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Heinrich "Gaudi" Krafft (13 August 1914 – 14 December 1942) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. During his career he was credited with 78 aerial victories, 4 over the Western Front and 74 over the Eastern Front.
Heinrich Krafft | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Gaudi" |
| Born | 13 August 1914 Bilin |
| Died | 14 December 1942 (aged 28) Belyi, Russia |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | Army (1935–36) Luftwaffe (1936–42) |
| Years of service | 1935–42 |
| Rank | Hauptmann |
| Unit | JG 51 |
| Commands held | I./JG 51 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
On 1 June 1942, Krafft succeeded Hauptmann Josef Fözö as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of JG 51.[1]
Awards edit
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold (25 January 1942)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 March 1942 as Oberleutnant of the Reserves and Staffelkapitän of the 3./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"[2][Note 1]
Notes edit
- ^ According to Scherzer as Oberleutnant.[3]
References edit
Citations edit
- ^ Aders & Held 1993, p. 247.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 271.
- ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 469.
Bibliography edit
- 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.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (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.
- 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.
