PETER SPODEN

Peter Spoden Center

Peter Spoden joined the Luftwaffe in 1940, commissioned as a Leutnant in early 1942 Spoden went on to train as a Night Fighter Pilot and joined NJG 5 (Nachtjagdgeschwader 5). He claimed his first victory when he downed a Raf Lancaster that was part of a strike force that was sent to bomb the V1 & V2 rocket sites at Peenemunde on the Baltic coast. After this Spoden's score rose steadily, but was almost cut short when attacking an Raf Lancaster the tail gunner caught him in a burst of fire, Spoden 's ME 110 took direct hits, causing it to burst into flames. The plane nose-dived almost immediately, and a frantic struggle began for Spoden, finally he was ripped free from the cockpit only to land against the tailplane and was held there. The aircraft began to roll and finally Spoden managed to break free and pull his rip-cord.

In early 1944 Spoden took part in several daylight combat missions to intercept American B-17, After being wounded he was posted to Hungary, then posted back to the western front to combat the ever increasing Raf raids, Spoden shot down three Lancaster's in just 10 minutes during this time. In the final weeks of the War Spoden became GruppenKommandeur of I./NJG6. He finished the War with 24 victories.

ME110

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