Franz von Werra, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Franz von Werra

Recipient of the Knights Cross

Date of Birth: 13-Jul-1914

Place of Birth: Leuk, Canton of Valais, Switzerland

Date of Death: 25-Oct-1941

Profession: fighter pilot, aircraft pilot

Nationality: Switzerland, Germany

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Franz Xaver Baron 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 is generally regarded as the only Axis prisoner of war to succeed in escaping from Canadian custody and return to Germany, although a U-Boat seaman, Walter Kurt Reich, is also said to have escaped by jumping from a Polish troopship into the St.
Lawrence River in July 1940.
Werra managed to return to Germany via the US, Mexico, South America, and Spain, finally reaching Germany on 18 April 1941. 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 Kruger.