Peter Spoden was born on 8 November 1921 at Borken
near Münster. He completed his education in 1940 and began work on the
railways despite a long held dream to become a pilot. Spoden learned to
fly gliders with the Hitler Youth. He finally joined the Luftwaffe in October.
He began his flying training at the Luftkriegsschule 4 at Fürstenfeldbruck.
After gaining his Pilot’s Badge and A/B flying certificate, Spoden attended
Flugzeugführerschule C 17 at Pütnitz where he trained to fly multi-engine
types. He was promoted to the rank of Leutnant on 1 February 1942. On 1
September, Spoden attended the Blindflugschule at Copenhagen for instrument
flight training before progressing to the Nachtjagdschule at Kitzingen
for operational training. On 1 June 1943, Spoden was transferred to NJG
5. Leutnant Spoden was assigned to 6./NJG 5 based at Parchim. He claimed
his first victory on the night of 17/18 August, when he intercepted a RAF
formation attacking the German research facilities at Peenemünde. Spoden
was able to shoot down a Lancaster four-engine bomber between Hanshagen
and Greifswald. On the night of 22/23 August, he was ordered to take off
towards Berlin to intercept a force of 727 RAF aircraft targeting the capital
city. Spoden shot down a RAF Halifax four-engine bomber, to record his
second victory, before engaging a RAF Stirling four-engine bomber. While
he was able to shoot down the Stirling, the rear-gunner was able to score
hits on Spoden’s Bf 110 night-fighter, wounding him in the left leg, shattering
his femur and setting his aircraft on fire. He baled out of his stricken
machine but contacted the tail unit pinning him to the elevator. Fortunately,
he was thrown clear and descended to land in the garden of a residence
in the suburbs of Berlin. Spoden would spend three months recuperating
from his wounds, returning to active duty in November. Spoden joined 5./NJG
5 on his return to active duty. By the end of 1943, he had raised his victory
total to four. In January 1944, Spoden claimed five victories, including
two in a night on 14/15 January and 27/28 January, to raise his victory
total to nine. During early 1944, He also participated in daylight missions
intercepting USAAF bomber raids. On 6 March, Spoden participated in the
interception of the first USAAF daylight raid on Berlin. He engaged the
formation north of Rostock but his Bf 110 was hit in the port wing and
engine. Managing to nurse his damaged aircraft back to his base at Parchim,
Spoden was forced to carry out a belly landing because his undercarriage
had also been damaged in the incident. On the night of 26/27 March, he
was shot up again by an unknown assailant in the Stettin area. Spoden force-landed
his damaged Bf 110, out of fuel, at Kornwestheim, near Stuttgart. He and
his crewmen all received injuries in the incident resulting in several
weeks in hospital. Shortly after returning to combat duty following his
misfortune in late March 1944, Spoden was assigned to the Stabsstaffel
of III./NJG 6 and relocated to Steinamanger in Hungary. The transfer also
resulted in a change of equipment with the Gruppe re-equipping with the
Ju 88 twin-engine night-fighter. Spoden recorded one victory with the unit
when he shot down a RAF Wellington twin-engine bomber near Neunkirchen
that was targeting the oifields at Pardubice for his 10th victory. In August
1944, Spoden was transferred to the Stabsstaffel of II./NJG 6 based at
Swäbisch Hall. On 5 October, he was awarded the Ehrenpokal. On 1 December,
Spoden was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant. By the end of 1944, he
had raised his victory total to 18, including three Lancasters shot down
near Heilbronn of a force attacking the railway yards (15-17). By late
December, Oberleutnant Spoden was appointed Staffelkapitän of 6./NJG 6.
On the night of 26/27 December, he was seeking Allied gliders supplying
men and equipment to encircled troops at Bastogne when his aircraft was
hit by German flak. The port engine immediately caught fire and he was
forced to belly-land his aircraft near Stradtkyll. Knocked unconscious
when his head struck the gunsight, Spoden was pulled from the blazing wreckage
by his crewmen. On 21 February 1945, Spoden recorded his 20th victory when
he shot down Lancaster near Worms. In late February, he was awarded the
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold for 22 victories. Spoden recorded his last two
victories on the night of 7/8 March, whne he shot down two Lancasters near
Dessau. However, his Ju 88 received hits from return fire resulting in
the feathering of one engine. Losing altitude steadily, Spoden ordered
the evacuation of the aircraft near Crailsheim. All four members of the
crew safely baled out. On 19 March 1945, Spoden was appointed Gruppenkommandeur
of I./NJG 6. On 29 April, the remnants of NJG 6 surrendered to American
troops at Schleissheim. Spoden was released from captivity in autumn 1945
and returned to Essen where he was reunited with his family. He entered
university where he studied mechanical engineering and was later employed
as a technical advisor with the Bundesbahn in Essen. In 1951, he resumed
glider flying although it was prohibited to fly motor-powered aircraft.
By travelling to Holland, Belgium and England, Spoden was able to fly powered
aircraft. In 1954, he was accepted for a Lufthansa training programme to
become an airline pilot. He completed the course on 20 July 1955. On his
retirement in 1981, Spoden had flown 22,147 hours. An interesting sidelight
to his retirement is that when he applied for his war pension he discovered
he had been promoted to the rank of Hauptmann on 20 April 1945! Spoden
continues to fly single-engine aircraft and is a member of various veteran’s
associations.
Peter Spoden was credited with 24 night
victories, all but one were four-engine bombers.
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18.8.1943
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Lancaster | 6./NJG 5 | Hanshagen |
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24.8.1943
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Halifax | 6./NJG 5 | W Berlin |
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24.8.1943
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Viermot | 6./NJG 5 | Berlin |
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23.11.1943
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Lancaster | 5./NJG 5 | 40km W Berlin |
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14.1.1944
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Viermot | 5./NJG 5 | Near Braunschweig |
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14.1.1944
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Viermot | 5./NJG 5 | Near Braubschweig |
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27.1.1944
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Viermot | 5./NJG 5 | 30km W Berlin |
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27.1.1944
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Viermot | 5./NJG 5 | 20km W Berlin |
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30.1.1944
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Viermot | 5./NJG 5 | Stettin |
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21.7.1944
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Zweimot | III./NJG 6 | NW Neunkirchen |
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13.8.1944
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Viermot | II./NJG 6 | 50km W Obj. Bremen |
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26.8.1944
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Viermot | II./NJG 6 | 35km NW Rüsselheim |
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12.9.1944
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Lancaster | II./NJG 6 | 20km NW Darmstadt |
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12.9.1944
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Lancaster | II./NJG 6 | 20-30km NW Darmstadt |
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4.12.1944
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Lancaster | II./NJG 6 | 20-25km SW Heilbronn |
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4.12.1944
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Lancaster | II./NJG 6 | 25-30km SW Heilbronn |
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4.12.1944
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Lancaster | II./NJG 6 | 30-35km SW Heilbronn |
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22.12.1944
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Viermot | 6./NJG 6 | 20-40km NW FF Graf |
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1.2.1945
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Liberator | 6./NJG 6 | 25km SW Karlsruhe |
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21.2.1945
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Lancaster | 6./NJG 6 | 30km SW Worms |
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23.2.1945
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Viermot | 6./NJG 6 | Pforzheim-Karlsruhe |
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23.2.1945
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Lancaster | 6./NJG 6 | 30km SW Pforzheim |
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7.3.1945
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Viermot | 6./NJG 6 | Dessau |
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7.3.1945
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Viermot | 6./NJG 6 | 50-60km SW Dessau |