Operation: ‘Roadstead’, Belgium

Date: 19th June 1942 (Friday)

Unit No: 331 (Norwegian) Sqn, 132 Wing, RAF Fighter Command

Type: Spitfire VB

Serial: AR298

Code: FN:N

Base: RAF North Weald, Essex, England

Location: Off the SW coast of Walcheren, Zeeland, The Netherlands

Pilot: Løytnant (2nd Ltn) Jens Einar Müller 1107 RNoAF Age 25. PoW*/Great Escaper

* Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland.

Above left to right: Sgt. Per Bergsland, Løytnant (2nd Ltn) Halldor Espelid, Løytnant (2nd Ltn) Jens E.Müller

Løytnant (2nd Ltn) Halldor Espelid was one of the fifty (50) officers murdered by the Gestapo.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 19th June 1942 twelve (12) Spitfires from the Sqn took-off from RAF North Weald at 10:15 hrs and joined twelve (12) Spitfires from 222 Sqn, led by Wg Cdr. Scott-Malden, on a ‘Roadstead’ off the Netherlands.

Wg Cdr. Francis David Stephen Scott-Malden 74690 RAFVR, DSO, DFC and Bar, Norwegian War Cross. He survived the war and retired from the RAF as an Air Vice- Marshall. He passed away on the 1st March 2000 in Cambridge.

Roadstead was the operation name for dive bombing and low level attacks on enemy ships at sea or in harbour.

Spitfire Vs of 331 (Norwegian) Squadron at Catterick on the way to North Weald spring 1942 (Created in January 1942. Public domain in Norway - Unknown author)

They crossed out over the English coast by Bradwell and flew at sea-level to Nieuport, Belgium. They then followed the coast nearly to Flushing in the Netherlands and then began a search for shipping.

Wg Cdr. Scott-Malden reported ships off the coast and directed 331 Sqn on to them. They attacked the two (2) most south-westerly ships about a mile off Knokke, Belgium and 222 Sqn attacked the third (3rd) ship to the left. The two (2) ships that they attacked were believed to have been an armed trawler or Flak ship and one (1) small gun boat all of which returned strong fire. The gun boat was later seen listing heavily and the trawler to be on fire.

After this the Sqn turned westwards, but later turned right 180 degrees and climbed to cover 222 Sqn which was being attacked by enemy aircraft. The Sqn then split up and dived on six (6) Fw190s. A series of dog fights following resulting in a general melee. Red 1, 2, 4 and Blue 1, 3 and Yellow 2 claiming between them three (3) Fw190s destroyed and four (4) Fw190s damaged.

Fenrik (1st Ltn) Jacobsen and Løytnant (2nd Ltn) Muller were missing after the engagements and one of them was seen to crash into the sea in flames from 200 feet. It was not absolutely certain which of them was seen to be shot down.

Spitfire VB BL637 FN:Y - Fenrik (1st Ltn) Karl Martiniius Jacobsen 846 RNoAF Age 25. PoW Unknown camp.

Løytnant (2nd Ltn) Müller was claimed by Ofw. Hans Ehlers from 6./JG1, his 16th Abschuss off the Belgian coast near the Westerschelde estuary off the SW coast of Walcheren, Zeeland.

Maj. Hans Ehlers was KiA on the 27th December 1944 in an engagement with P-51 Mustangs over Berenhon. He was leading eighteen (18) Fw190s over the Ardennes at low altitude on a strafing sortie in support of the German ground offensive. Only three (3) I./JG1 Fw190s returned to base. This was the 13th time he has been shot down. He was credited with forty-eight (48) confirmed Abschüsse and two (2) unconfirmed.

He baled out the aircraft and managed to paddle his inflatable dinghy ashore on the Dutch coast near Het Zoute on the 23rd June after some 66 hrs. However, he was caught by a German sentry almost immediately.

Jens Müller recounts his story in detail in his memoirs published in “The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III – The Memoir of Jens Müller”. This is the English edition of his original story published in the book “Tre kom tilbake” (The three that got away) which is written in Norwegian.

Above: The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III – The Memoir of Jens Müller – ISBN 978-1-78438-430-2.

After being hosted by Luftwaffe pilots at an Fw190 airbase he was transferred by train to Dulag Luft, Oberursel at Frankfurt am Main. He was there for about ten (10) days before being transferred to Stalag Luft 3.

Løytnant (2nd Ltn) Müller and Flt Lt. Nelson were instrumental in designing and building the air pumps for the three tunnels. (Ref 1, p 117).

Flt Lt. Thomas Robert Nelson 70811 RAFVR was the Pilot of 37 Sqn Wellington IC HD963. He force-landed in Egypt after developing engine problems on a mission to bomb Tobruk in Libya on the night of the 18th/19th September 1942. (6 PoWs). He was one of the Great Escapers and was returned to Stalag Luft 3.

On the night of the 24th/25th March 1944, seventy-six (76) officers escaped from the north compound of Stalag Luft 3 which, at that time, held between 1000 and 1500 RAF PoWs. The escape was made by the means of a tunnel. At about 05:00 hrs on the 25th March the 77th PoW was spotted by guards as he emerged from the tunnel.

He was the forty-third (43rd) out of the tunnel at about 01:05 hrs. It took him just three (3) minutes to crawl through the tunnel after which he crawled the seventy (70) feet to the tree line. He was joined by Sgt. Bergsland and together they walked to Sagan Railway Station.

Sgt. Per ‘Peter’ Bergsland was flying 332 Sqn Spitfire VB AB269 AH:D which was shot down by a Fw190 on the 19th August 1942 during the Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee).

At about 02:04 hrs they caught a train to Frankfurt-an-der-Oder. Their papers identified them as Norwegian electricians from an Arbeitslager (Labour camp) in Frankfurt who were working in the neighbourhood of Sagan but were reassigned and ordered to report to the Bürgermiester (Mayor) of Stettin (Szczecin).

Frankfurt-an-der-Oder is some 100 km (62mls) to the NE of Sagan (Żagań) in Poland.

Stettin (Szczecin) is some 120 km (75 mls) due north of Sagan (Żagań) in Poland.

The train arrived in Frankfurt an der Oder at 06:00 hrs and they then caught the train to Kustrin (Kostrzyn nad Odra) at 08:00 hrs.

Kustrin (Kostrzyn nad Odra) is some 26 km (16 mls) due north of Frankfurt-an-der-Oder.

Whilst waiting at Kustrin (Kostrzyn nad Odra) their papers were examined by a Feldwebel (Sgt) in the Feldgendarmerie (Military Police) and passed scrutiny. They left Kustrin (Kostrzyn nad Odra) for Stettin (Szczecin) at 10:00 hrs arriving there at 13:00 hrs.

They walked around the town, visited a cinema and a beer hall. After dusk they headed to an address provided by the Escape Committee, which was a brothel. Their first attempt of obtaining passage on a Swedish ship failed when they saw the ship set sail.

Because of the time they took a small room in a hotel and remained there until 18:00 hrs and returned to the brothel and made contact with two Swedish sailors who agree to help. They took them by tram about 4 km out of Stettin to their ship which was berthed at a dock just south of Parnitz.

They reached the ship at about 18:30 hrs where the papers of the sailors were checked by the German guard who told him that Müller and Bergsland were crew and were let through without being checked.

They were hidden in the anchor-chain compartment which was searched when the Germans came aboard but did not find them. The ship sailed at 07:00 hrs on the 28th March. Only the two sailors and a friend knew that they were aboard. The ship docked at Goteborg at about 23:00 hrs on the 29th March and disembarked with the two sailors. They presented themselves to the British Consulate and were then sent by train to Stockholm on the 30th March (Ref 2, pp 237-239).

They were then each flown in a Mosquito to RAF Leuchars in Scotland from Bromma airport. Early on the morning of the 8th April 1944 they were sent by train to London and shortly afterwards flown to ‘Lille Norge’ (Little Norway) in Canada where they served as Flight Instructors.

‘Lille Norge’ (Little Norway) was officially Flyvåpnenets Treningsleir (FTL, "Air Force Training Camp"), and was a Norwegian Army Air Service/Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in southern Ontario, Canada

Jens Einar Müller was born on the 30th November 1917 in Shanghai where his father, a Civil Engineer, built the docks in Shanghai. After the war he returned to Norway and became a civilian airline pilot. Jens passed away on the 30th March 1999 in Rykkinn, Norway where he is buried in the Bryn Church.

Burial details:

None – Survived

Researched by Ralph Snape from Aircrew Remembered as dedicated to this crew and their families (May 2025).

Other sources listed below:

References:

1. The Great Escape – The full dramatic story with contributions from survivors and their families - Anton Gill - ISBN: 878-0-75531-037-1.

2. Stalag Luft III - An official history of the “Great Escape” PoW Camp - Published by Frontline Books - ISBN: 978-1-47388-305-5.

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