Hans "Assi" Hahn
Hans Hahn | |
|---|---|
 Hans "Assi" Hahn | |
| Born | 14 April 1914 Gotha |
| Died | 18 December 1982 (aged 68) Munich |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | Heer, Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1934 – 1945 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | JG 2, JG 54 |
| Commands | 4./JG 2, III./JG 2, II./JG 54 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Major Hans "Assi" Hahn (born 14 April 1914 - 18 December 1982) was a German World War II Luftwaffe Flying ace with 108 victories. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.[1]
World War II
Hahn was born at Gotha in Thüringen. A talented athlete, he was selected to participate in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin in the Pentathlon, but he had to withdraw due to illness.
Hahn enlisted in the army in 1934 as an officer candidate in the Infantry. In November 1935, Hahn transferred to the Luftwaffe, and underwent pilot training. Leutnant Hahn was then posted to 4./JG 134, based near Dortmund. On 1 November 1937, Hahn was posted as a flying instructor and Staffelführer (flight leader) of 1. Staffel at the new transferred Jagdfliegerschule (fighter flying school) at Werneuchen. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 February 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, Hahn was assigned to the newly formed II./JG 2, based at Zerbst, being appointed Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 2 late in 1939.
Hahn claimed his first two victories on 14 May 1940 during the Battle of France; two Hawker Hurricane fighters. Hahn would claim five victories during the Battle of France, before becoming even more successful in the Battle of Britain. After 20 claims by September 1940, Hahn was awarded the Ritterkreuz, promoted to the rank of Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 2. Hauptmann Hahn was awarded the Eichenlaub in August 1941 for 41 victories. Hahn claimed a Supermarine Spitfire on 16 September 1942 to record his 66th claim over the Western Front. Two Spitfires were lost that day; One was shot down by JG 26 near Le Treport, while Spitfire Vb AB859 from No. 122 Sqn, piloted by Sgt G. Nadan crashed, owing to unknown reasons.[2]
Hahn was then appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 54 Grünherz, based near Leningrad on the Eastern front, on 1 November 1942. In three months he claimed a further 42 Soviet kills. He recorded his 100th victory on 27 January 1943.
On 21 February 1943, Hahn encountered fighters near Staraya Russa. He shot down a Lavochkin La-5 fighter for his 108th victory before his aircraft received hits in the left wing. Disengaging from combat, Hahn's engine soon began overheating and he force-landed his Bf 109 G-2/R6 in enemy territory. Soviet sources claim Hahn was shot down by Russian ace Starshiy Leytenant Pavel Grazhdanikov (13 victories) of 169 IAP.
Hahn was captured and subsequently made a prisoner of war. Hahn's recalcitrant and forceful personality even in the harsh Soviet regime of a prison camp meant he was held captive by the Soviet Union until 1950. After his release Hahn worked at the International Corporation of Bayer Leverkusen. He later became a director of Wano Schwarzpulver Company, which manufactured gunpowder, at Kunigunde near Goslar. He retired in 1977 and lived in southern France. Hahn died on 18 December 1982 in Munich.
Hahn was credited with 108 victories in some 560 missions. He recorded 66 victories over the Western Front, of which 53 were Spitfires. Of the 42 victories he recorded over the Eastern front, at least seven were Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft.
Awards
- German Cross in Gold (16 July 1942)
- Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (30 May 1940)
- 1st Class (13 June 1940)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 24 September 1940 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the 4./JG 2 "Richthofen"[3]
- 32nd Oak Leaves on 14 August 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./JG 2 "Richthofen"[3]
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Hahn, Assi (1953). Du ciel aux enfers. Paris, France : Flammarion
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 - 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 3-87341-065-6.
- 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2.
External links
- Template:PND
- "Aces of the Luftwaffe". Hans "Assi" Hahn. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
Template:KCwithOL Template:Knight's Cross recipients of JG 2
