Hannes Trautloft
| Hannes Trautloft | |
|---|---|
Hannes Trautloft
|
|
| Born |
3 March 1912 Großobringen |
| Died | 11 January 1995 (aged 82) Bad Wiessee |
| Buried at | Waldfriedhof Solln |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Luftwaffe.svg){kind=small} German Air Force
|
| Years of service | 1932–45 1957–70 |
| Rank | Generalleutnant (Bundeswehr) |
| Unit | JG 77, JG 51, JG 54 |
| Commands held | III./JG 51, JG 54 Grünherz |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Johannes "Hannes" Trautloft (3 March 1912 – 11 January 1995) was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1932 until the end of the war and again from 1957–70. He flew 560 combat sorties and was credited with 58 victories.
Hannes Trautloft was born in Großobringen near Weimar in Thüringen.
On 7 April 1931, he began his pilot training at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (German Air Transport School) at Schleißheim. The course he and 29 other trainees attended was called Kameradschaft 31, abbreviated "K 31". Among the members of K 31 were men like Wolfgang Falck and Günther Lützow. Trautloft graduated from the Deutsche Verkehrfliegerschule 19 February 1932. From K 31 Trautloft and 9 others were recommended for Sonderausbildung (special training) at the Lipetsk fighter-pilot school. These 10 men were the privileged few and were allowed to attend fighter pilot training. During this training, he spent four months in the Soviet Union, at the secret training facility Lipetsk. Upon returning to Germany Trautloft was promoted to Leutnant. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Trautloft was one of six pilots sent aboard the Ursaramo to Cadiz to secretly aid General Franco. With them, the pilots had six crated Heinkel He 51 biplane fighters.
The men and machines arrived in Spain on 7 August 1936. Originally, they were intended to act as instructors, but the Spanish pilots struggled with learning to fly the He-51, so the German pilots soon took up combat duties. On 25 August Trautloft scored his first victory, shooting down a Republican Breguet XIX light bomber. Five days later, shortly after scoring his second victory (a Potez 54), Trautloft was himself shot down, crash-landing in his aircraft coded 2-4. This was the first Luftwaffe pilot to be shot down in Spain. Trautloft escaped capture, however, and continued flying combat missions.
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