Erich Hartmann

class="fn" colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" \| Erich Hartmann
	colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" \|
	colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa; line-height: 1.5em;" \| File:Erich Hartmann, der blonde Ritter der Lüfte III.png; Leutnant Hartmann
Nickname	Bubi ; ("The Kid"); Ritter der Lüfte ; ("Knight of the Skies"); Der Schwarze Teufel ; ("The Black Devil"){{#invoke:Footnotes\|sfn\|template=sfn}}\|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| ignore-err \| loc \| p \| page \| pages \| postscript \| pp \| ps \| ref \| Ref }}
Birth date	19 April 1922
Place of birth	Weissach, Württemberg, Weimar Republic
Death date	20 September 1993 (aged 71)
Place of death	Weil im Schönbuch, Germany
Resting place	New Cemetery Weil im Schönbuch
Allegiance	File:Flag of the NSDAP (1920–1945).svg National Socialist Germany; File:Flag of Germany.svg West Germany
Service/branch	File:Luftwaffe eagle.png Luftwaffe; File:Bundeswehr cross.png Bundeswehr (Luftwaffe)
Years of service	1940–1945; 1956–1970
Rank	Major (Wehrmacht); Oberst (Bundeswehr)
Unit	JG 52, JG 53 and JG 71
Commands held	I./JG 52 and Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 71 "Richthofen"
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front; Reichsluftverteidigung;
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Other work	Civilian flight instructor

Erich Alfred Hartmann (b. 19 April 1922 in Weissach, Württemberg; d. 20 September 1993 in Weil im Schönbuch, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) was a German officer of the Wehrmacht and fighter pilot (Jagdflieger) of the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was the most successful fighter ace (Flieger-As) in the history of aerial warfare.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} He flew 1,404 combat missions (Feindflüge) and participated in aerial combat on 825 separate occasions.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} He was credited with shooting down a total of 352 Allied aircraft: 345 Soviet and seven American while serving with the Luftwaffe. During the course of his career, Hartmann was forced to crash-land his fighter 16 times due either to mechanical failure or damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he had shot down; he was never shot down by direct enemy action.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} After his time as a POW and his return to Germany, he became an Oberst of the Deutsche Luftwaffe of the new Bundeswehr. He was also an international aviation consultant, for instance 1972 during construction of the Zurich Airport.

Hartmann was the subject of a biography by the American authors Trevor J. Constable and Raymond F. Toliver,^[1] under the title The Blond Knight of Germany. Originally released in the United States in 1970, it was published in Germany the next year, as Holt Hartmann vom Himmel! ("Shoot Hartmann down!").{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} The Blond Knight was a commercial success and enjoyed a wide readership among both the American, British and the German public as was Horrido! Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe by the same authors.

Life

File:Erich Bubi Hartmann bei der Flieger-HJ.png

"Bubi" Hartmann as member of the Flieger-HJ

File:Erich Hartmann.png

Ref }}

File:Erich Hartmanns Kriegstrauung am 10. September 1944 II.png

Erich and Uschi on the day of their war wedding (Kriegstrauung)

File:Erich Hartmann, der blonde Ritter der Lüfte.png

File:Erich Alfred Hartmann (Bundeswehr).png

File:Noch heute lebt der Ruhm von Erich Hartmann, wenn auch zuweilen auf Kaffeetassen und T-Hemden.png

Even in the 21st century, Erich Hartmann is still a German war hero (Kriegsheld)

File:Erich Hartmann, grave.png

Grave

Hartmann was educated at the Volksschule in Weil im Schönbuch (April 1928 – April 1932), the Gymnasium in Böblingen (April 1932 – April 1936), the National Political Institutes of Education (Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt) in Rottweil (April 1936 – April 1937), and the Gymnasium in Korntal (April 1937 – April 1940), from which he received his Abitur.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} It was at Korntal that he met his wife-to-be, Ursula "Usch" Paetsch.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Hartmann's flying career began when he joined the glider training program (Segelfliegerei) of the fledgling Luftwaffe and was taught to fly by his mother, one of the first female glider pilots in Germany. The Hartmanns also owned a light aircraft but were forced to sell it in 1932 as the German economy collapsed.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} The rise to power of the NSDAP in 1933 resulted in government support for gliding, and, in 1936, Elisabeth Hartmann established the glider club in Weil im Schönbuch for locals and served as instructor.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} The 14-year-old Hartmann became a gliding instructor in the Hitler Youth.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} In 1937, he gained his pilot's license (Segelflugschein A), in 1938 Segelflugschein B, and in 1939 Segelflugschein C.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} In 1940, he achieved his Abitur at the elite Internat Gymnasium Korntal.

WWII

Hartmann began his military training on 1 October 1940 at the 10th Flying Regiment (Luftwaffenausbildungs-Regiment 10) in Neukuhren. On 1 March 1941, he progressed to the Luftkriegsschule 2 (Air War School 2) in Berlin-Gatow, making his first flight with an instructor four days later, followed in just under three weeks by his first solo flight.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} He completed his basic flying training in October 1941 and began advanced flight training at pre-fighter school 2 in Lachen-Speyerdorf (Neustadt an der Weinstraße) on 1 November 1941. There, Hartmann learned combat techniques and gunnery skills. His advanced pilot training was completed on 31 January 1942, and, between 1 March 1942 and 20 August 1942, he learned to fly the Messerschmitt Bf 109 at the Jagdfliegerschule 2^[2] (Fighter Pilot School 2).{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Hartmann's time as a trainee pilot did not always go smoothly. On 31 March 1942, during a gunnery training flight, he ignored regulations and performed some aerobatics in his Bf 109 over the Zerbst airfield. His punishment was a week of confinement to quarters with the loss of two-thirds of his pay in fines. Hartmann later recalled that the incident saved his life:

That week confined to my room actually saved my life. I had been scheduled to go up on a gunnery flight the afternoon that I was confined. My roommate took the flight instead of me, in an aircraft I had been scheduled to fly. Shortly after he took off, while on his way to the gunnery range, he developed engine trouble and had to crash-land near the Hindenburg-Kattowitz railroad. He was killed in the crash.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Afterward, Hartmann practised diligently and adopted a new credo which he passed on to other young pilots: "Fly with your head, not with your muscles."{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} During a gunnery practice session in June 1942, he hit a target drogue with 24 of the allotted 50 rounds of machine-gun fire, a feat that was considered difficult to achieve.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} His training had qualified him to fly 17 different types of powered aircraft,{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} and, following his graduation, he was posted on 21 August 1942 to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group, East) in Krakau, Upper Silesia, where he remained until 10 October 1942.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

On 29 October 1943, Hartmann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 148 enemy aircraft destroyed and the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross for 202 enemy aircraft on 2 March 1944. Exactly four months later, he received the Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves for 268 enemy aircraft shot down. Ultimately, Hartmann earned the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 25 August 1944 for 301 aerial victories. At the time of its presentation to Hartmann, this was Germany's highest military decoration.{{refn |In 1944, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds was second only to the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (), which was awarded only to senior commanders for winning a major battle or campaign, in the military order of the Third Reich. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds as the highest military order was surpassed on 29 December 1944 by the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (). Hartmann achieved his 352nd and last aerial victory at midday on 8 May 1945 over Brünn (Moravia), hours before the surrender of the Wehrmacht.

Wehrmachtbericht

21 August 1944: "Oberleutnant Hartmann yesterday, with the shooting down of 8 Soviet aircraft, raised the total of his aerial victories to 290."^[3]

25 August 1944: "In aerial combats and through anti-aircraft fire, the Soviets yesterday lost 58 aircraft. Of these, Oberleutnant Hartmann, decorated with the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes and Staffelkapitän in a Jagdgeschwader, alone shot down 11 aircraft and thereby gained his 301st aerial victory."

POW

Along with the remainder of JG 52, he surrendered to United States Army forces near Pisek and was turned over to the Red Army. In an attempt to pressure him into service with the Soviet-friendly East German forces, he was tried on war crimes charges and convicted. He was initially sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment, later increased to 25 years.

Sentenced to 25 years of hard labour in 1950 (Zwangsarbeit),{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} he refused to work, and was put into solitary confinement, which led to a riot by some of his fellow detainees, who overpowered the guards, and temporarily freed him. He made a complaint to the Kommandant's office, asking for a representative from Moscow and an international inspection, as well as a new trial hearing to overturn his sentence. This was refused, and he was transferred to a gulag in Novocherkassk, where he spent five more months in solitary confinement. He was later put before a new tribunal, which upheld the original sentence. He was subsequently sent to another camp, this time at Diaterka in the Ural Mountains.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} In late 1955 Hartmann was released as a part of the last Spätheimkehrer.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

In January 1997 (unofficially already in May 1995^[4]), more than three years after his death, Hartmann's case was reviewed by the Chief Military Prosecutor in Moscow of the Russian Federation, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and he was acquitted of all historical charges against him in Russian Law. The government agency stated that he had been wrongly convicted.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}^[5]

Post-war

In 1956, Hartmann joined the newly established West German Air Force in the Bundeswehr as Major, and became the first Geschwaderkommodore of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 71 "Richthofen". Hartmann also made several trips to the United States (among them Gunnery Training, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, USA), where he was trained on U.S. Air Force equipment. Hartmann and the former Luftwaffe pilots needed only familiarisation training.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} He commanded West Germany's first all-jet unit (JG 71 "Richthofen") from 6 June 1959 to 29 May 1962, his successor was his friend Oberst Günther Josten (de).

He was retired on 30 September 1970, due to his opposition to the procurement of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Hartmann considered the F-104 a fundamentally flawed and unsafe aircraft (269 crashes and 116 German pilots killed on the F-104 in non-combat missions, along with strong allegations of bribes culminating in the Lockheed bribery scandals) and strongly opposed its adoption by the air force.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} Already in 1957, Hartmann had recommended to Kammhuber to first buy and evaluate a few new and unfamiliar aircraft before committing the air force to a new aircraft type.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} From 1971 to 1974, Hartmann worked as a gliding and powered flight instructor in Hangelar, near Bonn, but also in Weil im Schönbuch (until 1973), and also flew in fly-ins with other wartime pilots.

Death

Erich Hartmann died on 20 September 1993, at the age of 71 in Weil im Schönbuch.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} In 2016, Hartmann's former German Air Force unit, JG 71, honoured him by applying his tulip colour scheme to their current aircraft.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Family

Erich Hartmann was born 1922 to Dr. med. Alfred Erich Hartmann (1894-1952) and his wife, Elisabeth Wilhelmine, née Machtholf (1897-1990). The economic depression that followed World War I in Germany prompted Doctor Hartmann to find work in China, and Erich spent his early childhood there. The family was forced to return to Germany in 1928, when the Chinese Civil War broke out.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} During World War II, Hartmann's younger brother, Alfred (b. 1923), also joined the Luftwaffe, serving as a gunner on a Junkers Ju 87 in North Africa. Alfred Hartmann was captured by the British and spent four years as a prisoner of war.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} Alfred studied medicine after the war and, like his father, became a Dr. med.

Marriage

Erich Hartmann married his fiancée Ursula "Uschi" Elisabeth Therese Auguste Paetsch (1924–1996) on 10 September 1944 (civil marriage) in Bad Wiessee. Gerhard Barkhorn (de), Wilhelm Batz (de) and Walter Krupinski (de) were wedding witnesses. The church wedding did not take place until after the war. During his long imprisonment, Hartmann's son, Erich-Peter, was born in 1945 and died as a three-year-old in 1948, without his father ever having seen him. Hartmann later had a daughter, Ursula Isabel, born on 23 February 1957.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Quotes

"The amazing thing about Erich Hartmann's achievements is that they are not based on a single exceptional talent. He is a very good flyer, certainly, but not a virtuoso like Hans-Joachim Marseille, who was killed after 158 aerial victories in North Africa and is regarded as an unrivaled marksman by his friends and foes. Hartmann is not an intelligent tactical innovator like Werner Mölders. It seems to me that he controls his flying talent, his good eyesight and his aggressiveness with an extremely cool mind as soon as he engages the enemy. He does not risk too much, but attacks his opponents from a superior position, mostly from behind, shoots from close range and immediately disengages." – Günther Rall{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} (de)

Promotions

Hartmann joined the military service in Wehrmacht on 1 October 1940. His first station was Neukuhren in East Prussia, where he received his military basic training as a Luftwaffe recruit.

Luftwaffe (Wehrmacht)

1941 Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter (officer candidate)
1 April 1942: Leutnant (second lieutenant)
1 May 1944: Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)
1 September 1944: Hauptmann (captain)
8 May 1945: Major (major)

Luftwaffe (Bundeswehr)

1 August 1956: Major (provisional)
December 1956: Major
12 December 1960: Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel)
26 July 1967: Oberst (colonel)

Awards and decorations

NSFK glider badge (NSFK-Segelflieger-Abzeichen, C-Prüfung)
German Reich Sport Badge (Deutsches Reichssportabzeichen) in Bronze
Pilot Badge (Flugzeugführerabzeichen)
Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (17 December 1942){{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
- 1st Class (7 March 1943){{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg) on 13 September 1943 as Leutnant and pilot (Flugzeugführer){{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe (Frontflugspange) in Gold with Pennant "1300"{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
Two references in the Wehrmachtbericht (Namentliche Nennung im Wehrmachtbericht) on 21 and 25 August 1944
Combined Pilots-Observation Badge (Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen) in Gold with Diamonds (25 August 1944){{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
Hungarian Knight's Cross, January 1945
German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943 as Leutnant in the III./Jagdgeschwader 52{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Knight's Cross on 29 October 1943 as Leutnant and pilot in the 9./Jagdgeschwader 52{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}{{refn|According to Scherzer as pilot in the pilot in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 52.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
- 420th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Leutnant and Staffelführer of the 9./Jagdgeschwader 52{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
- 75th Swords on 2 July 1944 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 9./Jagdgeschwader 52{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}
- 18th Diamonds on 25 August 1944 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 9./Jagdgeschwader 52{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Hartmann had kept the whereabouts of his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross secret from his captors during his time as a prisoner of war, claiming that he had thrown it away. The hiding place was in a small stream. His comrade Hans "Assi" Hahn (de) managed to hide the Knight's Cross in a double bottom cigar box and smuggled it back to Germany when he was released from captivity.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Gallery

Erich Alfred Hartmann (parents).png

Erich's parents, his mother was one of the first female glider pilots in Germany
Erich Alfred Hartmann X.png

Erich as member of the Deutsches Jungvolk
Erich Alfred Hartmann XI.png

Hartmann as a young Fahnenjunker of the Luftwaffe
Erich Alfred Hartmann III.png

Hartmann with his father and his brother Alfred
Erich Alfred Hartmann II.png
Erich Alfred Hartmann VII.png
Erich Alfred Hartmann IV.png
Erich Alfred Hartmann VI.png
Erich Alfred Hartmann IX.png

Hartmann returning home to Germany 1955
Erich Alfred Hartmann V.png

Hartmann during training in the USA
Erich Alfred Hartmann I.png

Bundeswehr-Major Hartmann
Erich Alfred Hartmann VIII.png

Hartmann with his wife and daughter

External links

"Ein schöner Tod – fürs Vaterland?, Der Spiegel, Volume 35" (in de). Der Spiegel (35). 1982. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-14349673.html. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen" (de).
Der "grau-rote Baron" fliegt über Wittmund (de).
Hartmann, Erich, leo-bw.de.
Erich Hartmann (short biography)

References

↑ Trevor J. Constable and Colonel Raymond F. Toliver were American authors who produced 10 non-fiction books on the fighter aces of World War II. Toliver was a U.S. Air Force pilot and official historian of the American Fighter Aces Association.
↑ Jagdfliegerschule Schleissheim – Jagdfliegerschule 2
↑ Erich Hartmann, tracesofwar.com
↑ Peter Jochen Winters: Rußland rehabilitiert Opfer politischer Verfolgung – Willkürjustiz gegen Kriegsgefangene und Internierte – Der Fall Hartmann, in: FAZ 19.5.1995
↑ Hartmann at leo-bw.de

[1] Trevor J. Constable and Colonel Raymond F. Toliver were American authors who produced 10 non-fiction books on the fighter aces of World War II. Toliver was a U.S. Air Force pilot and official historian of the American Fighter Aces Association.

[2] Jagdfliegerschule Schleissheim – Jagdfliegerschule 2

[3] Erich Hartmann, tracesofwar.com

[4] Peter Jochen Winters: Rußland rehabilitiert Opfer politischer Verfolgung – Willkürjustiz gegen Kriegsgefangene und Internierte – Der Fall Hartmann, in: FAZ 19.5.1995

[5] Hartmann at leo-bw.de

[1]

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Erich Hartmann

Contents

Life

WWII

Wehrmachtbericht

POW

Post-war

Death

Family

Marriage

Quotes

Promotions

Luftwaffe (Wehrmacht)

Luftwaffe (Bundeswehr)

Awards and decorations

Further reading

Gallery

External links

References

Navigation menu

Erich Hartmann

Life

WWII

Wehrmachtbericht

POW

Post-war

Death

Family

Marriage

Quotes

Promotions

Luftwaffe (Wehrmacht)

Luftwaffe (Bundeswehr)

Awards and decorations

Further reading

Gallery

External links

References

Navigation menu

Search