missing informations about Freytag

[bert68]

I'm still looking for information about Siegfried Freytag, 102 victories with JG77. Some say he was an NCO first, since 1937, and became a leutnant in january 1940, when others say he was an officer first, since 1940.
the latter want Freytag to begin his war in Norway in July 1940, when the first say he was in Poland in 1939.
He is supposed to have been shot down in Greece (04/24/1941) and POW for one day, although I can't find any information about that. It could be an invention, maybe?
I understood that we won't know if he was really rescued in valetta harbor in 1942.
He was shot down in July 1943 by P38, but documents show that he was officially hospitalized at the end of august, and for 10 months, since he is supposed to come back in operation in May 1944...What happened really? Nervous breakdown, or alcohol troubles like Steinhoff is talking about in his book?
And it seems that Gordon Gollob gave him the commission as kommander or kommodore, first in JG51 (but it's Lange who took the appointment) and then with JG7. But what happened, and why is he supposed to have been taken POW in Regensburg more than two weeks after, if he was appointed Kommander far more in the north?

Maybe somebody has some information about those question...

Thank you very much.

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi,

On page 1865 of Jochen Prien's Jagdgeschwader 77 history, he says that Hptm. Siegfried Freytag was wounded by an Allied strafing attack on Siena airfield on 29 January 1944.

Freytag returned to the Gruppe around 18 March 1944. He claimed his 99th aerial victory as a Major with II./J.G. 77 on 29 May 1944.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

[kaki3152]

Bert,
The story about Siegrfried Freytag's experience as a Greek POW is from Eric Mombeeks's book "Luftwaffe A Pictorial History". It is a short paragraph and was the first documentation I had ever seen from Siegfried Freytag. I can send you a scan,it's one page.
Basically I'll quote it:

"On April 24 [1941] I participated in a great operation over Athens . My Emil was hit by AA fire and I had to parachute to safety. Nevertheless, I was wounded and was captured by some Anzacs . I was lying in a hospital when three Greek officers came near my bed. One of them was a medic. They told me that I had to be their prisonerbecause it was a Greek gun which had blown me from the air!...[i] was transferred to a Greek military hospital . It was my luck...[W]hen the first German motorcyclist entered the Greek capital, I saluted them from the hospital balcony."

Carlos

[kaki3152]

Bert,

There is more information on Siegrfried Freytag in Volume I of Prien's JG-77 anthology but I don't have this volume. I have volumes 2,3,and 4 which includes the index. Freytag is only listed twice in Volume I (pages 109 and 540), which would be the information on his shotdown.
His first victory was on July 13,1941, a MIG-3, and he is listed as a Leutnant.

I have always considered Siegfried Freytag to be one of the great untold stories of the Luftwaffe Jadgwaffe, especially his postwar life in the French Foreign Legion.
There is some information on the Kracker site about his stint in the FFL
"After the war, he was known to have flown for the French in Indochina under the name Dichters Gustav Freytag. Due to failing health, he lives since 1970 in a soldiers home for Legionaires in Puylobier France. Deceased 1 June, 2003 at Laveran Hospital in Marseille. Bowers/Lednicer"

[RT]

After the war, he was known to have flown for the French in Indochina

He has FOUGHT for the french, In Indochina just activ soldiers nd volunteers served . Quite half were germans , old tankist, submariners, pilots... gen. french history ignore th case

Remi

[Leo Etgen]

Hello Bert

The QM 6 has that he was serving with 6./JG 77 when his Bf 109 E-7 (W.Nr. 1576) was shot down by Flak over Athens on 24 April 1941. On 5 May he returned to his unit. I hope this helps you.

Horrido!

Leo

[bert68]

Thanks to all!

1) I thought Freytag didn't came back in operations up until May 1944 after having been wounded in July 1943.
I'm trying to understand what seems correct and what could have been invented in the Steinhoff book (Me over Sicily). He said Freiberg (the character in the book) was always scared about aerial bombing. It looks real now because he was wounded during a straffing!

2) I had a Prien's book in the past, covering only JG 77 during the whole war, and there were a short mention of the story in Athens, but I didn't know Freytag told the story himself. That's really great!
Another amazing history for this man... The brief detention of Hartmann is very well documented but that one is really amazing too, but quite hidden...

3) " His first victory was on July 13,1941, a MIG-3, and he is listed as a Leutnant."
In some websites, I found that he was credited for a Hudson (Hudson T9377 of 233rd sqdn) the 10/31/1940 in Norway, but it looks like he claimed it without being rewarded. It seems the Hudson was attacking ships, and it was the ship's flak that destroyed the Hudson...


I totally agree with you, Kaki3152. It's quite difficult to obtain information about his career in the Foreign Legion, because the FL won't give information up until 120 years after his birth, as the law prescribes...Quite logical, given the usual policy of the Legion...I know that his records as a german pilot have joined his file in the Foreign Legion...Maybe the future FL museum will disclose documents...?
He fought in Indochina (52-54)and Algeria (late 50s), and ended up as a corporal, because he refused the rank of sgt. A former legionnaire told me that sergent in the Legion is a "high rank" for a NCO, and that it's not uncommon to refuse the rank in order not to be "emmerdé"! (not to be bothered in slang...

There are still a lot of thiongs to learn from such a guy, his life could be a movie, in fact!

Thank you Gentlemen for this information.

[bert68]

Thanks RT. I don't think he has flown for the french in Indochina, he was enlisted in an infantry regiment, I guess the 5th foreign infantry rgt (5eme REI). No Foreign Legion in the french air force. More than 60% of germans in the Foreign Legion in Indochina, the french enlisted them from POW camps, and then from the french zone in Germany, because they needed people to fight in Indochina. French talk about it, but you know, this war was lost, as was Algeria, and it was a dirty war...French aren't really proud of such wars...I can tell, I'm french... And maybe you know that better than I do...

"Dichter Gustav Freytag" means Gustav Freytag the poet, as a german poet of such a name existed in the 19th century...

Thanks for the precision, Leo. The picture is now clear!

[Doug Stankey]

Here is what we have concerning this fellow:

FREYTAG, Siegfried.
(DOB: 10.11.1919 in Danzig-Langfuhr).
1940 trf to 6./JG 77.
24.04.41 Lt. in 6./JG 77, PoW – shot down over Greece and held prisoner for 6 days.
1941-42 in I./JG 77.
18.05.42 awarded Ehrenpokal.
27.06.42 Oblt., in 6./JG 77, appt Staka 1./JG 77 (to 13.03.44).
03.07.42 Oblt., awarded Ritterkreuz, I./JG 77.
13.03.43 (orders eff. 17.05.43) appt Kdr. II./JG 77 (to 03.04.45).
01.04.43 in JG 77, promo to Hptm. (RDA withheld).
01.04.43 awarded DKG (proposed which an Oblt. in 1./JG 77).
01.05.44 promo to Maj.
26.12.44 appt acting Kommodore JG 77 (to 15.01.45).
07.03.45 appt acting Kommodore JG 77 (to 01.04.45).
03.04.45 trf to Stab/JG 51.
c.18.04.45 trf to JG 7?
Recommended for the Eichenlaub.
Credited with 879 combat missions and 102 air victories.
†02.06.2003 in Marseille/France.

We hope that this clarifies his career history.

HLdZ
DGS

[bert68]

Yes it does.
Thnak you for the data.
I was asking my question because I didn't find information about his career prior to July 1940, and because I didn't find anything about his brief experisnece as a POW in Greece. I thought that such an adventure could have been much more publicized...But so many adventures happened to so many people, in those times...
Thanks once again.
regards