Thanx Erich,
Just doing my own amateur study in the net...
"Hajo Hermann was born in Kiel, Germany on August 1st, 1918. Kiel was a seaport, and he grew up with an early interest in sailing. Unable to secure a naval commission, he began his military career at an infantry officer academy, but was commissioned in the newly formed Luftwaffe in 1935. His first operational assignment was to Junkers 52 bombers in KG (Bomber Wing) 4 in March 1936. Herrmann entered combat a few months later as a pilot with the German forces serving in the Spanish Civil War."
"Returning to Germany in April 1937, he rejoined KG 4 and wrote several highly praised tactics reports based on his experiences in Spain. The beginning of World War II brought Herrmann into combat again, first flying Heinkel 111 bombers in Poland and Norway, then reequipped with the Ju 88 for the Battle of France. Following the defeat of France in 1940, he became Commander of the 7th Staffel of KG 4 and led numerous bombing attacks on England during the Battle of Britain. During this period, Herrmann’s portion of KG 4 was transferred to KG 30 and continued night attacks on England after the Battle of Britain.
In February 1941, his group deployed to Sicily and flew missions against Malta and Greece. In a daring raid on the Greek port of Piraeus, Herrmann placed a single bomb into a loaded munitions ship, causing an explosion which sank 11 ships and made the port unusable for months. During the summer of 1941, KG 30 returned to France, and Herrmann became Commander of III/KG 30 (Group III of KG 30). By early 1942, his group had arrived at Bardufoss, Norway, where he led raids against Allied convoys supplying Russia, including the famous attack which decimated convoy PQ 17."
"Already used in having double duties, Major Herrmann in summer of 1943 was lecturing in Berlin about tactics at Luftwaffe Command in Wildpark Werder. In the night he was flying Fw 190s from Staaken airfield with volunteers from many flying schools. This was the beginning of the "Wilde Sau" tactics for which the 30. Fliegerkorps was established. Wild Boar and Tame Boar were tactics used in conjunction with the established NJG Gruppes flying Ju-88's, Me-110's and He-219's against the RAF at night. Hajo used single seat fighters, often leading the fight in a Fw-190. Though not as successful as the other night fighters, his tactic's did help in defending the German civilian populations from destruction. In 1944, he was assigned as Inspector General of Night Fighters. Finally, near the end of, the war he commanded a daring mid-air ramming unit, and received the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. On 11 May 1945, Russian forces captured Herrmann and interned him as a prisoner of war until October 1955."
For some reason, Herrmann and Adolf Galland deeply heated each other.(???) Galland once said of Herrmann that he was the ".. second greatest criminal of war ", Hermann Göring being the first in his personal ranking. Hajo was one of the last German soldiers to be released from the Soviet POW camps. After the war, he put himself through law school and beginning in 1965 began practicing law in Dusseldorf. As of 2001, he is still very active with his practice. He is married to Ingeborg, who is a Professor of Singing. They have two sons.
http://www.luftwaffe-experten.com/pi...h_hermann.html
September 1944, Berlin, Germany: Ultimate defeat was staring the Nazi’s in the face and Luftwaffe leaders were scrambling for new ideas to turn the tide. Thirty-year old Oberst (Group Captain) Hans-Joachim “Hajo” Hermann said to Reichs-marschall Hermann Goering, “With our new Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighters coming on-line, the day of the propeller-driven fighter is over. I propose that we gather our Messerschmitt Me 109 fighters and in one massive attack, ram the American bombers in midair. If we crash into them amid-ship, the Me 109’s steel propeller will act as a saw. The sturdy wing with a steel beam running through it will snap the bomber’s fuselage in two, and the long nose will help protect the pilot in order for him to bail out. I believe that the assault will so terrorize the American bomber crews, that they will refuse to fly any more missions. At the very least, it will force them to stop the bombings until more aircraft can be brought over from America to replace their losses. More importantly, the respite will buy us time to improve our fuel supplies and build more Me 262 jet fighters with which to regain air superiority.” He continued, “I estimate that possibly half of our pilots will die in the crashes, but it’s better to lose them in this manner than to have them gradually annihilated with nothing to show for it as is happening today.” Goering favored the idea, but given Adolf Hitler’s dream of world domination, he had reser-vations about requesting the Fuhrer’s approval of a strategy that would clearly acknowledge the desperate nature of their situation. Doubtful that a sufficient number of pilots would volunteer for the Kamikaze-like mission, Hitler sat on it. In the meantime, the American fighters and gunners were downing the less experienced Luftwaffe pilots at an ever-increasing rate.
March 8, 1945, Ober-kommando der Luftwaffe: Hitler finally gave the go-ahead, and Goering sent a highly classified message to all fighter and air combat training units. In part, it stated, “I summon you to perform a mission from which your chances of return will be minimal.” With no more than this nebulous disclosure, over 2,000 students and recent graduates of flying schools stepped forward. With that, “Hajo” Hermann formed Rammkommando (Ram Command) Elbe and under great secrecy, the best candidates were interviewed at Stendal, an airfield west of Berlin. The good pilots were ruled out; they were needed alive. Those not deemed brave enough to perform the maneuver were also turned away. A few men backed out; they thought that they were volunteering to attend a training course, not commit suicide.
..During the final stages of preparation, the Germans found that rather than a shortage of volunteers, the overriding problem was a lack of aircraft and fuel. Combat losses together with operational and mechanical problems had whittled down the number of available propeller-driven fighters to no more than 200. Desperately and possibly against their better judgment, they forged ahead anyway...
April 6, 1945, Eighth Air Force Headquarters: The next day’s operational plans directed a “maximum effort” against sixteen targets in northern Germany. (The brass called them “ME’s.” Down in the trenches, tongue-in-cheek, we called them “EG’s” for Everybody Goes, including the colonels.) Over 1,300 bombers and 850 fighters were alerted to fly the mission. Of the 40 bomber groups on Bomber Alley, only two would stand-down and of the 14 fighter groups, one would stay home. The Luftwaffe had not seriously challenged the bombers since Dresden a month earlier. Therefore, the mission planners had no reason to believe that the Germans would come up in significant numbers on the 7th.
Twenty-three bombers went down that day. It is known that at least eleven were rammed.
http://afmuseum.com/friends/journal/frj_251.html
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Well, I never knew they did ramming into US bombers??
Or did they??