Peter Stevens (RAF officer)
Encyclopedia
Peter Stevens MC
(born Georg Franz Hein, 15 February 1919 – 16 July 1979) was the only German Jew known to have flown bombers in the Royal Air Force
against his own country in World War II
. As an enemy alien living in London in the late 1930s, Hein assumed the identity of a dead schoolfriend in order to join the RAF at the outbreak of hostilities.
Shot down on a bombing raid, he was captured by the Germans and held a prisoner of war. Aware that if his true identity was discovered he would be regarded as a traitor he made repeated escape attempts, but was always recaptured. Liberated from the POW camp at the end of the war, he finally obtained British citizenship. In 1947 he transferred to MI6
's East German section, retaining his RAF commission. After leaving MI6 he emigrated to Canada in 1952, embarking on a business career.
, Germany
) part of a wealthy German-Jewish family. In 1934 his widowed mother sent him to school in England. He remained in England after finishing school, but ran up gambling debts and was jailed for fraud. He was released just days before Britain declared war on Germany, and should have reported to a police station for internment as an enemy alien. Instead he assumed the identity of a dead schoolfriend, Peter Stevens, and joined the RAF.
He trained as a bomber pilot for 18 months, all the while the subject of a manhunt by British police. Having reached the rank of leading aircraftman
, he was commissioned as a pilot officer
on probation in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
on 2 November 1940.
's 144 Squadron
in April 1941, Stevens flew 22 combat operations in the Handley Page Hampden
before his aircraft was damaged over Berlin
, and he was forced to crash-land near Amsterdam
on 8 September 1941. Taken as a prisoner of war
, he spent three years and eight months as a prisoner of his own country (without protection from the Geneva Convention). Had the Nazis discovered his true identity, he would have been subject to immediate execution as a traitor. Although in captivity, he was promoted war substantive flying officer
on 2 November 1941, and war substantive flight lieutenant a year later.
Stevens attempted escape eight times during his incarceration, twice spending several days at large. On one of those escapes, he and a Canadian pilot visited his mother's home to get civilian clothing, food and money, only to learn that she had committed suicide just before the outbreak of war. He was recaptured on both occasions and was sentenced to terms in the camp prison ("cooler") several times. His second escape attempt (from Oflag VI-B
at Warburg) was characterized after the war as "The War's Coolest Escape Bid" in London's News Chronicle on 18 May 1946. Stevens was one of 35 men to escape from the Latrine tunnel at Oflag XXI-B
(Schubin, Poland), along with Harry Day, William Ash, and Jimmy Buckley
. Recaptured over 300 miles (482.8 km) from the camp after just 24 hours, he was handed over to the Gestapo
, who were convinced he was a spy.
As a native German, Stevens provided invaluable aid to many other escapees, including behind-the-scenes intelligence and scrounging work for the "Wooden Horse" escape and the "Great Escape", both at Stalag Luft 3. After liberation in 1945, Stevens was one of the few members of the RAF to be awarded Britain's Military Cross
for his numerous escape activities. He is mentioned in at least 10 books about World War II escapes. His MC was announced in the London Gazette
on 17 May 1946, along with those for several other RAF escapers, the citation read:
to Air Vice Marshal Alexander Davidson and was promoted squadron leader
. Davidson supported Stevens in his bid to officially obtain British nationality, and Stevens was naturalized as a British citizen in 1946. He formally adopted the name Peter Stevens by deed poll
on 20 March 1947, by which time he was living in East Sheen
, London. He joined MI6
in 1947 and spent five years as an operative in Germany, spying against the Soviets at the height of the Cold War
. He emigrated to Canada in 1952, resigning his RAF commission on 26 September 1952 and joining the Auxiliary section of the Royal Canadian Air Force
. After a successful business career in Canada, Stevens died in Toronto
on 16 July 1979.
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(born Georg Franz Hein, 15 February 1919 – 16 July 1979) was the only German Jew known to have flown bombers in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
against his own country in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As an enemy alien living in London in the late 1930s, Hein assumed the identity of a dead schoolfriend in order to join the RAF at the outbreak of hostilities.
Shot down on a bombing raid, he was captured by the Germans and held a prisoner of war. Aware that if his true identity was discovered he would be regarded as a traitor he made repeated escape attempts, but was always recaptured. Liberated from the POW camp at the end of the war, he finally obtained British citizenship. In 1947 he transferred to MI6
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
's East German section, retaining his RAF commission. After leaving MI6 he emigrated to Canada in 1952, embarking on a business career.
Early life
Stevens was born Georg Franz Hein, on 15 February 1919 in HanoverHanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) part of a wealthy German-Jewish family. In 1934 his widowed mother sent him to school in England. He remained in England after finishing school, but ran up gambling debts and was jailed for fraud. He was released just days before Britain declared war on Germany, and should have reported to a police station for internment as an enemy alien. Instead he assumed the identity of a dead schoolfriend, Peter Stevens, and joined the RAF.
He trained as a bomber pilot for 18 months, all the while the subject of a manhunt by British police. Having reached the rank of leading aircraftman
Leading Aircraftman
Leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) Leading aircraftman (LAC) (or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a rank in some air forces, between aircraftman and senior aircraftman and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller....
, he was commissioned as a pilot officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
on probation in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
on 2 November 1940.
Active service
Joining RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
's 144 Squadron
No. 144 Squadron RAF
No. 144 Squadron, RAF, was a British aviation and missle squadron during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.-World War I:No. 144 Squadron, RFC, was formed at Port Said, Egypt, on 20th March 1918...
in April 1941, Stevens flew 22 combat operations in the Handley Page Hampden
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
before his aircraft was damaged over Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and he was forced to crash-land near Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
on 8 September 1941. Taken as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, he spent three years and eight months as a prisoner of his own country (without protection from the Geneva Convention). Had the Nazis discovered his true identity, he would have been subject to immediate execution as a traitor. Although in captivity, he was promoted war substantive flying officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
on 2 November 1941, and war substantive flight lieutenant a year later.
Stevens attempted escape eight times during his incarceration, twice spending several days at large. On one of those escapes, he and a Canadian pilot visited his mother's home to get civilian clothing, food and money, only to learn that she had committed suicide just before the outbreak of war. He was recaptured on both occasions and was sentenced to terms in the camp prison ("cooler") several times. His second escape attempt (from Oflag VI-B
Oflag VI-B
Oflag VI-B Dössel was a World War II German POW camp for officers located SW of the small town Dössel in north-western Germany.- Timeline :In 1940 the camp was built on what had been originally intended to be an airfield...
at Warburg) was characterized after the war as "The War's Coolest Escape Bid" in London's News Chronicle on 18 May 1946. Stevens was one of 35 men to escape from the Latrine tunnel at Oflag XXI-B
Oflag XXI-B
Oflag XXI-B and Stalag XXI-B were World War II German prisoner-of-war camps for officers and enlisted men, located at Szubin a few miles south of Bydgoszcz, in Pomorze, Poland, which at that time was occupied by Nazi Germany.-Timeline:...
(Schubin, Poland), along with Harry Day, William Ash, and Jimmy Buckley
Jimmy Buckley
Lieutenant Commander James 'Jimmy' Brian Buckley DSC was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot who became a notable prisoner of war during the Second World War, and died during an escape attempt on 21 May 1943.-Fleet Air Arm:...
. Recaptured over 300 miles (482.8 km) from the camp after just 24 hours, he was handed over to the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, who were convinced he was a spy.
As a native German, Stevens provided invaluable aid to many other escapees, including behind-the-scenes intelligence and scrounging work for the "Wooden Horse" escape and the "Great Escape", both at Stalag Luft 3. After liberation in 1945, Stevens was one of the few members of the RAF to be awarded Britain's Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
for his numerous escape activities. He is mentioned in at least 10 books about World War II escapes. His MC was announced in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 17 May 1946, along with those for several other RAF escapers, the citation read:
Post-war
Stevens remained in Germany as aide-de-campAide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Air Vice Marshal Alexander Davidson and was promoted squadron leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
. Davidson supported Stevens in his bid to officially obtain British nationality, and Stevens was naturalized as a British citizen in 1946. He formally adopted the name Peter Stevens by deed poll
Deed poll
A deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention...
on 20 March 1947, by which time he was living in East Sheen
East Sheen
East Sheen, also known as 'Sheen', is an affluent suburb of London, England in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It forms part of the London post town in the SW postcode area....
, London. He joined MI6
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
in 1947 and spent five years as an operative in Germany, spying against the Soviets at the height of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. He emigrated to Canada in 1952, resigning his RAF commission on 26 September 1952 and joining the Auxiliary section of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
. After a successful business career in Canada, Stevens died in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on 16 July 1979.