Hans Ekkehard Bob
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| Hans Ekkehard Bob | |
|---|---|
| 24 January 1917 | |
 Hans Ekkehard Bob |
|
| Place of birth | Freiburg / Breisgau |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch | Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1936–1945 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | JG 54 JG 51 JG 3 EJG 2 JV 44 |
| Commands held | IV./JG 51, II./JG 3, II./EJG 2 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Ehrenpokal Deutsches Kreuz in Gold Ritterkreuz |
| Other work | Founder and Chairman of Bohrmaschinen und Geräte GmbH (drilling equipment) |
Hans Ekkehard Bob (24 January 1917) was a German Fighter pilot, serving with the Luftwaffe. During World War II, Bob flew approximately seven hundred combat Missions, and claimed sixty victories; thirty-seven of which were on the eastern front.
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[edit] Early Luftwaffe
Hans Ekkehard Bob joined the Luftwaffe in 1936,[1] at the rank of a Fahnenjunker (officer candidate), and began his Flight training June 1, 1937.
In 1938, he attended the Officers Academy, and was transferred to the Jagdfliegergruppe 133 in Wiesbaden. During the occupation of the Sudetenland, he flew his first missions, primarily escorting Bombers and Transport aircraft, piloting an Arado Ar 68 biplane. Later, Bob was transferred to JG 334 in Gablingen, were he also received a promotion to the rank of Leutnant. JG 334 was a heavy fighter Geschwader, equipped with the Messerschmitt Me 110.
[edit] World War 2
In 1939, shortly before the Invasion of Poland, Bob was transferred to the newly formed 3./JG 21 (later known as the "Devils Squadron"),[2] which was redesignated at June 6, 1940 into 9./JG 54. It was equipped with the Me 109E fighter, an aircraft Bob would become very familiar with over the years - flying every model except the Kurfürst.
During the French campaign on May 10, 1940, Bob claimed his first victory when he shot down a Gloster Gladiator over Toveren in Belgium. That August he was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant. On October 10, 1940 he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 54 for a short period; he was soon appointed Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 54.
During the Battle of Britain 9./JG 54 was activated as a Jabo (fighter-bomber) unit, targeting shipping vessels. By November 1940, Bob had recorded 19 kills, and was awarded the Ritterkreuz by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring on March 7, 1941.
On March 21, 1941 Bob survived, unhurt, a ditching into Cherbourg harbour with his Bü 131 training aircraft, which had suffered engine failure. After the Battle of Britain, he participated in the Balkan campaign, where he recorded his 20th and 21st victories. JG 54 was re-equipped with the new Me 109F, and relocated to airfields in Prussia, in preparation for the invasion of Russia.
On June 23, 1941, during Operation Barbarossa (Invasion of Russia), Hans Ekkehard Bob recorded his first victory in Russian airspace - an SB-2 twin-engined Bomber. During this combat action his Me 109F2 was hit by return fire, resulting a forced landing behind enemy lines. He evaded capture and returned to his unit 2 days later.
Between July 13 and October 30, 1941 Bob made three more emergency landings due to aircraft combat damage behind enemy lines, but in each case came back to his unit.
On September 29, 1942, Bob had his 50th victory, and was promoted to Hauptmann later that year. flying on the Eastern front ended for Hans Ekkehard Bob and his III./JG 54 in February 1943, after he received orders from General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland to change positions with elements of the then French-based JG 26. This order was later cancelled, but III. Gruppe stayed on the Western front, separated from the rest of the 'Greenhearts', serving initially in Northern Germany with Jagdgeschwader 1.
On April 17, 1943 Bob recorded his 57th Victory; the ramming of a USAAF Boeing B-17 Bomber near Bremen with his Bf 109 G-6. He bailed out and survived the crash without injury. On August 1, Bob was promoted to the rank of Major and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of IV./JG 54. He returned to the Eastern front, where he scored a further two victories.
By May 1944, Bob was back at the Western front as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 3; based in the Normandy invasion front corridor, flying Reichsverteidigung (Defense of the Reich) duties. In August he was transferred to Erprobungskommando 262 where he learned to fly the Me 262.
In early 1945 his experience led to his becoming a member of Generalmajor Josef Kammhuber's staff. Bob was responsible for allocating newly built Me-262's to operational units. Later he took command of I. and II./EJG 2 and was responsible for practice and training former bomber pilots in flying the Me-262.
Bob was one of the aces chosen to fly as a member of the jet fighter unit JV 44, led by Adolf Galland. In the final days of World War II Bob was responsible for building a longer runway at Innsbruck airfield for the Me-262 Jets. At the capitulation on May 8, 1945 Bob was in Kappl, a small village near Salzburg. From Kappl he walked more than 1,400 km in 6 weeks to return to his home in Celle.
[edit] After the war
Bob returned to civilian life working as a farm labourer. In 1946, he founded his own transport company. Around this time he met Waldemar Wuebke, an old JV 44 comrade, and a friend from his time in JG 54. Bob still tells the story to this day with a smile on his face. Wuebke still wore his old uniform and officer cap as he was questioned by a British officer. "Why are you wearing this old stuff"? Wuebkes reply: "Do I ask you if your grandma has hemorrhoids"? He never met Wuebke again, and Wuebke later died in the early 1950s in Argentina, the result of injuries sustained in an airliner crash.
In 1956, Bob founded his own company, BOMAG, specializing in drilling equipment doing business in over 120 countries around the world as well as establishing the Celle Flying Club. Today Bob still flies his own aircraft at his current age of 91 and is believed to be the oldest licensed pilot in the world. He enjoys his retirement, and occasionally assists in research on the Luftwaffe.
From September 30 to October 1, 2000, Bob also was among the historical figures at the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in Santa Monica, California.
Bob is married to his wife of over 40 years Christa, they have three children Roland, Elmar Bob and Delia.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Karl Ries and Ernst Obermaier, Luftwaffe Rudder Markings 1936-1945, (1991) ISBN 1-125-98564-X
- ^ For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization
[edit] References
- R. Forsyth, JV 44: The Galland Circus Classic Publications, (1996) ISBN 0-9526867-0-8
- Hans Ekkehard Bob, Betrayed Ideals, Memoirs of a Luftwaffe Fighter Ace Cerberus Publishing Ltd., (2003) ISBN 1-84145-031-6
- Hannes Trautloft, Hans-Ekkehard Bob, War Diaries of Hannes Trautloft Kommodore of JG54 Grunherz Cerberus Publishing Ltd. (2005) ISBN 1-84145-010-3
- Interview of Hans-Ekkehard Bob with Redwulf 1
- Research details of JV 44 The Redwulf- Squadron
