Gotthard Handrick
Gotthard Handrick | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 30 May 1978 | (aged 69)
Sports career | |
Country | Nazi Germany |
Sport | Modern pentathlon |
Sports achievements and titles | |
Olympic finals | 1936 Berlin |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/ | Luftwaffe |
Years of service | 1929–45 |
Rank | Oberst (colonel) |
Commands held | JG 26, JG 77, JG 5 |
Battles/wars | Spanish Civil War World War II |
Awards | Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords German Cross in Gold |
Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
Career[]
Handrick was born on 25 October 1908 in Zittau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony as part of the German Empire.[1] He won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[2][3]
In July 1937, Handrick was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of Jagdgruppe 88 (18 July 1937 – 10 September 1938). This unit fought in the Spanish Civil War where he claimed five aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor, including a Polikarpov I-15 fighter on 9 September 1937 and an Polikarpov I-16 fighter on 18 May 1938.[4] He was later awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern) on 14 April 1939 for his service in the Spanish Civil War.[5]
Handrick was then given command of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 (1 May 1939 – 23 June 1940) after his return from Spain in 1938.[6] On 24 June 1940 command of JG 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Hauptmann Kurt Fischer.[7] On 7 October, Handrick took over command of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) from Hauptmann Alexander von Winterfeld who was transferred. He led this Gruppe until 23 June 1941.[8] Command of the Gruppe was then given to Major Albert Blumensaat.[9]
Wing commander[]
In June 1941, Handrick was transferred and became the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing).[10] While serving on the Eastern Front he claimed a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter on 29 September and a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber on 22 October 1941.[11]
During World War II he was a recipient of the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 17 October 1943.[12] In March 1942, Oberstleutnant Handrick transferred to command Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) in Norway and Northern Russia.[13] From June 1943 to June 1944 he was Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark. Then as an Oberst, he became the commanding officer of 8. Jagd-Division in Austria, a position he held until the end of the war.[14] After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.[15]
Awards[]
- Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (14 April 1939)[5]
- Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943 as Oberst in Jagdgeschwader 5[12]
References[]
Citations[]
- ^ Munzinger.
- ^ "Olympics Statistics: Gotthard Handrick". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ "Gotthard Handrick Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ Forsyth 2011, p. 105.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 476.
- ^ Caldwell 1991, p. 4.
- ^ Caldwell 1991, p. 8.
- ^ Barbas 2010, p. 279.
- ^ Schreier 1990, p. 190.
- ^ Prien 1995, p. 2370.
- ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 304.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 163.
- ^ Mombeek 2011, p. 295.
- ^ Weal 2016, p. 31.
- ^ Mandell 1987, p. xiii.
Bibliography[]
- Barbas, Bernd (2010). Die Geschichte der III. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 52 [The History of 3rd Group of Fighter Wing 52] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-94-6.
- Caldwell, Donald L. (1991). JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1050-1.
- Forsyth, Robert (2011). Aces of the Legion Condor. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-347-8.
- Mandell, Richard D. (1987). The Nazi Olympics. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-01325-6.
- 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.
- Mombeek, Eric (2011). Eismeerjäger—Zur Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 5—Band 4 [Fighters in the Arctic Sea—The History of the 5th Fighter Wing—Volume 4]. Linkebeek, Belgium: ASBL, La Porte d'Hoves. ISBN 978-2-930546-05-6.
- 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 (1995). Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 77—Teil 4—1944–1945 [History of Jagdgeschwader 77—Volume 4—1944–1945] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-29-8.
- Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2003). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/II—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/II—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-70-0.
- Schreier, Hans (1990). JG 52 Das erfolgreichste Jagdgeschwader des 2. Weltkriegs [JG 52 The Most Successful Fighter Wing of World War II] (in German). Berg am See: K. Vowinckel. ISBN 978-3-921655-66-5.
- Weal, John (2016). Arctic Bf 109 and Bf 110 Aces. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-78200-800-2.
- "Gotthard Handrick" (in German). Munzinger-Archiv. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- 1908 births
- 1978 deaths
- Modern pentathletes at the 1936 Summer Olympics
- German male modern pentathletes
- Olympic modern pentathletes of Germany
- Olympic gold medalists for Germany
- Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon
- People from Zeitz
- Spanish Civil War flying aces
- German World War II flying aces
- German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War
- Luftwaffe pilots
- Recipients of the Gold German Cross
- People from the Province of Saxony
- Condor Legion personnel
- Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics