- Heinrich Sturm
Infobox Military Person
name=Heinrich Sturm
lived=12 June ,1920 –22 December ,1944
caption=
placeofbirth=Dieburg ,Hessia
placeofdeath=Csorna ,Hungary
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
branch=Heer ,Luftwaffe
serviceyears=
rank=Hauptmann
commands=4./JG 52 , 5./JG 52
unit=JG 52
battles=World War II
awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
laterwork=Hauptmann Heinrich Sturm (born12 June ,1920 inDieburg ,Hessia – killed in flying accident22 December ,1944 inCsorna ,Hungary ) was GermanWorld War II Luftwaffe 158 victoriesFlying ace .Military career
Joining 6./
JG 52 with the rank ofFeldwebel in Sommer 1941 he managed to score his first three victories until the end of the year.He then transferred to a fighter school as instructor and only managed to rejoin frontline service in November 1942. He was assigned to the Staff of II./JG 52. In the period up to the
17 December 1942 he scored a further six victories. On the1 January 1943 he was promoted toLeutnant . He scored his 20th kill on the15 April 1943 , adding five more kills on the20 April 1943 and reached 40th kill on the30 June 1943 and kill number 75 on the30 November 1943 . From the1 September 1943 he was in lead of 4./JG 52. Scoring his 100th victory on the 23. March 1944 he was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross three days later. Barely a month later, on the 16 April 1944 he was wounded badly by bomb debris onChersonez (Crimea ) airfield. In August 1944 he returned to JG 52 and took over command of 5./JG 52, his score standing at 111. On the22 December 1944 he scored his last two kills. Taking off for another sortie fromCsorna that day, one of the landing gear struts hit a truck killing him in the accident [Weal 2004, p.116] .Awards
*
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (26 July 1943)
*German Cross in Gold (23 July 1943)
*Iron Cross 2. and 1. class
*Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (26 March 1944)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.
* Weal, John. Aviation Elite Units "Jagdgeschwader 52 The Experten". Osprey Publishing Limited, 2004. ISBN 1-84176-786-7
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