Friedrich Lang (pilot)
Friedrich Lang (born January 12, 1915 in Mährisch Trübau ; † December 29, 2003 in Hanover ) was a " Stuka " pilot in the German Air Force in World War II and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Early career
Friedrich Lang studied aircraft construction at the Technical University in Breslau and joined the 9th Company of the 28th Infantry Regiment in October 1935. In March 1936 he was then transferred to the ground crew of Kampfgeschwader 153. He then attended the aerial warfare school in Dresden and the fighter pilot school in Lechfeld , where he was promoted to lieutenant on January 1, 1938. Here Lang was trained as a combat observer on Dornier Do 23 , Junkers Ju 52 and Heinkel He 46 aircraft. In July 1938 he finally came to the 1st squadron of the Stuka Group 163, where he received further training on the dive bombers Henschel Hs 123 and Junkers Ju 87 .
Second World War
In 1939 his squadron was renamed to I. Group in Stuka Squadron 2 "Immelmann" and successfully took part in the attack on Poland and the campaign in the west . Here he was seriously wounded on June 8, 1940 and was in the hospital in Heidelberg until August 1940 . In 1941 he flew missions in the Mediterranean with his squadron and succeeded in landing heavy hits on two English destroyers . His squadron was then relocated to the Eastern Front, where he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on November 23, 1941. At the end of October 1942 he was deployed as a liaison officer for Air Fleet 4 to AOK 17 and was awarded the oak leaves on November 21, 1942. On April 1, 1943 he took command of the III. Group of Stuka-Geschwaders 1 and completed its 1000th enemy flight on March 7, 1944 south of Vitebsk . For this he was awarded the swords on July 4, 1944. From February 9, 1945 to March 13, 1945, Lang took command of Battle Squadron 2 on behalf of the wounded Hans-Ulrich Rudel . At the end of the war he held the rank of major .
armed forces
On January 1, 1956, Lang joined the Bundeswehr ; he ended his career in 1973 as a colonel .
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
- Black Wound Badge (1939) on June 8, 1940
-
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords
- Knight's Cross on November 23, 1941
- Oak leaves on November 28, 1942 (148th award)
- Swords on July 2, 1944 (74th award)
- German cross in gold on April 24, 1942
- Front flight clasp for combat and dive fighter pilots in gold with tag "Einsatzzahl 1000"
- Cuff bracelet Crete
literature
- Nauroth, Holger: Stukageschwader 2 - "Immelmann" - from the origin to the present , Verlag KW Schütz, 1988, ISBN 3-87725-123-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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. 491.
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Lang, Friedrich |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German pilot and knight's cross carrier in World War II |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 12, 1915 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Moravian Trübau |
DATE OF DEATH | December 29, 2003 |
Place of death | Hanover |