Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart


Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart a former German fighter ace in the Luftwaffe. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. 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. He was credited with 69 victories.

Career

On 11 November 1941, Zweigart made a forced landing at Sablin, near Lyuban, following combat damage sustained to his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2.
On 27 July 1943, Zweigart was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 by Supermarine Spitfire fighters, bailing out near Noorden.
On 8 June 1944, Zweigart was shot down flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 in aerial combat near Les Champeaux, France. He bailed out and was allegedly shot and killed while hanging in his parachute. He was interred at the Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux German war cemetery.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Zweigart was credited with 69 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 69 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. This figure includes 54 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 15 over the Western Allies. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 66 aerial victory claims plus two further unconfirmed claims. This figure includes 52 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 14 on the Western Front, including ten four-engined bombers.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 10131". 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