- Hans Waldmann (fighter pilot)
Infobox Military Person
name=Hans Waldmann
born=birth date|1922|9|24|df=y
died=death date and age|1945|3|18|1922|9|24|df=y
placeofbirth=Braunschweig
placeofdeath= nearSchwarzenbek ,Holstein
caption=Hans Waldmann
nickname=Dackel
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
serviceyears=1940-1945
rank=Oberleutnant
branch=
commands=3./JG 7 , 4./JG 52
unit=JG 3 ,JG 7 ,JG 52
battles=World War II
*Operation Barbarossa
awards="Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross "
laterwork=Hans "Dackel" Waldmann (born
24 September 1922 inBraunschweig , killed in flying accident18 March 1945 nearSchwarzenbek ,Holstein ) was a German formerLuftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross .World War II
Hans Waldmann voluntarily joined the
Luftwaffe in 1940. On21 August 1942 Unteroffizier Waldmann was assigned to the 6./JG 52 on the Eastern front.On
9 September 1942 Waldmann scored his first aerial victory. Waldmann managed to score quickly. After 84 victories on1 September 1943 , Waldmann was promoted toLeutnant and assigned to ErgGr. Ost. Here he shot down oneB-17 Flying Fortress .He received the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after his 85th aerial victory. End of February 1944 he took command of 4./JG 52 asStaffelkapitän . He was able to continue his success strain and claimed victories 98 to 125 by the end of31 May 1944 .In June 1944 his entire squad was reassigned to 8./
JG 3 , now fighting against the allied invasion forces. In August he shot down seven enemy planes, including oneB-24 and fiveP-47 Thunderbolts . In December 1944 he converted to theMesserschmitt Me 262 . His entire squad was transferred to 3./JG 7 now flying now the ’’Stormbird’’. On22 February 1945 he shot down twoP-51 Mustang .Climbing in dense fog on
18 March 1945 , he collided with his wingman,Leutnant Hans-Dieter Weihs , and crashed nearSchwarzenbek south ofHamburg . He was killed in hisMesserschmitt Me 262 A-1 "Yellow 3 Wk. no. 170097"! Waldmann was recommended for the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross, but the recommendation was not finalized before the end of the war.Geschwaderkommodore Theodor Weissenberger then handed over command of 3./JG 7 toOberleutnant Walter Schuck .Hans Waldmann flew 527 combat missions. He was credited with 134 aerial victories, 10 on the
Western front and 124 on the Eastern front. His tally on the Eastern front includes 5 bombers, 87 fighters and 32 Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft. On theWestern front he claimed 8 fighters and 2 four-engined bombers. He also flew a number of ground attack missions destroying 33 various vehicles and 8 heavy transports.Awards
*
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (10 March 1943)
*German Cross in Gold (17 April 1943)
*Iron Cross 2. and 1. class
*Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (5 February 1944)Hans Waldmann may have been awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Oberst Nicolaus von Below processed such a request between20 April 1945 and2 May 1945 . However no official proof exists. [Fellgiebel 2000, p. 108.]References
* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. "Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II". Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.External links
* [http://rafiger.de/Homepage/RaFiGer/Bf-109/JG52-Waldmann/JG52-WaldmannInfo.htm Hans Waldmann @ RaFiGer’s]
* [http://www.luftfahrtspuren.de/kaki.htm Flugplatz Kaltenkirchen]
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