Heinz Ewald Explained

Heinz Ewald
Birth Date:1 September 1922
Birth Place:Zoppot, Free City of Danzig (now Sopot, Poland)
Death Place:Coburg, Germany
Serviceyears:1939–45
Rank:Leutnant (second lieutenant)
Commands:7./JG 52
Unit:JG 52, JG 106
Battles:World War II
Awards:Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Heinz "Esau" Ewald (1 September 1922 – 14 March 2002) was a Luftwaffe fighter 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.

Heinz Ewald was credited with 84 victories in 395 combat missions.

Career

On 1 December 1941 Ewald volunteered for military service. After his pilot training, which included flight training with the Fliegerausbildungsregiment 23 in Kaufbeuren, he was posted, in the fall of 1943, to 6. Staffel (6th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on the Eastern Front and was soon one of the best young pilots of his group. He frequently flew as wingman to Gerhard Barkhorn. On his fourth sortie, and on his first enemy encounter, he shot down his first opponent on 11 December 1943. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, on 8 January 1944; the Iron Cross 1st Class on 7 March. He was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 May, and he received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (German: Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 25 May.

On 17 December 1943, Ewald made a forced landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6. On 21 March 1944, he was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery in his Bf 109 G-6. On 24 June, he was again shot down, this time in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 163568—factory number) during combat with Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers southeast of Malu Roșu, Ploiești and wounded. Prior to being shot down, Esau claimed a B-24 bomber. He made two attacks on the bomber. The first attack, which was made in a head on attack, damaged the bomber and separated it from its combat box. The second attack, which flown from a stern direction, was observed to have shot down the B-24 bomber with its left wing on fire. Flying a third attack on the bomber formation, Ewald was hit by the defensive fire of another bomber. His engine caught fire and he was forced to bail out. Fearing to come to get shot in his parachute by an escorting fighter, he let himself fall to approximately 1000abbr=offNaNabbr=off before deploying his parachute.

On 30 September, II. Gruppe moved to Nagyrábé. Here on 6 October, Ewald claimed his first aerial victory following his injuries sustained on 24 June when he shot down a Yakovlev Yak-11 aircraft. He received the German Cross in Gold (German: Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 30 November. On 18 January, II. Gruppe relocated to Veszprém where they stayed until 21 March. Here the Gruppe supported the 6th Army fighting in Operation Konrad III in an attempt to relieve the siege of Budapest. Here, Ewald claimed an aerial victory over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft the next day, a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber, also named "Boston", on 20 January. On 22 January, he was credited with four Lavochkin La-5 fighters shot down near Stuhlweißenburg, present-day Székesfehérvár, followed by another La-5 on 30 January and 2 February, and two La-5s on 4 February.

Squadron leader

On 15 February 1945, Ewald succeeded Oberleutnant Helmut Lipfert as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader of 6. Staffel of JG 52. On 1 March, the Staffel was redesignated and became the 7. Staffel. That day, he was shot down in his Bf 109 G-10/U4 (Werknummer 610964) by German anti-aircraft artillery near the airfield at Vesprém. On 3 April, he made a strafing attack on Russian positions and came under attack of 12 North American P-51 Mustang resulting in a forced landing 3abbr=offNaNabbr=off near the front line.

II. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Brünn, present-day Brno in the Czech Republic, on 14 April. There, Ewald claimed his last four aerial victories. That day, he shot down two Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and a Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter on 15 and 16 April, taking his total to 84. Four days later on 20 April, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), the last pilot of II. Gruppe to receive this distinction.

Ewald was held as a Prisoner of War at Fürstenfeldbruck Lager from 8 May until 22 June 1945.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Ewald was credited with 84 aerial victories. Spick also lists Ewald with 84 aerial victories claimed in 396 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 82 aerial victory claims, including one P-51 fighter, plus 16 further unconfirmed claims. All of his confirmed victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 34 Ost 66562". The Luftwaffe grid map (German: 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 360sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3x in size.

Chronicle of aerial victories
ClaimDateTimeTypeLocationUnitClaimDateTimeTypeLocationUnit
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
Eastern Front — November – 31 December 1943
112 November 194310:27Yak-1PQ 34 Ost 66562, south of Bulganak
vicinity of Babtschik
6./JG 52529 December 194309:35Yak-1PQ 34 Ost 66613
vicinity of Cape Khroni
Stab II./JG 52
214 November 194311:55Yak-1PQ 34 Ost 66736./JG 52631 December 194314:22P-39PQ 34 Ost 66522, northwest of Kesy
vicinity of Nowy Swet
Stab II./JG 52
35 December 194313:35Il-2 m.H.southwest of EltigenStab II./JG 52731 December 194314:25Yak-1PQ 34 Ost 66531, northwest of Katerles
vicinity of Mama Ruskaja
Stab II./JG 52
417 December 194310:11Yak-1north of GorkomStab II./JG 52831 December 194314:30P-39PQ 34 Ost 66531, northwest of Katerles
vicinity of Mama Ruskaja
Stab II./JG 52
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
Eastern Front — 1 January – 31 December 1944
17 January 194415:00P-39Stab II./JG 52278 June 194417:38P-39vicinity of Iași
25km (16miles) west of Tudora
6./JG 52
923 January 194412:17P-39BaheroveStab II./JG 5211 June 1944~10:00P-516./JG 52
23 January 194414:30P-39Stab II./JG 522812 June 194417:38Yak-7vicinity of Manzar6./JG 52
1024 January 4414:58Il-2 m.H.BaheroveStab II./JG 5229?24 June 194411:35B-24vicinity of Buzău6./JG 52
24 January 1944~15:00Yak-1Stab II./JG 52306 October 194413:01Yak-11Nagyrábé6./JG 52
25 January 1944~15:00Yak-1Stab II./JG 5228 October 194414:20Boston6./JG 52
1126 January 194411:40P-39BaheroveStab II./JG 523131 October 194415:37Il-2 m.H.PQ 97256
vicinity of Kecskemét
6./JG 52
1212 February 194408:34Yak-9PQ 66562
Kerch
Stab II./JG 523231 October 194415:42La-5PQ 97276
10km (10miles) southwest of Kecskemét
6./JG 52
1312 February 194415:52Yak-9PQ 66614
vicinity of Majak-Bakny
Stab II./JG 52331 November 194411:18Yak-7PQ 98899
east of Nagykőrös
6./JG 52
1425 February 194408:34Yak-7PQ 47772
Karankut
Stab II./JG 52341 November 194411:23Yak-7Ferihegy
east of Nagykőrös
6./JG 52
1525 February 194408:36Yak-7PQ 47772
30km (20miles) south of Dornburg
Stab II./JG 52351 November 194414:24Il-2 m.H.Ferihegy
vicinity of Nagykőrös
6./JG 52
1625 February 194415:35Yak-7PQ 4758
Karankut
Stab II./JG 523613 November 194414:54Yak-9vicinity of Budaörs
40km (30miles) east-southeast of Eger
6./JG 52
1726 February 194412:32P-40PQ 6644
Karankut
Stab II./JG 5214 November 1944~08:00Yak-96./JG 52
181 March 194408:22?P-40GrammatikowoStab II./JG 523716 November 194408:52La-5vicinity of Jászberény6./JG 52
1 March 1944~12:00Yak-1Stab II./JG 523816 November 194411:46Yak-9vicinity of Jászberény
northwest of Jászberény
6./JG 52
192 March 194413:50Yak-1PQ 66562
Grammatikowo
Stab II./JG 523916 November 194411:51Yak-9vicinity of Jászberény
20km (10miles) southwest of Gyöngyös
6./JG 52
2011 March 194408:32Yak-1PQ 46112
Grammatikowo
Stab II./JG 524016 November 194414:03Yak-9PQ 8373
40km (30miles) north-northeast of Karcag
6./JG 52
11 March 1944~12:00Yak-1Stab II./JG 524117 November 194408:36Yak-9PQ 98464
vicinity of Jászberény
6./JG 52
2113 March 194410:10Yak-7GrammatikowoStab II./JG 524217 November 194411:06Il-2 m.H.PQ 98433
vicinity of Gyöngyös
6./JG 52
21 March 1944~15:00Yak-7Stab II./JG 52435 December 194410:51Yak-9vicinity of Hatvan6./JG 52
2 April 1944~13:00P-40Stab II./JG 52445 December 194411:04Yak-9vicinity of Hatvan
vicinity southeast of Hatvan
6./JG 52
2230 May 194417:22P-39vicinity of Huși
10km (10miles) south of Tudora
6./JG 52455 December 194413:34La-5PQ 98417
vicinity southeast of Hatvan
6./JG 52
2331 May 194418:46P-39vicinity of Huși
5km (03miles) north of Tesanrani
6./JG 52465 December 194415:09Yak-9PQ 98444
vicinity west of Tura
6./JG 52
242 June 194414:54Yak-7PQ 78561
15km (09miles) southwest of Tudora
6./JG 528 December 1944~15:00Yak-96./JG 52
253 June 194416:24Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Huși
8km (05miles) north of Iași
6./JG 524711 December 194411:56Yak-9PQ 88698
20km (10miles) southwest of Budapest
6./JG 52
264 June 194417:21P-39vicinity of Huși
3km (02miles) east-southeast of Souleni
6./JG 524814 December 194410:25Il-2 m.H.PQ 88755
15km (09miles) west-northwest of Stuhlweißenburg
6./JG 52
6 June 1944~13:00Yak-16./JG 524922 December 1944~14:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Csór6./JG 52
6 June 1944~13:00Yak-16./JG 52
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
Eastern Front – 1 January – 16 April 1945
502 January 194512:30La-5south of Gran6./JG 52682 February 1945~15:00La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 52
512 January 194512:30Yak-9south of Gran6./JG 52694 February 1945~16:00La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 52
52♠3 January 1945~09:00Yak-9south of Gran6./JG 52704 February 1945~16:00La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 52
53♠3 January 1945~09:00Yak-9south of Gran6./JG 52711 March 1945~13:00P-51vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
54♠3 January 1945~09:00Yak-9south of Gran6./JG 528 March 1945~16:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
55♠3 January 1945~14:00La-5vicinity of Bajna6./JG 527211 March 1945~15:00Yak-97./JG 52
56♠3 January 1945~14:00Yak-9south of Bajna6./JG 527313 March 1945~10:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
574 January 1945~10:00La-5south of Gran6./JG 527413 March 1945~16:00La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
586 January 194513:30La-5vicinity of Bicske6./JG 527513 March 1945~16:00La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
596 January 1945~11:00La-5vicinity of Gran6./JG 527614 March 1945~13:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
6016 January 1945~14:00Yak-9vicinity of Budapest6./JG 527714 March 1945~17:00Bostonvicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
6119 January 1945~12:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 527816 March 1945~17:00Yak-3vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg7./JG 52
6220 January 1945~16:00Bostonvicinity of Stuhlweißenburg
vicinity of Veszprém
6./JG 52795 April 1945~11:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Vienna7./JG 52
6322 January 194513:30La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 52807 April 1945~17:00Yak-3vicinity of Vienna7./JG 52
6422 January 194513:30La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 528114 April 1945~11:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Vienna7./JG 52
6522 January 1945~16:00La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 528214 April 1945~13:00Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Vienna7./JG 52
6622 January 1945~16:00La-5vicinity of Stuhlweißenburg6./JG 528315 April 1945~12:00Yak-9vicinity of Lah7./JG 52
6730 January 1945~13:00La-5vicinity of Budapest6./JG 528416 April 1945~10:00Yak-9vicinity of Lah7./JG 52

Awards

References

Bibliography