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Rudolf Hess Flight

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Hess aircraft wreckage, pd image, PD
Hess aircraft wreckage

On May 10, 1941, Rudolf Hess landed on Eaglesham moor.

Remarkably, the above statement is possibly the only one that can be made about this event with any degree of certainty, given the mis-information which was doubtless circulated by the authorities at the time, and the subsequent speculation and conspiracy theories that have evolved since.

In general terms, Hess was said to be heading for a meeting with the Duke of Hamilton, intending to negotiate peace between Britain and Germany, similar to that arranged between Hitler and Chamberlain (Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister from 1937 to 1940) prior to the invasion of Poland: in effect, Germany would protect the British Empire so long as Britain did not oppose Germany in Europe.

This page began as a few lines, intended only to expand on the above summary. However, the content has expanded as more related items were uncovered. The event has also attracted significant attention in the form of conspiracy theories and controversy, therefore the content of the main headings has been limited to reported information. Speculative accounts are referenced, or appear after, the main text.

Disclaimer

This site is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Given the nature of this event, a huge volume of content exists relating numerous variations of this event, many coloured by personal views and interpretations. The result being that no one description can be reliably considered definitive, this article is no different in that respect, but has attempted to maintain a degree of consistency by having its content based primarily on those accounts which share common content.

Accounts of the event

On May 10, 1941, 17:45 Middle European Time (MET), Rudolf Hess took off from Augsburg, Bavaria, in an unarmed aircraft, dressed as a Luftwaffe pilot. His aircraft was a heavy fighter-bomber: Messerschmitt 110 E-1/N, serial/works number 3869, radio code VJ+OQ, equipped with two additional drop-in fuel tanks which extended its operational range to 4,200 km or 10 flying hours. With a wingspan of 53 feet, length of 40 feet, operational ceiling of 34,000 feet, and two Daimler-Benz engines totalling 1,400 HP, the Me 110 had a cruising speed of 420 kph. Just after 22:00, Hess crossed the British coast at Farne Island, and by 23:00 believed he had reached Dungavel House, home of the Duke of Hamilton. At 23:09, unable to locate the landing strip at Dungavel, he bailed out of his aircraft and parachuted into a field at Floors Farm, Eaglesham. Having injured his ankle as he left the aircraft, he was quickly taken prisoner by the farmer, alerted to his presence by the crashing aircraft.

The following provide convenient sources of online information, however our interest is only in the factual content that they happen to contain, and not in any particular agendas, theories, or claims that they may make.

  • Relying heavily on the content of James Hayward's book: Myths and Legends of the Second World War⚠ [^Myths and Legends of the Second World War^] this private site considers the flight and the stories that surround it without becoming sidetracked by the conspiracy theories and fanciful stories it relates.
  • Containing flight information and scanned British documentation, this private site researching Rudolf Hess and World War II seems to provide a reasonable accounts of the event, lacking much of the speculation encountered elsewhere.
  • British records of the event are currently sealed until 2017 (official secrecy covering the file was extended from 30 to 75 years), although some 2,000 pages were released in 1992. This event was reported in the Glasgow Evening Times of June 4, 1992, where then foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd promised to publish most of the official papers concerning the alleged peace mission. Cardiff MP Rhodri Morgan was quoted as saying "I am still suspicious. I believe that there is a decision to keep under wraps the most vital papers. There could be papers showing Hess's involvement with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor". It is unclear why Morgan was involved.
  • Hess's son (Wolf Rüdiger Hess, 1937 - 2001), an unapologetic Nazi and fervent supporter of Adolf Hitler, has given his own views on the background to flight, and his opinions on the content of the 1991-92 early document release, claiming they cover a greater conspiracy.
  • Firmly in favour of the flight being undertaken as part of a British plot to lure Hess to Britain, this private site provides a useful source of material, as it contains copies of period records and documents from the time. Taken in isolation from the tale in the main text, these factual items provide a useful reference.

The flight observed

The following account was originally found in records relating to the Royal Observer Corps during unrelated research.

The Royal Observer Corps probably suffered its greatest frustration on May 10th 1941, when Scottish Observers tracked and identified Rudolf Hess during his ill-fated flamboyant attempt to arrange an armistice between Britain and Germany. Derek Wood has recorded that Assistant Observer Group Officer Major Graham Donald had great difficulty in persuading the RAF that the Observers had identified Hess's aircraft as a Messerschmitt 110 night fighter. Dismayed, Donald decided to visit the site of the crashed aircraft, confirmed the aircraft type, and worked out from the fuel tank that it had too little fuel to return to Germany. Learning that the pilot had been captured, Donald faced even greater difficulty when he managed to reach him, even after identifying this 'Hauptmann Alfred Horn' as the Deputy Reichsfuhrer, Rudolf Hess. Officialdom appeared unable (or unwilling) to admit that the wisdom of an ROC officer had landed this 'big fish'.

Hess had been trying to reach the Duke of Hamilton, to relay to him a message for Winston Churchill, but only the persistence of Graham Donald made the meeting occur. In all, it was a day and a half before Churchill had the full facts, and by then Hitler had denied the whole affair, claiming that Hess was insane. There is circumstantial evidence that Hess had earlier tried to abduct the Duke of Windsor from Lisbon in Portugal to Germany, to try to force an armistice. This was at Hitler's orders, only being forestalled by the rapid removal of the Duke and Duchess to the Governorship of the Bahamas. The truth died with Hess at Spandau Prison in Berlin.

In 1976, some long forgotten files revealed a letter dated May 14, 1941 from Graham Donald to Air-Commodore Warrington-Morris, Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps from 1936 to 1942. The Air-Commodore, in his reply of May 18th 1942, wrote "I consider that you showed great initiative in your actions at the Centre [34 Group, Glasgow] and subsequently. You must indeed be pleased at having been a 'Principal' in such an epoch making event." This seems to have been as far as Warrington-Morris was able to go in recognising the service of his subordinate.

- The Royal Observer Corps: 1925-1992, Rudolf Hess⚠ [^The Royal Observer Corps: 1925-1992, Rudolf Hess^]

There are claims that records found in the Czech Republic show Czech pilots almost shot Hess down], although the same account also states that the RAF and British pilot's logs fail to show any records referring to the sighting, during which the pilots claim they were ordered to break off their attack on the enemy aircraft they had sighted.

Variations of this incident also feature in a number of stories claiming to tell the truth about the flight, and typically describe the despatch of two Hurricanes to intercept an intruder, followed by an urgent order not to shoot it down, which is generally acknowledged moments before the arrival of a counter-command would have been too late. Others claim the Duke ordered Fighter Command to allow the aircraft a clear flight path with no air interception or anti-aircraft fire.

Just after 11 pm on May 10, 1941, 45 year old ploughman David McLean heard an explosion.

Crash/Landing Site
Landing and crash site

From the window of his farmhouse, he saw a parachutist floating down into the fields of Floors Farm near Eaglesham, Scotland. Running to the area, he found the crashed and burning Messerschmitt and an injured German officer who identified himself as Hauptmann (Captain) Albert Horn, who told him in English, "I have an important message for the Duke of Hamilton". Using his pitchfork, Mr McLean took the officer prisoner, holding him in the farmhouse, where he was offered tea, but accepted only water from Mr McLean's mother. Both described the officer as a gentleman, even if he was a "Gerry", and noted that he did not sit down (despite his injured leg) until invited. He remained at the farmhouse pending arrival of the Home Guard.

The Scotsman's Heritage & Culture site has a filmed interview⚠ [^Filmed interview with David McLean, The Scotsman Heritage & Culture^] and 1941 news report of the farmer who witnessed the event, and first took the pilot prisoner. While it may be played directly, the download option is preferable as it provides much higher sound and vision quality.

Development in 2006 buries the landing site
Development in 2006

The film provides a good example of how otherwise innocent occurrences can be used to fuel conspiracy theories. Mr McLean is clearly reading from a cue card, which is given as a reason to disbelieve his account. Unfortunately, this reasoning ignores the simple fact that the interview was filmed in 1941, when being filmed wasn't the common occurrence at has come to be.

Locals have spoken of a sudden influx of army trucks filled with soldiers, and policemen descending on the area without warning, ordering everybody indoors until told otherwise by officials. Within a short time of the crash, the name Hess was being whispered, together with the events on a field near Eaglesham. Movement restrictions were said to have lasted for several days, and when lifted, locals within the vicinity were warned not to discuss any rumours they may have heard.

Hess may have been fortunate not to attract the attention of nearby anti-aircraft sites at Carnbooth (near Carmunock) and Limekilnburn (between Hamilton and Strathaven) which locals did not hear in action that night, although they did hear the plane. He may also have simply chosen his flight path to avoid them.

Landing Area Memorial Stone
Landing Site Memorial

In the poor light, Hess believed he had reached the Duke's home at Dungavel (with its own airfield), but had actually mistaken nearby Eaglesham castle (demolished 1954, after fire) for the Duke's home, actually some 12 miles distant. Unable to find a suitable landing area, he bailed out and landed by parachute. This action was probably the cause of his injury, as the design of the Me 110 made this operation particularly awkward without practice, and his leg may have struck the cockpit or tail.

A memorial stone was placed to mark the site of the landing. There have been reports indicating attacks and vandalism to the site, behaviour which reflects badly on our society, as these actions are demonstrations of the very intolerance World War II was fought to prevent.

In 1968, a recreation of the Hess landing at Waterfoot near Busby by Professor Berthold Rubin and Willi Shubert was reported by The Scotsman newspaper, which featured a photograph of the occasion. This information is located on the SCRAN site, where a subscription is required in order to gain access to the full size image and details.

The Museum of Flight, at East fortune, has one of the engines from Hess's aircraft displayed, on loan from the RAF Museum. The Messerschmitt BF110 was powered by a pair of Daimler-Benz DB601A engines. These were inverted, 12 cylinder petrol engines with fuel injection and supercharging. Normally rated at 1,050 HP at 2,400 rpm, this could be adjusted in flight to produce 1,800 HP at 3,500 rpm for short periods.

The Glasgow Police Museum is said to hold a small piece of the wreckage.

Holding and prison

Beginning with the farmhouse on May 10, 1941, Hess was held at a number of locations.

Busby Home Guard HQ
Busby Home Guard HQ

He was arrested at the farmhouse by members of the Home Guard, who then took him to the nearby Busby Home Guard Company HQ, where he again identified himself as Hauptmann Albert Horn.

A short account of the Home Guard's involvement is given by the 1st Renfrewshire & Bute Battalion whose HQ was at Greenock:

On the night of 10th May 1941 William Ferguson was involved in an unusual incident which rapidly developed into one of the greatest unexplained mysteries of the 20th century.

Reports reached the Home Guard of the appearance of a German parachutist being held in a farmhouse at Eaglesham. A ploughman, David MacLean, had heard an explosion and seen a parachute descending. He found and apprehended the parachutist, a German officer with an injured ankle, taking him to his mother's farmhouse, Floors Farm, where, of course, a cup of tea was offered. The officer introduced himself as Hauptmann Alfred Horn and said that he had an urgent message for the Duke of Hamilton.

A small Home Guard group set out for the farmhouse, comprising an officer, William Ferguson and one or two other men. On their arrival William's officer who was a German speaker (and who almost certainly appears in several images on this page) questioned the prisoner for some time. At first Horn continued to claim that identity but at some stage - now or later, it is not entirely clear when - his real identity emerged: Rudolf Hess, Deputy Leader of the Nazi Party and in that role second only to Adolf Hitler himself. He had left Augsburg at 5.45 p.m. that evening in a ME 110 fitted with long-range fuel tanks, navigated himself the 1000-odd miles to the Duke of Hamilton's country retreat, Dungavel House near Strahaven in South Lanarkshire where he had hoped to land on the Duke's own airstrip, had failed to do so and had finally bailed out, injuring his ankle in the process. His aim, so he said, was to discuss with the Duke ways of bringing about peace between Great Britain and Germany, so that, presumably, Germany could concentrate on dealing with the Soviet Union which was to be invaded during the following month.

-Staffs Home Guard Memories Renfrewshire⚠ [^Staffs Home Guard Memories Renfrewshire Retrieved January 23, 2013.^]

After midnight, he was transferred to 3 Battalion Home Guard HQ, Giffnock Scout hall, (or Girl Guide hall depending on the source of the account).

This appears to have been the scene of an event which infuriated the security services, MI5/6. Consistently reported was the questioning of Hess for some 2 hours by Roman Battaglia, a German-speaking clerk from the Polish Consulate in Glasgow. Battaglia had been summoned by the Home Guard, but got little out of Hess other than his request to be taken to the Duke of Hamilton.

Giffnock Home Guard HQ
Giffnock Home Guard HQ

Hess became withdrawn and appeared dismayed when he realised he was only in the hands of the Home Guard, and was never to reveal anything of importance at subsequent interrogations. Battaglia later noted there was no structure to the questions he was asked to translate (some were described as downright offensive and he refused to pose them), and that people were constantly wandering around the hut, inspecting the prisoner and his belongings. Note the statement under the picture of the hall, stating that this move is unrecorded by 'other' historians, which is not in fact the case.

Maryhill Barracks
Maryhill Barracks

Hess was then held overnight in the guard house of Maryhill Barracks, a sandstone building lying just inside the barracks wall. A pedestrian entrance to the housing estate known as The Barracks lies opposite the police station. The former guardhouse is in the building to the left, through this entrance.

The RAF Police Association claims that RAF police held Hess at RAF Turnhouse on the night of the May 10, although there is no detail given, or explanation of how this was achieved:

10 May 1941 - RAFP at RAF Turnhouse guard Rudolf Hess for the night following his unexpected arrival by parachute into Scotland.

- RAF Police Association, history⚠ [^RAF Police Association history - Hess guarded at RAF Turnhouse^]

The Turnhouse claim would appear to belong with the "Hess was held here" claim which the BBC repeats every time it reports on the Cultybraggan PoW camp near Comrie.

Around May 13, 1941, his injured leg was treated at Buchanan Castle Military Hospital near Drymen, which was also home to an army camp within its grounds.

Buchanan Castle 2006
Buchanan Castle remains 2006

From May 17 to May 20, 1941, on Churchill's order, he was held for four days in the Queen's House at the Tower of London, and became the last prisoner to be held there.

On May 20, 1941, Hess was transported from the Tower of London to Camp Z (Mytchett Place, Aldershot), which had been specially set up for his arrival with heavy security and bugging devices. He spent 13 months at Camp Z, which was the scene of one his failed suicide attempts, where he threw himself over a balcony on June 15, 1941.

At this time, he also spent time at Wilton Park manor house, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, which had been taken over by the War Office in 1939, and used as a centre for the interrogation of senior Prisoners of War.

On June 26, 1942, he was transported 200 miles from Camp Z to PoW Reception Station, Maindiff Court, Abergavenny, South Wales.

The June 1942 move from Mytchett Place was to become notable following the release of MI5 files by the PRO in 1999. Previously unfounded rumours had claimed that Hess was moved because intelligence reports indicated that a Polish group was planning to break into the Camp Z, kidnap Hess, and beat or kill him by way of revenge for Nazi atrocities in Poland. The MI5 files included a reference to reports of a gun battle between Polish soldiers and guards at Mytchett, although no precise details are given, so the link is not conclusive.

Hess remained at Maindiff Court Military Hospital until he was flown to Nuremberg on October 8, 1945, for trial:

At the end of the war, Rudolf Hess was handed over by the British authorities, who had held him in detention since 1941, for trial by the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal.

Charged with counts 1 (concerted plan or conspiracy), 2 (crimes against peace), 3 (war crimes) and 4 (crimes against humanity), he pleaded Not Guilty. In fact. his actual response to the court's request for a plea of Guilty or Not Guilty was "Nein" (No) - which the court entered as a plea of Not Guilty.

At the outset of the trial, doubts arose as to the mental faculties of Rudolf Hess. Nevertheless, the Tribunal decided on December 1, 1945, based essentially on medical reports and a declaration from the accused himself, that there was no reason not to proceed with the trial against Hess.

On October 1, 1946, the International Military Tribunal found Rudolf Hess guilty on counts 1 and 2, but acquitted him on the charges related to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Russian judge Nikitchenko issued a dissenting opinion according to which Hess was also guilty of crimes against humanity and deserved the death penalty.

Hess’s appeal to the Control Council was rejected on October 10, 1946.

Following the trial, Hess made a statement which referred the the Scottish flight:

It is just incomprehensible how those things (atrocities) came about... Every genius has the demon in him. You can't blame him (Hitler)--it is just in him... It is all very tragic. But at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that I tried to do something to end the war.

- (12/16/45)

On August 17, 1987, Rudolf Hess committed suicide in Spandau prison.

Following Hess's death, the prison was quickly demolished to prevent it becoming a memorial for Neo-Nazis. The rubble was dispersed in the North Sea, and a NAAFI shopping centre and car park built on the site.

Death certificate cancelled

Although the following amendment was rejected, it is true that Rudolf Hess's death certificate was cancelled in 1995 as confirmed by this

Wolf Rudiger Hess remains convinced that his father was murdered by the British Government, on the grounds that in 1987 there were signs that the Soviets were likely to agree to release him and that he would disclose certain facts contained in British files not due for release until the year 2017. In April 1995, Wolf Rudiger submitted evidence to the British Registrar and applied for the wording on his father's death certificate to be changed from "asphyxiation caused by compression of the neck due to hanging" to "asphyxiation caused by compression of the neck due to throttling". A reply was received stating that "The subject has been studied and it was found that the Services Registering Officer in Germany did not have the authority to register Mr Hess's death. The registration was therefore made in error and the entry relating to Mr Hess has been cancelled."

- Hansard, February 6, 1997: Column: 681⚠ [^Hansard, February 6, 1997: Column: 681^]

Black orderly drove Hess to kill himself

During a newspaper interview carried out with South Wales Argus reporter Iwan Davies, which took place during 2001, Ian Brewster, head of crime scenes for Gwent Police, revealed that he had carried the secret behind the suicide of Rudolf Hess in 1987.

As a member of the Special Investigations Branch in the Army, Mr Brewster was the first person to investigate the death scene of Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy, in Spandau prison.

Hess, who had been prisoner there for 45 years, hanged himself because he was given a black orderly by the Americans who guarded him along with the British, French and Russian prison staff.

After revealing this, Mr Brewster said: "These facts have been kept secret over the years, but I suppose it's OK to tell them now - Hess's writings confirm that he was firstly an anti-Semite who agreed with extermination of the Jews, and he believed that black people should be next.

"When the Americans decided to give Hess a black orderly he was so outraged that he decided to kill himself."

- South Argus News, 2001⚠ [^South Argus News, 2001^]

Event Timeline

The following timeline of the flight and related events was extracted from the Humanitas International web site, and is listed un-edited, therefore shows their data only.

  • 1941 May Rudolf Hess has a four-hour private meeting with Hitler. There are no known records of what they discussed, but Wolf Hess, Hess's son, believes they met for the last time to make final arrangements for Hess's secret flight to Scotland in less than five days. (Wolf Hess, Children)
  • 1941 May 10 Rudolf Hess takes off in a long-range Messerschmitt from an airfield near Augsburg at 5.45 pm. Acting as his own pilot, he flies to Scotland in what is said to have been an idealistic attempt to broker a peace between Britain and Germany. Hess later claimed it was the indiscriminate bombing of thousands of helpless women and children, both in Germany and in England, that had motivated his flight.
  • 1941 May 11 Shortly after midnight, Hess crashes his plane at Eaglesham, Scotland, near Strathaven (0030). After bailing out and injuring his leg, he is quickly taken prisoner by a friendly, local farmer and spends most of the day at various locations in and around Glasgow.
  • 1941 May 11 General Sikorski, the leader of the Polish government in exile, lands at Prestwick airfield at 11:30 am, less than twenty-five miles from the Hess crash site, and only eleven hours after the crash. Sikorski had left New York on May 9th and flown via Gander in Newfoundland, leaving there at 6.35 pm on May 10th. Newly found information in Sikorski's wartime diary at the Sikorski Institute in London indicates there may have been a meeting planned with Hess. Interestingly, the first person to interview Hess in Scotland was a Polish consul from Glasgow by the name of Battaglia. Recently released documents leave no doubt that this 'interview' greatly annoyed the British government. Sikorski spent the rest of May 11th in Glasgow, where he met, among others, the Polish Chief of Staff and Cabinet leader. There is no actual record in the diary of a clandestine meeting, but Hess was also moving around several Glasgow locations on that same day, and such a meeting could have easily taken place. (Hess: The British Conspiracy, 1999)
  • 1941 May 11 Hitler learns of Hess's crash and capture in Scotland. The story is soon given out to the German media that mystics, astrologers and nature healers had manipulated a mentally disturbed Hess. Goebbels blamed the flight on the Haushofers.
  • 1941 May 12 Churchill takes the Duke of Hamilton, who had arrived at his home the previous evening, to #10 Downing Street. That evening Hamilton and Ivone Kirkpatrick fly to Scotland, where they meet with Hess for several hours shortly after midnight. (Missing Years)
  • 1941 May 13 News of Rudolf Hess's flight to England makes front-page headlines in newspapers around the world.
  • 1941 May 14 Martin Bormann is appointed head of the Nazi Party Chancellery in Hess's place. From this point on Bormann will become one of the most powerful men in the Reich. (Goebbels)
  • 1941 May 15 Goebbels issues "an order against occultism, clairvoyancy, etc." in response to Hess's flight to England. "This obscure rubbish will now be eliminated once and for all. The miracle men, Hess's darlings, will now be put under lock and key, " he writes in his diary. (Goebbels)
  • 1941 May 20 Rudolf Hess is transported from the Tower of London to Camp Z (Mytchett Place in Aldershot), which has been specially setup for his arrival with heavy security and bugging devices. (Missing Years)
  • 1941 May 30 Rudolf Hess's British captors assign psychiatrist Dr. Henry Victor Dicks as Hess's physician. Dicks, an Estonian-born Jew reports directly to British intelligence. Dicks later reported that he despised Hess on sight. (Missing Years)
  • 1941 June 9 At Churchill's suggestion, Lord John Simon meets with Rudolf Hess and pretends to negotiate Hess's peace proposal. In reality, Simon is only pumping Hess for information and has no authority to negotiate. Simon is accompanied by Ivone Kirkpatrick. (Missing Years)
  • 1941 July 1 Goebbels writes in his diary: "Haushofer and his son have been forced out of public life. They are both responsible for peddling mystic rubbish and have the Hess affair (Hess's flight to England) on their consciences." (Goebbels)
  • 1941 September 1 Lord Beaverbrook, a leading Conservative member of Churchill's government, writes to Rudolf Hess requesting a meeting. Beaverbrook on this same day is appointed to head a Cabinet mission to Moscow to discuss aid for the Soviets. (Missing Years)
  • 1941 September 9 Lord Beaverbrook meets with Rudolf Hess.
  • 1942 June 26 Rudolf Hess is transported 200 miles from Camp Z to P.O.W. Reception Station, Maindiff Court in South Wales, before the war an admission clinic for the County Mental Hospital at nearby Abergavenny. Hess abruptly quits complaining of being poisoned and drugged; begins sleeping proper hours, eats without complaint, and exercises frequently. Hess's disposition becomes sunny and cheerful, and a car is provided for chauffeur-driven rides in the countryside literally whenever he pleases. (Missing Years)
  • 1944 May 7 Rudolf Hess voluntarily agrees to be injected with Evipan, a proprietary brand of the so-called "truth drug," Pentothal (sodium thiopental). Hess convinces the doctors, including Dr. Dicks, that he is suffering from profound amnesia. (Missing Years)
  • 1945 August 30 Rudolf Hess is one of the first twenty-two German defendants charged as war criminals. (Children)
  • 1945 October 8 Rudolf Hess arrives in Nuremberg.
  • 1945 November 20 Nuremberg Trials begin for 22 of the most important accused German war criminals. The defendants include Hess, Goering, and Speer.
  • 1987 August 17 Rudolf Hess dies mysteriously in Berlin's Spandau Prison. Hess had spent almost 46 years, from 1941 to 1987, in prison isolation, guarded by Allied soldiers.

Modern history

On Wednesday, July 20, 2011, news of the razing of Rudolf Hess's grave was made public. The family had the body exhumed that morning, the remains had been cremated and scattered at sea, and all evidence of the grave removed.

He had been buried in the graveyard of the local Lutherian church in the small Bavarian town of Wunsiedel, southern Germany, as he had requested in his will. This was where his family had a holiday home and where his parents were already interred. However, in recent years, both the family and the local population have become concerned at the growing number of far-right groups visiting the grave on the anniversary of his death. Neo-Nazis have attempted to stage a march to the cemetery, saluting the grave with its epitaph "I dared", and laying floral wreaths, despite an order issued by the Constitutional Court order banning such gatherings from 2005. The town was being shut down as a result of the numbers descending upon it, with a huge police presence and significant disruption. Those looking after the little graveyard simply could not cope, and eventually terminated the family's lease on the plot. The move was opposed by one of the Hess's granddaughters who filed a lawsuit stop the exhumation, but eventually abandoned the case and agreed to the removal. ⚠ [^BBC News - Top Nazi Rudolf Hess exhumed from 'pilgrimage' grave Retrieved August 10, 2011.^] ⚠ [^BBC News - The enduring myth of Rudolf Hess Retrieved August 10, 2011, .^]

References

⚠ [^#^]

External links


As noted in the opening section, there are countless accounts of the Hess flight, many at variance either due to subtle differences in detail, or because they claim details revealing the various conspiracies which the flight is claimed to be part of. The following links were amongst those contributing to the content of this page. Many refer to documented records which are factual and provide useful background information, even though the subject they present may be based on theory. This must be borne in mind if consulting or referring to them.

These sites also appear to be volatile, disappearing without reason/warning, so some may be dead - the list is periodically reviewed and pruned to remove these when noted.

Appendix - Documents

Communication
Communication regarding
Hess's capture
Communication
Communication regarding
Hess's capture
Churchill/Roosevelt Telegram
Telegram from Roosevelt
to Churchill


Aerial views


Map

The aerial view shows the two points as seen in the B&W pic depicting Hess Landed Here, to the north west of Floors Farm. Despite the road works of 2006 and reworking of the area, still extant on the Humbie Road is the small curving detour in the road, around the wooded area towards the south east, which helps in placing the area of aircraft's crash.

  • ⚠ (:gma-point lat=55.759239 lon=-4.30059 link='Hess parachute landing site' :)
  • ⚠ (:gma-point lat=55.7554237 lon=-4.3046665 link='Messerschmitt crash area':)
  • ⚠ (:gma-point lat=55.607817 lon=-4.144606 link='Dungavel airstrip location no remains exist' :)
  • ⚠ (:gma-point lat=55.6086523 lon=-4.1382194 link='Small shed in field containing Dungavel airstrip - identified by author John Harris' :)
  • ⚠ (:gma-point lat=48.4246441 lon=10.9318256 link='Augsburg Airport modern':)
  • ⚠ (:gma-point lat=55.6274145 lon=-1.6324997 link='Farne Islands':)

⚠ (:gma-map view=hybrid:)

⚠ [[!World War II]] ⚠ (:WPCategoriesList:)

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