Erich Hartmann
| Erich Hartmann | |
|---|---|
then-Leutnant Erich Hartmann
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Bubi The Blond Knight The Black Devil The Black Devil of the South(by the Soviets) |
| Born |
19 April 1922 Weissach, Württemberg, Weimar Republic |
| Died | 20 September 1993 (aged 71) Weil im Schönbuch, Germany |
| Buried at | New cemetery in Weil im Schönbuch Field D—Row 9—Grave 35/36 |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany (1940–45) West Germany (1956–70) |
| Service/branch |
 Luftwaffe (Wehrmacht).svg){kind=small} German Air Force (Bundeswehr) |
| Years of service | 1940–45 1956–70 |
| Rank |
Major (Wehrmacht) Oberst (Bundeswehr) |
| Unit | JG 52, JG 53 and JG 71 |
| Commands held | I./JG 52 and JG 71 |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds |
| Spouse(s) | Ursula Paetsch |
| Other work | Civilian flight instructor |
Erich Alfred Hartmann (19 April 1922 – 20 September 1993), nicknamed "Bubi" by his German comrades and "The Black Devil" by his Soviet adversaries, was a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most successful fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He flew 1,404 combat missions and participated in aerial combat on 825 separate occasions. He claimed, and was credited with, shooting down 352 Allied aircraft—345 Soviet and 7 American—while serving with the Luftwaffe. During the course of his career, Hartmann was forced to crash-land his fighter 14 times due to damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he had just shot down or mechanical failure. Hartmann was never shot down or forced to land due to enemy fire.
Hartmann, a pre-war glider pilot, joined the Luftwaffe in 1940 and completed his fighter pilot training in 1942. He was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) on the Eastern Front and was fortunate to be placed under the supervision of some of the Luftwaffe's most experienced fighter pilots. Under their guidance, Hartmann steadily developed his tactics, which earned him the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 25 August 1944 for claiming 301 aerial victories. At the time of its presentation to Hartmann, this was Germany's highest military decoration.
Hartmann scored his 352nd and last aerial victory at midday on 8 May 1945, only hours before the war ended. Along with the remainder of JG 52, he surrendered to United States Army forces and was turned over to the Red Army. In an attempt to pressure him into service with the Soviet-friendly East German Volksarmee, he was tried on fabricated charges of war crimes and convicted, his conviction being posthumously voided by a Russian court as a malicious prosecution. Hartmann was sentenced to 25 years of hard labour and spent 10 years in various Soviet prison camps and gulags until he was released in 1955.
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