Summary

  • Monti was the only US pilot to defect to the Nazis in WWII, later convicted of theft and desertion.
  • He joined the Waffen-SS, worked in Nazi propaganda, and fled Germany before being arrested by the US.
  • Monti was sentenced to 25 years in prison with a $10,000 fine, highlighting his unique case of wartime treason.

Pilots are not unheard of to defect in war – especially in a civil war. However, it would appear that only one US pilot defected to the Nazis in World War II. Martin James Monti, a US Army Air Forces pilot, defected to Germany in 1944. Later, he was captured, tried, and sentenced for theft and desertion. Somewhat confusingly, Martin Monti defected to the Nazis in October 1944 – months after the D-Day Landings and when the defeat of Nazi Germany was all but inevitable.

Monti joined the Waffen-SS and also worked as a propagandist and writer for the crumbling Nazi regime. Later, during the Cold War, a Soviet pilot stole a MiG-25 and defected to Japan (where the US was able to study it and design their aircraft to counter it). More recently, a Russian helicopter pilot defected to Ukraine. He was given financial rewards and a new life in Spain; however, a few months later, he was found shot dead, according to the NY Times.

Martin Monti background

Martin Monti was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 24, 1921. His father was of Italian descent, while his mother was born to German-American parents. He was known for his anti-capitalism, anti-communism, and antisemitism views, as well as his liking for fascist governments. While Monti deserted, his four brothers all served honorably in the US Navy during the war.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

Martin James Monti:

Born:

October 24, 1921

Died:

September 11, 2000

Service:

US Army Air Force / Waffen-SS / US Air Force

Monti enlisted into the US Army Air Forces on December 19, 1942, and was soon qualified to fly the P-39 Airacobra and the P-38 Lightning. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant and then sent to Karachi in modern-day Pakistan (then British India).

Related

Forgotten History: The Top 5 Italian Aircraft Of The Second World War

Despite low production numbers and Italy’s early exit from WW2, Italy produced some excellent aircraft.

Desertion to Nazi Germany

While in Karachi, he hitched a Curtiss C-46 transport aircraft ride to Cairo, Egypt. From there, he went to Italy through Tripoli in Libya (which had fallen to the Allies months back). Arriving in Italy, the fascist Italian government had fallen and surrendered to the Allies (the Allies were pushing past Florence by this time). Dictator Mussolini had fled to Germany, which had made him the head of a puppet Italian fascist government in northern Italy under German occupation.

Lockheed P-38J-20-LO Lightning airplane "Yippee"

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

Max speed:

414 mph

Cruising speed:

275 mph

Range:

1,300 miles

Type:

Fighter, Fighter-bomber, Aerial reconnaissance

Arriving at the Pomigliano Airfield north of Naples, he found an unarmed photographic reconnaissance version of the P-38 (according to the National Museum of the US Air Force, the P-38 was originally conceived as an advanced, high-performance twin-engine interceptor). The P-38 was being serviced, and he knew it would require a test flight after repairs. Monti stole the aircraft and flew to Milan (then controlled by the Nazis and puppet fascist Italians).

Monti landed at a German-controlled airfield on October 13, 1944, where he was taken as a regular prisoner of war. However, he managed to convince his captors that he was defecting. The Germans seized his modified P-38 Lightning for intelligence purposes.

In November 1944, he was interviewed by Edward Sittler (an American-born Nazi propagandist). Oddly enough, Sittler found him suspicious, and he was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. Later, he was sent to Berlin to work for the Overseas Service of German State Radio, using the name Capt. Marin Wiethaupt (his mother’s maiden name).

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

He claimed the US was fighting the wrong enemy on air and that the Soviet Union was the true enemy. He spoke about propaganda claims that the war was a Communist plot to enslave the whole world. Later, he was made an officer in the Waffen-SS and helped to make propaganda leaflets for Allied POWs.

Related

How Has The US Air Force Fleet Evolved Over Time?

Combat aircraft design, performance, and operational capabilities have come a long way.

Capture, reenlistment, & sentencing for treason

But by then, Germany was in its final stages of collapse. He managed to escape Berlin as the Soviets bore down on the city and made his way back to Italy. There, he surrendered to American forces only 48 hours after V-E day. At the time, the US Army didn’t know Monti had defected, and so treated him as a deserter for the theft of the aircraft. He was handed a 15-year suspended sentence and was readmitted as a private into the Army in 1947.

However, the Army (by then the Air Force) later found out about his defection, and he was arrested as he was leaving with his discharge papers in 1948. He was charged with 21 counts of treason (treason can carry the death penalty). He pleaded guilty.

Monti treason sentence

Plea:

Guilty

Sentence:

25 years imprisonment & $10,000 fine

Charged:

21 counts of treason

Parol:

1960

His defense in 1949 was that he was raised in a vehemently anti-Bolshevik family and believed that Communism was the enemy (indeed, by this time, the Cold War was heating up). Many Europeans joined the Germans in fighting the Soviets in order to give the Western Allies more time to occupy Europe before the Soviets could.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning of the 475th Fighter group

According to Military.com, he was the only “soldier to defect to Nazi Germany.” However, he was sentenced to 25 years and a $10,000 fine. He served his sentence at Fort Leavenworth Prison and was paroled in 1960. He died in 2000.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *