Erich Schmidt (pilot)
Erich "Schmidtchen" Schmidt | |
---|---|
Nickname | "Schmidtchen" |
Born |
17 November 1914 Neuhaus am Rennweg |
Died |
31 August 1941 26) Dubno, Ukraine | (aged
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/branch | Luftwaffe |
Years of service | ?-1941 |
Rank | Oberleutnant |
Unit | JG 53 |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Erich "Schmidtchen" Schmidt (17 November 1914 – 31 August 1941) was a German Luftwaffe 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 - for the fighter pilots, it was a quantifiable measure of skill and combat success.
Career
After completing his flight training, at the start of the war in September 1939, Leutnant Schmidt was in the 2nd Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 (2./JG 53).[1] Transferred to 9th Staffel (9./JG 53) in the following February, he had no success in the French campaign, and his first victory was on 12 August 1940 when he shot down a Spitfire over the Isle of Wight. He was far more successful in the Battle of Britain however, and he had 17 victories by end of November 1940,[2] when he was transferred briefly to the Stab (HQ) flight of III./JG 53 as Gruppe-Adjutant.[3]
But he was back with 9./JG 53 for the invasion of Russia Operation Barbarossa. With his unit covering the advance of Hoth's panzers on the northern side of Army Group Centre, on the opening day of the campaign (22 June 1941) he shot down four Russian aircraft, and his 30th victory was an I-16 fighter on 4 July. For that score he was awarded the Knight's Cross by the newly promoted General of Fighters Werner Mölders on 23 July. His unit was constantly on the move, leap-frogging forward to airbases often only cleared of enemy a day or two before. Barely staying a few days to a week at a time, their mission was to protect the ground troops from enemy bombers as the blitzkrieg stormed eastward past Minsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk, toward Moscow.
On 26 July he shot down 5 DB-3 bombers, 3 in the morning and 2 more in the afternoon. He shot down his final three victories on 29 August taking his total to 47. But on 31 August 1941, returning from a freie Jagd (free hunt), he was himself shot down after being hit by Soviet anti-aircraft fire east of Velikiye Luki.[4] Baling out behind enemy lines, he was never seen again.[5] At the time he was the top-scoring pilot of III/JG 53, and was posthumously promoted to Oberleutnant.
Victories
No | Date | Time | Unit & Airfield | Gruppe Kommandeur[6] | Location | Claimed Aircraft | Source / Comments[7] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 Aug 1940 | 12:37 | 9./JG 53 - Brest | Hptm Harro Harder | Isle of Wight | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
2 | 31 Aug 1940 | 20:42 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet, Calais | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Dover | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
3 | 5 Sep 1940 | 16:35 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | ? | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
4 | 9 Sep 1940 | 18:55 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near London | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
5 | 15 Sep 1940 | 12:44 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | S of London | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
6 | 15 Sep 1940 | 13:08 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | 10 km S of London : 4000m | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
7 | 15 Sep 1940 | 15:36 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | ? | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
8 | 17 Sep 1940 | 16:41 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | ? | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
9 | 27 Sep 1940 | 13:33 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | London | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
10 | 30 Sep 1940 | 14:33 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Hastings | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
11 | 2 Oct 1940 | 11:06 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Thames Estuary | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
12 | 2 Oct 1940 | 11:10 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Thames Estuary | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
13 | 5 Oct 1940 | 12:33 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Thames Estuary | Hurricane | OKL, Prien/Bock |
14 | 7 Oct 1940 | 14:20 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Mayfield | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
15 | 10 Oct 1940 | 11:30 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Thames Estuary : 4500m | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
16 | 1 Nov 1940 | 12:45 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Tunbridge Wells : 5000m | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
17 | 30 Nov 1940 | 11:30 | 9./JG 53 - Le Touquet | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | N of Dover : 5000m | Spitfire | OKL, Prien/Bock |
18 | 22 Jun 1941 | 7:15 | 9./JG 53 - Suwalki | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Grodno | I-16 | Prien/Bock |
19 | 22 Jun 1941 | 11:35 | 9./JG 53 - Suwalki | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia | DJ-6 | Prien/Bock |
20 | 22 Jun 1941 | 18:25 | 9./JG 53 - Suwalki | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia | I-16 | Prien/Bock |
21 | 22 Jun 1941 | 20:45 | 9./JG 53 - Suwalki | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia | DJ-6 | Prien/Bock |
22 | 25 Jun 1941 | 8:33 | 9./JG 53 - Vilnius | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia | SB-3 | Prien/Bock |
23 | 25 Jun 1941 | 11:30 | 9./JG 53 - Vilnius | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia-Minsk | SB-3 | Prien/Bock |
24 | 26 Jun 1941 | 7:28 | 9./JG 53 - Vilnius | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia-Minsk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
25 | 26 Jun 1941 | 7:41 | 9./JG 53 - Vilnius | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia-Minsk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
26 | 27 Jun 1941 | 5:08 | 9./JG 53 - Vilnius | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia-Minsk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
27 | 27 Jun 1941 | 14:57 | 9./JG 53 - Vilnius | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia-Minsk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
28 | 27 Jun 1941 | 18:34 | 9./JG 53 - Vilnius | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | Byelorussia-Minsk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
29 | 2 Jul 1941 | 20:09 | 9./JG 53 - Molodeczno | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | N of Minsk | I-153 | Prien/Bock |
30 | 4 Jul 1941 | 12:21 | 9./JG 53 - Molodeczno | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | N of Minsk | I-16 | Prien/Bock |
31 | 14 Jul 1941 | 18:05 | 9./JG 53 - Vitebsk | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | twd Smolensk | I-17 (MiG-3) | Prien/Bock |
32 | 26 Jul 1941 | 9:35 | 9./JG 53 - Demidov | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Smolensk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
33 | 26 Jul 1941 | 10:10 | 9./JG 53 - Demidov | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Smolensk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
34 | 26 Jul 1941 | 10:12 | 9./JG 53 - Demidov | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Smolensk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
35 | 26 Jul 1941 | 18:28 | 9./JG 53 - Demidov | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Smolensk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
36 | 26 Jul 1941 | 18:32 | 9./JG 53 - Demidov | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Smolensk | DB-3 | Prien/Bock |
37 | 2 Aug 1941 | 13:45 | 9./JG 53 - Moschna | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | twd Velikiye Luki | I-18 (MiG-3) | Prien/Bock |
38 | 5 Aug 1941 | 10:41 | 9./JG 53 - Moschna | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | twd Velikiye Luki | I-18 (MiG-3) | Prien/Bock |
39 | 5 Aug 1941 | 10:46 | 9./JG 53 - Moschna | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | twd Velikiye Luki | I-18 (MiG-3) | Prien/Bock |
40 | 7 Aug 1941 | 10:22 | 9./JG 53 - Surasch | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | twd Velikiye Luki | I-16 | Prien/Bock |
41 | 19 Aug 1941 | 13:05 | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Velikiye Luki | I-16 | Prien/Bock |
42 | 23 Aug 1941 | 17:00 | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Velikiye Luki | I-18 (MiG-3) | Prien/Bock |
43 | 25 Aug 1941 | 14:55 | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | near Toropets | Il-2 | Prien/Bock |
44 | 27 Aug 1941 | 16:25 | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | ? | I-153 | Prien/Bock |
45 | 29 Aug 1941 | 15:35 | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | ? | I-16 | Prien/Bock |
46 | 29 Aug 1941 | 15:44 | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | ? | I-18 (MiG-3) | Prien/Bock |
47 | 29 Aug 1941 | 15:46 | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | ? | I-18 (MiG-3) | Prien/Bock |
† | 31 Aug 1941 | - | 9./JG 53 - Maklok | Hptm Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke | E of Velikiye Luki | AA |
Awards
- Flugzeugführerabzeichen
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
- Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 July 1941 as Leutnant and pilot in the III./Jagdgeschwader 53 [8]
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). 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] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1941 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
- Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
- 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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2.
- Weal, John (1996). Bf109D/E Aces 1939-41. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-85532-487-3.
- Weal, John (2001). Bf109 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-84176-084-6.
- Weal, John (2007). Aviation Elite Units #25: Jagdgeschwader 53 Pik-As’. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-84603-204-2.
External links
- Aces of the Luftwaffe
- "Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries". Erich Schmidt. Retrieved 29 December 2012
- "Luftwaffe Fighter Claims". Erich Schmidt. Retrieved 7 January 2013
- "Luftwaffe Air Units: Single–Engined Fighters". Jagdgeschwader 53. Retrieved 7 January 2013
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