Books on He 177/274/277

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Goran
He 177 on the Eastern front
Mon Apr 1 23:57:33 2026
213.250.9.38

How many He 177 were used on the eastern front? Were they used as bombers, transports..? Did they fly daytime bombing missions? How many were lost in combat and how many in incidents?

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Ota Jirovec
He 177 of KG in the East
Sat Apr 6 13:05:11 2026
62.177.92.93

Hi Goran,

the following information is based on "The last year of the Luftwaffe" by Alfred Price:

The KG 1, led by Obstlt. Horst von Riesen arrived in the Königsberg area in early summer 1944 (having almost 100 4-engine bombers it was the mightest strategic bomber formation of the Luftwaffe at that time). But although there were many "attractive" targets within their range, they could hardly attack them due to the lack of fuel. When, ocassionally, the fuel supplies arrived, the KG 1 operated as efficiently as it could - the Heinkels usually flew at 7000 m at large formations and Soviet fighters designed mainly for low-level operations were not the serious threat at that time. The solitary fighters that could climb to the bomber´s altitude were usually deterred by the return fire. The greatest raid (as far as the numbers of He 177) are concerned, was aimed at Welikije Luki, and important railway junction 500 km W of Moscow - 87 He 177 took part in this raid (unfortunately, Price does not mention the date of this raid).

The situation changed, however, during the Soviet summer offensive in late June 1944: the desperate Göring ordered von Riesen personally to let his He 177 attack the Soviet tanks in low-level. This time the Heinkels attack just in pairs and were an easy prey to Soviet fighters - the Geschwader lost approx. a quarter of their remaining 40 bombers during these attacks, mainly to russian fighters.
According to Price it is also doubtful whether He 177 managed to destroy a single russian tank during these attacks.

The most curious incident occured on 20.7.1944 - in the vicinity of Königsberg there was Rastenburg -Hitler´s "Wolf Lair". During the forming of formation of some 80 Heinkels in that area some of the bombers had problems with engines and had to dropp their bombs. After the return, von Riesen was informed to be in deep trouble since one of his planes allegedly dropped the bombs over the Führer´s HQ. After several frustrating hours the relief came suddenly: the explosions were cause by von Schauffen- berg´s attempt to kill Hitler, not by the bombers! (a ridiculous story, indeed)

The op of 20.7.1944 was one of the last actions made by this unit. Due to the lack of fuel, the Geschwader was withdrawn back to Germany to be disbanded soon.

Hope this helps a little,

Ota

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Peter Kassak
He 177 and MIstel...
Thu Feb 27 14:47:38 2026
212.191.67.174

Hi all.

one specific, or two, question.
1/ Was ever He 177 in minds of constructers of Mistel?
2/ and is it possible that they tried it in Prague on March 1945???

Thanks

Peter:)

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

steve gallacci
mistel
Thu Feb 27 16:54:04 2026
12.228.13.193

I'd read a source or two that said that the He177 was considered, but it was never acted on.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

bil
He177 mistel
Thu Feb 27 21:17:25 2026
172.182.208.78

According to Griehl/Dressel@s He177/277/274 book:

"It seems that a few He177s were actually converted as Mistel composites, possibly by Luftwaffe ground personnel. On 20 February 1945RAF reconnaissance aircraft took a series of aerial photographs of the Grove and Tilstrup airfields in Denmark, and after careful scrutiny the photographic interpretation personnel positively identified 12 of the 35 well-camouflaged Mistel composites parked on these airfields. Most of those identified were Ju88/Fw190 combinations, but a few He177/Fw190 composites were also noted. A low level attack ordered by RAF fighter command shortly afterwards destroyed or damaged most of these Mistels. Examination of post-strike reconnaissance photos led the RAF experts to believe they had identified one He177 "Mistel Monster", as it was dubbed.
Exactly how many He177s were converted as the lower components of Mistel composites is unknown. It is certain however, that no He177 Misteln were ever used in action; the only "piggy-back" unmanned bombers used operationally were the Ju88s."

Maybe they were Ju88G-10 Mistels?

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Carsten Petersen
Mistel
Fri Feb 28 06:48:14 2026
80.163.34.143

There were never any Mistels at Grove. A squadron of Mistels was based at Tirstrup in January/February 1945. There were never any He 177 Mistels in Denmark. The Mistels at Tirstrup were ordinary Mistels composed of Ju 88G-1 and Fw 190A-8 with warheads.
Fighter Command did not 'order' any big attack on Tirstrup. Two Mosquito crews from FEU (F/O Le Long og F/Lt Craft)planned an intruder mission to Tirstrup in February 1945. The mission took place on the 14th and they destroyed three Mistels and a single Ju 88S. Two Mistels exploded and the third was damaged (15%. Not 'most of these Mistels'.
They destroyed:
Ju 88S-3 Werk Nr. 330565, 100% Bruch
Ju 88G-1 Werk Nr. 714623, 100% Bruch
Ju 88G-1 Werk Nr. 714659, 100% Bruch
Ju 88G-1 Werk Nr. 714150, 15% Bruch
Fw 190A-8 Werk Nr. 330328, 100% Bruch
Fw 190A-8 Werk Nr. 733683, 100% Bruch
Fw 190A-8 Werk Nr. 737388, 15% Bruch
There were other reasons for that the Luftwaffe never carried out the attack on Scapa Flow from Tirstrup, but not two Mosquitoes on an intruder mission.
Tirstrup was from February 1945 used by IV./KG 200 and a few Mistels were found at the air field after the war. Pictures of these planes are quite often referred to as photographed at Grove/Karup.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Charles Bavaroise
He 177 Mistel
Fri Feb 28 17:49:44 2026
62.245.208.247

Peter,

found only one hint:

Kriegstagebuch Chef Technische Luftrüstung for week 8. Jan. to 14. Jan 1945:

>> Mistel 177. New Dates for evaluation-a/c:
1.aircraft 177 1. Feb. 1945
2.aircraft 177 15. Feb. 1945
ready for ferry-flight to Nordhausen <<

There are a few later entries concerning Mistel-aircraft, but He 177 were never mentioned again.

HTH

Carl

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Venancio
He-177 Identification ?
Sun Sep 7 05:21:55 2026
212.113.164.100

Hi Everybody,

Does someone knows what markings would the four torpedo He-177 in the photo have ? What unit ?
I don´t speak German, so i can´t read the text...is it the same machine as the picture below ?


http://pwp.netcabo.pt/0681278701/he177.jpg

I´m trying to build this one from Revell kit, but still couldn´t find nothing nowhere except this photo regardin the 177 equipped with 4 torpedos.

Any help welcome !
TIA
VL

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

indianer
Unit identification of He 177
Sun Sep 7 16:57:28 2026
202.52.251.143

Hello,
These photos appear on pages 106 and 108, respectively, of Manfred Griehl/Joachim Dressel's "He 177, 277, 274" (Airlife, 1998). The captions read as follows :
1) The 4-torpedoed He 177 : << This He 177 A-3 served with E-Stelle Gotenhafen-Hexengrund on torpedo trials for several months, and is seen here carrying the maximum load of four aerial torpedoes. >> It may possibly be inferred from the text that the aircraft was modified in the Lufthansa workshops and Berlin-Staaken. >>

2) The He 177 with dropped torpedo seems to be TM + IF, W. Nr. 550202, an A-5 version modified to carry 2 L10 Friedensengel aerial torpedoes. Griehl/Dressel's loss list seems to indicate that the aircraft subsequently served with II/KG 40 with codes F8 + KH, and was lost in 08/44.


HTH,

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Venancio
Thanks, but my doubt remains
Sun Sep 7 20:02:45 2026
212.113.164.100

Hi Thank´s for the info !
It sure will help me trying to find any photos of E-Stelle He-177 to see if i manage to get some color scheme and also try to find the markings on such a cool bird ;o)

Do you suppose this is a case of 70/71/65 camo ? Just out of the factory into the testing ground ? ( The dar photo seems to show that it has some camouflage on the sides, but no visible markings or demarcation lines :o(

Thank´s !
VL

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Venancio
[email protected]
Here i go again with the He-177...
Thu Sep 11 16:37:45 2026
193.126.227.254

I hope you guys have the patiente to bear with my doubts...

Still looking for the 4 LT50 Torpedo He-177 markings and W.Nr identification.

This is the question :

According to Barry Rosch "Luftwaffe Codes, Markings & Units"
there were 3 He-177 in E-Stelle Rechlim :
E8+FH (A-1)
E8+FK (A-1)
E8+GH (A-3)

So far so good, now, according to some photo captions and publications there was another He-177 used for torpedo trials coded TM+IF in E-Stelle(?) Gotenhafen-Hexengrund ( A-5/V31 version ?) This quoted from Warpaint title on the subject and Eaglestrike decals.

Was this TM+IF a factory code ? Didn´t find no mention to this code in Barry Rosch book.

According to Shiffer He-177/277/274 book :

"...at first only one aircraft was available for trials with aerial torpedoes, namely the He177A-3/V17 (W.Nr.335005 coded ??+??) at E-Stelle Travemunde. It was not until September 1942 that Heinkel equipped another pattern aircraft for further torpedo trials theis being the He177A-3/V3 (W.Nr.135018 coded ND+SM). In March 1943, an He177A-3 was modified in the Lufthansa workshops at Berlin-Staaken to carry four aerial torpedoes externally (2 beneath the fuselage and 1 beneath each wing). It was also intended to ssimilarly modify the He177A-04/V26 (W.Nr.000019 coded GA+QM..."

Now where do i stand ?

Would the 4 torpedo test aircraft carry a factory code ? Could it be that E8+GH is the one ?

And BTW, what´s the reason behind He-177 different W.Nr ?
were the produced at different manufacturers ?

Thank´s
VL

P.S.
Why is it that i always have to look to the strange odd stuff ?? ;o)

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Dunash
He 177 mass raid
Fri Jan 2 00:09:09 2026
217.132.184.154

There was a bombing raid involving a mass flight of 50 Heinkel 177s in Russia. When and where was this raid?

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Colin Youl
Massed He 177 raid
Fri Jan 2 11:26:22 2026
144.139.55.27

I, too have read of this,in a general book about the Luftwaffe. It was a "all the Luftwaffe's aircraft" style book I didn't buy it, and don't remember the name, but it claimed there was a quite a series of such attacks, summer 1944. One target was a rail junction, which the writer claimed was obliterated. No doubt many others will give you the information you seek. Suffice it to say, that the operations are mentioned obliquely elsewhere. When Stauffenberg's bomb exploded at Hitler's HQ on 20:7:1944, initial suspicion fell on these very He 177's which custmarily jetisonned "hang ups" over the very "uninhabited" forest in which Hitler's HQ was buried.
Colin

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Steve W.
He 177s in the East
Fri Jan 2 13:10:56 2026
64.12.96.237

These missions were all flown by Stab, I. and II./KG 1 from Prowehren/8 km NW of Königsberg in East Prussia during the last 10 days of June and the month of July 1944. To mid-July, most of the attacks were on rail junctions such as Velikiye Luki that were key to the Soviet Belorussian offensive that opened on 22 June. After that and for the next two weeks the He 177s were used mainly to destroy or break up enemy tank concentrations along the front. The 26 June attack on Velikiye Luki is said to have been flown at 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) by a mass formation of 87 He 177s. This claim appears in the J.R.Smith/Antony L. Kay work, German Aircraft of the Second World War (1972), p. 288, but cannot be confirmed from other sources, such as the unpublished unit history of KG 1 written in the fall of 1944 right after the Geschwader was disbanded. The date, target and altitude are correct, but it is very doubtful if the Geschwaderstab and the two Gruppen could have put 87 He 177s in the air all at one time. More likely, 87 may have been the total number on hand, of which perhaps 60% would have been "einsatzklar". This would make your figure of 50 seem reasonable. The fuel crisis that became acute in mid-summer 1944 forced the Luftwaffe to suspend most bomber operations, especially those flown by the petrol-hogging He 177s.

Steve

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Richard Byrd
Mass raid
Fri Jan 2 13:48:08 2026
208.62.52.1

I think the original source is the Profile on the He-177, which had some material in it from a veteran of KG 1's He-177 operations. I will try to locate my copy & add details later.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Richard Byrd
Some more details
Sun Jan 4 19:37:37 2026
67.8.140.77

Profile #234 by Alfred Price contained some recollections of Hptm Otto von Bellasko of Stab/KG1. Price states that all three gruppen of KG1 were active in these raids and that the strike on Velikye Luki consisted of 87 aircraft. Bomb drop was simultaneous on the order of the Geschwader Kommodore, Horst von Riesen.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Steve W.
KG 1
Sun Jan 4 22:41:11 2026
152.163.252.131

I know you are just offering up what you found in Profile #234, so please do not think that I am trying to dispute what you have made the effort to post or that I am trying to be argumentive. I dug out the history noted below and took another look. Here's what I found:

In that last week of June 1944 KG had a total of 1 He 177A-3 in the Geschwaderstab, 35 A-3/A-5s in I.Gruppe, 37 A-3/A-5s in II.Gruppe plus 14 A-3/A-5s and crews attached from III.Gruppe. According to the Geschwaders's unit history written in fall 1944 by Hptm. Spohr - “Kriegschronik des Kampfgeschwader 1 ‘Hindenburg’”, who was the Ia (operations) officer of the Geschwader and used all of KG 1's documents to write the history, III. Gruppe was "in formation" at Fassberg and Lechfeld and did not take part in the attacks with the rest of KG 1. Instead, III.Gruppe sent "some" individual He 177s and crews and these were temporarily attached to the other two Gruppen in East Prussia. No more than 14 or 15 from III.Gruppe were ever there at one time. So I will stick by my original contention that KG 1 had some 87 He 177s on strength at the time of the Velikiye Luki attack but only around 50 of those probably flew the mission.

Dr. Price got his information from the postwar recollections of Hptm. Bellasko which were probably not entirely accurate. But I could be wrong, of course....

Steve W.