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Ludwig Häfner

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Ludwig Häfner
Born17 February 1921
Ingolstadt, Germany
Died10 November 1942(1942-11-10) (aged 21)
north of Stalingrad, Soviet Union
Cause of deathKilled in action
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service / branch Luftwaffe
Years of service?–1942
RankLeutnant (second lieutenant)
UnitJG 3
Commands3./JG 3
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ludwig Häfner (17 February 1921 – 10 November 1942) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. On 10 November 1942, Ludwig Häfner was killed north of Stalingrad after he was attacked by a large number of Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 21 December 1942. During his career he was credited with 52 aerial victories, all on the Eastern Front.

Career

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On 26 June 1941, Häfner sustained a bullet wound in aerial combat resulting in a crash landing of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-1 (Werknummer 5728—factory number) at Berestechko.[1] Following his convalescence on 7 September, Häfner was again injured when he crashed a Bf 109 F-4 on a shuttle flight at Przemyśl.[2]

Squadron leader and death

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On 1 October 1942, Häfner was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). He succeeded Oberleutnant Alfons Raich who was transferred.[3] On 10 November, Häfner was shot down and killed in action in aerial combat with Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters. His Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13631) crashed 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) west of the airfield at Kolobovka.[4] Command of 3. Staffel was then handed to Leutnant Franz Daspelgruber.[3]

Summary of career

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Aerial victory claims

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According to Obermaier, Hafner was credited with 52 aerial victories.[5] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 47 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.[6]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 39411". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.[7]

Chronicle of aerial victories
  This and the ? (exclamation mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews, and Foreman.
Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –[6]
Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 6 November 1941
1 24 June 1941 13:22 Potez 63 30 km (19 mi) east of Hostynne[8] 2 25 June 1941 07:01 DB-3 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Włodzimierz[8]
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[6]
Eastern Front – 26 April – September 1942
3 20 May 1942 14:25 Il-2 2 km (1.2 mi) southeast of Verhulivka[9] 21 25 July 1942 09:55 Yak-1 Farupolina[10]
4 29 May 1942 06:14 MiG-1 Balakliia[9] 22 25 July 1942 10:12 MiG-1 Ruslow[10]
5 13 June 1942 10:23 Il-2 2 km (1.2 mi) east of Nikolske[9] 23 29 July 1942 17:52 Il-2 PQ 39411, Kalach[10]
5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Kalach
6 13 June 1942 10:43 MiG-1 Bodomowka[9] 24 30 July 1942 05:32 LaGG-3 PQ 39253, Kalach[10]
15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Pitomnik Airfield
7 1 July 1942 12:05 LaGG-3 7 km (4.3 mi) east of Voronezh[11] 25 30 July 1942 05:47 LaGG-3 PQ 39294, Kalach[10]
8 2 July 1942 08:04 R-5 Stary Oskol[11] 26?[Note 1] 30 July 1942 05:48 LaGG-3 PQ 39411, Kalach[10]
9 4 July 1942 13:37 Il-2 Malyschewo[11] 27 30 July 1942
—
?[Note 2] 		Pe-2 Dmitriyevka[10]
5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Kalach
10 6 July 1942 16:52?[Note 3] Yak-1 Panikorjez[12] 28 31 July 1942 13:45 LaGG-3 PQ 39282, Kalach[13]
15 km (9.3 mi) west of Pitomnik Airfield
11 9 July 1942 17:55 LaGG-3 3 km (1.9 mi) east of Nowo Ushman[12] 29 31 July 1942 13:55 Il-2 PQ 39192, Kalach[13]
10 km (6.2 mi) west of Kalach
12 9 July 1942 18:10 LaGG-3 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Demschtschinsk[12] 30 31 July 1942 14:05 Il-2 PQ 39183, Skoworin[13]
20 km (12 mi) west of Kalach
13 9 July 1942 18:13 LaGG-3 3 km (1.9 mi) north of Mal Losowaja[12]
center of Lozow 		31 6 August 1942 05:35 Pe-2 Stalingrad[13]
14 9 July 1942 18:33 LaGG-3 Wislaja Poljana[12] 32 7 August 1942 05:47 Il-2 PQ 49521, Slotowitoje[14]
15 10 July 1942 04:37 P-39 3 km (1.9 mi) southeast of Rykanje[12]
Voronezh 		33 7 August 1942 10:25 LaGG-3 PQ 49521, Sklakatow[14]
16 10 July 1942 09:17 MiG-1 Voronezh[12] 34 20 August 1942 06:20 MiG-1 PQ 40471, Kalach[15]
17 13 July 1942 04:55 Pe-2 Morosowskaja[16] 33?[Note 1] 23 August 1942
—
 MiG-1 Stalingrad[15]
18 13 July 1942 11:55 R-5 Krasnaja-Jar[16] 34?[Note 1] 23 August 1942
—
 LaGG-3 Stalingrad[15]
19 14 July 1942 11:22 Il-2 Gruzynow[16] 37?[Note 1] 21 September 1942
—
 LaGG-3 Rzhev[17]
20 23 July 1942 09:30 Yak-1 Kalach[10] 38?[Note 1] 21 September 1942
—
 LaGG-3 Rzhev[17]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[6]
Eastern Front – September – 10 November 1942
39 29 September 1942 09:35 LaGG-3 7 km (4.3 mi) northwest of Cosmin Leninsk[18] 46 27 October 1942 08:32 MiG-3 PQ 35 Ost 49283[19]
25 km (16 mi) east of Stalingrad
40 29 September 1942 12:10 MiG-3?[Note 4] 12 km (7.5 mi) northeast of Akhtuba[18]
35 km (22 mi) east of Stalingrad 		47 28 October 1942 15:09 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 49223[20]
vicinity of Werchne
41 9 October 1942 14:46 LaGG-3 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Kotluban train station[19]
5 km (3.1 mi) north of Grebenka 		48 30 October 1942 14:12 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 49131[20]
vicinity of Bassargino
42 9 October 1942 14:48 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 49132, Kotluban train station[19]
5 km (3.1 mi) north of Grebenka 		49 1 November 1942 14:25 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 59172[20]
43 14 October 1942 07:10 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 40751[19] 50 2 November 1942 12:12 MiG-1 PQ 35 Ost 49422[20]
30 km (19 mi) east of Stalingrad
44 26 October 1942 11:40 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 49474[19]
north of Wassnoarmejsk 		51 3 November 1942 11:08 Yak-1 PQ 35 Ost 59192[20]
45 27 October 1942 08:12 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 49443[19]
20 km (12 mi) southeast of Stalingrad 		52 10 November 1942 11:54 Yak-1 PQ 35 Ost 59362, north of Kolobowka[20]

Awards

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e This claim is not listed by Mathews and Foreman.[6]
  2. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 05:55.[6]
  3. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 16:32.[6]
  4. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3.[6]
  5. ^ According to Scherzer as a pilot in the I./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet".[25]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 118.
  2. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 119.
  3. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 94.
  4. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 113.
  5. ^ Obermaier 1989, p. 126.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 461.
  7. ^ Planquadrat.
  8. ^ a b Prien et al. 2003, p. 107.
  9. ^ a b c d Prien et al. 2006, p. 144.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Prien et al. 2006, p. 149.
  11. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 146.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Prien et al. 2006, p. 147.
  13. ^ a b c d Prien et al. 2006, p. 150.
  14. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 151.
  15. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 152.
  16. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 148.
  17. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 153.
  18. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 103.
  19. ^ a b c d e f Prien et al. 2006, p. 105.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Prien et al. 2006, p. 106.
  21. ^ Dixon 2023, p. 295.
  22. ^ Patzwall 2008, p. 92.
  23. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 159.
  24. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 209.
  25. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 359.

Bibliography

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  • Bergström, Christer [in Swedish]. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  • Dixon, Jeremy (2023). Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe: Knight's Cross Holders 1939–1942. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-52677-864-2.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 2 G–L. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-19-6.
  • Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2003). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/I—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/I—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-69-4.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2006). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/II—Vom Sommerfeldzug 1942 bis zur Niederlage von Stalingrad—1.5.1942 bis 3.2.1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 9/II—From the 1942 Summer Campaign to the Defeat at Stalingrad—1 May 1942 to 3 February 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-77-9.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
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