Beschreibung:

Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe Schwimmweste of Lieutenant Franz Achleitner, accredited for five kills both before and during the Battle of Britain and who on 24 August 1940 was most probably shot down during a dog-fight with Air Commodore Pete Brothers CBE, DSO, DFC & Bar, the vest was then found gathering dust in Kent attic some years later, the yellow vest model type 10-30 with printed label stating ‘Great: Schwimmeste / Bauart: Drager / Baumuster: SWp 734 / Great-Nr.: 10-30 / Anforderzeichen: Fl 30 154 / Gewicht: 1,8 kg /Werknummer: 13290 / Tag der Herstellung / Hersteller’ dated 11 April 1940 with additional stamps, inscribed in ink on the label Achleiti (nickname) and also additionally inscribed just beneath the label Lt Achleitner, with various fixture and fittings including oxygen tank and mouth tube, with orange staining on the bladder area caused by a bag of dye issued to stain the water should a pilot be forced to land (Farbbeutel). Sold with various copied research and photographs. The Schwimmweste was featured in an article in The Armourer July / August 2006 edition (magazine included with the lot). Lieutenant Franz Achleitner was a Luftwaffe Me109 pilot serving with 9/JG3 he achieved five kills, shooting down two Spitfires, two Blenheims and a Hurricane between May and August 1940. Then on 24 August 1940, with his own aircraft "Yellow 5" out of action he borrowed "Yellow 8" for a mission what was to be his last. At approximately 4pm, over the Thames estuary, the squadron were bounced by Hurricanes of 32 RAF Squadron. The article then goes on to state, in a typical swirling dog fight Achleitner was almost certainly shot down by Pilot Officer Pete Brothers, who recorded Achleitner’s name in his logbook although further information suggests he may have collided with a Hurricane flown by Pilot Officer Gillman who was killed following a collision with a Bf109 in the same area at the same time. Achleitner was forced to bail out of his fighter high over the estuary, injuring himself against the control column as he exited landing north of the Reculver near Hearne Bay and found by a motor boat manned by three men wounded but alive, he survived the war in a Canadian POW camp and passed away in Salzburg, Austria in 1991. The vest was discovered in a Kent attic some years later. (1)