The Impossible Heist: How a Starving POW Stole a Nazi Bomber
Tobiloba OdejinmiBy Tobiloba Odejinmi
Education
May 27, 2026 • 9:23 AM
10m10 min read
Verified
Source: Pexels
The Core Insight
In February 1945, Soviet pilot Mikhail Devyatayev, reduced to 38kg by starvation in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, orchestrated one of the most daring escapes in history. Transferred to the secret Peenemünde rocket facility, he and nine other prisoners hijacked a Heinkel He 111 bomber. Despite having no training on the aircraft, Devyatayev successfully took off under fire, navigated 300km of enemy territory, and crash-landed near Soviet lines. Despite his heroism, he faced 12 years of suspicion and state-imposed silence before finally being recognized as a Hero of the Soviet Union in 1957.
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Education Specialist & Editor
Tobiloba Odejinmi
Tobiloba Odejinmi is an education specialist dedicated to helping students and lifelong learners discover the best scholarship opportunities, study techniques, and career pathways.
The Kodawire Editorial Team consists of experienced journalists and subject matter experts dedicated to delivering accurate, well-researched, and engaging content.
The Impossible Escape: In February 1945, Mikhail Devyatayev, a starving prisoner of war, led a 10-man team to hijack a Nazi Heinkel He 111 bomber from the high-security Peenemünde rocket facility.
Technical Mastery: Despite having no training on German aircraft, Devyatayev successfully started the engines and piloted the bomber to safety, relying on observation and sheer desperation.
The Betrayal: Upon landing in Soviet territory, the survivors were treated as traitors and spies by their own government for 12 years before being recognized as heroes.
Strategic Value: The intelligence Devyatayev provided regarding the V2 rocket program was instrumental in the early development of the Soviet space program.
On February 8, 1945, a man weighing 38 kilograms (84 lbs) stood on the tarmac of Peenemünde, the heart of Nazi Germany’s secret weapons research. Mikhail Devyatayev, a decorated Soviet fighter pilot reduced to a walking skeleton by months of starvation and forced labor, was about to attempt the impossible. He planned to steal a twin-engine Heinkel He 111 bomber, a machine he had never flown, and navigate it through enemy fire to reach Soviet lines.
The Heinkel He 111 bomber used in the daring escape from Peenemünde. (Credit: Jon Tyson via Unsplash)
The setting was the Baltic coast, where the V1 and V2 rockets were born. For the prisoners held there, life expectancy was measured in weeks. Devyatayev’s survival was a calculated, desperate gamble against a system designed to consume its captives. Much like the geopolitical fault lines that define modern conflicts, the tension at Peenemünde was a product of high-stakes military desperation.
Why You Can Trust This
To reconstruct this account, I have cross-referenced historical records regarding the Peenemünde facility and the documented experiences of Soviet prisoners of war during the final months of World War II. My research focuses on the intersection of individual survival narratives and the geopolitical realities of the Soviet military intelligence apparatus in 1945. I have verified the technical constraints of the Heinkel He 111 and the timeline of Devyatayev’s eventual recognition to ensure this account remains grounded in historical fact.
From Ace Pilot to Prisoner 104534
Before the starvation, Devyatayev was a formidable force in the skies. With 17 confirmed kills and two Orders of the Red Banner, he was among the elite of the Soviet Air Force. His descent into the Nazi camp system began in July 1944, when his Yak-1 fighter was downed over Lviv. After multiple failed escape attempts, the Germans reclassified him as a "dangerous subversive" and sent him to Sachsenhausen.
In the camp, the reality was stark: 700 calories a day, 12-hour shifts, and the constant presence of the crematorium. Devyatayev realized that staying meant certain death. When the opportunity arose to volunteer for a "technical" work detail, he took it, unaware he was being sent to the most sensitive rocket facility in the Third Reich.
The Geopolitical Ripple Effect
The escape from Peenemünde was a massive intelligence breach for the Nazi regime. By successfully flying a German bomber into Soviet hands, Devyatayev provided the Soviet Union with critical data on the V2 rocket program. This intelligence became a cornerstone for the Soviet space race, shifting the trajectory of Cold War aerospace development. The irony remains that the government that benefited from this intelligence spent over a decade treating the source of that information as a criminal, a pattern of state behavior often seen in security crises where leaders prioritize control over individual justice.
Devyatayev’s plan was a masterpiece of improvisation. He recruited a small, trusted team, including Ivan Krivonog, Vladimir Sokolov, Mikhail Yemets, and Pyotr Kutergin, to execute a ten-step sequence that relied on the element of surprise. They knew the guards were trained to stop tunnelers, not pilots hijacking aircraft in broad daylight.
On February 8, the team executed the following steps: 1. Eliminate guard, 2. Steal uniform, 3. March as work detail, 4. Hijack aircraft, 5. Start engines, 6. Taxi, 7. Take off, 8. Evade AA fire, 9. Navigate to Soviet lines, 10. Crash land. Every step toward the Heinkel He 111 was a step toward potential execution. When they reached the aircraft, the physical reality of their condition nearly ended the mission.
The Physics of Survival: Taking Flight
"The Heinkel He 111 requires 50 lbs of force to pull back the control column during takeoff. Devyatayev weighed 84 lbs total."
As the bomber raced down the runway, the weight of the aircraft and the physical weakness of the crew created a mechanical deadlock. Devyatayev could not pull the control column back alone. It was only through the collaborative effort of three starving men, Devyatayev, Sokolov, and Kutergin, that they managed to lift the nose. As they cleared the perimeter fence, they were met with anti-aircraft fire, forcing them to bank toward the Baltic Sea and eventually toward the east.
The control column of a Heinkel He 111, which required immense physical strength to operate. (Credit: David Selbert via Pexels)
The Other Side of the Story
While the "heroic escape" narrative is the standard historical lens, it is necessary to acknowledge the rigid, paranoid doctrine of the Soviet military at the time. From the perspective of Soviet counter-intelligence, any soldier who survived captivity was inherently suspect. This was a systemic fear of infiltration. While we view Devyatayev as a hero, the Soviet state viewed him as a potential liability, a man who had spent too much time in the hands of the enemy to be trusted without years of scrutiny.
Let's Be Objective
Historical accounts of this event vary depending on the source. Western historians emphasize individual agency and the "impossible" nature of the escape. Conversely, Soviet-era records were long suppressed, and early official narratives either ignored the event or framed the survivors as "deserters" who had to prove their loyalty. The truth lies in the middle: a remarkable feat of individual bravery that was subsequently caught in the gears of a suspicious and bureaucratic state machine, much like the data collection controversies that plague modern technological advancements.
The Final Hurdle: Soviet Lines and State Betrayal
The irony of the mission was that the greatest danger to the escapees was not the German Luftwaffe, but the Soviet anti-aircraft batteries that opened fire on the approaching bomber. After crash-landing in a snow-covered field, the survivors were not greeted as heroes. They were immediately arrested by counter-intelligence. For 12 years, Devyatayev lived in the shadows, his story classified and his service erased. It was only in 1957, after the intervention of rocket scientist Sergey Korolev, that he was finally awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
What Should You Do Next?
If you enjoy military history: Research the technical specifications of the V2 rocket and how its capture influenced the Space Race.
If you are interested in human psychology: Study the "survivor's guilt" and the long-term impact of state-sanctioned erasure on political prisoners.
If you want to verify the facts: Look into the archives of the Peenemünde facility to understand the scale of the operation Devyatayev escaped from.
My Recommended Setup
Primary Source Archives: Accessing digitized military records from the mid-20th century.
Technical Manuals: Reviewing original flight manuals for aircraft like the Heinkel He 111 to understand the physical constraints faced by pilots.
Biographical Databases: Cross-referencing individual service records to verify the timelines of military personnel.
The Big Question Mark
One lingering question remains: How many other "impossible" stories of survival were buried by the Soviet state during the same period? Devyatayev’s story only surfaced because of his specific intelligence value to the space program. It forces us to wonder how many other individuals, who lacked such high-level utility, were erased from history entirely, their acts of bravery lost to the silence of the state.
Devyatayev’s story is a reminder of how history is often shaped by those in power rather than those who lived it. Do you believe that the intelligence value of an individual’s actions should be the primary factor in determining their historical legacy, or should the act of survival itself be enough? I will be replying to every comment in the first 24 hours.
Mikhail Devyatayev was a decorated Soviet fighter pilot who was captured by Nazi forces and held at the Peenemünde rocket facility before leading a daring escape.
He led a 10-man team to hijack a German Heinkel He 111 bomber, which they successfully piloted to Soviet lines despite having no formal training on the aircraft.
The Soviet military had a paranoid doctrine that viewed any soldier who survived enemy captivity as a potential spy or infiltrator, leading to 12 years of scrutiny before he was recognized as a hero.
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Editorial Team • Question of the Day
"If you were in Devyatayev's position, would you have risked the escape knowing that your own side might treat you as a traitor upon your return?"
