WWII: The Only American Pilot To Defect Stole P-38 Lightning & Headed For Milan

Pilots are not unheard of to defect in war – especially in a civil war. However, it would appear that only one US pilot defected to the Nazis in World War II. Martin James Monti, a US Army Air Forces pilot, defected to Germany in 1944. Later, he was captured, tried, and sentenced for theft and desertion. Somewhat confusingly, Martin Monti defected to the Nazis in October 1944 – months after the D-Day Landings and when the defeat of Nazi Germany was all but inevitable.