On the late afternoon of May 11, 1937, the control tower at Croydon Airport near London received a radio message from an aircraft requesting permission to land. Croydon was then London's major aviation hub, long before Heathrow or Gatwick existed. Major airlines such as Imperial Airways, an ancestor of today's British Airways, and the German national carrier Lufthansa both used the airport.
Croydon was also famous for its celebrity flyers. In 1930, aviator Amy Johnson had set off from Croydon on her solo flight to Australia. Transatlantic record-breaker Charles Lindbergh had called there aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, and even British politician Winston Churchill had received flying lessons at the airfield.
The aircraft that landed on May 11, 1937, however, contained a very different kind of celebrity. A Junkers Ju 52 of Lufthansa, painted bright red and with its tail emblazoned with the Nazi flag, taxied to a halt. Stepping down from it was Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe and prime minister of Prussia.
The unannounced arrival of one of Germany's most powerful leaders caused confusion and consternation, not least among the Nazis at the German Embassy in London. The embassy was headed by another of Hitler's top men, Ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop.
Göring held the rank of general in the Luftwaffe, the secret air force Hitler had announced to the world just two years earlier. A World War One fighter pilot and ace, he held Imperial Germany's highest decoration for gallantry, the Pour le Mérite. He had joined Hitler's movement in 1922 and risen to become very powerful within the party.
Wounded in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich in 1923, Göring had subsequently become addicted to painkillers and his weight had ballooned. In 1932 he was elected president of the Reichstag, the German parliament, and under Hitler's government he prospered. He became a minister, prime minister of Prussia and head of the Prussian police, and it was Göring who created the Gestapo.
As Reich aviation minister and commander of the Luftwaffe, he had overseen the building of the most modern and feared air force in the world. He had also commanded the first four-year plan, Hitler's huge rearmaments program. His Luftwaffe had already earned a reputation for its involvement in the Spanish Civil War, particularly the bombing of Guernica in April 1937, less than two weeks before his sudden appearance at Croydon. Guernica opened the world's eyes to the brutal effectiveness of aerial bombing.
Göring was also a flashy and flamboyant figure, known for his self-designed uniforms, his self-enrichment and a luxurious lifestyle courtesy of the state. Yet he was also popular with Germans. Unlike the other leaders, his laid-back style and self-deprecating humor set him apart from the serious Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels.
Even Göring's plane reflected his flamboyant nature. The Junkers Ju 52 was painted bright red in honor of Manfred von Richthofen, his old World War One commanding officer, the Red Baron.
So why had Göring suddenly flown to London? The reason was British royalty. The streets of London were being hung with flags and bunting for the coronation of King George VI on May 12, 1937, and Göring was determined to be Germany's representative at the occasion.
In the weeks before the coronation, Göring had lobbied Hitler hard to be his representative at the royal ceremony. But Hitler, on the advice of von Ribbentrop in London and foreign minister Konstantin von Neurath in Berlin, had demurred. Instead he named his war minister, Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg, a career army officer, to represent the German state.
Von Blomberg was already in London when Göring unexpectedly turned up, evidently hoping to pull rank in the Nazi system. Ushered into a room at the airport by British customs and excise officers and watched carefully by Metropolitan Police Special Branch detectives, Göring was soon joined by von Ribbentrop and other officials from the German Embassy.
Göring made it quite clear that he had come to represent the Führer at the coronation, and von Ribbentrop was at a loss as to what to do with him. Göring was driven to the embassy at Carlton House Terrace in London and had a long meeting with von Ribbentrop and Field Marshal von Blomberg. The latter two made it clear that Göring was not welcome in England.
Questions had already been raised in the House of Commons about any chance of Göring representing Hitler at the coronation. Even the Berlin press had issued a statement saying that Göring would not represent Hitler at the ceremony.
Göring was disliked in Britain for many reasons. He was a top Nazi and complicit in the regime's ongoing anti-Semitic policies. His air force's actions in Spain had been widely reported. Trouble over the status of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia was also causing great stress and anxiety in Britain over German expansionist aims in Europe and fear of another world war.
Von Ribbentrop, himself highly unpopular in Britain, warned Göring that his appearance at the coronation would likely cause a hostile reaction from the public, and that such a demonstration would harm the image of Germany and Hitler abroad. Messages also arrived from the British Foreign Office urging Göring not to appear publicly in London, as he could be the target of public anger. The last thing anyone wanted for the coronation of the new king-emperor were ugly demonstrations on what was supposed to be a day of national rejoicing.
Eventually Göring got the message, backed down and admitted defeat. He spent the night at the embassy. Early on May 12, as crowds began to gather along the coronation procession route, he was driven back to Croydon Airport.
Twelve hours after arriving in England, Göring once more boarded his red-painted Junkers Ju 52. It lifted off from Croydon Airport and set course for Germany. He never returned to the United Kingdom again.