hw97karbine
Airman 1st Class
- 265
- Mar 23, 2025
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1. Staffel JG 27 ace Oberfeldwebel Albert Espenlaub was forced down behind Allied lines when his aircraft's cooling system was damaged in combat with a Hawker Hurricane.
Fellow pilot Oblt. Hugo Schneider described what happened in the following letter addressed to Espenlaub family dated January 1st 1942:
"We had a fight with English Hurricanes over enemy territory. Your son, who had already claimed 14 victories, dived too soon towards one enemy aircraft and received hits in the cooling system of his aircraft's engine. His comrades immediately drew the attention of the English on themselves in order to allow Albert and his damaged aircraft to leave the danger area and find protection in the clouds. He was last seen flying into such a cloud."
"After a hit in the cooling system, the engine only runs five more minutes, after which one must land. I am certain that Albert made an emergency landing and was taken prisoner by the English who always treat captured airmen correctly and fairly. However, we are waiting for confirmation of this and although there is still a chance that he might be able to reach our lines and return to his unit, for the time being we must consider him missing in action. Should we receive any information from the English, I will inform you immediately.
"I am sorry that Albert is no longer with the Staffel, not only because he was our best fighter pilot, but also because I felt very close to him as a personal friend who taught me a lot."
Schneider was correct in believing that his friend was alive and in captivity however he did not live to confirm it as he would be killed in action less than two weeks later in combat with a P-40 on January 11th. The same day, Ofw. Albert Espenlaub wrote his parents a one-page letter from Cage No. 14, Prisoner of War Camp No. 321, which included the following lines:
"Dear Parents!
By now, the reason for my long silence will be clear to you. On 13 December I had to make a belly-landing and I am now a prisoner of the English. My health is pretty good and I hope that this is also the case with you. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be home for Christmas as I had hoped and I must say how sorry I was about this."
In due course, the Espenlaub family received another letter, this time from the German Red Cross, which read:
"Via the Spanish consul in Jerusalem and the Spanish Foreign Ministry, which contacted the German Embassy in Madrid, we have learned that a representative of the British armed forces has advised the Spanish authorities that in the early morning of 25 February 1942, Oberfeldwebel Albert Espenlaub was shot by guards while attempting to escape from a PoW camp. One shot was fired which killed him instantly."
Also in the PoW camp at that time was Otto Berchner, one of Albert Espenlaub's contemporaries who had flown with 7./ZG 26 and who knew Espenlaub. Berchner was later transferred to Canada in August 1942 and, many years after the war, he visited cemetery near the camp and discovered Espenlaub's grave. He recalled:
"In early 1942, there were about 25-30 officers and equivalent number of other ranks in the camp situated about 12 km from Jerusalem. Most of the POWs were members of the Afrika Korps but there were also, like me, members of the Luftwaffe who had been shot down and captured. The morale among us prisoners varied greatly. There were those who realised that the Allies outnumbered the Afrika Korps and no longer believed in a German victory. On the other hand, there were several others who still wanted to fight again, and it was not unusual to hear men discussing the possibility of escaping and reaching our lines."
"Personally, I never heard Espenlaub speak about his plans, but during the night of 24-25 February, while we were asleep he slipped out of our barracks and succeeded in getting over the first barbed wire but, as he was attempting to get over the second one, he was discovered by a guard who opened fire. We were awoken by the sound of the shot and saw the tragic scene. Later, we were told that the guard responsible - a jew - had been court-martialed. Espenlaub was not the only German shot in this camp and I can recall at least two others."