Wolf-Dietrich Huy
Encyclopedia
Wolf-Dietrich HuyAccording to his wife his first name is spelled Wolfdieter (2 August 1917 – 13 July 2003) was a German
former Luftwaffe
fighter ace
and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
with Oak Leaves during World War II
. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator
credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft
during aerial combat. 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.
. Oberleutnant
Huth, Feldwebel
Furth and Unteroffizier
Pichler each had hit the Warspite and damaged her.
Huy was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 5 July 1941 after 22 victories.
On 23 January 1942 he was shot down by an ace of the Soviet 32 IAP, Starshiy Leytenant Mikhail Avdeyev. On 11 March 1942 Huy achieved his thirty-eight victory, but was mistakenly shot down and wounded by German anti-aircraft fire. He returned to his unit after recovering from his wounds in August 1942 and shortly afterward his unit was transferred to North Africa.
Huy was shot down by a Supermarine Spitfire
of No. 601 Squadron flown by P/O Nicholls on 29 October 1942. He survived the and spent the rest of World War II as a prisoner of war
.
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...
former 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....
fighter ace
Fighter Ace
Fighter Ace was a massively multiplayer online computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots...
and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The 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...
with Oak Leaves 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...
. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
during aerial combat. 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.
Career
On 22 May 1941 7./JG 77 attacked the British battleship HMS Warspite between 12:13 pm and 12:48 pm during the Battle of CreteBattle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
. Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Huth, Feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
Furth and Unteroffizier
Unteroffizier
Unteroffizier is both a specific military rank as well as a collective term for non-commissioned officers of the German military that has existed since the 19th century. The rank existed as a title as early as the 17th century with the first widespread usage occurring in the Bavarian Army of the...
Pichler each had hit the Warspite and damaged her.
Huy was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The 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...
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 5 July 1941 after 22 victories.
On 23 January 1942 he was shot down by an ace of the Soviet 32 IAP, Starshiy Leytenant Mikhail Avdeyev. On 11 March 1942 Huy achieved his thirty-eight victory, but was mistakenly shot down and wounded by German anti-aircraft fire. He returned to his unit after recovering from his wounds in August 1942 and shortly afterward his unit was transferred to North Africa.
Huy was shot down by a 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...
of No. 601 Squadron flown by P/O Nicholls on 29 October 1942. He survived the and spent the rest of World War II as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Awards
- Ehrenpokal der LuftwaffeEhrenpokal der LuftwaffeThe Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe was a Luftwaffe award established on February 27, 1940 by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Reich Minister of Aviation and Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was officially known as the Ehrenpokal "für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg", or Honor Goblet "For...
(23 January 1942) - Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak LeavesKnight'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...
- Knight's Cross on 5 July 1941 as OberleutnantOberleutnantOberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
and StaffelkapitänStaffelkapitänStaffelkapitän is a position in flying units of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a Staffelkapitän is of Oberstleutnant or Major rank....
of the 7./JG 77 - 83rd Oak Leaves on 17 March 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 7./JG 77
- Knight's Cross on 5 July 1941 as Oberleutnant