Dietrich Adolf Hrabak

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Dietrich Adolf Hrabak (born December 19, 1914 in Großdeuben , † September 15, 1995 in Pfaffenhofen near Fürstenfeldbruck ) was a German officer , most recently in the Bundeswehr Major General of the Air Force .

Military biography

Promotions

Pre-war years and World War II

Dietrich Hrabak, the son of a master mason, joined the Reichsmarine on April 1, 1934 after attending the Königin-Carola-Gymnasium in Leipzig , where he was assigned to the ship master division of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund . There it was first used in the local Frankish barracks. From 14 June 1934 to the end of March 1935 attended Hrabak as a midshipman the Naval Academy Mürwik . He then served as an ensign in Stralsund and as a senior ensign on Borkum . On October 31, 1935, Hrabak left his naval career and switched to the Air Force . From November 1, 1935 to May 19, 1935, he completed his training as a pilot at the pilot's school in Ludwigslust . Subsequently he flew from May 20 to the end of July 1936 as a pilot in the fighter pilot school (bomber) in Tutow . On August 1, 1936, Hrabak switched to fighter pilots, where he was a fighter pilot with the Bernburg fighter group until the end of March 1937 . Hrabak held the same position from April 1937 to March 1938 with the Bad Aibling hunting group . From April 1938 to March 1939 he then served as an adjutant in the Vienna Hunting Group . This went up in April 1939 in Jagdgeschwader 76 , where Hrabak was deployed as a squadron captain of the 1st squadron during the attack on Poland and as a fighter pilot in the western campaign . On August 1, 1940, Hrabak became the commander of the 1st group there, which he then led until the end of October 1942. In this function he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on October 21 . On November 1, 1942, Hrabak was promoted to commodore of Jagdgeschwader 52 , whose duties he held until the end of September 1944. Here he was awarded the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his 125th victory in the air on November 25, 1943. Hrabak took over the same function on October 1, 1944 in Jagdgeschwader 54 , which he then led as a commodore until the end of the war. In May 1945 Hrabak fell into British captivity , from which he was released in March 1946.

As a fighter pilot, Hrabak achieved a total of 125 victories in 820 enemy flights, 109 of them on the Eastern Front.

Post-war years and military career

From April to September 1946, Hrabak initially worked as a retrainer in the bricklaying trade and then until 1949 as an authorized representative in a machine factory in Sieburg . From 1949 to 1953 he worked as a department head in a chemical company in Hamburg .

In preparation for a future assignment in the Bundeswehr, which was to be founded, he completed a refresher flight in the USA from July 1955 to May 1956. During this time, Hrabak joined the German Army on January 25, 1956 as a colonel in the Air Force . After his return to Germany, Hrabak was appointed commander of the pilot school B in Fürstenfeldbruck on June 1, 1956 ; a function that he held until the end of February 1961. During this time he was also from September 1960 to February 10, 1961 participant of the 18th NATO Defense College in Paris . On March 1, 1961, Hrabak rose to command the 2nd Air Force Training Brigade in Fürstenfeldbruck, which he led until October 1962. He then served from November 1962 to September 1964 in Commander Sector Operations Center 1 on the Aurich-Brockzetel glider airfield . After serving as Chief Air Defense Central Europe in Fontainebleau (France) from October 1964 to mid-December 1965, Hrabak was appointed commander of the 4th Air Force Division in Aurich on December 16, 1965 . However, he gave up this command just a few weeks later on January 23, 1966, in order to move to Bonn the following day as special commissioner for the F-104 weapon system in the Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg) . After completing this project, on October 1, 1966, Hrabak was appointed representative for the Luftwaffe's weapons systems, whose tasks he also carried out in the BMVg. On March 1, 1970, Hrabak was promoted to General of the Combat Units of the Air Force in the Air Force Office in Cologne , whose function he held until his retirement on September 30, 1970.

Awards

See also

literature

  • Dermot Bradley: Germany's Generals and Admirals: Part VI / b - Volume 2 / Part 2: The Generals and Admirals of the Bundeswehr. Hoffmann - Kusserow , Biblio-Verlag 2005, ISBN 978-3764823702 , pp. 456-457.
  • Ernst Obermaier: The Luftwaffe Knight's Cross Carriers 1939–1945 , Volume I, Jagdflieger, Dieter Hoffmann Verlag 1966, p. 65.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Reuss Yearbook of Aerospace Travel 1987, p. 239.
  2. ^ Rudolf Richter: Annual report of the Königin-Carola-Gymnasium on the school year from Easter 1928 to Easter 1929 , Leipzig 1929, p. 19; Colyn D. Heaton: Messerschmitt Master on the Eastern Front (Interview with Dietrich Hrabak), in: Military History magazin (02/2004)
personal data
SURNAME Hrabak, Dietrich Adolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently Major General in the Air Force
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Großdeuben
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 1995
Place of death Pfaffenhofen (Jesenwang)