On this day in 1941, German spy Josef Jakobs descended from a German airplane over the dark fields of England. Like many parachutist spies, Josef hurt himself during the descent, breaking his ankle as he left the aircraft.
At about 7:30 pm local time, Josef landed in a potato field on Dovehouse Farm, near the village of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire. Josef’s arrival went unnoticed by the inhabitants of Dovehouse Farm and nearby Wistow Fen Farm. It was a cold, dark, January night and everyone was tucked inside, snug and warm around the Aga cooker.
Josef would spend the next 12 hours, alone in the clammy mud of an English field, awaiting discovery by peasant farmers.