Looking for information about Ar 234 pilot Hauptmann Miersch / Mierisch

[Huib Ottens]

Hi Karl,

Thanks for pointing to “Die großen Dessauer, Ju 89, Ju90, Ju290, Ju390”.
On page 196 there is some very interesting additional information regarding FaGR.5.

"On the 10th of January 1945 FaGR.5 was withdrawn from operations and earmarked for transition to the Do 335. Only the Gruppenstab FaGr.5 remained operational as an Einsatzstab with the following operational tasks appointed by the General der Aufklärungsflieger and the OKL / Chef TLR:

• Reconnaissance with Ar 234’s for the U-boat war against Northeast England;

• Preparations for the reconnaissance of the wide sea territory as far as approximately 25° West with the Ar 234, the Do 335Z (Do 665) and other types to be taken under consideration in conjunction with the Chef TLR.

At the end of January several pilots from 1./FaGR.5 were trained at Burg near Magdeburg to fly the Ar 234. They operated from 25th of February as Einsatzkommando 1./FaGR.5 and from the 1st of March as 1./FaGR.1 from Stavanger Sola with 3 Ar 234’s. Several reconnaissance flights to the east coast of England were carried out by the Ar 234’s of Lt. Hetz and Lt. Eduard Schmitt."

This sequence of events makes it plausible that Hauptmann Helmut Miersch was one of the pilots that was trained on the Ar 234 and took part in the late war operations of FaGr.5 / FaGr.1. He is therefore in my opinion at the moment the main candidate to have been the pilot who landed the Ar 234 at Eelde (Holland) on the 3rd of October 1945.

Still no (definite) proof, but the plot thickens.... and yes it is a fun thread!

[Huib Ottens]

Hi,

I have received information about Helmut Miersch from the Bundesarchiv Militär Abteilung (BaMA). Unfortunately I am not allowed to share information from his personal file, but from his Karteikarte (showing his postings) I can share the following information:

Hauptmann der Reserve Helmut Miersch was born in 1909 and after enlisting in the Luftwaffe he received extensive training and flew as a pilot and “Kommandant” on multi-engined reconnaisance aircraft. During the war he served with: 2./(F) Aufklärungsgruppe 121, 2./Aufklärungsgruppe d. Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe, Versuchsstaffel für Höhenflüge, Fernaufklärungsgeschwader 101, 15.(pathfinder)/Kampfgeschwader 6 and Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5. Hauptmann Miersch was specialized in high altitude and long distance flights and acted also as a Fluglehrer, Ausbildungslehrer and Ausbildungsleiter.

As mentioned by Karl in a previous post up until now only information about one operational flight is known.

In December 1944 Miersch was posted to a staff function in the Fallschirmarmee and there is no link to FaGr.5 mentioned.
So why he was at Stavanger Sola at the end of the war (with FaGr.5?) and how he managed to convince Captain Brown that he was proficient on the Ar 234 (and later de Do 335) is a big question now.

Any clues, info or suggestions are more than welcome.

[Huib Ottens]

Hi,

With the great help of Larry deZeng (thanks Larry!) a detailed study of the Karteikarte of Hauptmann Helmut Miersch brought some new (and logical) insights.

Although the last entry on the Karteikarte mentioned that X. Fliegerkorps ordered him to report for temporary duty with the Insp.d.Fallschirmarmee, it seems that this order was cancelled and that Miersch remained with FAGr. 5 as an operational pilot during the remainder of the war.

He flew operations with 2.(F)/FAGr. 5 (one operation is documented and has been mentioned before) and he probably switched to 1.(F)/FAGr 5 when 2.(F)/FAGr 5 was disbanded in February 1945 and used to strengthen 1.(F)/FAGr 5.

1.(F)/FAGr 5 later became Einsatzkdo. 1.(F)/FAGr. 5 (and was later renamed as Einsatzkdo. 1.(F)/FAGr. 1), flying Ar 234’s on long range reconnaissance missions to the east coast of England. This most probably gave Miersch the opportunity to learn to fly the Ar 234. This experience, his longtime experience as a pilot flying multi-engined aircraft, his experience as a Fluglehrer and his knowledge of the English language made him a very good candidate to be enlisted by Captain Eric Brown when he was at Stavanger (Sola) looking for an additional pilot to help him transfer Ar 234’s from Sola (Norway) and from the central collection point at Schleswig (Germany) to Farnborough.