Franz Xaver Graf von Werra (13 July 1914 – 25 October 1941) was a German World War II fighter pilot and flying ace who was shot down over England and captured. He is generally regarded as the only Axis prisoner of war to succeed in escaping from a Canadian prisoner of war camp and returning to Germany, though a second man, a U-Boat rating named Walter Kurt Reich is said to have jumped from a Polish troopship (presumably the ex-liner Sobieski) in ...
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Franz Xaver Graf von Werra (13 July 1914 – 25 October 1941) was a German World War II fighter pilot and flying ace who was shot down over England and captured. He is generally regarded as the only Axis prisoner of war to succeed in escaping from a Canadian prisoner of war camp and returning to Germany, though a second man, a U-Boat rating named Walter Kurt Reich is said to have jumped from a Polish troopship (presumably the ex-liner Sobieski) in the St. Lawrence river in July 1940. Von Werra managed to return to Germany via the USA, Mexico, South America and Spain to reach Germany on 18 April 1941.
Franz Graf von Werra was born on 13 July 1914, to impoverished Swiss parents in Leuk, a town in the Swiss canton of Valais. Later he and his sister were given into the care of an aristocratic German family. The title Baron came from his biological father Baron Leo von Werra, who, after bankruptcy, faced deep economic hardship. Because relatives were legally obliged to look after the Baron's...
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