Karl-Heinz Weber

Karl-Heinz Weber (30 January 1922 – 7 June 1944) was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Weber was credited with 136 aerial victories—that is, 136 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft. All his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front in over 500 combat missions.

Career
Karl-Heinz Weber was born on 30 January 1922 in Heringsdorf in the province of Pomerania, a Free State of Prussia. A pre-war glider pilot, he volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe in late 1939. Leutnant Weber was posted to 7./Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) on 1 October 1940. He claimed his first aerial victory on 24 June 1941 during the opeing phase of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. He was credited with his 100th aerial victory on 13 August 1943.

Weber was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III./Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) on 3 June 1944. Only four days later, on 7 June, Weber led III./JG 1 against Allied fighters south of Rouen on his first mission over the Invasion Front. It is assumed that he was shot down and killed in his Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6 (Werknummer 410 399—factory number) by United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) P-51 Mustangs. His body was never recovered. Weber was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (6 July 1941)
 * 1st Class (17 August 1941)
 * Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 21 September 1942 as Leutnant and pilot
 * German Cross in Gold on 16 March 1943 as Leutnant in the 7./JG 51
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knight's Cross on 12 November 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelführer of the 7./JG 51 "Mölders"
 * 529th Oak Leaves on 20 July 1944 on (posthumously) and Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 7./JG 51 "Mölders"