Hans Hahn (fighter pilot)

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Hans "Assi" Hahn (born April 14, 1914 in Gotha ; † December 18, 1982 in Munich ) was a German Air Force officer and fighter pilot in the Air Force during World War II . In 560 missions he achieved 108 victories.

Life

Hahn was the son of a finance councilor. His later father-in-law was Colonel General Heinrich von Vietinghoff .

air force

Bf 109 F-2, Hans Hahn, France 1941
Fw 190 A-3, III./JG 2, Hans Hahn, France 1942

After graduating from high school , which Hahn obtained at the Humanist Gymnasium Ernestinum Gotha , he joined the Reichswehr as an officer candidate in the spring of 1934 . There he initially served in the 14th (Bad.) Infantry Regiment . From January to October 1935 he attended the military school in Munich for officer training , after which he was promoted to senior ensign . In November 1935 he switched to the Air Force. On April 1, 1936, he completed his pilot training in Celle , was promoted to lieutenant and on April 15, he was assigned to the 4th squadron in the second group of Jagdgeschwader 134 in Werl , which was newly established that day .

As an excellent modern pentathlete he was scheduled to take part in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but he could not take part due to illness.

From November 1, 1937 to January 31, 1939 he was a flight instructor and squadron captain of the 1st squadron at the newly established fighter pilot school 1 in Werneuchen . On February 1, 1939 he was promoted to first lieutenant and transferred to the staff of the 1st group of Jagdgeschwader 3 in Merseburg . On October 11, 1939, he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 2 , where he was on December 15, 1939, Squadron Captain of the 4th Squadron in the newly formed II Group in Zerbst . On May 14, 1940, Hahn achieved his first two aerial victories in the western campaign , of which only one was officially confirmed. In the Battle of Britain , after twenty victories, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on September 24, 1940 . On October 29th he was promoted to captain and commander of the III. Group appointed in Jagdgeschwader 2. After the 42nd victory in the air, on August 14, 1941, he received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Hahn achieved his 60th victory in the air on May 4, 1942. From July 16, 1942, he was the recipient of the German Cross in Gold. On November 1, 1942, Hahn took over from Dietrich Adolf Hrabak as commander of Group II in Jagdgeschwader 54 on the Eastern Front . On January 1, 1943, he was promoted to major . On January 26, 1943, he achieved his 100th victory in the air.

On February 21, 1943 Hahn had to make an emergency landing with his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 south of Salutsche near Demyansk because of engine damage and damage to the left wing and was taken prisoner by the Soviets . He was sent to the Oranki POW camp, where he openly opposed Walter Ulbricht and his goals ( National Committee Free Germany ).

Post-war years

In December 1949, after his release from captivity, he returned to Germany. He first came to Cologne-Flittard and worked for the foreign department of Bayer AG in France and England. He later became director of Wano Schwarzpulver GmbH in Kunigunde near Goslar . In 1977 he retired and moved with his family to the south of France.

In 1951 he published his memories of his imprisonment in Russia, which were also published in French in 1953.

Fonts

  • Assi Hahn: I speak the truth! Trapped in Russia for seven years. Bechtle-Verlag, Esslingen 1951.
    • French translation: Du ciel aux enfers. Flammarion, Paris 1953.
    • Czech translation: Zajatcem v Rusku . Elka Press, Prague 2016.

See also

literature

  • Franz Thomas: The oak leaf bearers. Volume 1: AK. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1997, ISBN 3-7648-2299-6 .
  • Jerry Crandall: Major Hans "Assi" Hahn: The man and his machines. Eagle Editions, Hamilton, Montana (USA), 2003, ISBN 0-9721060-0-6 (English)
  • Peter Stockert: The oak leaf bearers 1940–1945. Volume 1, Verlag Friedrichshaller Rundblick, Bad Friedrichshall 1996, ISBN 3-9802222-7-6 . Self-published by Peter Stockert, 2012, pp. 193–195.

Web links

Commons : Assi Hahn  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Renato Schumacher: Baron Franz von Werra. A German fighter pilot of Swiss origin. 2006, pp. 37-38.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.schumacher-luzern.ch  
  2. ↑ a b c Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 361.
  3. ↑ http://www.wano.de/
  4. ↑ Wolfgang Hardtwig, Erhard H. Schütz (ed.): History for readers: popular historiography in Germany in the 20th century. Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-515-08755-9 , p. 190.
personal data
SURNAME Hahn, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hahn, Assi (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Air Force officer and fighter pilot in the Air Force in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH April 14, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Gotha
DATE OF DEATH 18th December 1982
Place of death Munich