Richard W. Higgins (August 21, 1922–April 5, 1957) was a jet pilot with the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAF). A member of the

7330th Flying Training Wing __NOTOC__ Year 733 ( DCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 733 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calend ...

in Germany, Higgins died in an aircraft accident. He is cited as one of four exemplars of bravery in the history of the

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as ...

Biography

Early life and career

Higgins was born in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

. He gave up his studies at

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-cam ...

Northfield, Vermont Northfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The town lies in a valley within the Green Mountains and has been home to Norwich University since 1866. It contains the village of Northfield, where over half of the population ...

, to become a pilot of the

. In early 1944, he married his wife Elisabeth, and shortly afterwards he received his wings. After a brief period as a civilian after World War II, he joined the USAF again as fighter pilot in

522d Fighter-Escort Squadron 5 (five) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typ ...

in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

Fürstenfeldbruck and Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base

In 1957 the family resided in

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, located 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it has a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s, Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Th ...

in Southern Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck had been the site of an

Air Base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operatio ...

since 1936. The ''Fliegerhorst'' was used by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

before and during World War II. After the war, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

70th Fighter Wing took over the facilities. In 1955, the French, British and American occupation of Germany ended, and permission was given to the West German government to re-establish its armed forces. In 1957 Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base became a joint-use facility with the new West

. Starting in November 1953, the 7330th Flying Training Wing was activated at Fürstenfeldbruck. Its mission was to provide upgrading and instructor training for students of MAP (Mutual Assistance Pact) – recipient countries in

T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

trainers; to operate and maintain Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base; provide administrative and logistical support for tenant units; prepare for the reception and provide necessary support for tactical units using Fürstenfeldbruck as a staging base; and to operate and maintain the Siegenburg gunnery range. Captain Higgins was an experienced member of the 7330th Flying Training Wing, with a total flight log of 2476 hours, therefrom 670 hours on

F-84F The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version. ...

Fatal accident

Higgins was asked to take over a maintenance flight as stand-in for another pilot on duty. The German F-84F of ''Waffenschule der Luftwaffe 30'' with registration ''BA-102'' had logged only 103 flight hours and had been taken over by the Luftwaffe on November 13, 1956, from the USAF. Shortly after takeoff at 1049, the engine caught fire. Higgins turned right for a short pattern, which crossed parts of the city, not higher than 300 meters. Although he was advised to eject, he steered his descending jet downwind and into the right base of the pattern, steering it away from the town. He ejected at about 80 meters over the forest near ''Rothschwaige'' – 2 minutes and 18 seconds after leaving the runway - but due to the low-level eject, he died close to the crash site. The crash was the first accident with a German F-84F. The engine failure was caused by broken turbine blades in the fourth stage high-pressure compressor.

Posthumous honors

Ten days after the accident, ''Richard-Higgins-Straße'' in Fürstenfeldbruck was named after Captain Higgins. Higgins was promoted to major by the USAF. On April 5, 2000 ''Gebäude 227'' (building 227) at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base was named ''Captain Higgins Gebäude''. His widow Elisabeth and daughter Blair attended the ceremony 43 years after his death. At Christmas 2002 an elementary school in Fürstenfeldbruck changed its name to "Richard-Higgins-Volksschule". The new name was approved by the Bavarian State Minister for Education and Cultural Affairs

Monika Hohlmeier Monika Hohlmeier (née Strauß, born 2 July 1962) is a German politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2009. She is a member of the Christian Social Union, part of the European People's Party. Between 19 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Richard W. 1922 births 1957 deaths Aviators from Massachusetts American Korean War pilots United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Air Force officers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany People from Framingham, Massachusetts American expatriates in Germany United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Military personnel from Massachusetts