Luftwaffe Heydrich

[Alex K]

Hi I posted this in the general TR awards section and was recommended to post it here

Does anyone know more about the little badge on heydrichs uniform?

thanks

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3340...mp;#entry314205

[J Temple-West]

Strange! Heydrich was in Gruppe II./JG 77. His ?Staffel? emblem, at the time of his involvement with JG 77 was an ancient Germanic runic character S for Sieg -- "victory" and it was this that was painted on the side of the fuselage when on operations in Norway in 1940.

It may be a personal emblem used during his 2nd stint with JG 77 on the Eastern Front when he used his personal aircraft.

The emblem for Gruppe II./JG 77 (the unit that Heydrich flew with) is pictured below.

A short history on Heydrich?s service in the Luftwaffe.

Heydrich completed a fighter pilot course in 1940.

In April 1940 he flew a Bf 110 in the Fighter Group II./JG 77 "Herz As? in Norway.

On the 13th May 1940 he crashed his plane during take-off and was injured. For a short time in May, he flew patrol flights over North Germany and the Netherlands. Then, after another accident, he returned to Berlin. In mid-June 1941, before the German attack on theUSSR, he resumed flying, ignoring Himmler's orders. He flew his personal Bf 109E-f again with Group II./JG 77 from Bălti, Romania on the southern Eastern Front, which put the wing commander under pressure due to Heydrich's position and lack of experience.

On the 22nd July 1941, while on a mission, his plane was badly damaged over Yampil by Soviet AA artillery. Heydrich crash-landed in no-man?s land, evaded a Soviet patrol and made his way back to German lines. After this, he was forbidden to fly in combat, as it was realized that his capture as a POW would be a major security breach for Germany. He never flew another operational sortie.

As to the question regarding other units and unit emblems: All Wehrmacht units had an emblem of some type.

I hope this helps, Alex.

[Alex K]

Strange! Heydrich was in Gruppe II./JG 77. His 'Staffel' emblem, at the time of his involvement with JG 77 was an ancient Germanic runic character S for Sieg -- "victory" and it was this that was painted on the side of the fuselage when on operations in Norway in 1940.

It may be a personal emblem used during his 2nd stint with JG 77 on the Eastern Front when he used his personal aircraft.

The emblem for Gruppe II./JG 77 (the unit that Heydrich flew with) is pictured below.

A short history on Heydrich's service in the Luftwaffe.

Heydrich completed a fighter pilot course in 1940.

In April 1940 he flew a Bf 110 in the Fighter Group II./JG 77 "Herz As" in Norway.

On the 13th May 1940 he crashed his plane during take-off and was injured. For a short time in May, he flew patrol flights over North Germany and the Netherlands. Then, after another accident, he returned to Berlin. In mid-June 1941, before the German attack on theUSSR, he resumed flying, ignoring Himmler's orders. He flew his personal Bf 109E-f again with Group II./JG 77 from Bălti, Romania on the southern Eastern Front, which put the wing commander under pressure due to Heydrich's position and lack of experience.

On the 22nd July 1941, while on a mission, his plane was badly damaged over Yampil by Soviet AA artillery. Heydrich crash-landed in no-man's land, evaded a Soviet patrol and made his way back to German lines. After this, he was forbidden to fly in combat, as it was realized that his capture as a POW would be a major security breach for Germany. He never flew another operational sortie.

As to the question regarding other units and unit emblems: All Wehrmacht units had an emblem of some type.

I hope this helps, Alex.

Very interesting short history, it's difficult to imagine that at one stage his military career was "Normal" considering what he ended up doing, thanks for the info.

regards

Alex