Historical He 177 "Little Blitz" Wehrpass

[Hundestaffel]

This used to be in my collection, now in the hands of a good friend. I'll try to quickly hit the highlights on this one, but as I'm going only by memory in combination with the scans, do please jump in and clarify any issues / facts I have messed up or missed. Long story short, is this is a Wehrpass from Jacob (Jakob) Koch, a member of I. KG 40 (issued with He 177's) who went missing over London on the first night of "Operation Steinbock" ("Little Blitz") January 21 / 22, 1944. That night, the first ever two (some sources only say one, but most claim two) He 177's were lost over English soil, both of them over London - Jacob Koch being in the crew of either the first or second He 177 lost (would love to positively ID exactly which one - can anyone help ??). A few years ago, the publication "Britain at War" had a fantastic article on the January 21 / 22 night raid, with details on the (two as they noted if I remember correctly) He 177's lost, but Koch was (unfortunately) not mentioned by name.

Please feel free to comment, identify signatures, if possible identify Koch's duty position within his He 177, his ultimate fate, etc.

Enjoy


"Hundestaffel"

[Hundestaffel]

.

[JONATHAN]

Very historical piece 👍🏻

[Hundestaffel]

I just answered one of my own questions (guess I should have actually read the entries ) - he was a He 177 Air Gunner (note "Bordschutzenschule" training / entries)

[hucks216]

Luftwaffe Crash Archive Volume 11 has Koch's aircraft as the second one lost over the UK but that may be because the crew and aircraft were lost without trace. The first one came down at 2131 near Hindhead, Surrey with Koch's aircraft (Wn.535741 CJ+FO) being listed as 'failed to return from operations against London'. So it is possible it went down in to the sea. It is also listed as lost on operations in the book The Last Blitz.

Crew:
Pilot: Oberleutnant Helmut Botterbrodt
Observer: Stabsfeldwebel Otto Schelldorfer
Radio Op: Feldwebel Wilhelm von Trott zur Solz
Engineer: Feldwebel Hans Streller
Air Gunners: Unteroffizier Herbert Schulze & Unteroffizier Jacob Koch.

Three more He-177's were lost that night after two crashed in France and one other was lost at sea.

Signature on page 12 might be that of Bodo Mayerhofer who won the Ehrenpokal as an Oberleutnant and was killed while commanding II/KG-100 in May 1944 when his He-177 crashed in an accident.

[Hundestaffel]

FANTASTIC Hucks216 !!!!

The current owner will be thrilled with this information

*** Note Koch looks to have washed out of both Pilot and Observer training before successfully becoming a Air Gunner...

[PaulR]

Is there a listing of his awards? I dont see them, or I simply cannot make out the writing.

[Hundestaffel]

Is there a listing of his awards? I dont see them, or I simply cannot make out the writing.

No awards for Koch.

[Ian Jewison]

Interestingly the pilot is the only one listed in the Vermisstenbildliste, unfortunately without a photo!

He must have been posthumously promoted to Hauptmann and backdated as that is his last rank.

BOTTERBRODT, Helmut. (DOB: 08.10.12). (n.d.) with 1./Kü.Fl.Gr. 106. 15.03.43 Oblt. (Kr.O.) at BFS 8, trf to II./KG.z.b.V. 1., 01.04.43 promo to Hptm. (Kr.O.). 21.01.44 Oblt., KG 40? lost in He 177 A-3 (CJ+FO) after raid on London.

/Ian

[Hundestaffel]

Thankx for this (extra) info Ian, it is much appreciated

[Andy F-P]

Hello,
A really interesting and historical Wehrpass from Luftwaffe actions against the UK. This is one that I would really like to own! I wonder if Koch's Soldbuch has also survived?
Regards,
Andy

[stgeorge64]

Always nice to see items relating to Op STEINBOCK posted.

Very nice Wehrpass indeed, especially with his demise being recorded in published works.

Regards Richard.

[FrenchVolunteer]

Hi,

sorry for the hijack of your own topic.
I asked a mod to remove all my posts.

See You

Vince

[Lionel H.]

Posts from Vince removed on his request. Regards. L.

[Yubari]

informative! thank you for sharing!