Heinz Lange

Heinz Lange (October 2, 1917 – February 26, 2006) was an officer and pilot in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II who briefly commanded fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Heinz Lange
Born(1917-10-02)2 October 1917
Died26 February 2006(2006-02-26) (aged 88)
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
RankMajor
UnitJG 21, JG 54
Commands heldJG 51
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

On 1 October 1940, Lange was transferred and appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). He succeeded Hauptmann Reinhard Seiler was given command of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 54.[1] On 9 May 1944, Lange succeeded Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing).[2]

Wing commander and end of war

On 2 April 1945, he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of fighter wing JG 51. He succeeded Major Fritz Losigkeit who took command of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing).[3] Command of IV. Gruppe of JG 51 was then passed to Oberleutnant Günther Josten.[2]

Fw 190 D-13/R11, "Yellow 10" from the Champlin Fighter Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, c. 1995.

Shortly after the end of the war the British wanted to evaluate the performance of the German Focke Wulf Fw 190 D-13/R11 "Yellow 10" (Werknummer 836017—factory number) which had been assigned to the Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 26, Major Franz Götz. At Flensburg, the British Disarmament Wing wanted to compare the fighter's performance against a Hawker Tempest. Squadron Leader Evans approached Lange and asked him to fly a mock combat against one of their pilots. Lange accepted, even though he had only ten flights in a D-9.[4] The mock dogfight was conducted at an altitude of 3,000 meters (9,800 feet), with only enough fuel for the flight and no ammunition. The machines proved evenly matched. Lange assessed that the outcome of such a contest greatly depended on the skills of the individual pilot. At the time Lange was not aware that he was not flying a D-13, but rather a D-9.[4] "Yellow 10" was further subjected to mock combat when on 25 June 1945 Josten was asked to fly a comparison flight against another Tempest.[4] This very rare Fw 190 D-13/R11 is now on display at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington, which recently had its Junkers Jumo 213 engine made operable once more. However, it will not be flown again.[5]

After the war Lange attended the University of Kiel and studied law receiving a doctorate in jurisprudence (Dr. jur.) degree.[6] In August 1950 he started his career working for the Gerling Insurance Group. He retired in 1982.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Lange was credited with 70 aerial victories, claimed in 628 combat missions, all but one on the Eastern Front.[7] Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 73 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 72 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and one over the Western Allies.[8]

Awards

Notes
  1. According to Obermaier on 27 October 1942.[7]
  2. According to Scherzer as leader of the IV./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders".[12]

References

Citations
  1. Prien et al. 2003, p. 197.
  2. Aders & Held 1993, p. 251.
  3. Aders & Held 1993, p. 247.
  4. Crandall 2000, p. 17.
  5. Fw 190 D-13/R11.
  6. David 2000, p. 191.
  7. Obermaier 1989, p. 153.
  8. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 718–719.
  9. Patzwall 2008, p. 131.
  10. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 268.
  11. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 284.
  12. Scherzer 2007, p. 492.

Bibliography
  • Aders, Gebhard; Held, Werner (1993). Jagdgeschwader 51 'Mölders' Eine Chronik – Berichte – Erlebnisse – Dokumente [Fighter Wing 51 'Mölders' A Chronicle – Reports – Experiences – Documents] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-01045-1.
  • Crandall, Jerry (2000). Yellow 10 The story of the ultra-rare Fw 190 D-13. Hamilton, MT: Eagle Editions. ISBN 978-0-9660706-3-7.
  • David, Dennis (2000). Dennis 'Hurricane' David: My Autobiography. London, UK: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-902304-46-5.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Neulen, Hans-Werner (July 2000). "Les as de la Luftwaffe: Heinz Lange, le dernier Kommodore" [Luftwaffe Aces: Heinz Lange, the Last Commodore]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (88): 16–27. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • 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.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3.
  • 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.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • "Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-13 (Dora)". Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
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