Hagen, Siegfried
29 May 1916 - 22 Nov 1944
The following is from an e-mail sent to me by Ulrich Habermann who is Siegfried Hagen's nephew.
"In the letter of condolence there are some details mentioned concerning the crash landing of the Ju 188D-2 (Code F6+EP) about 5 km south of Bergamo / Italy. The airplane started in the late afternoon for a sortie but returned to the airfield due to misfunctioning radio equipment. Approaching the airfield the plane run into trouble. Without landing it accelerated again but obviously could not gain height. Two of the four crew members, the gunner and the wireless operator were able to leave the cockpit and saved their lives by parachute jump. The cause of the crash landing was mentioned as uncertain.
I learned from other sources that the Ju-188 was demanding to fly and land due to a high specific wing area load. In case of the Ju 188D-2 (Code F6+EP), the early and unscheduled return to the airfield resulted in an abnormal high landing weight if the crew was not able or not allowed to drop the dispensable fuel. This required a higher landing speed than normal and a longer landing distance. But that is a speculation only."
Siegfried only served for two months in 6.(F)/122 before his death on 22 Nov 1944.
From the time of his death Siegfried's remains had been buried at Bergamo but in the 1970s they were moved from there to the military cemetery at Costermano near Lake Garda. In 2008 Ulrich managed to visit his uncle's grave at Costermano.
Below are the following
1. A portrait of Siegfried Hagen dated 1944.
2. Three extracted pages from his service record.
3. A letter of condolence from Lt Friedrich Brinckmann (Staka 6.(F)/122) to Siegfried's Father (Ulrich's Grandfather).
