There were about 24 parked Me 109's- a super fast fighter, and Lt Jones climbed into one with the intent to start it and fly home. But the airplane would have to start quickly or he would be caught by the guards. He sat in the plane for two hours, and found all the gauges, instruments, and controls except the primer. The primer really helps in starting. Not finding the primer, he climbed out and walked to Spain. The walk took two months of being cold, hungry, and fearful at every turn. Had he but known, the Me-109 has an excellent automatic primer. If he had turned on the ignition and hit the starter button the engine would have started. He would have been airborne and wheels up in thirty seconds, and home in Ridgewell in twenty minutes. There is a moral here, but I don't know what. It could be: trust a 1150 horsepower Daimler-Benz engine to start.
