Notable People of WW2, Hero's, veterans, leaders, the famous and alike. Options

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Ok, time for another chapter of hostory facts. I'll start with some WW2 Aces.

Erich Hartmann





The highest scoring ace of all time was the great German Luftwaffe experte Erich Hartmann with 352 aerial kills. Flying Bf 109s (Me-109s) against the overmatched Soviet MiGs and Yaks for almost three years, he accumulated his unrivalled score. Hartmann claimed, that of all his accomplishments, he was proudest of the fact that he never lost a wingman. He is also reputed to have said. "Get close .. when he fills the entire windscreen ... then you can't possibly miss." Hartmann was born in 1922, in Weissach, Wurttemberg. At age 19 (1941), he joined the Luftwaffe and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) on the Eastern Front in October, 1942. He scored his first kill in November, and only achieved his second three months later. In the first half of 1943, he worked out some of the tactics which would prove so successful later on. If he was attacked from behind, he would send his wingman down low and out in front. Then he would get behind the enemy and fire a short, quick accurate burst, waiting "until the enemy aircraft filled the windscreen." He would normally content himself with one victory; he was willing to wait for another day. His natural talents began to tell: excellent eyesight, lightning reflexes, an aggressive spirit, and an ability to stay cool while in combat.


A Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6


Kursk


As JG 52 retreated along with German ground forces in 1943, Hartmann's score began to mount. The great Kursk offensive, Operation Zitadelle, began on July 5. The Luftwaffe planned to screen the Wehrmacht's panzers from the Soviet Il-2 Sturmoviks, armored tank-busting aircraft, armed with twin 37mm cannon. Hartmann's Staffel 7 of JG 52 moved up to Ugrim, only 14 kilometers behind the front. As the Panther and Tiger tanks moved up, Junkers Ju.52 transports flew in supplies. On the morning of the 5th, four of Staffel 7's pilots did not return, apparently their compasses misled them, due to extraordinary iron ore deposits in the area. Hartmann was promoted to Staffelkapitan on the spot. The offensive ground forward slowly on the 6th and 7th; obviously the Russians had dug in and prepared defensive lines in depth.
July 7, 1943


On the morning of July 7, 1943, sun rose over Ugrim in the northern Ukraine about 3AM. Staffel 7's Me.109 G10's lay scattered around, in the deep grass of the Ugrim airfield. Hartmann's personal plane, decorated with a large Roman numeral 'I' and the name Usch in a red heart. (Usch Paetch was his fiancee, whom he wrote to daily.) In the comfortable summer weather, the pilots slept in tents. On waking, Hartmann dressed in a gray shirt, blue-gray trousers, and gray shoes. He washed up and shaved in a small stream and ate breakfast, two eggs, cooked by a couple of Russian girls. He and the other three pilots in his Schwarm were assigned to cover an F.W.189 on a dawn reconnaissance mission.

Erich joked with his crew chief, 'Bimel' Merten, and strapped himself into the cockpit. At 3:04, the recon plane started and Hartmann set Messerschmitt's flaps and checked the fuel while Merten cranked the starter. The DB 605's twelve cylinders coughed, belched smoke, and then caught smoothly. His three comrades followed him to the take-off spot. He gunned the engine while stomping on the brakes. When he released them, his 109 shot forward and quickly reached 160 km/hour. He gently pulled back on the stick and was airborne; the other three followed him closely. They all banked left as they went through post-take-off routines: retract landing gear, close radiator flaps, ease back on the throttle, and check gauges, guns, and gunsight. They climbed to 1300 meters as they flew northeast and then swung southward, with the Fw 189 in view. The flight proceeded uneventfully and the recon plane headed for Ugrim. Hartmann's radio crackled with a report from Adler, the German forward spotting post; a group of ten to twenty Russian planes were headed west. Hartmann throttled up a bit, gained altitude, and turned his Schwarm toward the east without sighting anything for several minutes.


Drawing of Hartmann's Bf-109G Messerschmitt "Gustav" 6


Sturmoviks
Soon enough, many large Il-2's came into view. With its armor and rear gunner, the Sturmovik was a tough target. With the Sturmoviks closing head-on, Hartmann unhesitatingly ordered an attack. He dived down below them, picking up airspeed, then banked around and came up behind and beneath them, aiming for his target's vulnerable ventral oil radiator. The Il-2's flew straight on.



Hartmann's Bf 109 roared along, doing over 400 MPH; Hartmann streaked into a Sturmovik's blind spot. At 200 yards, its wingspan filled his gunsight ring; still he closed in to 150, then 100 yards before firing. He briefly triggered his 20mm cannon and his two 12mm machine guns, for about one and a half seconds, before his speed carried him in front of them. As other Bf 109s struck their targets, Hartmann glanced back and saw blue flames and black sooty smoke streaming from the Sturmovik's radiator. His twenty-second victory of the war.

Under the deadly attack of the Messerschmitts, the formation of Russian airplanes began to break up. Having regained altitude, Hartmann again zoomed down below the tail of an Il-2. He checked his own rear and stabilized his aircraft. This Russian pilot, alerted to the danger, spotted him and turned sharply to evade. The young blond ace matched the turn and instantly estimated the lead needed for a deflection shot. At 150 meters, he opened fire, and his bullets tore into the side of the Russian tank-buster. More blue flame and black smoke poured from his twenty-third victim's oil radiator.

As the remaining scattered Russian planes fled eastward, Hartmann radioed his Staffel to return to Ugrim. About 4AM, as they approached the field, Hartmann waggled his wings twice, indicating his two victories. On landing, Mertem and other ground crew gathered around him, offering congratulations. Hartmann walked to the operations tent to file his Gefechtsbericht, his after-action report. Early reports from the Adler posts already showed more Russian air activity than on the 5th or 6th. Four pilots sat in their planes, ready to take-off in less than a minute. Hartmann soon fell asleep by his own machine. But only briefly.
Two More Sorties


By 5:50, he was back in the air, leading a flight of 109s on a frei chase, and he soon found more Il-2s, escorted by fighters. The Messerchmitts attacked successfully, with Hartmann downing another Il-2 and an LaGG-3 fighter. Within an hour, he was back on the ground, with four victories for the day. Late that afternoon, he led the Staffel up again, to the northeast. They found a group of Soviet LaGG-3 fighters, which they engaged in a sprawling dogfight. It was over quickly and Hartmann had shot down three enemy fighters, making it seven for the day, his largest score so far.




Experte


He reached 50 by August of 1943. Within the month, he had reached 80, and was promoted to lead 9./JG52. Earlier in the war, 25 or 50 victories would have earned a German fighter pilot the Knight's Cross. By late 1943, Hartmann had to down 148 before he earned his Knight's Cross. By March 2, 1944, he had reached a total of 202, earning him the Oak Leaves. He was the fourth Luftwaffe fighter pilot to reach 250, the first to reach 300, and the only one to reach 350.

The Diamonds




He was awarded the Third Reich's highest regularly awarded military decoration: The Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.

To be accurate, the highest military decoration was "The Grand Cross to the Iron Cross." It was only awarded once to Hermann Göring. The second highest military decoration was "The Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds" and was also awarded only once to the Stuka ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Thus, Hartmann's medal, "The Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds," was, to be precise, the third highest German military decoration through WW2, was awarded to 27 soldiers, 12 of whom were Luftwaffe pilots.

Near the end of WWII, in early May 1945, the Luftwaffe command ordered Hartmann, then Gruppenkommandeur of famous Jagdgeschwader 52, and his Commodore, Hermann Graf (another pilot, who had earned the "diamonds" to the Knight's Cross) to fly to the British sector. Both officers disregarded this order, because they felt responsible for Jagdgeschwader 52's pilots, ground crew, family members, and other civilians, who had joined the squadron, seeking protection against fierce aggression by the Czechs. The officers ordered the destruction of the unit's aircraft, and then the unit moved west in direction of territory already occupied by US troops. On May 8th, 1945, the soldiers and civilans surrendered to US troops in the region between Bavaria (German provence) and Czech border. But on May 17th, the US Army delivered all of these German troops and civilians to the Red Army. Like all others, Hartmann was then deported to Siberia, where he was sentenced to 50 years of hard labor. (Hartmann has since been rehabitated by Russian justice, which declared those sentences illegal in 1995.) The Soviets pressured him to support a build-up of an East German air force and tried to turn him into an undercover agent against the West. Hartmann refused, even though the Soviets threatened to kidnap and kill his wife and daughter, living in West Germany. Hartmann did not return to Germany until 1955, when the last German POWs were released along with the establishing of diplomatic relations between West Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1956, Hartmann joined the newly established West German Luftwaffe and contributed to the build-up of new fighter units. In 1959, he became the first commodore of Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen." Erich Hartmann died in 1993.



http://wernerhartenstein.tripod.com/hartma...9;s%20grave.jpg
Hartmann's grave, Weil im Schönbuch near Stuttgart

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"Night Ghost of St. Trond"

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer
Top Scoring Nachtjäger



http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/wwii/pho...20Schnaufer.jpg


Schnaufer was born in a Stuttgart maternity home on the 16th February 1922. His home was in the Black Forest township of Calw, and he was to be the eldest of four children, three boys and a girl. Although christened 'Heinz Wolfgang" ("Wolfgang" after his godfather) he was universally known simply as "Heinz". He grew up in prosperous circumstances, his father being a wine-merchant of some substance. He was gifted both academically and athletically, and in 1938, at the age of 16, entered the NPEA (National Political Educational Establishment) at Backnang, moving the following year to the NPEA at Potsdam. An NPEA was a training school for young men specially selected for advancement in the service of the National Socialist Party, and Potsdam was the NPEA at which those opting for a flying career in the Luftwaffe were introduced to flying training.



Heinz Schnaufer entered the Luftwaffe as a trainee officer-pilot in November 1939, and completed his flying training in 1941. At the Heavy Fighter School (Zerstorerschule) at Wunstorf he met Fritz Rumpelhardt, who became his Funker (radio/radar operator) and flew with him, with a break in 1943, until the end of the war. At this time Schnaufer and Rumpelhardt agreed to volunteer to fly with the newly-formed Nachtjagd, the night-fighter arm of the Luftwaffe. In November 1941, on completion of their flying training, they were posted to II./NJG 1 at Stade, near Hamburg, later transferring with the same unit to Saint-Trond, Belgium. Throughout his career Schnaufer only flew the Bf 110 operationally, despite subsequently commanding a Geschwader equipped with the Ju 88.

Schnaufer's first operational experience came in February 1942, when II./NJG 1 were detached to fly escort for the capital ships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen when they broke out from Brest en route for Norway. His first 'kill', however, did not come until the night of 1st/2nd June 1942, when he shot down a Handley-Page Halifax near Louvain, Belgium. By the end of the year his score stood at only 7, including three in a night on 1 August. It has often been said that Schnaufer was a "slow starter", but at that time Bomber Command activity in his area was only moderate.



Schnaufer was promoted Oberleutnant in July 1943, when his score stood at 17. In August he transferred to IV./NJG 1 at Leeuwarden, Holland, where he became Staffelkapitan 12./NJG 1 (IV./NJG 1). He remained there, with a detachment to Quakenbruck in September/December 43, until March 1944, when he was appointed Kommandeur IV./NJG 1 and moved with the unit back to Saint-Trond. By this time he had shot down 47 RAF bombers. There was also, by this time, a third man in Schnaufer's crew, Wilhelm Gansler, employed mainly as a look-out, an "extra pair of eyes". In December 1943 Schnaufer had been awarded the Ritterkreuz, with his score standing at 42.

Schnaufer remained as Kommandeur IV./NJG 1 until November 1944, being promoted Hauptmann in May 1944 and receiving the Eichenlaub in June after 84 victories. He was awarded the Schwerter in July, with his score at 89. In July, too, his two crewmen, Rumpelhardt and Gansler, were awarded the Ritterkreuz. In September 1944 IV./NJG 1 retreated back into Germany, being stationed temporarily at Dusseldorf and Dortmund. Schnaufer achieved his 100th night-time victory on 9 October 1944, for which achievement he was awarded the Brillanten by Adolf Hitler.


Nachtjagdgeschwader 1

The following month Heinz Schnaufer, still only 22 years old, was made Kommodore NJG 4, based at Gutersloh. At the end of the year his score was 106. In December he was promoted Major.

Schnaufer's greatest one-off success came on 21 February 1945, when he destroyed 9 RAF heavy bombers in the course of one day, two in the early hours of the morning and a further seven in the evening. Post-war research suggests that in fact his total that day was 10, one claim not having been acknowledged. At the end of the war Schnaufer's official tally stood at 121. He was taken prisoner by the British in May 1945 at Eggebek in Schleswig-Holstein, but was released later that year and returned to Calw, where he took over the reins of the family wine business, his father having died during the war. By the time of his death in 1950 he had built up the business to a very prosperous concern. His end came when, during a wine-purchasing visit to France, his open sports car was in collision with a lorry on the main road south from Bordeaux. The lorry had failed to observe right of way and entered the main road illegally. Heavy gas cylinders from the lorry fell on to Schnaufer's car, at least one of them hitting Schnaufer on the head. He died in hospital two days later, on 15 July 1950.

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer was the top-scoring Nachtjäger of World War 2. He was credited with 121 victories recorded in 164 combat missions. His victory total includes 114 four-engine bombers.



Messerschmitt Bf 110

Based around the concept of the long-range Zerstörer or "Destroyer Fighter" the Bf 110 enjoyed some success in the Polish and French campaigns. However, the Battle of Britain revealed its fatal weaknesses as a daylight fighter against single-engine aircraft. Its size and weight meant that it had high wing loading, which limited its manoeuvrability. Furthermore, although it had a slightly higher top speed than contemporary RAF Hurricanes, it had poor acceleration.

Eventually withdrawn from daylight fighting, the Bf 110 enjoyed later success as a night fighter where its range, firepower and ability to mount a radar stood it in good stead. It was also used as a ground attack aircraft starting with the C-4/B model, and as a bomber interceptor, where its heavy firepower was particularly useful. Later on there were dedicated ground attack versions which proved reasonably successful. The Bf 110 served the Luftwaffe extensively in various roles, except in its intended role as a heavy fighter.

After the Battle of Britain Bf 110 units were largely moved to the Russian and Mediterranean theatres of war. The production of the Bf 110 was put on a low priority in 1941, although it was stepped up again in 1942 due to problems and delays in the development of the Bf 110's successor, the Me 210. Although the Me 210 entered service in mid-1941, it was eventually withdrawn in favour of a further development, between it and the Me 410, which did not enter service until early 1943; there were insufficient aircraft to fully replace the Bf 110 in that role and it fought until the end of the war. The lack of a real replacement even resulted in the increase of Bf 110 production in 1944, in spite of hopes of phasing out the type.



Werner Streib



Born in Pforzheim Baden in 1911. As a civilian he worked in a Bank before entering in the Wehrmacht in 1934. Later he asked to be transfered from the Heer (Army) to the Luftwaffe. When his request was accepted he began his new pilot career as an observer in a recconnaissance unit.

In 1937 Streib was transferred to the Richthofen Geschwader in Jueterbog-Damm. In 1939 was pilot in Wolfgang Falck's I./ZG 1 Zerstörergeschwader. He was known as the "father of the nigh fighters" both because he was the first to score a night victory and he was the oldest among the other night fighter pilots. His first victory over an enemy plane was on a Blenheim bomber during day operations.

When in 1940 ZG/I was to undertake the development of night fighting techniques Streib felt very pessimistic about it all. During that period in which propaganda over the victories achieved by an attacking powerful German Luftwaffe shadowed the efforts of the few defending night fighter pilots. Falck refused Streib's deceptioined request of being transferred to a day fighting unit just some days before the latter achieved his first night victory. This success of Streib was morale encouraging for his collegues. These soldiers developed the night fighting techniques that were used for the rest of the conflict. These techniques found basis in those developed during WWI.

In 20 July 1940 Streib scored the first night fighting victory over German territory over a RAF Whitley bomber. Since then his career was always raising celebrity. In october 1940 he was already Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of I./NJG1. From that time till may 1941 he reached an amazing score of 26 night victories. In June 1943 he was Major with 50 night victories. He was regarded as a technical authority and appointed to Ernst Heinkel for the development of the He 219 night fighter, which indeed was a good weapon. When the first prototypes of the He 219 were available Streib had his own and was the first to combat test the type. It happened the night of 11.6.43 when British bombers were in mission against Berlin. Helped by his radio operator Fischer, Streib shot down -with short but powerful bursts of six 30-20 mm cannons- an amazing five victories in just half an hour! One of the victims threw oil from one engine before exploding. This oil covered the aeroplane's glass and when the blind approaching Streib touched down the impact was so strong that the plane broke into four pieces. Fortunately both Streib and Fischer survived the accident with minor injuries thanks to the robust nose and cockpit section which separated entire from the rest of the aircraft. He of course continued to promote the Heinkel He 219 in spite of Milch's contrary opinion.


He.219 A-5 "Uhu" (Owl), You can clearly see the radar.

On 1.7.43 Streib became Kommodore of NJG1. He formed part in 29.7.43 of the commission wich studied and approved the immediate use of Hajo Herrmanns "wilde Sau". By the end of war 65 was his final score of victories.

http://www.jzg23.de/images/Guncams/ww2_guncam_clip0001.mpeg