Erich Hohagen

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Erich Hohagen
Born(1915-01-09)9 January 1915
Velbert
Died8 March 1990(1990-03-08) (aged 75)
Jever
Allegiance Nazi Germany (to 1945)
 West Germany
Service/branchBalkenkreuz (Iron Cross) Luftwaffe
Bundeswehrkreuz (Iron Cross) German Air Force
Years of service1934–45
1956–74
RankMajor (Wehrmacht)
Brigadegeneral (Bundeswehr)
UnitJG 51, JG 2, JG 27, EJG 2, JG 7,
JV 44
FSS "S",
Commands held4./JG 51, I./JG 2, I./JG 27, III./JG 7
Battles/wars
See battles
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Erich Hohagen (9 January 1915 – 8 March 1990) was a German general in the Bundeswehr. During World War II, he served as a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe. A fighter ace, Hohagen was credited with 56 aerial victories and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Career[]

Hohagen claimed his first aerial victory, a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire over Southern England, on 5 July 1940. On 20 February 1941, Hohagen was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). He succeeded Oberleutnant Josef Fözö who was promoted to command II. Gruppe of JG 51.[1]

Hohagen's most successful sortie on the Eastern Front was on 22 June 1941 when he shot down three Soviet SB-2 bombers in the space of five minutes. In August, he was given command of II. Gruppe after its former acting commander Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin was wounded on 8 August.[2] On 4 September, Hohagen was shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 9211—factory number) by Soviet fighters near Bryansk.[3] Wounded, he transferred command of II. Gruppe to Oberleutnant Hartmann Grasser.[2] Hohagen received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 5 October 1941, after 30 victories.

In January 1943, Hohagen was posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), taking command of its 2. Staffel. The Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe of JG 2 headed by Hauptmann Egon Mayer.[4] On 7 April, Hohagen was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) where he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe. He succeeded Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Heinecke who temporarily led the Gruppe after Hauptmann Heinrich Setz had been killed in action on 13 March.[5] On 1 June, Hohagen became a victim of friendly fire when he was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 16391) 8 kilometers (5.0 miles) north of Marquise, a village approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north-northeast of Boulogne-sur-Mer. He successfully bailed out, taking to his parachute, but was injured in the incident.[6] The pilot that shot him down was Hauptmann Wilhelm Steinmann, also from JG 27, who misidentified Hohagen's Bf 109 for a Spitfire fighter.[7]

Hohagen was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of JG 2 in August 1943. He replaced Major Helmut-Felix Bolz who was transferred.[8] On 16 September 1943, Hohagen, was piloting an Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-6 fighter (Werknummer 550532) when his aircraft was hit by the defensive fire of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Hohagen was again wounded and made a forced landing near Rennes, France.[9] On 28 September 1944, Hohagen was severely injured, sustaining a skull fracture, when the engine of his Fw 190 A-8 (Werknummer 171559) failed, resulting in another forced landing.[10]

Flying the Messerschmitt Me 262[]

In late 1944, Hohagen was posted to III. Gruppe of Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 2 (EJG 2—2nd Supplementary Training Wing), a training unit based at Lechfeld Airfiled. There, he learned to fly the new Messerschmitt Me 262 jet aircraft.[11] He was then posted to Jagdgeschwader 7 "Nowotny" (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing) "Nowotny", the first operational jet fighter wing which was named after Walter Nowotny. Kommando Nowotny had been assessing the Me 262 under operational conditions. Nowotny himself was killed in action while flying the Me 262 on 8 November.[12] On 12 November, the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL—Air Force High Command) ordered JG 7 to be equipped with the Me 262 and Oberst Johannes Steinhoff became its first Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander).[13] On 19 November, the remnants of Kommando Nowotny became the nucleus of III. Gruppe of JG 7.[14] Placed under the command of Hohagen, III. Gruppe began assembling aircraft and personnel at Lechfeld Air Field.[15] In the latter months of 1944 Hohagen helped to convert pilots to the new jets. On 21 January, Steinhoff was replaced by Major Theodor Weissenberger as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 7,[16] while Hohagen was replaced by Major Rudolf Sinner as Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe.[17]

Me 262 A, circa 1944

On 24 February 1945, Generalleutnant Adolf Galland and Steinhoff recruited Hohagen and Major Karl-Heinz Schnell from hospital to join the new Jagdverband 44 (JV 44—44th Fighter Detachment) forming at Brandenburg-Briest.[18] Galland had received permission to create and staff the unorthodox fighter group from Luftwaffe Chief, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring. JV 44 received its first Me 262 aircraft by 14 March.[19] On 31 March, JV 44 moved to Munich-Riem Airfield.[20]

Hohagen became the Technical Officer for JV 44 and assisted with the conversion of newly arriving pilots to the Me 262. The unit transferred to München-Riem on 31 March 1945. He served as JV 44's Technical Officer until the crash of Steinhoff on 18 April 1945, and Hohagen replaced the injured Steinhoff as the unit's Einsatzchef (Operations Chief).[21]

On 28 April, moved to JV 44 Maxglan Airfiel, near Salzburg.[22] There they surrendered to U.S. forces on 4 May. Hohagen and other pilots were taken to a makeshift prisoner of war camp near Bad Aibling.[23] Five days later, a U.S. officer was looking for JV 44 pilots and Hohagen, Schnell, Gerhard Barkhorn, Walter Krupinski, and Waldemar Wübke stepped up.[24]

Later life and service[]

Following World War II, Hohagen joined the newly created German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe. On 30 March 1957, he was given command of 2. Ausbildungsstaffel (2nd training squadron) of Flugzeugführerschule "S" (FFS S—Pilot Training School "S") at Memmingen Air Field. He led this training unit until 31 March 1958.[25] From November 1959 to October 1961, he commanded Jagdgeschwader 72 as Geschwaderkommodore, a unit which in October 1964 became Jagdbombergeschwader 43 (JaboG 43—43rd Fighter Bomber Wing). He was succeeded by Oberstleutnant Friedrich Obleser in this capacity.[26] On 16 February 1963, Hohagen replaced Oberst Herbert Wehnelt as commander of the Waffenschule der Luftwaffe 10 (WaSLw 10—Air Force Weapons School 10). He served in the role until 15 August 1967 when he was succeeded by Oberst Ulrich Pieper.[27] In April 1968, Hohagen was promoted to Brigadegeneral (brigadier general).[28] Until 30 September 1971, he served as department chief of Rüstung und Waffensysteme (Armaments and Weapon Systems) in the Führungsstab der Luftwaffe (German Air Staff ).[29] He died on 8 March 1990 in Jever.[30]

Summary of career[]

Aerial victory claims[]

According to Obermaier, Hohagen claimed 56 aerial victories in over 500 combat missions. This figure includes 20 claims on the Eastern Front, and 36 on the Western Front, 13 of them being four-engined bombers and one while flying the Me 262 jet fighter.[10] Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that he claimed at least 49 aerial victories, plus two further unconfirmed claims. This number includes 20 on the Eastern Front and more than 29 on the Western Front, including at least eight four-engined bombers.[31]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 14 West 3884". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.[32]

Awards[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b According to Matthews and Foreman this claim is unconfirmed.[33]
  2. ^ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed as an Polikarpov R-5.[38]
  3. ^ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed as a Seversky aircraft of unknown type.[38]
  4. ^ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed as a Polikarpov I-16.[38]
  5. ^ This claim is not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock.[44]
  6. ^ Although Hohagen was already appointed Grppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of JG 27, this claim was attributed to the 7. Staffel of JG 2.[45]
  7. ^ According to Matthews and Foreman this claim was confirmed.[38]
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b This claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman.[38]
  9. ^ According to Scherzer on 6 October 1941 as leader of the II./Jagdgeschwader 51.[30]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Prien et al. 2002, p. 56.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Prien et al. 2003, p. 277.
  3. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 289.
  4. ^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 496.
  5. ^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 605.
  6. ^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 610.
  7. ^ Lupiano 2021, p. 162.
  8. ^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 438.
  9. ^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 451.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Obermaier 1989, p. 136.
  11. ^ Forsyth 2008b, p. 27.
  12. ^ Forsyth 2008a, pp. 6–10.
  13. ^ Forsyth 2008a, p. 15.
  14. ^ Boehme 1992, p. 71.
  15. ^ Boehme 1992, p. 72.
  16. ^ Boehme 1992, p. 78.
  17. ^ Forsyth 2008a, p. 28.
  18. ^ Smith & Creek 2000, p. 584.
  19. ^ Forsyth 2008b, p. 31.
  20. ^ Forsyth 2008b, pp. 38–39.
  21. ^ Forsyth 2008b, p. 71.
  22. ^ Forsyth 2008b, p. 106.
  23. ^ Forsyth 2008b, pp. 118–120.
  24. ^ Braatz 2010, p. 168.
  25. ^ Ahrens 2019, p. 149.
  26. ^ Teuber 1996, p. 97.
  27. ^ Neher & Mende 1969, p. 89.
  28. ^ Neher & Mende 1969, p. 249.
  29. ^ Teuber 1996, p. 86.
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b Scherzer 2007, p. 401.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 542–543.
  32. ^ Planquadrat.
  33. ^ Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 542.
  34. ^ Jump up to: a b c Prien et al. 2002, p. 61.
  35. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Prien et al. 2002, p. 65.
  36. ^ Prien et al. 2002, p. 62.
  37. ^ Jump up to: a b Prien et al. 2002, p. 66.
  38. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 543.
  39. ^ Jump up to: a b c Prien et al. 2003, p. 279.
  40. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Prien et al. 2003, p. 282.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b c Prien et al. 2003, p. 280.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b Prien et al. 2003, p. 281.
  43. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Prien et al. 2003, p. 284.
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Prien et al. 2010, p. 500.
  45. ^ Prien et al. 2010, pp. 501, 608.
  46. ^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 501.
  47. ^ Jump up to: a b Prien et al. 2010, p. 608.
  48. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Prien et al. 2010, p. 444.
  49. ^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 445.
  50. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 233.
  51. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 193.

Bibliography[]

  • Ahrens, Hans-Werner (2019). Die Transportflieger der Luftwaffe 1956 bis 1971. Konzeption – Aufbau – Einsatz [Transport Aviation of the Air Force from 1956 to 1971. Concept – Creation – Deployment] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Carola Hartmann Miles-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-9458-6185-1.
  • Bergström, Christer. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  • Boehme, Manfred (1992). JG 7 The World's First Jet Fighter Unit 1944/1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-395-8.
  • Braatz, Kurt (2010). Walter Krupinski - Jagdflieger, Geheimagent, General [Walter Krupinski - Fighter Pilot, Spy, General] (in German). Moosburg, Germany: NeunundzwanzigSechs Verlag. ISBN 978-3-9811615-5-7.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Forsyth, Robert (2008a). Jagdgeschwader 7 'Nowotny. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-320-9.
  • Forsyth, Robert (2008b). Jagdverband 44 Squadron of Experten. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-294-3.
  • Lupiano, Vincent dePaul (2021). Operation Tidal Wave: The Bloodiest Air Battle in the History of War. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-4930-5372-8.
  • Matthews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 2 G–L. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-19-6.
  • Neher, Kurt; Mende, Karl Heinz, eds. (1969). Jahrbuch der Luftwaffe [Yearbook of the German Air Force] (in German). 6. Darmstadt, Germany: Wehr und Wissen Verlagsgesellschaft.
  • Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2002). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 4/II—Einsatz am Kanal und über England—26.6.1940 bis 21.6.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 4/II—Action at the Channel and over England—26 June 1940 to 21 June 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-64-9.
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Military offices
Preceded by
Major Walter Nowotny 		Commander of Kommando Nowotny
8 November 1944 – 19 November 1944 		Succeeded by
disbanded
Preceded by
none 		Commander of Jagdgeschwader 72
11 November 1959 – October, 1961 		Succeeded by
Oberstleutnant Friedrich Obleser
Retrieved from ""