The gun that Adolf Hitler used to shoot himself? Historian DAMIEN LEWIS reveals how pistol was handed over to SAS soldier during unofficial hunt for Nazi dictator in 1945

As the SAS battled their mode crossed Nazi-occupied France, Corporal Charlie Hackney – a seasoned of the portion – had settled upon a 'novel mode of subverting the enemy'. 

He and his self-confessed 'subdued clump of cutthroats' from the elite regiment founded by David Stirling successful 1941 had seized a reddish Renault butcher's van, transforming it into a conflict wagon.

With a Bren airy instrumentality weapon mounted successful the rear 'one lone had to unfastened the doors to occurrence the weapon', Hackney observed, their 'little reddish van' proving 'far little conspicuous' than immoderate SAS jeep. 

They'd added a brace of 3-inch mortars to the vehicle's hidden arsenal and proceeded to wreak havoc down force lines, astatine 1 constituent hitting a convoy of tankers transporting 40,000 gallons of fuel, and astatine different assaulting a German garrison headquarters.

Now, connected April 3, 1945, Hackney and his Special Air Service comrades recovered themselves quartered successful a deserted farmhouse adjacent Lüneberg, a metropolis astir 200 miles wrong Nazi Germany. 

Having pressed truthful acold up of the Allied lines, they'd been ordered to a halt. As they paused, Hackney had clip to bespeak upon the warfare and its acheronian predations. 

He noted: 'We knew that determination successful the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler was trying to person his wide unit that each was not lost, that the tide would so crook successful their favour!'

It was that which gave Hackney his large idea. If idiosyncratic could marque it done to Berlin, could they someway get their hands connected Hitler himself? 

If they could property up riding successful a small reddish butcher's van substitute – that conflict wagon had agelong since died a death, burning itself retired connected a roadside – this seemed the benignant of ngo tailormade for the SAS. 

Hackney enactment the thought to his subdued clump of cutthroats. Two volunteers stepped forward. So began their 'last hopeless ngo of the war.'

Commandeering a German civilian car, the 3 adventurers acceptable distant successful the depths of night. 

They'd dressed themselves successful civilians clothes, to debar being 'shot astatine by immoderate hopeless Nazis' on the way. 

With their uniforms bundled into the boot, and their weapons concealed, a agelong thrust to Berlin laic earlier them. 

Making for the nearest autobahn, they banked connected a 4 to five-hour travel crossed astir 200 miles, if the motorway proved clear.

But connected the outskirts of a large metropolis the car suffered a fault. They pulled implicit astatine the roadside. 

It was starting to get light, and the roadworthy was clogged with refugees, each intent connected 'getting distant from' the advancing Russians. 

Worried that the refugees mightiness spot done their disguises, Hackney warned Jack Maybury, his deputy, to 'keep connected his toes', for Maybury was the lone 1 of them who could talk decent German.

Some of the refugees paused to chat. They began talking excitedly astir a radical of elder Nazis who were hiding successful a adjacent building. 

With the car present fixed, Hackney was 'all for pushing connected to Berlin,' but the others were keen to analyse the enigma house. 

Outvoted, Hackney fell into line. Gathering their weapons they acceptable disconnected connected ft to reconnoiter the house, a ample aged gathering with an extended garden.

With the others covering the exits, Hackney stole done the beforehand door, checking the rooms that branched disconnected the hallway. 

Silently, helium started to ascent the stairs. It was past helium heard an unusual creaking sound coming from 1 of the rooms below. 

Slipping inside, helium spied a trap-door acceptable successful the level which was successful the process of being shut. Grabbing it, Hackney levered it open, firing a mates of shots into the acheronian below.

He yelled into the shadows for whoever was determination to amusement themselves oregon 'suffer the consequences'. 

After a fewer seconds 3 figures came clambering up the steps, their hands successful the air. 

All were dressed arsenic civilians, with leather jackets oregon greatcoats to ward disconnected the chill. 

Leaving them nether the defender of his comrades, Hackney searched the cellar. It was bare isolated from immoderate aged vino bottles.

Hackney explained conscionable who they were, and that the trio were present their prisoners. 

Surprisingly, the captives knew each astir the SAS, who were 'held successful awe' by the German military. 

As Hackney went to hunt each of the captives, the tallest reached wrong his overgarment and pulled retired a pistol. 'Like a flash I knocked it from his hand,' Hackney remarked.

As helium slipped the limb wrong his conflict dress, the gangly chap seemed utterly distraught. 

Speaking successful breached English, helium claimed that was the limb that 'Adolf Hitler was changeable with.' 

Apparently Hitler had committed termination and present was the limb that had fired the magic bullet. 

The gangly captive kept pleading for its return, arsenic immoderate benignant of a memento of the Fuhrer.

Even arsenic this was happening, the stocky chap was 'inching his was on the partition towards the passage.' 

With the SAS men's attentions riveted by the Hitler termination story, each of a abrupt helium made a interruption for it. 

The SAS went aft him, but helium leapt implicit the backmost plot partition and managed to gaffe away. 

The 2 remaining prisoners were taken upstairs and interrogated. Under dire threats, the taller of the 2 confessed that helium had been contiguous erstwhile Hitler had killed himself. 

Being a doctor, helium had attended to the Fuhrer's body. That was however helium had travel by the precious pistol.

The SAS trio remained keen to caput for Berlin, to cheque retired the story. They decided to instrumentality the captives, but the gangly chap objected vociferously, protesting 'strongly astir being used' by his captors. 

As the statement raged, the growl of engines were heard outside. Army jeeps had arrived, bearing the unmistakable forms of the Military Police (MPs).

The visitors turned retired to beryllium a Provost Marshall - a MP commandant - positive his men. Hackney explained what they were doing there, but the Provost Marshall refused to judge a word. 

British soldiers did not acceptable distant truthful acold successful beforehand of the beforehand enactment and particularly dressed arsenic civilians. Hackney and his men were enactment 'under adjacent arrest'. 

Taken to a cardinal bid gathering for questioning, the pursuing day, Lieutenant-Colonel Brian Franks, a elder SAS commander, arrived, to verify the captives' bona fides.

Once Franks had vouchsafed for his men, they were released. Driven to the nearest SAS base, Hackney, arsenic the commandant of this rogue mission, was threatened with Court Martial. 

But erstwhile he'd fixed a afloat relationship of his 'mad scheme', Franks began to relent. A portion of him appreciated its initiative, flare and audacity. 

Finally, the trio were released without charge.

Hackney had made definite to support the gun, ever wondering if it was 'indeed the pistol which brought astir Hitler's death.' 

Post war, helium remained profoundly intrigued by the limb - a Walther PP 7.65 mm. 

Carved into the broadside of it was an eagle grasping successful its talons a swastika, supra the serial fig 142062. 

He launched a bid of investigations, exchanging correspondence with the likes of Hugh Trevor-Roper, Lord Dacre of Glanton, who was past the Regent Professor of Modern History at Oxford University.

Lord Dacre, the writer of hugely influential enactment The Last Days of Hitler, said to Hackney: 'On the grounds you person presented I would reason that you person the genuine pistol with which Hitler changeable himself.'

Hackney besides corresponded with celebrated thriller writer Jack Higgins – Harry Patterson - who declared that Hackney's communicative was 'Very, precise absorbing and highly probable I should person thought.' 

Higgins had conscionable written a thriller entitled The Valhalla Exchange, astir the past days of Hitler and his henchmen, and astir the eleventh hr flight of immoderate from the Berlin bunker.

Eventually, Hackney handed the pistol to the SAS Headquarters, successful London, to beryllium held successful the cardinal armoury for safekeeping. 

In 1979, helium asked for its return, and was told it would request to beryllium delivered to him successful person, 'for we should each beryllium successful the crockery successful a large mode if the happening went astray.' 

In 1988 helium sold it to a backstage collector, without having been capable to beryllium its implicit provenance.

Ten years later, Hackney would constitute respective accounts of his wartime adventures, including the 'Hitler pistol' story. 

These stay unpublished, but they were kindly shared with myself, by Hackneys son, Scott Hackney, truthful his bonzer wartime communicative could beryllium told. 

Damien Lewis is speaking astatine a big of events to people his book's publication, find retired much astatine https://geni.us/Damien-AutumnEvents

You tin work the afloat unthinkable relationship of Charlie Hackney's warfare successful France and Germany, and the work of Blair 'Paddy' Mayne and his SAS raiders, successful Damien Lewis's caller book, SAS Daggers Drawn.

SAS Daggers Drawn, published by Quercus, is retired today.