Heinz_Ewald

Heinz Ewald

Heinz Ewald

German World War II fighter pilot

Heinz "Esau" Ewald (1 September 1922 – 14 March 2002) was a Luftwaffe fighter 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.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Heinz Ewald was credited with 84 victories in 395 combat missions.

Career

On 1 December 1941 Ewald volunteered for military service. After his pilot training, which included flight training with the Fliegerausbildungsregiment 23 in Kaufbeuren, he was posted, in the fall of 1943, to 6. Staffel (6th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on the Eastern Front and was soon one of the best young pilots of his group. He frequently flew as wingman to Gerhard Barkhorn.[1] On his fourth sortie, and on his first enemy encounter, he shot down his first opponent on 11 December 1943. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, on 8 January 1944; the Iron Cross 1st Class on 7 March. He was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 May, and he received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 25 May.[2]

On 17 December 1943, Ewald made a forced landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6.[3] On 21 March 1944, he was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery in his Bf 109 G-6.[4] On 24 June, he was again shot down, this time in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 163568—factory number) during combat with Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers southeast of Malu Roșu, Ploiești and wounded.[5] Prior to being shot down, Esau claimed a B-24 bomber. He made two attacks on the bomber. The first attack, which was made in a head on attack, damaged the bomber and separated it from its combat box. The second attack, which flown from a stern direction, was observed to have shot down the B-24 bomber with its left wing on fire.[6] Flying a third attack on the bomber formation, Ewald was hit by the defensive fire of another bomber. His engine caught fire and he was forced to bail out. Fearing to come to get shot in his parachute by an escorting fighter, he let himself fall to approximately 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) before deploying his parachute.[7]

On 30 September, II. Gruppe moved to Nagyrábé. Here on 6 October, Ewald claimed his first aerial victory following his injuries sustained on 24 June when he shot down a Yakovlev Yak-11 aircraft.[8] He received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 30 November.[9] On 18 January, II. Gruppe relocated to Veszprém where they stayed until 21 March. Here the Gruppe supported the 6th Army fighting in Operation Konrad III in an attempt to relieve the siege of Budapest. Here, Ewald claimed an aerial victory over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft the next day, a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber, also named "Boston", on 20 January. On 22 January, he was credited with four Lavochkin La-5 fighters shot down near Stuhlweißenburg, present-day Székesfehérvár, followed by another La-5 on 30 January and 2 February, and two La-5s on 4 February.[10]

Squadron leader

On 15 February 1945, Ewald succeeded Oberleutnant Helmut Lipfert as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader of 6. Staffel of JG 52. On 1 March, the Staffel was redesignated and became the 7. Staffel.[11] That day, he was shot down in his Bf 109 G-10/U4 (Werknummer 610964) by German anti-aircraft artillery near the airfield at Vesprém.[12] On 3 April, he made a strafing attack on Russian positions and came under attack of 12 North American P-51 Mustang resulting in a forced landing 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) near the front line.[13]

II. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Brünn, present-day Brno in the Czech Republic, on 14 April. There, Ewald claimed his last four aerial victories. That day, he shot down two Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and a Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter on 15 and 16 April, taking his total to 84.[14] Four days later on 20 April, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), the last pilot of II. Gruppe to receive this distinction.[15][16][17]

Ewald was held as a Prisoner of War at Fürstenfeldbruck Lager from 8 May until 22 June 1945.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Ewald was credited with 84 aerial victories.[18] Spick also lists Ewald with 84 aerial victories claimed in 396 combat missions.[19] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 82 aerial victory claims, including one P-51 fighter, plus 16 further unconfirmed claims. All of his confirmed victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.[20]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 34 Ost 66562". 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.[21]

More information Chronicle of aerial victories, Claim ...

Awards

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    The "m.H." refers to an Ilyushin Il-2 with rear gunner (mit Heckschütze).
  2. [N 2]
    According to Mathews and Foreman this claim is unconfirmed.[29]
  3. [N 3]
    According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 08:20.[22]
  4. [N 4]
    According to Obermaier on 25 May 1944.[42]

References

Citations

  1. [1]
    Heaton et al. 2011, p. 27.
  2. [2]
    Obermaier 1989, p. 118.
  3. [3]
    Prien et al. 2012, p. 401.
  4. [4]
    Barbas 2005, p. 319.
  5. [5]
    Barbas 2005, p. 320.
  6. [6]
    Weal 2007, p. 73.
  7. [7]
    Weal 2007, pp. 73–74.
  8. [8]
    Barbas 2005, pp. 171–172, 368.
  9. [9]
    Barbas 2005, p. 288.
  10. [10]
    Barbas 2005, pp. 194, 371.
  11. [11]
    Barbas 2005, p. 286.
  12. [12]
    Barbas 2005, p. 324.
  13. [13]
    Barbas 2005, p. 325.
  14. [14]
    Barbas 2005, pp. 199–200, 372.
  15. [15]
    Schreier 1990, p. 174.
  16. [16]
    Weal 2004, p. 118.
  17. [17]
    Barbas 2005, p. 287.
  18. [18]
    Zabecki 2014, p. 1614.
  19. [19]
    Spick 1996, p. 235.
  20. [20]
    Mathews & Foreman 2014, pp. 294–296.
  21. [21]
    Planquadrat.
  22. [22]
    Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 294.
  23. [23]
    Prien et al. 2012, p. 392.
  24. [24]
    Prien et al. 2012, p. 395.
  25. [25]
    Prien et al. 2012, p. 394.
  26. [26]
    Mathews & Foreman 2014, pp. 294–295.
  27. [27]
    Barbas 2005, p. 358.
  28. [28]
    Barbas 2005, p. 367.
  29. [29]
    Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 295.
  30. [30]
    Barbas 2005, p. 368.
  31. [31]
    Barbas 2005, p. 359.
  32. [32]
    Barbas 2005, p. 369.
  33. [33]
    Barbas 2005, p. 360.
  34. [34]
    Barbas 2005, p. 370.
  35. [35]
    Barbas 2005, p. 361.
  36. [36]
    Barbas 2005, p. 362.
  37. [37]
    Barbas 2005, p. 366.
  38. [38]
    Mathews & Foreman 2014, pp. 295–296.
  39. [39]
    Barbas 2005, p. 371.
  40. [40]
    Barbas 2005, p. 372.
  41. [41]
    Patzwall 2008, p. 74.
  42. [42]
    Obermaier 1989, p. 108.
  43. [43]
    Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 107.
  44. [44]
    Fellgiebel 2000, p. 176.
  45. [45]
    Scherzer 2007, p. 300.

Bibliography

  • Barbas, Bernd (2005). Die Geschichte der II. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 52 [The History of 2nd Group of Fighter Wing 52] (in German). Selbstverl. ISBN 978-3-923457-71-7.
  • Bergström, Christer [in Swedish]. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  • Esau, Heinz Ewald (1975). als Jagdflieger im Erfolgreichsten Jagdgeschwader 1943–1945 [as a Fighter Pilot in the Most Successful Fighter Wing 1943–1945] (in German). Coburg, Germany. OCLC 798966148.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • 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 (2014). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 1 A–F. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-18-9.
  • 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 (2012). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 12/II—Einsatz im Osten—4.2. bis 31.12.1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 12/II—Action in the East—4 February to 31 December 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Buchverlag Rogge. ISBN 978-3-942943-05-5.
  • 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.
  • Schreier, Hans (1990). JG 52 Das erfolgreichste Jagdgeschwader des 2. Weltkriegs [JG 52 The Most Successful Fighter Wing of World War II] (in German). Berg am See: K. Vowinckel. ISBN 978-3-921655-66-5.
  • Heaton, Colin D.; Lewis, Anne-Marie; Olds, Robin; Schulze, Kurt (2011). The German Aces Speak: World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-1-61059-748-7.
  • Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
  • Weal, John (2004). Jagdgeschwader 52: The Experten. Aviation Elite Units. Vol. 15. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-786-4.
  • Weal, John (2007). More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 76. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-177-9.
  • Zabecki, David T., ed. (2014). Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-59884-981-3.
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