Hugo Heinkel

Hugo Heinkel
Hugo Heinkel
	;
Birth date	21 July 1914
Place of birth	Dettingen near Horb, Regierungsbezirk Sigmaringen (Hohenzollernsche Lande), Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	27 November 1985 (aged 71)
Place of death	Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Allegiance	National Socialist Germany; West Germany
Service/branch	Reichswehr ; Heer; Bundeswehr
Rank	2nd Lieutenant (Wehrmacht); Captain (Bundeswehr)
Unit	90. Panzergrenadier-Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hugo Reinhard Heinkel (21 July 1914 – 27 November 1985) was a German officer and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II.

Life

Hugo was born in Dettingen in 1914. Although within the Kingdom of Württemberg, Dettingen belonged to the Prussian Province of Hohenzollern (1850–1947).

Military

He joined the Reichswehr c. 1933/34 and later served with the Wehrmacht.

WWII

In the second half of WWII, he served in the Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 361, which was established on 6 July 1943 in Corsica. The regiment was subordinated to the new 90th Panzer Grenadier Division under Carl Hans Lungershausen, as of December 1943 under Ernst-Günther Baade. In 1944, the regiment under Colonel Herbert Ziegler (⚔ 25 June 1944 in Massa Marittima, Italy) was temporarily referred to as Grenadier Regiment (motorized) 361. From 1 December 1944, the regiment was again called the 361th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. At the end of the war, the regiment was still in action in Italy. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 November 1944.

In December 1944, divisional commander General Baade presented Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant Major) Heinkel with the high award at the Italian Front. Martin Mitschke was also present, although he had received his Knight's Cross a month earlier, also by Generalleutnant Baade, but the "Deutsche Wochenschau" wanted to film them both, so Baade and Mitschke had to reenact. In the film recordings, Heinkel is wearing his award as he should on the day of the award ceremony (Ritterkreuzverleihungszeremonie), Mitschke, on the other hand, under his collar, because his neck ribbon had already been shortened since a month. In 1945, he was promoted to Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant).

Post-WWII

After his time as a POW and a civilian career, Heinkel joined the new Bundeswehr where he would finally achieve the rank of Hauptmann (Captain).

Awards und decorations

Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th Class
Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver
Wound Badge (1939) in Black and Silver
- possibly also in Gold
Silver Rider's Pin (House Order of General Baade)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 November 1944 as Sergeant Major and Platoon Troop Leader in the 15th Company//Grenadier-Regiment (motorisiert) 361/90. Panzergrenadier-Division