D-EWOH is a Zlin Z 42M General Aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

 aircraft. Prior to its registration to its current German tail number

Tail number

A tail number refers to an identification number painted on an aircraft, frequently on the tail.Tail numbers can represent:* An aircraft registration number * United States military aircraft serials-See also:...

 in 1991, it was registered in the German Democratic Republic as DDR-WOH. On 15 July 1987 Thomas Krüger stole it from the Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik (an East German military youth organisation) and flown from Schönhagen

Schönhagen

There are communes and places that have the name Schönhagen in Germany:*Schönhagen, Thuringia, in the Eichsfeld district, Thuringia*A locality in Trebbin in the Teltow-Fläming district, Brandenburg...

 in East Germany to RAF Gatow

RAF Gatow

Known for most of its operational life as Royal Air Force Station Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, this former British Royal Air Force military airbase is in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau...

 (later General-Steinhoff Kaserne) in West Berlin

West Berlin

West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...

 in order to facilitate his defection to the Allies

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 from Soviet-controlled East Berlin

East Berlin

East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...

.

It was later returned by road, passing through the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

, although members of the RAF had adorned it with slogans like "Wish you were here".