Erich Hohagen
Encyclopedia
Erich Hohagen was a German
Luftwaffe
flying ace during World War II
and a General in the post war Bundeswehr
. A holder of the Ritterkreuz or "Knights Cross," Hohagen led several Luftwaffe
units during the war and became a well-respected fighter commander.
During his career in military aviation Hohagen accumulated several thousand hours of flying time on over 60 different aircraft types and survived over 500 combat missions during World War II
.
's veterans to have flown in combat almost continuously throughout the war.
Hohagen flew on the Channel Front with 4./JG 51 in 1940 and then in the campaign against Russia during 1941-42 with 4./JG 51 and Stab II./JG 51. He then served on the Western Front in 1943-44 with 7./JG 2 and Stab I./JG 2, and the Reichsverteidigung or "Defense of the Reich
" in 1944-45 with Stab I./JG 2 and JV 44
.
As a Leutnant based on the Channel Coast with 4./JG 51 he scored his first aerial victory - an RAF Supermarine Spitfire
over Southern England on 5 July 1940. Eleven more RAF fighters fell to his guns before late May 1941, when his unit was transferred to the East for Operation Barbarossa
.
Hohagen's most successful sortie on the Eastern Front
was on 22 June 1941 when he shot down three Soviet SB-2 bombers in the space of five minutes.Hohagen received the Ritterkreuz on 5 October 1941, after 30 victories. Hohagen was posted to 7./JG 2 in january 1943, serving in the West.
On 1 June 1943 Oblt. Wilhelm Steinmann
of 3./JG 27 claimed an RAF Supermarine Spitfire
shot down, however he had made an identification error and in fact shot down the Bf 109 G-6
flown by Hauptmann
Hohagen. Hohagen was forced to bail and was wounded.
On 16 September 1943 Hohagen, now Gruppenkommandeur
of I./JG 2, was piloting a Fw 190A-6 fighter (W.Nr. 550532) leading the Stab I./JG 2 in a sharp engagement with USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. Hohagen was again wounded and crash landed his damaged aircraft near Rennes
, France. During the subsequent belly landing, Hohagen suffered a severe cranial injury when his head hit the gunsight mount. Recovering from his wounds and still suffering from headaches he was deemed fit for operations.
Hohagen led the I./JG 2 from 19 August 1943 until 24 September 1944. In January 1944 elements of JG 2 were sent to bolster the Mediterranean theatre to counter the Allied invasion at Anzio
. Hohagen's I./JG 2, flying Fw 190A-6's, was stationed at Castiglione del Lago and later at Canino. Hohagen's unit was withdrawn to France in April 1944 after heavy losses.
On D-Day
Hohagen was in combat over the front and at 17.25 hours claimed an RAF fighter shot down around Beaumont-le-Roger
; probably a Mustang I (Serial No. AG465) of No. 430 Squadron RCAF flown by F/O J. S. Cox, who was killed.
Major Hohagen flew the new Me 262 jet aircraft for one week at Lechfeld with III./EJG 2, before being posted to the command of III./JG 7, based at Bradenburg-Briest airfield. In the latter months of 1944 Hohagen helped to convert pilots to the new jets. Soon, Hohagen was declared unfit for further combat operations and sent immediately to a Fighter Pilots' Hospital near Berlin
for a more thorough recuperation from his many and still troublesome wounds.
In early 1945 Generalleutnant Adolf Galland
and Oberst
Johannes Steinhoff
recruited Hohagen from hospital to join the new Jagdverband 44 (JV 44
) forming at Bradenburg-Briest. Galland had received permission to create and staff the unorthodox fighter group from Luftwaffe
Chief, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
.
Hohagen became the Technical Officer for JV 44
and assisted with the conversion of newly arriving pilots to the Me 262. The unit transferred to München-Riem on 31 March 1945.
He served as JV 44
's Technical Officer until the crash of Oberst
Johannes Steinhoff
on 18 April 1945, and Hohagen replaced the injured Steinhoff as the unit's Einsatzchef (Operations Chief).
Hohagen remained operational with JV 44
until the end of the war. He was one of the surviving JV 44
pilots who transferred with the unit's jet aircraft to Salzburg
, Austria in May 1945.
He is credited with 56 aerial victories, including 13 four-engined bombers in the West and 17 Soviet aircraft in the East.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
flying ace during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and a General in the post war Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
. A holder of the Ritterkreuz or "Knights Cross," Hohagen led several Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
units during the war and became a well-respected fighter commander.
During his career in military aviation Hohagen accumulated several thousand hours of flying time on over 60 different aircraft types and survived over 500 combat missions during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Career
Erich Hohagen was one of the very few of the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
's veterans to have flown in combat almost continuously throughout the war.
Hohagen flew on the Channel Front with 4./JG 51 in 1940 and then in the campaign against Russia during 1941-42 with 4./JG 51 and Stab II./JG 51. He then served on the Western Front in 1943-44 with 7./JG 2 and Stab I./JG 2, and the Reichsverteidigung or "Defense of the Reich
Defense of the Reich
The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe over German occupied Europe and Germany itself during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies...
" in 1944-45 with Stab I./JG 2 and JV 44
JV 44
Jagdverband 44 was a special fighter unit of top German fighter ace pilots in the Luftwaffe during the last months of World War II. The main aircraft used by the unit was the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter...
.
As a Leutnant based on the Channel Coast with 4./JG 51 he scored his first aerial victory - an RAF Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
over Southern England on 5 July 1940. Eleven more RAF fighters fell to his guns before late May 1941, when his unit was transferred to the East for Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
.
Hohagen's most successful sortie on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
was on 22 June 1941 when he shot down three Soviet SB-2 bombers in the space of five minutes.Hohagen received the Ritterkreuz on 5 October 1941, after 30 victories. Hohagen was posted to 7./JG 2 in january 1943, serving in the West.
On 1 June 1943 Oblt. Wilhelm Steinmann
Wilhelm Steinmann
Wilhelm Steinmann was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.-World War II:...
of 3./JG 27 claimed an RAF Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
shot down, however he had made an identification error and in fact shot down the Bf 109 G-6
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
flown by Hauptmann
Hauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
Hohagen. Hohagen was forced to bail and was wounded.
On 16 September 1943 Hohagen, now Gruppenkommandeur
Gruppenkommandeur
Gruppenkommandeur is a Luftwaffe position , that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. Gruppenkommandeur usually has the rank of Hauptmann or Major, and commands a Gruppe, which is a sub-division of a Geschwader. A Gruppe usually consists of three or four...
of I./JG 2, was piloting a Fw 190A-6 fighter (W.Nr. 550532) leading the Stab I./JG 2 in a sharp engagement with USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. Hohagen was again wounded and crash landed his damaged aircraft near Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
, France. During the subsequent belly landing, Hohagen suffered a severe cranial injury when his head hit the gunsight mount. Recovering from his wounds and still suffering from headaches he was deemed fit for operations.
Hohagen led the I./JG 2 from 19 August 1943 until 24 September 1944. In January 1944 elements of JG 2 were sent to bolster the Mediterranean theatre to counter the Allied invasion at Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
. Hohagen's I./JG 2, flying Fw 190A-6's, was stationed at Castiglione del Lago and later at Canino. Hohagen's unit was withdrawn to France in April 1944 after heavy losses.
On D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
Hohagen was in combat over the front and at 17.25 hours claimed an RAF fighter shot down around Beaumont-le-Roger
Beaumont-le-Roger
Beaumont-le-Roger is a commune in the department of Eure in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:The commune is located in the valley of the Risle on the edge of the forest with which it shares its name. It is crossed by the Paris-Cherbourg railway line...
; probably a Mustang I (Serial No. AG465) of No. 430 Squadron RCAF flown by F/O J. S. Cox, who was killed.
Major Hohagen flew the new Me 262 jet aircraft for one week at Lechfeld with III./EJG 2, before being posted to the command of III./JG 7, based at Bradenburg-Briest airfield. In the latter months of 1944 Hohagen helped to convert pilots to the new jets. Soon, Hohagen was declared unfit for further combat operations and sent immediately to a Fighter Pilots' Hospital near Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
for a more thorough recuperation from his many and still troublesome wounds.
In early 1945 Generalleutnant Adolf Galland
Adolf Galland
Adolf "Dolfo" Joseph Ferdinand Galland was a German Luftwaffe General and flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western and the Defence of the Reich fronts...
and Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
Johannes Steinhoff
Johannes Steinhoff
Johannes Steinhoff was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace of World War II, and later a senior West German air force officer and military commander of NATO. Steinhoff was one of very few Luftwaffe pilots who survived to fly operationally through the whole of the war period 1939-45...
recruited Hohagen from hospital to join the new Jagdverband 44 (JV 44
JV 44
Jagdverband 44 was a special fighter unit of top German fighter ace pilots in the Luftwaffe during the last months of World War II. The main aircraft used by the unit was the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter...
) forming at Bradenburg-Briest. Galland had received permission to create and staff the unorthodox fighter group from Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
Chief, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
.
Hohagen became the Technical Officer for JV 44
JV 44
Jagdverband 44 was a special fighter unit of top German fighter ace pilots in the Luftwaffe during the last months of World War II. The main aircraft used by the unit was the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter...
and assisted with the conversion of newly arriving pilots to the Me 262. The unit transferred to München-Riem on 31 March 1945.
He served as JV 44
JV 44
Jagdverband 44 was a special fighter unit of top German fighter ace pilots in the Luftwaffe during the last months of World War II. The main aircraft used by the unit was the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter...
's Technical Officer until the crash of Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
Johannes Steinhoff
Johannes Steinhoff
Johannes Steinhoff was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace of World War II, and later a senior West German air force officer and military commander of NATO. Steinhoff was one of very few Luftwaffe pilots who survived to fly operationally through the whole of the war period 1939-45...
on 18 April 1945, and Hohagen replaced the injured Steinhoff as the unit's Einsatzchef (Operations Chief).
Hohagen remained operational with JV 44
JV 44
Jagdverband 44 was a special fighter unit of top German fighter ace pilots in the Luftwaffe during the last months of World War II. The main aircraft used by the unit was the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter...
until the end of the war. He was one of the surviving JV 44
JV 44
Jagdverband 44 was a special fighter unit of top German fighter ace pilots in the Luftwaffe during the last months of World War II. The main aircraft used by the unit was the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter...
pilots who transferred with the unit's jet aircraft to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria in May 1945.
He is credited with 56 aerial victories, including 13 four-engined bombers in the West and 17 Soviet aircraft in the East.
Awards
- German CrossGerman CrossThe German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold (25 December 1943) - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939) 2nd and 1st Class - Knight's Cross of the Iron CrossKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
(5 October 1941)