Hajo Herrmann Barrage Balloon Incident

[Peter Cook]

Does anyone know the origin of the description of an incident in which Hajo Herrmann of KG4 'pancaked' on top of a barrage balloon over Plymouth during a mine-laying mission on 22 July 1940? It is reproduced at some length in Mason's Battle Over Britain P. 146, and repeated in Weal's Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader on the Western Front, P. 50. But Herrmann's biography, Eagles Wings, only includes a short footnote reference on P. 70.

[Chris Goss]

Peter: This has been asked before on 12 OCH and is related in Herrmann's biography so you have covered all the sources

[Nick Beale]

Taking a look at the situation report for the night of 21/22 July, there is at least a reference to a "special" (i.e. mining) operation against Plymouth. Elsewhere in the the report it says that there were balloon defences but that's all.

[Col Bruggy]

Hello,

Origins!

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/archiv...p?t-37837.html

Col.

[Peter Cook]

Thanks all, and for the link to the original forum thread -- I have the Price book with the section on 'Mines for Plymouth Sound' -- which seems to be the origin. But I have another query -- Hajo Herrmann is described as leading 7/KG30 on 22 July, but DeZeng/Stankey's Luftwaffe Officers biography states: 20.06.40 appt Staka 7./KG 4 -- when did he move the KG30?

[Chris Goss]

III./KG 4 became III./KG 30 at the start of October 1940 so it would have been 7./KG 4 in July 1940

[robert]

Hi,

on 27.6.40 he was appointed squadron leader of 7./KG4. Later III./KG4 was re-named into III./KG30 so perhaps this is a reason for this mistake.
In the evening of 21.7.40 4 Ju 88s of 7./KG4 had taken off for mine-laying mission, which lasted 5 hours and 3 minutes. But squadron war diary did not list any loss on this mission. Perhaps the aircraft was only very slightly damaged?

Robert

[Peter Cook]

Thanks Chris and Robert, that has cleared up the KG4/KG30 conundrum.

Peter

[Richard Aigner]

excerpt from an interview with Herrmann, found at link below:
https://www.griffonmerlin.com/wwii-i...hajo-herrmann/


I remember, you said that you were hit by a barrage balloon at Southampton.
You mentioned it very briefly but didn’t go into any detail.

Yes, yes. That was unpleasant. The balloons were a sort of barricade and sometimes when the wind was strong the balloons went up to 2000m. I had to fly the mines under the velocity of 300 km/h. They were parachute mines and they would float down and the mine would explode on the surface of the water. I flew by plane down to 250m and while I was doing this manoeuvre to drop the mine, I went into the balloon. I tipped up. The mine was still there. The mine was on the parachute. There’s a lot to consider because if the wind blows too strong it would go on the shore. The time of the fall of the mine must be very short that the wind couldn’t affect the bomb.

Richard

[Chris Goss]

Think he has his Plymouths and Southamptons mixed up