Images: Higgins Family and TG-Fursty Museum
Richard William Higgins was born in Framingham on 21 August 1922.He was raised in a transitional Craftsman home (built in 1907) on Warren Road.Following graduation from Framingham High School,he matriculated at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.He subsequently left Norwich to join the US Army Air Force (USAAF) where he hoped to become a pilot.In 1944,he was both awarded his wings and married another Framingham High graduate,Miss Elizabeth P. Pfeiffer.Betty spent her early years at 50 Warren Road.Miss Pfeiffer was a 1941 graduate of Lasell Junior College.She was also a member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC’s).
Image: FHS Class of 1939
Image: FHS Class of 1940
Image: FHS 1940 Yearbook
During WWII,Richard was assigned to the 56th Fighter Group’s, 61st Fighter Squadron.He flew P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft from RAF Bases in England.In 1944,the squadron was recognized as the first in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) to have scored more than 100 aerial victories.It was also the home of the famous ace Lieutenant Colonel Francis “Gabby” Gabreski. Gabreski achieved 28 victories in WWII and 6.5 in the Korean War.
For his actions with the 61st,First Lieutenant Higgins was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf clusters (subsequent awards; four total).The squadron was deactivated on 18 October 1945.Richard’s WWII service came to an end on 21 February 1946.
Lieutenant Colonel Gabreski’s Republic P-47D Thunderbolt
Image: (U.S. Air Force 68268 A.C./American Air Museum in Britain UPL 33594)
In July of 1947,after a brief period back in Framingham, Richard returned to active duty with the new United States Air Force (USAF).He was assigned to the reactivated 522nd Fighter Squadron,which belonged to the Strategic Air Command (SAC).It had been tasked with the fighter escort (of bombers) mission using the F-84 Thunderstreak jet aircraft.The command flew from Kearney Air Base (NE) then Bergstrom Air Base (TX) before deploying to Taegu AFB in South Korea (1950) to participate in combat operations.Prior to departure for Korea, it was redesignated the 522nd Fighter Escort Squadron.In 1951,after several months of combat, Higgins and the 522nd returned to Bergstrom, which was the 522nd's home for the next eight years. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953.
F-84Gs of the 522nd Fighter Escort Squadron,27th Fighter Escort Wing
Image: F-84 Thunderjets,Squadron/Signal Publications
In 1957, Richard,Elizabeth and family (Tuck-9, Blair-6 and Peter-1) were stationed in Fürstenfeldbruck in Southern Germany (west of Munich).Richard was attached to the 7330th Flying Training Wing.The Wing’s mission was to provide pilot training to European Air Forces (via the Mutual Defense Assistance Program) while helping West Germany build and equip a modern air force.At that point in his career,Higgins had accumulated a total of 2,476 hours with 670 in F-84’s.He was a well seasoned pilot.The West German Air Force (Luftwaffe) received 450 F-84 Thunderstreak jets from the U.S.On 13 November 1956, the first F-84s were handed over to the Luftwaffe in Fürstenfeldbruck.
West German F-84 Thunderstreak
Image: Markus Kutscher, Frankfurt, Germany
On 05 April 1957, a West German F-84 needed a post-maintenance check flight.This special task was only carried out by three US pilots with extensive flying experience.When the designated pilot was unavailable,Higgins gladly agreed to take the flight. He took off at around 10:49 AM. The following paragraph, compiled from press reporting, the City of Furstenfeldbruck website and the Final Report of the Accident Investigation by the General for Aviation Safety of the German Armed Forces (as reported by the Commanding Officer of Furstenfeldbruck Air Base) describes the flight as it unfolded…
“After becoming airborne and reaching the end of the runway, the first problems with the engine were observed.Eyewitnesses reported a plume of smoke behind the aircraft along with unusual noises.It was already too late to abort the takeoff.In a slight climb, Higgins flew a right turn to the south.He intended to land on Runway 10 as quickly as possible. He managed to climb to about 900 feet above Furstenfeld Abbey (built in 1266).The situation then rapidly worsened;the engine continued to fail, and the aircraft began a rapid descent.Eyewitnesses reported smoke and flames coming from the exhaust pipe of his F-84.He was already very low over the western outskirts of Fürstenfeldbruck when he received the order to eject from the control tower.He delayed activating his ejection seat until he had reached uninhabited territory.He only activated the seat at a height of 260 feet, which was too late to fully open his parachute.He died at the scene of the accident.His final flight lasted just two minutes and eighteen seconds.The cause was determined to be a material defect in the Wright J-65-W-3 engine.”
The German commander of his base indicated that the investigation confirmed that Captain Higgins had refused to bail out of his plane as it approached the landing field. Ignoring the tower's orders to abandon the aircraft,he maneuvered it past a community of homes that lay in the crash path.He ejected when he was certain there were no homes in jeopardy.By that time,however,he was too low to eject and parachute to safety.
At the initiative of the mayor,this amazing example of self-sacrifice was honored by naming a street in the city of Fürstenfeldbruck the “Richard-Higgins-Strasse.” It is located just over 0.5 miles from the accident site.The street naming happened only 10 days after the accident.On 5 April 2000, Building 227 at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base was named the “Captain Higgins Building.” This building now serves as a military museum.At Christmas time of 2002, an elementary school in Fürstenfeldbruck changed its name to "Richard-Higgins-Volksschule.”Captain Higgins was laid to rest in Edgell Grove Cemetery in Framingham.He was posthumously promoted by the US Air Force from Captain to Major.
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