Anton Hafner (officer)

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Anton Hafner (born June 2, 1918 in Erbach ; † October 17, 1944 near Gumbinnen ) was a German Air Force officer , most recently a lieutenant , and a highly decorated fighter pilot in World War II .

Second World War

Training as a fighter pilot took place in July 1939 with the Air Force . He then came to Jagdgeschwader 51 and fought on the Eastern Front from June 1941 . As a sergeant , he was awarded the German Gold Cross on May 22, 1942 and the Knight's Cross on August 23, 1942.

With the II. Group of Jagdgeschwader 51 he flew in November 1942 in North Africa , where he was able to achieve 20 more aerial victories in a short time. On June 1, 1943 he was promoted to lieutenant and flew with the III. Jagdgeschwader 51 group back in Russia. There he was awarded the Knight's Cross on April 11, 1944 after 134 victories in the air. In May 1944 he became captain of the eighth squadron. On June 28, 1944, he achieved his 150th victory in the air.

He achieved his 200th victory in the air on October 15, 1944. During an aerial battle on October 17, 1944, his Bf 109 touched a tree near Gumbinnen and fell fatally. On 795 enemy flights he was able to achieve 204 confirmed aerial victories.

Awards

literature

  • Ernst Obermaier: The Air Force Knight's Cross, Volume I: Fighter Pilot , ISBN 3-87341-065-6 .
  • Raymond F. Toliver, Trevor J. Constable : These were the German fighter pilot aces 1939–1945 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1972, ISBN 3-87943-193-0 .
  • Edward H. Sims: Fighter pilots - The great opponents of yore . Motorbuch-Verlag Stuttgart, 16th edition 1996, ISBN 3-87943-115-9 , p. 33
  • Mike Spick: The fighter breed of the German Air Force. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 2000, ISBN 3-7637-5978-6 .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 360.
personal data
SURNAME Hafner, Anton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German air force officer and fighter pilot in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH June 2, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Erbach (Danube)
DATE OF DEATH October 17, 1944
Place of death Gumbinnen