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

[FeezyWeezy]

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

[FeezyWeezy]

It was hard to figure out who killed who at most times. Sending comandos out to kill a individual is just...wrong. These are all normal soldiers that are doing the job that they are told to do. It would make more sense to send a SAS taskforce to, for instance NJG1. And kill thewhole lot..
But still.. I think doing this is extreamly risky.. you have to go far into enemy tertory. And there is a great chance anyway that these regular people get killed during the next periods by doing their job.Its like focusing efforts on a individual, sort of "blaming" him because hes just good at the job hes ment to do.I would putt effort into the people behind the scenes. The man in charge. The man that makes him shoot down bombers.

"It is war: if the enemy burns your house down, you go and burn one of the enemy's houses!" -
Juutilainen

About his record he has been noted to say:
"I did what I was told to as well as I could." - Häyhä

Its all: Kill or be killed...If you dont take down that enemy bomber, He'll be back next time for your house.
Take down the leaders, then the soldiers won't know what to do.

[/size]

Boris Ivanovich Kovzan



He was born in 1922. Boris Ivanovich, the native of our city they called as "man from legend". He 4 times rammed in air enemy planes within Great Patriotic war.

Since the first days of war, Kovzan Boris was in army and covered from enemy bombers Gomel city (Belorussia).

On October 29, 1941 Kovzan, having arrived in 42-nd fighters of air regiment, battled under Tula.

Here, for the first time in the battle practice, has accepted the decision to go on the collision. It was the unique chance to leave by the winner from fight and Kovzan has won. When the ammunition was finished, pilot has directed the fighter on "ME-5" and compartment tail part of it. Skillfully operating the damaged machine, he has made landing to air station. After some months in area Torghok, Kovzan have gone on collision second time.

For unprecedented courage and skill of the fight with an enemy Kovzan Boris was awarded with an order by Lenin. Battling on Northwestern front, in area Old Russa, Kovzan Boris twice applied collision.

At last impact, when both planes have scattered, heavy wounded pilot has allowed to open a parachute. After that fight, within 3 months Kovzan Boris was on treatment, and then was direct in 144 fighters brigade AAD.

In a strip of near rear, he battled to the enemy planes - scouts. Dews the battle account dropped down by him of planes. For bravery and courage shown in fights with enemy Kovzan is awarded with eighteen governmental awards.

On August 24, 1943 to him appropriated a rank of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

After war, Kovzan Boris has finished military-air academy and in a rank of the lieutenant colonel has continued a military service.

Until August 31, 1985 lived at city Ryazan, where has died and is buried.

He ended with a score of 28.



[size="1"]Ramming attack was a tactic in air combat. The goal is to either outright ram the enemy aircraft or to destroy its controls using either the attackers propeller or wing. It was often practised when pilot ran out of ammunition and was too eager to destroy an enemy, or his plane had already been damaged. A ramming attack is not the same as kamikaze attack since the pilot stands a fair chance of surviving, though it was very risky. Ramming was used in air warfare in the first half of the 20th century, in both World Wars and in the interwar period.

Ramming was first used by the Russian pilot, Pyotr Nesterov on September 8, 1914, against an Austrian plane. That incident was fatal to both parties.

In World War II ramming (Russian: taran) became a legendary technique of VVS pilots against the Luftwaffe, especially in the early days of the hostilities in the war's Eastern Front. In the first year of the war, the Soviet machines were considerably inferior to the German ones and the taran was sometimes perceived as the only way to guarantee the destruction of the enemy. Trading an outdated fighter to a technologically advanced bomber was considered a good trade. In some cases, heavily wounded pilots or in damaged aircraft decided to perform a suicidal taran attack against air, ground or naval targets, similar to kamikaze (see Nikolai Gastello).

The first taran attack in World War II was carried out by the Polish pilot, Lt. Col. Leopold Pamuła on his damaged PZL P.11c on September 1, 1939, over Łomianki near Warsaw (taran is also a Polish word).

Nine rammings took place on the very first day of German invasion to the Soviet Union. About 200 (some estimates give the number closer to 500) taran attacks were made by Soviets between the beginning of Operation Barbarossa and the middle of 1943 when enough modern aircraft had been produced to make the tactic obsolete, even if Russian fighter pilots still are trained to perform it. Boris Kovzan survived the record of four ramming attacks in the war.


Three types of taran attacks were made:

Using the propeller to go in from behind and chop off the controls in the tail of the enemy aircraft. This was the most difficult to perform, but it had the best chance of survival.

Using the wing to cut off the wing or tail of the enemy aircraft. Some Soviet aircraft like Polikarpov I-16 had strengthened wings for this purpose.

Direct ram was the easiest to perform, but also the most dangerous.



More Masters of Ramming will come later.
(and a bit more, I hope.. Wasn't much about Kovzan... )

[Hellfighter]

[size="1"]Ramming attack was a tactic in air combat. The goal is to either outright ram the enemy aircraft or to destroy its controls using either the attackers propeller or wing. It was often practised when pilot ran out of ammunition and was too eager to destroy an enemy, or his plane had already been damaged. A ramming attack is not the same as kamikaze attack since the pilot stands a fair chance of surviving, though it was very risky. Ramming was used in air warfare in the first half of the 20th century, in both World Wars and in the interwar period.

Interestingly, I recently watched a Battle of Britain documentary... they had a segment with a female air-ground staff coordinator mentioning the dialogue she heard of Brit pilots in battle. She recalled an instance of a badly wounded Brit pilot making a kamikaze ram attack.