Alfred Heckmann


Alfred Heckmann was a Luftwaffe flying ace of 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. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Career

Heckmann was born 25 June 1914 at Bochum-Langendreer in the Province of Westphalia, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia within the German Empire. In early 1939 he joined the military service in the Luftwaffe and following fighter pilot training, Heckmann was posted to 5. Organization of the [Luftwaffe (1933–1945)#Staffel|Staffel] of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" with the rank of Unteroffizier in February 1940.
He claimed his first victory in June 1940, when he shot down a French Morane MS 406 fighter over Abbeville. He added two Supermarine Spitfires during the Battle of Britain.

War against the Soviet Union

In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe headed further east on 18 June. Following a stopover at Kraków, the unit was moved to Hostynne. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 under the command of Major Günther Lützow was subordinated to the 5th [Air Corps (Germany)|5th Air Corps], under the command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, itself part of Luftflotte 4, under the command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South, with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev. At 17:00 on 21 June 1941, the 5th Air Corps, based at Lipsko, briefed the various unit commanders of the upcoming attack. That evening, Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe Lothar Keller informed his subordinates of the attack.
The II. Gruppe of JG 3 was relocated to Sicily in January 1942, and Heckmann flew over Malta without claiming any aerial victories. II./JG 3 returned to the Eastern Front in June 1942. In July Oberfeldwebel Heckmann claimed 17 Soviet aircraft, including four Douglas Boston bombers shot down on 10 July. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in September 1942.

With ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26

In October 1942, Heckmann was transferred to 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" on the Channel front.
In January 1943, the Luftwaffe planned to move JG 26 to the Eastern Front. The idea was to exchange JG 26 with Jagdgeschwader 54 which supported Army Group North. The style of combat between the two fronts was quite different and overall the experiment was not a success; I. Gruppe of JG 26 was the only Gruppe of JG 26 to serve in Russia. On 21 January, I. Gruppe left France and arrived in Heiligenbeil, present-day Mamonovo, on 27 January. There, the Gruppe received factory-new Fw 190 A-5 and A-4 aircraft. On 31 January, I. Gruppe moved to Riga and two days later to an airfield named Rielbitzi at Lake Ilmen.
In the 14 weeks the Gruppe was based in Russia Oberfeldwebel Heckmann claimed four victories; all Il-2 Stormovik's.
On 28 February 1943, Heckmann was transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a specialized training unit for new fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front. He returned to JG 26 on 31 July. Heck claimed his first aerial victory in defense of the Reich over the United States Army Air Forces VIII Bomber Command, later renamed to Eighth Air Force, on 14 October, during the second Schweinfurt raid also called "Black Thursday". That day, Heckmann was credited with the destruction of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber.

Squadron leader

He returned to 1./JG 26 in July. On 23 January 1944, Heckamm was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3. Staffel of JG 26. He succeeded Leutnant Herfried Kloimüller who had briefly led the Staffel after its former commander, Oberleutnant Heinrich Jessen, had been killed in a flying accident on 10 January. On 21 September, I./JG 26 attacked a formation of RAF C-47 Douglas Dakota transports over 's-Hertogenbosch en route to supply the Allied aerial landings at Arnhem. Heckmann claimed four shot down.
On 1 January 1945, Heckmann led 23 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9s of 3./JG 26 in Operation Bodenplatte, the attack on the Allied airfields in the Netherlands and Belgium.
On 26 March 1945, Oberleutnant Karl-Wilhelm Hofmann, the Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel of JG 26 was killed in action. In consequence, Heckmann was transferred, taking command of 5. Staffel on 29 March. Command of his former 3. Staffel was passed on to Oberleutnant Hans Dortenmann. On 14 April, Heckmann received orders from Generalleutnant Adolf Galland and transferred to Jagdverband 44 at Munich-Riem. Command of 5. Staffel of JG 26 was passed on to Leutnant Peter Crump.

Later life

Heckmann died on 27 July 1993 at the age of in Brakel, Germany.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Heckmann was credited with 71 aerial victories. Spick also lists him 71 aerial victories, 54 on the Eastern Front and 17 over the Western Allies, including three four-engined heavy bombers, claimed in approximately 600 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 69 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claims This number includes fifteen on the Western Front, including three four-engined heavy bombers, and 54 on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 08453". The Luftwaffe grid map covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards