Armin Faber the Luftwaffe Pilot Who “Helped” the RAF secure a flying example of the new Focke Wulf 190.
From this short film we take a look at the German Focke Wulf 190 fighter bombers that were attacking towns on the South Coast of England during 1942.
Then the extraordinary account of a German pilot Oberleutnant Armin Faber flying the top secret new Focke Wulf 190 that out performed the Spitfire MKV
in every way.
In June 1942 Oberleutnant Armin Faber was Adjutant to the commander of III/JG2 in Northern France. On 23rd June, he was given special permission to fly a combat mission with 7th Staffel. The unit operated Focke-Wulf 190 fighters.
The FW-190 had only recently arrived with front line units at this time and its superior performance had caused the Allies so many problems that they were considering mounting a commando raid on a French airfield to capture one for evaluation. Later this day, Faber was to save them the effort by accidentally handing them one intact.
7th Staffel was scrambled to intercept a force of twelve Bostons on their way back from a bombing mission. A fight developed over the English Channel with the escorting Spitfires, during which Faber was attacked by Sergeant Trejtnar of 310 Squadron and other Spitfires of 312 Squadron and 313 Squadron RAF.
In his efforts to shake off the Spitfire, Faber flew north over Exeter. After much high-speed manoeuvring, Faber, with only one cannon working, pulled an Immelmann turn into the sun and shot down his pursuer in a head-on attack.
Then completely disorientated Armin Faber now mistook the Bristol Channel for the English Channel and flew north instead of south. Thinking South Wales was France, he turned towards the nearest airfield RAF Pembrey. Observers on the ground could not believe their eyes as Faber waggled his wings in a victory celebration, lowered the Focke-Wulf’s undercarriage and landed. He was immediately captured, along with his aircraft.
The FW-190 was repainted in RAF colours and evaluated by the Air Fighting Development Unit at Farnborough, providing the Allies with extremely valuable intelligence. Armin Faber spent some years as a Prisoner of War in Canada before being repatriated to Germany on health reasons.
Credit to Caliban Rising – Aviation History. https://www.youtube.com/@CalibanRising
11 Comments
When will you cover the FW190 attack on Teignmouth Pier during WW2?
Sorry, I've raised this before but I can't find anything about it on the internet.
My mum was machine-gunned on the bridge. The repairs remained visible until the 1970s.
Lots of civilian deaths. My aunt saw pieces of bodies being picked up and put into boxes.
Very interesting footage of Exeter and the Czech airmen. As I go about the UK and Northern Ireland I seethat many of these temporary buildings are still around. Some abandoned units are far enough off the beaten track that they still have their wartime fittings (thermal linings electrical parts and light fittings etc)
Their survival is amazing.
I met a professional builder in North Wales who witnessed their construction as a lad. He told me that although put up in a hurry great care was taken to get everything done well. He said that Cement in particular was supplied in excess so mortars were on the whole superior to peace time mixes. Jobs in that area at least, were paid cost plus. What a luxury ! He said that standard designs were used everywhere to allow economy of scale to keep expenses down. The legacy is still alive and many people are today living in old air force accommodation.
Thank you and well done. I've always wondered about this story in whole.
Thanks, fairly new to your channel and enjoying these reminisces. I bet the farmer was distraught at his losses, but I wonder if there was any thought of making sure the dead animals did not go to waste ?? Hmmmm War reparations and a full belly…bargain 👍🏽
Very nice color film of the Czech squadrons. I notice some of the planes had clipped wings. The RAF was very lucky to obtain Faber's FW-190, I wonder how long it was until they got another flying example? Thanks for a great post.
An excellent video with very rare wartime footage, interesting that some of the Spitfires shown had clipped wings, while others were with wingtips, many thanks for posting this one. Chris B.
The Luftwaffe were not generally members of the National Socialists. Great video btw, thank you!
Twas a fascinating story. A wurger had the reciprocal compass reading by the errent pilot. Landed by mistake. Gifted the RAF their latest and most deadly fighter.
Hello Chris . As you say , very rare footage indeed. I noticed a few clip winged Spitfires . At the time , the V b's and c's were no match for the 190 's and in desperation the RAF
modified the V's to increase their performance . They removed the wing tips and cropped the superchargers to improve low altitude performance . They were known as " clipped, cropped and clapped !" I "think" Eric "Winkle " Brown may have taken the controls of the captured 190 . As always Chris , many thanks for your continued enthusiasm .
Amazing footage Chris, which gives us a bit of a flavour of the summer of '42. And while I'm on I'd like to thank Mr Faber for his help that year 👍🏻
Some really great footage. How sure are you on the Summer 42 date? I see Spit Vcs, clipped wings and drop tanks. Seems a bit early for all that.