Here is a humbling reconciliation of the Battle of Britain conflict on the longest day of that battle, being 18th August 1940 where four German raids sought to destroy all of Biggin Hill, Kenley, North Weald and Hornchurch RAF airfields. The above photo (from military author Arthur Price’s book “The Hardest Day”) is of retired RAF pilot Harry Newton meeting up in 1978 at Kenley old airfield with two of his German aerial antagonists Guenther Unger and Franz Bergmann.
On that longest day Franz was the gunner crewmember of pilot Guenther’s Dornier who shot down Harry in his Hurricane near Kenley. Simultaneously, with flaming fuel burning Harry’s face, hands and lower body in his cockpit, he was able to take a quick damaging shot at Guenther’s Dornier, by then flying on only one engine. Harry managed to bail out at 700 feet altitude. Guenther managed to coax his doomed Dornier across the Channel until the remaining engine failed and he ditched offshore from Boulogne. Guenther and his three fellow crew were in the sea for over three hours (their dinghy had been damaged) and nearly died of exposure until they were spotted early evening by chance and rescued. Harry was skilfully put back together in hospital, which took a long while.
I was privileged to fly as Harry’s RAF co-pilot several times on Handley Page Hastings (photo of TG528 we once flew together, shown now at Duxford museum) during 1966 and 1967. Guenther’s and Harry’s family became good friends after meeting up after Harry had retired. Nona, Harry’s wife told me that he would often wake up at night, covered in sweat and screaming aloud from his frequent nightmares. PTSD was then unrecognised. Harry sadly died aged only 75 in 1996.
Clive