The Death of Prince George, Duke of Kent, 1942: A New Investigation to Find the Truth

History

Morgan, M S

Europe

Air World

On the night of 19/20 September 1944, a force of 227 Avro Lancasters and ten de Havilland Mosquitoes was despatched to attack the German towns of Mönchengladbach and Rheydt. The Master Bomber for the raid was none other than Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar. Along with his navigator, Squadron Leader James Warwick DFC, Gibson was flying Mosquito KB627 of 627 Squadron from RAF Coningsby, where he was serving as the Base Operations Officer.By this stage of the Second World War, Gibson was arguably one of the most famous of all the Allied aviators. Aged just 26, few in the country, if not across the Allied world as a whole, would not have heard his name or seen a picture of his face. It was his leadership of the daring Dambusters Raid, Operation Chastise, in May 1944 that firmly propelled him into the public's eye - and ultimately led to his award of the Victoria Cross.Gibson need not have been flying that fateful night. Following his involvement in the attack on the Ruhr dams, and a subsequent goodwill lecture tour of the United States, Gibson, a veteran of 170 or more operational sorties, would have been entitled to a less front-line role. Churchill, for example, had hoped that Gibson would stand for election as a Member of Parliament. Gibson, however, was soon agitating a return to flying duties - resulting in his participation in the attack on Mönchengladbach and Rheydt.The raid was a success. Throughout the operation, Gibson's instructions over the target were easily heard and gave no hint of impending trouble. It was during the return leg that something went wrong. At around 22.30 hours on the 19th, Gibson's Mosquito slammed into the ground at Steenbergen in the Netherlands; both men on board were killed.Witnesses on the ground reported hearing an aircraft flying low, observing that its cockpit was illuminated, and then, seconds later, the violent sight and sounds of its final moments. The cause of the crash has been the subject of intense speculation ever since. Had Gibson and Warwick fallen to the guns of a German night fighter, or, tragically, 'friendly fire' from an Allied bomber? Was it mechanical failure or possibly pilot error that had led to the disaster?Like the disappearance of Glenn Miller or Rudolf Hess' flight to Britain, the death of Guy Gibson VC, one of Britain's greatest wartime heroes, is among the Second World War's most intriguing mysteries. How could one of the RAF's most experienced pilots have simply fallen from the sky over Occupied Europe without explanation. In The Death of Guy Gibson the author sets out answer that very question.

The Death of Guy Gibson: Who, or What, Killed the Dambuster VC

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Tucked away in the archives of the Museum for Transport and Technology in Berlin is an old photograph of a Hawker Hurricane on public display. The image must have been taken before the night of 23/24 November 1943, when the museum and the greater part of its collection – including the Hurricane – were destroyed in a RAF bombing raid.\nThe aircraft in the photograph bore a squadron commander’s pennant under the cockpit, had broken propellor blades and carried the squadron markings PA-A on its fuselage, as well as the serial number W9147. Intrigued by what he had seen, the picture launched the author on an investigation that uncovered an incredible story of wartime treachery and betrayal.\nThat tale concerns one man in particular – Augustin Přeučil. Also known to his family and friends as Gustav Přeučil, it was Augustin who had been the Hurricane’s last RAF pilot.\nA 26-year-old aviator from Czechoslovakia, on first appearances Přeučil had fled his homeland after Nazi Germany took control and created the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia – part of Hitler’s Greater Germany. Having initially travelled to Poland, he then escaped to France and, from there, ultimately reached Britain, where he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve.\nAugustin Přeučil seemed to be just like many of the men who had arrived in the UK to continue the fight against Hitler. He appeared to be settled and even married an English girl in July 1941. But on 18 September of that year, he was posted missing, believed killed, while undertaking a training flight off the coast of Sunderland and Hartlepool. Přeučil’s body was never recovered and nothing more was heard of him. His young wife received a war widow’s pension; he was just another sad statistic of the war.\nHowever, Augustin Přeučil was far from dead. Having landed the ‘stolen’ Hurricane near Bastogne in Belgium, he was treated by local people as a downed Allied pilot, sheltered and then passed into the care of the local Resistance group. Přeučil repaid their trust by handing himself into the Gestapo – and revealing all he knew. The Gestapo’s response was swift and brutal.\nFor Přeučil, this marked the start of a new career as an undercover agent for the Gestapo, principally in Czechoslovakia. As the author reveals, how he ended up serving Hitler’s Third Reich and betraying his homeland, his adopted country and a new wife, is a story that while strange is completely true. It is also one that ended with his death. Found guilty of High Treason, Přeučil was hanged by the Czech authorities in April 1947.

The Hurricane Pilot Who Became a Gestapo Agent: The Betrayal and Treachery of an RAF Sergeant

Morgan, M. J.

This book delves into the controversial actions of British prisoners of war during World War II, exploring cases of alleged betrayal, collaboration, and espionage.\nDuring the Second World War over 200,000 British prisoners of war were detained by the Third Reich. A large proportion of these PoWs were members of the Royal Air Force, or airmen who served in it. A number of them have been immortalised in the many books and movies that have portrayed their valiant exploits and escapes, none more so than the events surrounding the Great Escape in 1944.\nThe names of camps such as Stalag Luft III, at Sagan, and Colditz Castle are well known to the general public, the prisoners incarcerated there often being held in high regard. But there were a few PoWs whose loyalty to the cause and their fellow prisoners might not have been as strong.\nThe names of Pilot Officer Railton Freeman, Sergeant Jack Alcock and Sergeant Raymond Hughes are among those found in that inglorious group of alleged traitors, for all three men betrayed their colleagues and the nation. The trio assisted the Nazi regime in making radio broadcasts, or even joining the British Frei Korps, a unit of the dreaded SS. One gave information about the Monica radar system to the Luftwaffe, and others got fellow prisoners to divulge information on fake Red Cross forms.\nOther prisoners such as Flight Lieutenant Julius Zuromski and Squadron Leader Robert George Carpenter also came under suspicion when reports began to arrive at MI9 in London. Enquiries were subsequently undertaken by the RAF Special Investigation Branch and MI5 – investigations that would ultimately lead to the imprisonment of some and the release of others.\nWhat these men did and why some were prosecuted, and others were released without charge, is examined by the author. Why one man in particular, an ardent Nazi and traitor, was not sentenced to death, having liaised with the likes of the infamous William Joyce, also known as ‘Lord Haw Haw’, and even Josef Goebbels, is a mystery to this day.\nSadly, not all our aviators were heroes. But there has long been debate that some of them might have actually been working for the Security Services. So, were these men traitors who collaborated with Hitler’s Third Reich, or agents working for the British State?

Hitler's RAF Collaborators: Agents or Traitors: RAF Prisoners of War Alleged to Have Assisted the Third Reich

Many people today have no idea that Gravesend had an active airfield during the second world war. Many do not realise that the airfield was home to RAF fighters during the crucial Battle of Britain with many pilots losing their lives. This book, the first in a series, is a day by day history of the squadrons at RAF Gravesend during the Battle of Britain, examining the pilots combat reports and losses. Researched from RAF, National Archives, German archives, various biographies and other sources, this book gets the reader straight into the action.

An Exclusive Flying Club: 501 & 66 Squadrons at Gravesend during the Battle of Britain (RAF airfield diaries)

Military

Independently published

Bad Hat Squadron: 29 Squadron at RAF West Malling 1941-1943 (RAF airfield diaries)

What do they really know?: British Military contact with unidentified flying objects over the UK and its bases overseas. (The British Military and UFOs / Uaps)

We Guard the Gate: Mosquito Night Fighters at West Malling May 1943-August 1944 (RAF airfield diaries)

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Books by Morgan, M S