Biography

Hans-Joachim Pancherz was born in Bytom

Bytom

Bytom is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central-western district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Bytom is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river .The city belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship since...

, then Beuthen, in Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...

.

From 1933 he worked as a civilian flight instructor at the Würzburg

Würzburg

Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....

, Kitzingen

Kitzingen

Kitzingen is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants.Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria...

 and Fürth

Fürth

The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....

 flying schools, and at the Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

 LKS (Luftkriegsschule). In 1934 he gained experience as a test pilot at the E-Stelle Rechlin, the German test centre and in 1938 was offered the chance to fly for the SCADTA

SCADTA

The Colombian-German Air Transport Society , or SCADTA, was the world's second airline, and the first airline of the American continent, operating from 1919 until World War II. After the war, SCADTA merged with Colombian regional carrier Colombian Air Service , or SACO. Together, SCADTA and SACO...

 airline in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

.

Returning to Germany in 1940, he began working for Junkers at Dessau

Dessau

Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...

 as a test pilot, mainly with Junkers' larger machines, including the Ju 90

Junkers Ju 90

The Junkers Ju 90 was a 40-seat, four-engine airliner developed for and used by Deutsche Luft Hansa shortly before World War II. It was based on the rejected Ju 89 bomber...

, Ju 290

Junkers Ju 290

The Junkers Ju 290 was a long-range transport, maritime patrol aircraft and heavy bomber used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II.-Design and development:...

 and finally the Ju 390

Junkers Ju 390

The Junkers Ju 390 was a German aircraft intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and long-range bomber, a long-range derivative of the Ju 290...

. On 15 July 1943 he became one of the first pilots to eject from an aircraft in flight when he ejected from the Ju 290 SB+QF over Rechlin

Rechlin

Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs during the Third Reich....

 after the aircraft began to come apart in flight after a flutter test. He also helped test the Me 163 and the Ju 248, making the latter's first flight.

During World War II Pancherz was the chief pilot for Junkers

Junkers

Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...

 on their massive six engined Ju 390

Junkers Ju 390

The Junkers Ju 390 was a German aircraft intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and long-range bomber, a long-range derivative of the Ju 290...

 project. In his own post war recollections in 1969 he declared to the British Daily Telegraph newspaper from his home in Barcelona that he flew a Ju 390 to Cape Town and back on an air-to air refuelling mission.

Following the war, he flew for the US army of occupation until 1948 when he went to Sweden. After flying Ju 52

Junkers Ju 52

The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...

s for a local company, he joined the Swedish aviation company Malmö Flygindustri

Malmö Flygindustri

Malmö Flygindustri was a small aviation and car company in south Sweden which specialized in small single-propeller aircraft and various plastic objects. It was later acquired by SAAB.-Products:Aircraft* MFI-9* MFI-10 Vipan* Saab SafariAutomobiles...

as a designer and consultant, where he worked until his retirement in 1979.