Heinrich Ehrler

Infobox Military Person
name=Heinrich Ehrler
born=birth date|1917|9|17|df=y
died=death date and age|1945|4|4|1917|9|17|df=y
placeofbirth=Oberbalbach
placeofdeath=Stendal


caption=Heinrich Ehrler
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=
serviceyears=1940-1945
rank=Major
commands=JG 5 "Eismeer"
unit=JG 77, JG 5 and JG 7
battles=World War II
awards=Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub
laterwork=

Major Heinrich Ehrler (September 14, 1917 - April 4, 1945) was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1940 until the end of the war. Heinrich Ehrler is a relatively unknown German Ace, as his flying was mostly done on the Northern Front. His 208 victories were achieved over a period of only 400 combat missions, on average one victory on every two missions.

World War II

Heinrich Ehrler started his career in the Luftwaffe in early 1940, when he started his Pilot training after transferring from a Flak-artillery unit. Ehrler joined 4./JG 77 [For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization] on his first operational posting and achieved his first victory in May 1940. JG 77 was based in Norway and he would spend most of the war on the Northfront. JG 77 was restructured as JG 5 "Eismeer" in January 1942 [Hafsten [et.al] , "Flyalarm - Luftkrigen over Norge 1939-1945", p. 145] . JG 5 operated from bases in northern Norway and Finland, and they mostly engaged Russian aircraft, but were also tasked with intercepting British raids on Norway.

Ehrler did not achieve his second victory until 19 February 1942. He was promoted to "Leutnant" and made "Staffelkapitän"(Squadron Leader) in 6./JG 5 after his 11th victory on 20 July. [There is some doubt as to when this happen. [http://www.luftwaffe.cz/ehrler.html] says 22 August, [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/EhrlerH.htm] says 20 July. The latter is more probable, as the former would mean Ehrler got 56 victories in 13 days.] On 4 September, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz(Knights Cross) for 64 aerial victories. By 1 June 1943 he was promoted to "Hauptmann" and appointed "Gruppenkommandeur"(Group Commander) for II./JG 5. During this period he was also awarded the "Eichenlaub" (Oak Leaves) to his Ritterkreuz. On 25 May 1944 he achieved nine victories in one day, bringing his tally up to 155. On 1 August he was appointed to "Geschwaderkommodore" (Wing Commander) of JG 5 and at the same time was promoted to "Major".

inking of the Tirpitz

On 12 November 1944 the RAF launched its final raid targeting KMS Tirpitz. Avro Lancaster bombers from 617 and 9 squadrons were sent to Håkøya a little west of Tromsø where the "Tirpitz" was based.

Ehrler was at this time stationed at "Fliegerhorst" Bardufoss with 9./JG 5, currently having 12 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-3 operational. The "Staffel" was at 10 minutes readiness status due to the continuing pressure of British bombers in the Tromsø area. As Ehrler led his men into the air, he received conflicting messages as to where the enemy aircraft were. Some reports claimed Alta was the target area, others said Bodø [Hafsten [et.al] , "Flyalarm - Luftkrigen over Norge 1939-1945", p. 220] . When it was finally clear that the target was the "Tirpitz", it was too late - as the fighters where a long way from the target area and could do nothing to prevent the Allies from sinking her.

After this unsuccessful action Ehrler faced a court martial hearing on the grounds of his not having understood the seriousness of the attack, and having been too preoccupied with reaching his 200th victory. He was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was later reduced to 3 years of "Festungshaft" (Fortress imprisonment), a more honourable punishment as opposed to a common prison term. This allowed him to continue to fly, but he was relieved of his command.

Later investigations concluded that the reason for the failure was poor communication, especially between the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe. Apparently the aircrews did not know that the Tirpitz had been moved to the new location at Håkøya a couple of weeks earlier, but it seems Heinrich Ehrler was a convenient scapegoat for the failure to protect Tirpitz. [Hafsten [et.al] , "Flyalarm - Luftkrigen over Norge 1939-1945", p. 221]

He also had been recommended for the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Consequently this request was also declined [Florian Berger, page 392] .

Transfer to Germany

After being stripped of his command and all honours, Ehrler was transferred to JG 7 on 27 February 1945. JG 7 was equipped with the Messerschmitt Me 262 Jet Fighter, and was tasked with "Reichsverteidigung" (Defense of the Reich). During the next five weeks Ehrler scored a further 8 kills [For a list of Luftwaffe Jet aces see "List of German World War II jet aces"] , bringing his total tally to 208.

On the morning of 4 April, Ehrler flew his last sortie and achieved the last three of his 208 victories. After shooting down two B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, Ehrler's Me 262 was out of ammunition. Ehrler then flew his Me 262 straight into a B17 bomber, exploding both planes in the process. The action took place over Scharlibbe near Stendal.

Quotations

"Theo. I have run out of ammunition. I'm going to ram this one. Good bye. We'll see each other in Valhalla." - Heinrich Ehrlers last transmission over the Squadron Radio Network before he rammed a B17 bomber, killing himself and exploding both aircraft.

Awards

* German Cross in Gold (18 March 1943)
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
* Iron Cross 2. and 1. class
* Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross (4 September 1942)
** 265. Oak Leaves (2 August 1943)

References

*Bjørn Hafsten [et.al] (1991). "Flyalarm - Luftkrigen over Norge 1939-1945", Sem & Stenersen AS. (ISBN 82-7046-058-3).
*Walter Schuck (2007), "Abschuss! Von der Me 109 zur Me 262 Erinnerungen an die Luftkämpfe beim Jagdgeschwader 5 und 7". Helios Verlags- und Buchvertriebsgesellschaft. ISBN 978-3-938208-44-1
* Florian Berger (2006), "Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges". Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5
* Fritjof Schaulen (2005), "Eichenlaubträger 1940-1940 Band I Abraham-Huppertz". Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-20-3

External links

# [http://www.luftwaffe.cz/ehrler.html Luftwaffe.cz - Ehrler biography (English)]
# [http://www.pilotenbunker.de/Jagdflieger/Luftwaffe/Ehrler_Heinrich/ehrler.htm Pilotenbunker - Ehrler biography (German w/ english translation)]
# [http://pguiller.club.fr/ehrler.htm Ehrler biography (French)]
# [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/EhrlerH.htm Lexicon der Wehrmacht - Ehrler biography (German)]