Peter Stevens | |
|---|---|
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Peter_Stevens_1961.jpg) Stevens in 1961 | |
| Birth name | Georg Franz Hein |
| Born | 15 February 1919 Hanover, Germany |
| Died | 16 July 1979 (aged 60) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom Canada |
| Service |  Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force (Auxiliary) |
| Years of service | 1939–1952 (RAF) 1952–1958 (RCAF) |
| Rank | Squadron Leader |
| Service number | 88219 |
| Unit | No. 144 Squadron RAF |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Military Cross |
| Other work | MI6 |
Peter Stevens MC (born Georg Franz Hein; 15 February 1919 – 16 July 1979) was a German Jew who flew bombers in the British Royal Air Force in World War II. As an enemy alien living in London in the late 1930s, Hein assumed the identity of a dead schoolfriend in order to join the RAF at the outbreak of hostilities.
Shot down on a bombing raid, he was captured by the Germans and held a prisoner of war. Aware that if his true identity was discovered he would be regarded as a traitor he made repeated escape attempts, but was always recaptured. Liberated from the POW camp at the end of the war, he finally obtained British citizenship. In 1947, he transferred to MI6's East German section, retaining his RAF commission. After leaving MI6, he emigrated to Canada in 1952, embarking on a business career.