When a Douglas C47 Dakota aircraft of RAF Transport Command returned from France, one of the ...

When a Douglas C47 Dakota aircraft of RAF Transport Command returned from France, one of the passengers was a German war dog which was wounded by men of the 6th Airborne Division when they stormed Rouville [sic Ranville], south east [sic north east] of Caen. The dog, named Fritz, had apparently been trained to attack anyone with firearms. It was wounded in the leg and taken behind the line where it received first aid treatment from a British Arrmy unit before being flown to England in charge of parachutist Major Philip Wilfred Varvill. When the Royal Australian Air Force photographer was photographing Fritz, the dog apparently thought the camera was a firearm and attempted to leap at the photographer. Fritz will be sent to do a course at a British War Dogs school when he has recovered from his wound. This image was shot for the Daily Mail newspaper but was also reported in Australian papers.