Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein Early Career

[Chris Goss]

As I said in my first post, Theo and myself have been in conversation about this hence the post. It is a source of irritation to both of us and others I think!

[leonventer]

Hi Chris and Theo,

Originally Posted by Chris Goss

As I said in my first post, Theo and myself have been in conversation about this hence the post.

Yes, understood. My comment about Theo was merely to imply that if he didn't have the answers, then they probably weren't available anywhere (yet).

Theo, thanks very much for the BAMA reference. It's good to know that the answers might eventually be revealed.

As is often the case, Chris' original post spurred me to read some of the available literature on a particular subject. As always, it was a very worthwhile and interesting exercise. Wittgenstein was a rather remarkable person, and I learned a lot in the process. Thanks for providing the stimulus.

Regards,
Leon Venter

[knusel]

Originally Posted by leonventer

I couldn't find a mention of Wittgenstein's flight in the Bf 110 in either the Roell or Knott books, but Peter Hinchliffe does refer to it in his book "The Other Battle: Luftwaffe Night Aces Versus Bomber Command".

On page 140, Hinchliffe says:
"Wittgenstein and Kümmritz flew [the Bf 110] for just one day: that same night, in late May, their Bf 110 was unserviceable, so they took off in their Ju 88C and shot down four Lancasters, after which Wittgenstein ... refused to fly the Bf 110 and continued to use his 'own' Ju 88."

According to the only Abschussliste I could find for Wittgenstein (the one in "Luftwaffe Aces - Biographies and Victory Claims, Vol. 4" by Mathews and Foreman), there is just one night in mid-1943 in which he shoots down 4 RAF bombers, namely June 24/25. If this is correct, then it means that either:
a) His experiment with the Bf 110 earlier that day (June 24) didn't produce any kills.
OR
b) Hinchliffe is wrong and Wittgenstein actually flew the Bf 110 a day earlier (i.e. on June 23), when he shot down a Stirling.

I checked various other books (Boiten's fine volumes, Balss, Bowman, etc.), but couldn't find any additional info.

Regards,
Leon Venter

Thanks a lot for checking !

Michael