Erich Hartmann
Erich Alfred Hartmann (19 April 1922 – 20 September 1993), nicknamed
"Bubi" (the hypocoristic form of "young boy") by his comrades
and "The Black Devil" by his Soviet adversaries, was a German fighter
pilot during World War II and is the highest-scoring fighter
ace in the history of aerial warfare. He claimed 352 aerial victories
(345 against the Soviet Air Force and 260 of which were fighters)
in 1,404 combat missions. He engaged in aerial combat 825 times while serving
with the Luftwaffe. During the course of his career,
Hartmann was forced to crash-land his damaged fighter 14 times. This was due to
damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he had just shot down or mechanical
failure. Hartmann was never shot down or forced to land due to fire from enemy
aircraft.[1]
Hartmann, a pre-war glider pilot, joined the Luftwaffe in 1940
and completed his fighter pilot training in 1942. He was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) on the Eastern front and was fortunate to be placed
under the supervision of some of the Luftwaffe's most experienced fighter
pilots. Under their guidance, Hartmann steadily developed his tactics, which
earned him the coveted Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und
Brillanten (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves,
Swords and Diamonds) on 25 August 1944 for claiming 301 aerial victories.
He scored his 352nd and last aerial victory on 8 May 1945. He and the
remainder of JG 52 surrendered to United States Army forces and were turned over to
the Red Army. In an attempt to pressure him into
service with the Soviet-friendly East
German Volksarmee, he was convicted of false war
crimes, a conviction posthumously voided by a Russian court as a malicious
prosecution. Hartmann was sentenced to 25 years of hard labour and spent 10
years in various Soviet prison camps and gulags until he was released in 1955.
In 1956, Hartmann joined the newly established West German Air Force and became the first Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen". Hartmann
resigned early from the Bundeswehr in 1970, largely due to his
opposition to the F-104 Starfighter deployment in the
Luftwaffe and the resulting clashes with his superiors over this issue.
He was later involved in flight training.[2] He
died of natural causes on 20 September 1993.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Hartmann
"Bubi" (the hypocoristic form of "young boy") by his comrades
and "The Black Devil" by his Soviet adversaries, was a German fighter
pilot during World War II and is the highest-scoring fighter
ace in the history of aerial warfare. He claimed 352 aerial victories
(345 against the Soviet Air Force and 260 of which were fighters)
in 1,404 combat missions. He engaged in aerial combat 825 times while serving
with the Luftwaffe. During the course of his career,
Hartmann was forced to crash-land his damaged fighter 14 times. This was due to
damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he had just shot down or mechanical
failure. Hartmann was never shot down or forced to land due to fire from enemy
aircraft.[1]
Hartmann, a pre-war glider pilot, joined the Luftwaffe in 1940
and completed his fighter pilot training in 1942. He was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) on the Eastern front and was fortunate to be placed
under the supervision of some of the Luftwaffe's most experienced fighter
pilots. Under their guidance, Hartmann steadily developed his tactics, which
earned him the coveted Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und
Brillanten (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves,
Swords and Diamonds) on 25 August 1944 for claiming 301 aerial victories.
He scored his 352nd and last aerial victory on 8 May 1945. He and the
remainder of JG 52 surrendered to United States Army forces and were turned over to
the Red Army. In an attempt to pressure him into
service with the Soviet-friendly East
German Volksarmee, he was convicted of false war
crimes, a conviction posthumously voided by a Russian court as a malicious
prosecution. Hartmann was sentenced to 25 years of hard labour and spent 10
years in various Soviet prison camps and gulags until he was released in 1955.
In 1956, Hartmann joined the newly established West German Air Force and became the first Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen". Hartmann
resigned early from the Bundeswehr in 1970, largely due to his
opposition to the F-104 Starfighter deployment in the
Luftwaffe and the resulting clashes with his superiors over this issue.
He was later involved in flight training.[2] He
died of natural causes on 20 September 1993.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Hartmann