Hans Ehlers
Hans Ehlers was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 55—that is, 55 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. He claimed eleven victories on the Eastern Front and 44 over the Western Allies, including 23 four-engine bombers.
Born in Hennstedt, Ehlers volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War where he was assigned to the ground crew of Jagdgruppe 88. Following service in Spain, Ehlers was trained as a fighter pilot and posted to Jagdgeschwader 3 He claimed his first aerial victory on 18 May 1940 during the Battle of France. He then fought in Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Due to an organizational change, his unit became part of Jagdgeschwader 1 in early 1942 and was stationed on the Western Front and fighting in Defense of the Reich.
Ehlers was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of JG 1. On 9 June 1944, Ehlers was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was killed in action on 27 December 1944, when he was shot down near Bereborn during the Battle of the Bulge.
Early life and career
Ehlers was born on 15 July 1914 in a Hennstedt, at the time in the Province of Schleswig-Holstein of the German Empire. He volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. There, Ehlers was a member of the groundstaff of 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88, at the time under the command of Adolf Galland. For his service in Spain, he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords on 14 April 1939. Following his return from Spain, Ehlers received flight training at the pilot school in Salzwedel starting on 1 August. On 18 September, he transferred to the Jagdfliegerschule 1, the fighter pilot school at Werneuchen before he was posted to the Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg, a supplementary training unit based at Merseburg, on 16 November.World War II
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. On 7 December 1939, Ehlers was posted to the 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3. At the time, the Staffel was based at Zerbst and commanded by Hauptmann Heinz Gärtner which was subordinated to I. Gruppe headed by Hauptmann Günther Lützow. On 18 May 1940, during the Battle of France, Ehlers claimed his first aerial victories when he shot down a Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire fighter and Hawker Hurricane fighter near Valenciennes. He in turn, was then shot down by RAF fighters on the same day and crash-landed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1 south of Valenciennes and was initially listed as missing in action, rejoining his unit shortly later.During the Battle of Britain, Ehlers was almost shot down in aerial combat with the RAF. His Bf 109 E-4 was damaged, resulting in a forced landing near Colembert. He claimed his first aerial victory of this battle on 26 August when he shot down a Spitfire west of Calais. On 5 September, I. Gruppe escorted 22 Dornier Do 17 light bombers to London where Ehlers claimed another Spitfire shot down. On 5 February 1941, the RAF flew "Circus" No. 3 targeting the airfield at Saint-Omer. That day, Ehlers claimed his fifth aerial victory over a Spitfire fighter shot down northwest of Saint-Omer.
War against the Soviet Union
In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Dub on 18 June 1941. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the V. Fliegerkorps, under command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of Luftflotte 4, under command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd, with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev.On 22 June, German forces invaded the Soviet Union. The Gruppe was tasked with suppressing aerial opposition the area of Lviv by attacking the Soviet airfields in that area. In total, I. Gruppe claimed 36 aircraft destroyed on the ground plus further 8 aerial victories on the first day, including a Polikarpov I-16 fighter by Ehlers. On 30 June, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine. That day, Ehlers was wounded in a takeoff accident at Lutsk which destroyed his Bf 109 F-2. The cause of the accident was a ground collision with a Henschel Hs 126 air reconnaissance aircraft from 4. Staffel of Aufklärungsgruppe 22 . Following his convalescence, Ehlers claimed his next aerial victories during combat leading up to the Battle of Kiev. Fighting over the battle zones over Kiev and Kaniv on 15 August, he claimed an I-17 fighter and a V-11 ground attack aircraft shot down. The I-17 was an early German wartime designation for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter, while the V-11 designator referred to the Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft.
On 26 August, I. Gruppe was moved to a forward airfield named Gubin located near the front at Hornostaipil. That day, Ehlers claimed an I-16 fighter, one of three aerial victories claimed by the Gruppe that day. Four days later, the Gruppe flew ten combat missions, two in support of Junkers Ju 87 dive-bombers and eight to protect the bridges crossing the Dnieper near Hornostaipil. Ehlers claimed an R-10 aircraft, referring to either a light bomber, biplane or a Seversky aircraft, and an I-17 fighter. On 16 September, the bulk of I. Gruppe was ordered back to Germany while 12 pilots and 40 men from the ground staff remained on the Eastern Front and were sent to either II. or III. Gruppe of JG 3. Ehlers was assigned to III. Gruppe and claimed an Il-2 ground attack aircraft on 11 October before returning to I. Gruppe.
Western Front
In September 1941, with the exception of 3. Staffel which followed in November, I. Gruppe of JG 3 was transferred from the Eastern Front to Germany for rest and re-supply. In November 1941, it was transferred to the northern Netherlands and on 15 January 1942 re-designated II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 1 in Katwijk. In consequence, 1. Staffel of JG 3 became the 4. Staffel of JG 1, 2. Staffel of JG 3 became the 5. Staffel of JG 1, and 3. Staffel of JG 3 became the 6. Staffel of JG 1.In May 1942, II. Gruppe was reequipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A series, a radial engine powered fighter aircraft, at Woensdrecht Air Field. Ehlers claimed his first aerial victory flying the Fw 190 on 19 June. That day, 17 Fw 190s from 4. and 6. Staffel intercepted a flight of 24 Spitfire fighters in the area Zeebrugge. In this encounter, Ehlers claimed two Spitfires shot down. On 6 December, Ehlers claimed his first United States Army Air Forces heavy bomber shot down, his 17th aerial victory in total. That day, 66 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers headed for the industrials areas of Lille of which 37 bombed the target area.
On 22 January 1943, 15 to 20 North American B-25 Mitchell bombers escorted by Spitfire and North American P-51 Mustang fighters were intercepted by 10 Fw 190 from II. Gruppe over sea northwest of Blankenberge. In this encounter, Ehrler shot down a Spitfire fighter north of Walcheren. On 11 March, Ehrler may have shot down a Spitfire fighter on an aerial reconnaissance mission. On 3 May, 16 Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers and 16 Lockheed Ventura bombers, escorted by 60 Spitfires and 40 Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters crossed the coast of Netherlands between 17:45 and 18:00. The Luftwaffe scrambled 24 Fw 190s from II. Gruppe of JG 1 and eight Bf 109s from 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 27. Defending against this attack, Ehlers was credited with a Spitfire fighter and a Ventura bomber shot down. The Spitfire was piloted by Wing Commander Howard Blatchford who was killed in action.
Defense of the Reich
Ehlers was promoted to Leutnant on 1 July 1943. On 7 July, I. Gruppe of JG 1 moved to Deelen Air Field. The USAAF targeted the German aircraft industry on 17 August in the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission. The bombers of the 1st Bombardment Wing headed for the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt. At 11:50, the Luftwaffe fighters of I. Gruppe of JG 1 intercepted a large formation of B-17 bombers in the area of Aschaffenburg. Following the bombers on their southern heading, Ehlers shot down two B-17 bombers. That day, the commander of 2. Staffel of JG 1, Leutnant Hans Feustel, was wounded in combat. In consequence, Ehlers was appointed Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel the following day.On 8 October, fying Fw 190 A-6, Ehlers rammed a B-17 bomber near Neuenhaus and Bentheim. That day, VIII Bomber Command had targeted Bremen and German ship building at Bremen-Vegesack. The aircraft rammed was the B-17 "Marie Helena" from the 351st Bombardment Squadron whose entire crew was killed in the collision. That day, JG 1 lost its commanding officer, Oberstleutnant Hans Philipp, who was killed in action. Two other pilots of 2. Staffel also spontaneously executed an unprecedented maneuver by ramming B-17 bombers that were returning westward from a raid against shipyards and factories in Bremen and Vegesack. All three Luftwaffe pilots survived, while all three of their targets were destroyed. This was the only significant ramming attack by Luftwaffe pilots until nearly the end of the war in 1945.
On 23 October 1943, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, visited JG 1 at Deelen Air Field. During this visit, Ehlers was presented the German Cross in Gold by Göring. On 11 December, Ehlers succeeded Oberleutnant Rolf Strohal as Staffelkapitän of 3. Staffel of JG 1. Combat damaged sustained on 13 April 1944 resulted in a forced landing at Gutersdorf near Landshut. His Fw 190 A-8 was a total loss.