Recent from talks
Hajo Herrmann
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Hajo Herrmann
Hans-Joachim "Hajo" Herrmann (1 August 1913 – 5 November 2010) was a World War II Luftwaffe pilot and officer and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
After the war, Hermann spent 10 years in Soviet custody as a prisoner of war. Following his release, he became a Nazi activist and lawyer whose high-profile cases included the defence of neo-Nazis and genocide deniers while simultaneously promoting denial and the movement's organisations.
On 1 May 1933, Herrmann joined the Hamburg Landespolizei (state police) and attended the Prussian higher police school in Potsdam-Eiche. Following graduation, he was promoted to Polizei-Leutnant (police second lieutenant) on 1 June 1935. He then joined the military service of the Wehrmacht, initially serving with Infanterie-Regiment 47 (47th Infantry Regiment), a regiment of the 20th Infantry Division. On 1 August 1935, Herrmann transferred to the newly formed Luftwaffe (air force). He then attended the bomber pilot school at Kitzingen Airfield. Following flight training, he was posted to 9. Staffel (9th squadron) of Kampfgeschwader 253 (KG 253—253rd Bomber Wing), a unit which later became Kampfgeschwader 4 "General Wever" (KG 4—4th Bomber Wing), based at Nordhausen.
From 1936 until 1937, Herrmann served in Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, travelling on the Usaramo to Cádiz in early August 1936. One of his initial tasks in Spain included developing instructions and training for the usage of the 2 cm Flak 30 anti-aircraft artillery. In this capacity, Herrmann held training sessions in the evening for Nationalist forces after he had flown daytime shuttle missions for the Spanish Army of Africa from Spanish Morocco to Spain, these missions became known as Operation Magic Fire (Feuerzauber). He then flew a Heinkel He 111 B bombers with 1. Staffel of Kampfgruppe 88 (K/88—88th Bomber Group). Herrmann flew 50 combat missions over Spain and following his return to Germany, he was posted to 7. Staffel of KG 4 and appointed Technischer Offizier (TO—Technical Officer). On 1 June 1938, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant). For his service during the Spanish Civil War, he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern) on 14 April 1939.
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Herrmann flew 18 combat missions on the He 111 over Poland, including missions against Polish forces fighting in the Battle of Kutno, and received the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) in October. On 31 May 1940 during the Battle of Dunkirk, he was shot down by Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters, resulting in a crash landing of his Junkers Ju 88 A-1 on the German held beaches near Dunkirk. On 20 June 1940, he was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel of KG 4 and took part in the Battle of Britain. He sank 70,000 tons of Allied shipping as a bomber pilot, and was instrumental in the attack upon Convoy PQ 17.
In February 1941 his group was transferred to Sicily, from where it attacked Malta then fought in the Battle of Greece. In one attack Herrmann sank the ammunition ship Clan Fraser in the Port of Piraeus. The explosion sank 11 ships and made the Greek port unusable for many months.
In July 1942 he was assigned to the general staff in Germany, where he became a confidant of Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring. In 1942 Herrmann was appointed to the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL—High Command of the Air Force) staff.
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942. However, the Himmelbett system had its deficiencies, a dense "bomber stream", crossing the Luftwaffe aerial defenses in narrow area would saturate the Himmelbett boxes. On the night of 30/31 May 1942, RAF Bomber Command for the first time had used the "bomber stream" tactic in Operation Millennium, the thousand-bomber raid on Cologne. Herrmann, who red Kammhuber's reports, became increasingly concerned with the lack of preparation of OKL. He realized that the Luftwaffe would have to fight under conditions of numerical inferiority. Additionally, Herrmann knew that the Himmelbett was costly and susceptible to counter measures. Although not a new idea, he proposed to operate single-seat day fighters in addition to the night fighter force. In November 1942, Herrmann presented his ideas at a meeting of the night fighter staff. Initially, his views were rejected. By March 1943, Herrmann had managed to secure a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter at Berlin-Staaken airfield and flew several training missions in mock combat against a Heinkel He 111 bomber. Encouraged by his experiments, Herrmann approached Generaloberst Hubert Weise, the commander of Luftwaffen-Befehlshaber Mitte (Luftwaffe Commander Central), asking support for a real intercept mission. Specifically, he asked if the anti-aircraft artillery could be restricted to firing to a height of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). Weise rejected the ask but had no objections if Herrmann was willing to risk flying into a barrage of shell bursts. In April, Herrmann put his ideas to the test when Himmelbett detection reported a De Havilland Mosquito bomber heading for Berlin. He managed to intercept the illuminated Mosquito near Brandenburg an der Havel but failed to shoot it down.
Hub AI
Hajo Herrmann AI simulator
(@Hajo Herrmann_simulator)
Hajo Herrmann
Hans-Joachim "Hajo" Herrmann (1 August 1913 – 5 November 2010) was a World War II Luftwaffe pilot and officer and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
After the war, Hermann spent 10 years in Soviet custody as a prisoner of war. Following his release, he became a Nazi activist and lawyer whose high-profile cases included the defence of neo-Nazis and genocide deniers while simultaneously promoting denial and the movement's organisations.
On 1 May 1933, Herrmann joined the Hamburg Landespolizei (state police) and attended the Prussian higher police school in Potsdam-Eiche. Following graduation, he was promoted to Polizei-Leutnant (police second lieutenant) on 1 June 1935. He then joined the military service of the Wehrmacht, initially serving with Infanterie-Regiment 47 (47th Infantry Regiment), a regiment of the 20th Infantry Division. On 1 August 1935, Herrmann transferred to the newly formed Luftwaffe (air force). He then attended the bomber pilot school at Kitzingen Airfield. Following flight training, he was posted to 9. Staffel (9th squadron) of Kampfgeschwader 253 (KG 253—253rd Bomber Wing), a unit which later became Kampfgeschwader 4 "General Wever" (KG 4—4th Bomber Wing), based at Nordhausen.
From 1936 until 1937, Herrmann served in Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, travelling on the Usaramo to Cádiz in early August 1936. One of his initial tasks in Spain included developing instructions and training for the usage of the 2 cm Flak 30 anti-aircraft artillery. In this capacity, Herrmann held training sessions in the evening for Nationalist forces after he had flown daytime shuttle missions for the Spanish Army of Africa from Spanish Morocco to Spain, these missions became known as Operation Magic Fire (Feuerzauber). He then flew a Heinkel He 111 B bombers with 1. Staffel of Kampfgruppe 88 (K/88—88th Bomber Group). Herrmann flew 50 combat missions over Spain and following his return to Germany, he was posted to 7. Staffel of KG 4 and appointed Technischer Offizier (TO—Technical Officer). On 1 June 1938, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant). For his service during the Spanish Civil War, he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern) on 14 April 1939.
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Herrmann flew 18 combat missions on the He 111 over Poland, including missions against Polish forces fighting in the Battle of Kutno, and received the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) in October. On 31 May 1940 during the Battle of Dunkirk, he was shot down by Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters, resulting in a crash landing of his Junkers Ju 88 A-1 on the German held beaches near Dunkirk. On 20 June 1940, he was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel of KG 4 and took part in the Battle of Britain. He sank 70,000 tons of Allied shipping as a bomber pilot, and was instrumental in the attack upon Convoy PQ 17.
In February 1941 his group was transferred to Sicily, from where it attacked Malta then fought in the Battle of Greece. In one attack Herrmann sank the ammunition ship Clan Fraser in the Port of Piraeus. The explosion sank 11 ships and made the Greek port unusable for many months.
In July 1942 he was assigned to the general staff in Germany, where he became a confidant of Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring. In 1942 Herrmann was appointed to the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL—High Command of the Air Force) staff.
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942. However, the Himmelbett system had its deficiencies, a dense "bomber stream", crossing the Luftwaffe aerial defenses in narrow area would saturate the Himmelbett boxes. On the night of 30/31 May 1942, RAF Bomber Command for the first time had used the "bomber stream" tactic in Operation Millennium, the thousand-bomber raid on Cologne. Herrmann, who red Kammhuber's reports, became increasingly concerned with the lack of preparation of OKL. He realized that the Luftwaffe would have to fight under conditions of numerical inferiority. Additionally, Herrmann knew that the Himmelbett was costly and susceptible to counter measures. Although not a new idea, he proposed to operate single-seat day fighters in addition to the night fighter force. In November 1942, Herrmann presented his ideas at a meeting of the night fighter staff. Initially, his views were rejected. By March 1943, Herrmann had managed to secure a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter at Berlin-Staaken airfield and flew several training missions in mock combat against a Heinkel He 111 bomber. Encouraged by his experiments, Herrmann approached Generaloberst Hubert Weise, the commander of Luftwaffen-Befehlshaber Mitte (Luftwaffe Commander Central), asking support for a real intercept mission. Specifically, he asked if the anti-aircraft artillery could be restricted to firing to a height of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). Weise rejected the ask but had no objections if Herrmann was willing to risk flying into a barrage of shell bursts. In April, Herrmann put his ideas to the test when Himmelbett detection reported a De Havilland Mosquito bomber heading for Berlin. He managed to intercept the illuminated Mosquito near Brandenburg an der Havel but failed to shoot it down.
Recent media