Franz von Werra

Franz Freiherr von Werra
Franz Freiherr von Werra
Born	(1914-07-13)13 July 1914 Leuk, Canton of Valais, Switzerland
Died	25 October 1941(1941-10-25) (aged 27) North Sea, off Vlissingen, German-occupied Netherlands
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1936–41
Rank	Hauptmann
Unit	JG 3, JG 53
Commands	I./JG 53
Battles / wars	World War II Battle of France Battle of Britain Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Iron Cross, Second Class Iron Cross, First Class Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Franz Xaver Freiherr von Werra (13 July 1914 – 25 October 1941) was a German World War II fighter pilot and flying ace who was shot down over Britain and captured. He was the only Axis prisoner of war to escape from Canadian custody and return to Germany apart from a U-boat seaman, Walter Kurt Reich, said to have jumped from a Polish troopship into the St. Lawrence River in July 1940.^[1][2] Werra managed to return to Germany via the US, Mexico, South America and Spain, finally reaching Germany on 18 April 1941.^[3]

Oberleutnant von Werra was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 December 1940. His story was told in the book The One That Got Away by Kendall Burt and James Leasor, which was made into a film of the same name, starring Hardy Krüger.