Heinrich Ehrler
| Heinrich Ehrler | |
|---|---|
Heinrich Ehrler
|
|
| Born |
14 September 1917 Oberbalbach |
| Died | 4 April 1945 (aged 27) Stendal |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Luftwaffe
|
| Years of service | 1935–45 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | JG 77, JG 5 and JG 7 |
| Commands held | JG 5 Eismeer |
| Battles/wars |
Spanish Civil War World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Heinrich Ehrler (14 September 1917 – 4 April 1945) was a German pilot during World War II and a fighter ace credited with 208 enemy aircraft shot down in over 400 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with nine claims over the Western Front which included eight in the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.
Ehrler joined the military service in the Wehrmacht in 1935, initially service with the artillery and anti-aircraft artillery. He participated in the Spanish Civil War and following the outbreak of World War II transferred to the Jagdwaffe (fighter force). He was posted to a squadron in the Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), which was later moved to the Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5).
Scapegoated for the loss of the German battleship Tirpitz, Ehrler was court-martialled, stripped of his command and sentenced to three years and two months Festungshaft (honorable imprisonment). Ehrler's sentence was later commuted and his loss of rank rescinded, and in February 1945 he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 7. According to his fellow pilots, Ehrler thereafter flew in the increasingly desperate air battles without the purpose and dedication that had made him one of the Luftwaffe's most successful aces. On 4 April 1945, he shot down two Allied bombers for his final two victories, before destroying a third by ramming with his damaged aircraft after having run out of ammunition.
Ehrler was born on 14 September 1917 in Oberbalbach, today part of Lauda-Königshofen, in the district of Tauberbischofsheim of the Grand Duchy of Baden. He was one of eight children of a laborer. When his mother died, his father married again. The second marriage added four more children to the family.
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