Gotthard Handrick

Gotthard Handrick
Born	25 October 1908(1908-10-25) Zeitz
Died	30 May 1978(1978-05-30) (aged 69) Ahrensburg
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1929-1945
Rank	Oberst
Unit	JGr 88, JG 26, JG 52, JG 77, JG 5
Commands held	III./JG 52, JG 26, JG 77, JG 5
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords German Cross in Gold

Gotthard Handrick

Gotthard Handrick at the 1936 Olympic Games
Sport
Country	Nazi Germany
Sport	Modern pentathlon
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	1936 Berlin
Medal record Men's Modern pentathlon Gold 1936 Berlin Modern pentathlon

Karl Hermann Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

Career

Gotthard Handrick received his Abitur (diploma) in 1929 and the joined the military service of the Reichswehr.

Medal presentation at the 1936 Berlin Olympic games, Sivano Abba-Italy (3rd place) Gotthard Handrick-Germany (1st place) Charles Leonard-USA (2nd place)

He won the Gold medal in the Modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. As a fighter pilot, he participated in Spanish Civil War and claimed 5 aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor. During World War II he claimed another 10 victories while serving in the German military, earning him the German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943.

In mid-1937 Handrick was put in charge of the Luftwaffe Jagdgruppe 88 (18 July 1937 – 10 September 1938) and assumed command of I./JG 26 (1 May 1939 – 23 June 1940) after his return from Spain in 1938. On 24 June 1940, the command of the Jagdgeschwader 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Kurt Fischer.

After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.

Awards

• Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords
• Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold (17 October 1943)

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Caldwell, Donald L. (1991). JG 26 Top Guns of the Luftwaffe. Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1050-6.
• Forsyth, Robert (2011). Aces of the Legion Condor. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-347-8.
• Mandell, Richard D. (1987). The Nazi Olympics. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-01325-5.
• Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
• Toliver, Raymond F. and Constable, Trevor J. (1998). Das waren die Deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939-1945 (in German). Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-193-0.

External links

• Modern Pentathlon at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games

Military offices
Preceded by Major Hans Hugo Witt	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter 24 June 1940 – 21 August 1940	Succeeded by Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland
Preceded by Oberstleutnant Richard Kraut	Commander of Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg 26 August 1940 – 6 October 1940	Succeeded by Major Albert Blumensaat
Preceded by Major Bernhard Woldenga	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 Herz As 23 June 1941 – May 1942	Succeeded by Major Gordon M. Gollob
Preceded by none	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 5 Eismeer May 1942 – June 1943	Succeeded by Oberstleutnant Günther Scholz
Preceded by none	Commander of Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark 15 June 1943 – 15 June 1944	Succeeded by 8. Jagd-Division
Preceded by Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark	Commander of 8. Jagd-Division 15 June 1944 – 8 May 1945	Succeeded by none