Broken ace of the Luftwaffe: was Erich Harmann really the most prolific ace of World War II

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Heavenly knight, lord of the sky, black devil. As soon as this blond young man was not called during the war years. Erich Hartmann was called the most talented and successful pilot of the Luftwaffe. It was believed that his record for the number of aerial victories could not be broken by anyone on both front lines. However, this fact raises doubts. Nevertheless, the military tribunal of the USSR, out of respect for the professionalism of the pilot, did not sentence him to death.

Step into the sky

Even in his youth, Erich fell in love with the sky. Probably, this was transmitted genetically: his mother Elizabeth adored aviation, and she was an instructor of the aviation club, having made many flights on gliders. She was the first mentor for her son and instilled in him a love of aviation.

Erich received his flying skills very early and at the age of 14 received a license to drive gliders. In addition, sports were cultivated in the family, and, training with his brother Alfred, the boy achieved excellent results. In the air club, the guy became the undoubted leader, and many peers even tried to imitate him. At the beginning of 1940, Hartmann decides to devote his life to military aviation and enlists in the German air force.

He passed the flight training course as an external student, and already at the beginning of the next year he famously mastered the Messerschmitts. Here the young man was lucky again: his mentor was the pilot-champion of the country in aerobatics. The coach immediately saw in the good-natured guy the future ace and transferred all his invaluable experience and skill to Erich. He taught the young pilot all the intricacies of maneuvering and fighter piloting techniques.

In the fall of 1942, Hartmann was sent to a special squadron, where Erich's immediate commanders were real aces and aviation veterans, who had many victories on their account. In addition, they were quite loyal to the younger generation, not allowing harshness and cruelty in the leadership. But the military discipline in the regiment was perfect, and the rookie pilots idolized their fathers-commanders. If Hartmann got into another unit, it is not known how his military career would have developed.

From "Bubi" to ace

For his cheerful disposition and kind attitude towards others, Erich received the nickname "Bubi", which means "baby", but this did not prevent him from being an unsurpassed opponent in battle. He had a talent for grasping everything on the fly: how to correctly perform an evading maneuver, firing from a long distance, the ability to assess a situation at a distance in a matter of seconds. Hartmann did not rush headlong at the enemy, but always tried to catch him by surprise or to choose a vulnerable moment on a sharp bend. He just loved his job and never overestimated his abilities. Co-workers spoke of him with respect, and those who saw Erich in battle said that he had no rivals in aerobatics.

The pilot remembered his first sortie forever. Then he lost sight of the leader, and the feeling of numbness literally paralyzed Hartmann. The Soviet attack aircraft went on the attack, and Erich, overcoming his panic, broke away from the enemy. But at that moment, the instruments showed that the fuel was almost at zero. The young pilot managed to land the plane far from the base airfield. He saved himself and the car, and most importantly, he managed to curb the feeling of fear.

Soon Erich learned how to shoot down Il-2 attack aircraft as a sniper, which could only be done at low altitudes and aiming at the oil cooler. The first such experience almost ended tragically for Hartmann. The wreckage of the plane he shot down covered him with Messer, and he miraculously managed to land him on his belly. Time has shown that in such cases it is necessary to immediately leave the battle line. The pilot learned all the nuances of military maneuvers in battles. And, as it turned out, the practice was far from theory.

One of the most famous aces - Hartmann's mentors was the famous Walter Krupinsky, clever, handsome and ladies' man. But in the sky, he forgot about his earthly preferences, and he had no equal in battle. Walter taught Erich the intricacies of close combat, and it was he who gave his student the nickname Bubi, which he wore until the end of the war.

Laurels of victories and postscripts

The number of victories of the successful pilot grew exponentially. In July 1943, there were already more than a hundred of them in his track record. Legends began to form about him. Some said that on board his combat vehicle was a red heart, a symbol of love for a girl named Ursula, and it brought good luck to the pilot. Others said that Hartmann flew on board, the fuselage of which was decorated with an image of a black tulip. Therefore, during the battles in Ukraine, he was dubbed “the black devil”. By July 1944, more than two hundred and fifty Russian aircraft became victims of the ace with the call sign "Karaya - 1".

Erich soon crashed over our territory and was taken prisoner. He managed to escape, after which the Fuhrer personally presented the Knight's Cross to Hartmann. In total, the famous German pilot won 352 aerial victories during his military career.

In fairness, subscripts existed in all the armies of the world. Back in 1939, the largest air battle between Soviet and Japanese pilots unfolded on Khalkhin Gol. Then the samurai badly battered our air fleet. At the same time, the command of the Red Army announced the destruction of 588 vehicles in the air and 58 on the ground. In reality, only 88 and 74 were shot down at airfields. The Japanese reported 1162 victories in the air and 98 on the ground. Defeat! In fact, only 207 were knocked out of ours and 42 - non-combat losses. Thus, we exaggerated the number of victories by 4 times, and the Japanese by 6.

Often the subscripts were not made out of malicious intent. In the heat of battle, try to keep track of where the enemy's car that you hooked on has gone! The Soviet command understood the specifics of reporting and was rather skeptical about it. From time to time, a menacing shout was heard from above: they say, you guys are completely lying - and the numbers were decreasing in order.

The Germans also had a confusing counting system. At the same time, points were awarded for victories - one point was given for a single fighter, and four for a four-engine fighter. But they were also adjusted depending on the contribution of each aircraft to the destruction of the enemy. And everyone considered himself a winner. And go figure it out!

But let's be objective. Even taking into account all the hoaxes, there are indeed more victories on the account of the best German pilots. Does this mean that the skill of our most effective fighter pilot, Ivan Kozhedub (64 victories), is 5.5 times lower than that of Hartmann? Nothing like this.

Let's turn to the facts. During the war, the "blond knight of the Reich" made 1425 sorties. Whereas Ivan Nikitich - only 330. It turns out that in percentage terms their indicator is approximately the same - 4 - 5 sorties per victory. Kozhedub, for example, was very worried that he was not allowed to take part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge. There he would undoubtedly improve his performance. But Kozhedub's squadron fought on a different front, although it was nearby.

The bitterness of defeat

In the spring of 1945, Hartmann, as part of his flight group, fell into the hands of the Americans and was handed over to Soviet justice. Erich spent ten long years in prison in the USSR, and then was sent to Germany.

He married his beloved Ursula, who brought him back to life. And even returned to the army. But he constantly argued with the commanders, scattered airplanes sloppily at the airfield; teased the authorities, calling the generals "pompous roosters", although he himself ordered to paint the squadron's planes with his favorite "black tulips" and set up a bar on the base of the squadron. The command did not like this and Erich was removed from the command of the squadron and sent to staff work.

Hartmann was very worried at first, but then somehow calmed down. He served at the headquarters, earned a good pension and retired. And there American journalists pulled up. Hartmann gave several interviews and made a great deal.

On the family front, everything was fine too. Nice house, good wife. What else does a person need to meet old age with dignity? And they lived happily ever after … The pilot died on September 20, 1993.

And here is the true story of a real person. Especially for our readers feat of the pilot Alexei Maresyev.