30. Behind Enemy Lines
Stranded deep in enemy territory, hundreds of miles from friendly lines, Bruce Carr evaded capture for several days. Eventually, cold, wet, exhausted, and starving, he decided to surrender. Aware that German airmen treated enemy airmen better than other POWs, Carr headed to a Luftwaffe airfield that he had spotted. He made it to the surrounding fence, and decided to hide in adjacent woods that night, and walk up to the front gate and surrender the following morning.
Then Carr saw something that made him change his mind: German ground crew fueling and performing maintenance on a Focke-Wulf FW 190 near the edge of the runway, close to his hiding spot. When they were done, the Germans tightened the panels back on the plane and left, leaving it ready for combat the following morning. A plan began to form in Carr’s mind – but it required extraordinary daring to pull off.