Unusual Pow Card From Germany

I have just found this POW card from a Canadian airman held in Stalag III E

What caught my interest that he has put his RCAF service number when he should have put the POW number he was given by the Germans. In all the years I have been collection Canadian WW2 material I have never seen this before.



I live in the UK and have to rely on the web for most of my info. What is frustrating me at the moment sis that I cannot find any information about D.A. Switzer - R54097. The service number shows he was not an officer.

It appears he survived the war as he is not in the list of War dead so his military records are still sealed.

If anyone has any info and links that may help me fine out how he became a POW I would be most interested.

I have found a few things:


Donald Alexander Switzer
Sgt
From Ottawa

Published as initially missing but confirmed POW Sept 1941.

https://digitallibrary.uleth.ca/dig...d/id/174215/


And perhaps if most interest, it looks like his plane crashed:

https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/cra...-v-dorweiler


POW # 164

https://www.rcafassociation.ca/heri...-of-war-pow/

Thank you very much. There are a couple of links I did not know of. I will have a look tomorrow and then get back to you if I find anything more.

AQ

I should have thought about Chat GPT in the first place I use it and other AIs a lot. Part of what it gave me is posted below

Copilot was similar but gave the correct squadron number 51 instead of 52 as by chat GPT. As always you have to check Ai research results. It is much better at writing complaint letters and VBA code !!!!!!!!

It is strange the card I originally posted has the Stalag III E censor cachet. More research is required !!! and also a look at the Operational Record Books of No. 51.

************************************************************
You said:
I am looking for information on Sergeant D. A. Switzer from the RCAF who was held in Stalag 3E


ChatGPT said:
I wasn't able to locate any records indicating that Sergeant D.#8239;A. Switzer (RCAF) was held in Stalag III#8209;E. Instead, all available information points to him being held in Stalag Luft VI (Heydekrug), which was run by the Luftwaffe—not the Wehrmacht—and not part of the Stalag III series.

#9989; What is known about Sergeant D.#8239;A.#8239;Switzer:
Name / Service number: Donald Alexander Switzer, RCAF, service number R/54097, Flight Sergeant from Ottawa, Ontario
merkki.com
+11
caspir.warplane.com
+11
Royal Canadian Air Force Association
+11

He was shot down on the night of 18#8209;19 August 1941 while operating Whitley Z6566 on a bombing raid to Cologne. The aircraft crash-landed near Maastricht, Netherlands; one crew member was killed, while the other four—including Switzer—were taken as POWs
caspir.warplane.com
.

Camp recorded: Switzer was a prisoner at Stalag Luft VI (Heydekrug)—a camp designated for captured aircrew—not at Stalag III#8209;E (Kirchhain)
caspir.warplane.com
Royal Canadian Air Force Association
.

#10060; What he was not:
Not in Stalag III#8209;E, which was a Wehrmacht-run camp for enlisted personnel and located in Kirchhain, Hesse.

Instead, his capture experience aligns with Luftwaffe-run camps designated for airmen.

#129517; Why the confusion may arise:
The "Stalag Luft" camps (such as Luft III, VI, VII) were distinct from the Wehrmacht's numbering system (e.g. Stalag III#8209;E). Luftwaffe-run camps held aircrew regardless of rank.

Secondary sources or misremembered records may erroneously lump "Stalag Luft VI" into the "Stalag III" grouping, particularly by those not familiar with Luftwaffe vs. Wehrmacht camp structures.

#128269; Further research suggestions:
National Archives of Canada or Library and Archives Canada: for Switzer's full service and POW record (including his POW Number 164)
427squadron.com I have no idea where this comes from NO. 427 was only formed in November 1942

Reddit

Wally's War

en.wikipedia.org
merkki.com
caspir.warplane.com
.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) archives: to locate correspondence or camp listings under Stalag Luft VI.

RCAF or RAF crew logs, base war diaries (52 Squadron, RAF Dishforth): for mission debriefs and personnel fate.

Canadian veterans' associations or POW registries: sources on RCAF personnel experiences in Luftwaffe-run camps often contain lists, personal narratives, or repatriation data.

#128203; Summary Table
Item Details
Name Sgt. Donald Alexander Switzer, RCAF
Service No. R/54097
Squadron 52 (Bomber) Squadron, RAF Dishforth
Aircraft Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Z6566
Date of capture 18–19 August 1941
Location of crash Near Maastricht, Netherlands
POW Camp assigned Stalag Luft VI (Heydekrug)
Not held in Stalag III#8209;E

If you'd like help locating Switzer's ICRC records or accessing Canada-based war archives, I'd be happy to assist with that next step!

Lol those chat programs just seem like more work sorting out the flaws. My results took me about 1.5 minutes to find doing specific string searches in Google. It took longer to copy and paste then to find it!

Either way, looks like some of the mystery is solved.