally generous in his dislike of the P.51 and the Spitfire.