Karl-Heinz Weber

Karl-Heinz Weber
Karl-Heinz Weber
Nickname	Benjamin
Born	(1922-01-30)30 January 1922
Died	June 7, 1944(1944-06-07) (aged 22)
Place of birth	Heringsdorf
Place of death	south of Rouen, France
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1939 – 1944
Rank	Hauptmann
Unit	JG 51, JG 1
Commands held	III./JG 1
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

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 (German language: 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"

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Aders, Gebhard & Held, Werner (1993). Jagdgeschwader 51 'Mölders' Eine Chronik - Berichte - Erlebnisse - Dokumente (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-613-01045-3.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) (in German). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [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]. Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. 
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989) (in German). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1941 – 1945]. Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7. 
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001) (in German). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2]. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. 
• Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008) (in German). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War]. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3. 
• Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). 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]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1. 
• Thomas, Franz (1998) (in German). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z]. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9. 
• Weal, John (1998). Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front. London, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-518-7.
• Frey, Gerhard; Herrmann, Hajo: Helden der Wehrmacht III - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2007. ISBN 978-3-924309-82-4.

External links

• "Aces of the Luftwaffe". Karl-Heinz Weber. http://www.luftwaffe.cz/weber.html. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
• "Lexikon der Wehrmacht". Karl-Heinz Weber. http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/W/WeberKH.htm. Retrieved 28 December 2008.