Its not only toilets that bring demise to weapons of war....



8 October 1940

"During this period of the battle, Luftwaffe fighter pilots were issued with a new type of dingy. The previous type, a two-man dingy, was found to be too bulky and altogether unsatisfactory, particularily for use in the already small cockpit of the Bf 109. The new dingy was more compact and was worn on the pilot's back over the inflatable life jacket. On 8 October Lt. Heinz Escherhaus of 1./JG 77, took off in his "Yellow 10" on a freie Jagd patrol and was flying at 25,000 feet when he was suddenly attacked in the rear by his own rubber dingy. Contrary to instructions, Lt. Escherhaus' batman had connected the gas flask to the dingy and it had accidently inflated. The pilot was pushed forward onto the control column and, in an effort to get things right within the rapidly diminishing confines of his cockpit, he lost control and went into a very steep spiral dive. Now, owing to his uncomfortable position, Escherhaus was unable to alter the propellor setting and the aircraft over-revved. The boost blow-out valve went off and then, when the pilot was eventually able to regain control, he found that the engine would not respond to the throttle. Finally on pulling out, the engine stalled and he had to make a forced landing, coming down at Eastry in Kent. RAF intelligence was greatly amused by Lt. Escherhaus' aerial combat with his dingy and his misfortune was recorded in three seperate interrogation reports."