Hermann Buchner (pilot) explained

Hermann Buchner
Birth Date:30 October 1919
Birth Place:Salzburg, First Austrian Republic
Death Place:Hörsching, Austria
Allegiance: First Austrian Republic


Austria
Branch:
Austrian Air Force
Serviceyears:1937–1945
1955–1979
Rank:Leutnant (Wehrmacht)
Oberst (Bundesheer)
Unit:SG 1, SG 2, JG 7
Awards:Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hermann Buchner (30 October 1919 – 1 December 2005) was an Austrian-born Luftwaffe military aviator during the World War II, a fighter ace listed with 58 enemy aircraft shot down. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. In total, Buchner is credited with 46 tank destroyed and 58 aerial victories, including 12 while flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, claimed in 631 combat missions. Following World War II, he became an officer in the Austrian Air Force.

Born in Salzburg, Buchner joined the Austrian Air Force in 1937 and subsequently transferred to the Luftwaffe following the Anschluss in 1938. Following service with various training units, he flew his first combat missions with German: [[Schlachtgeschwader 1]] (SG 1—1st Ground Attack Wing) on the Eastern Front during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula in 1942. Following his 500th combat mission, at the time credited with 13 aerial victories, he was nominated for Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross which was awarded to him on 20 July 1944. In late 1944, he received training on the Me 262 jet fighter and was later posted to German: [[Jagdgeschwader 7]] (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing).

In 1955, Buchner joined the Austrian Air Force, serving as an instructor and officer. He retired in 1979 and died on 1 December 2005 in Hörsching, Austria.

Early life and career

Buchner was born on 30 October 1919 in Salzburg, at the time in the First Austrian Republic. In 1937, he joined the German: [[Austrian Air Force|Luftstreitkräfte]] (Austrian Air Force). Following the German: [[Anschluss]] in March 1938, the forced incorporation of Austria into Nazi Germany, Buchner was transferred to the Luftwaffe (the Nazi German Air Force). Trained as a pilot, he then served as an instructor with various Luftwaffe training units. He initially served with German: Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 22 (22nd Aviators Training Regiment) and then at the German: Flugzeugführerschule (See) 2 (2nd Sea Pilot School) at Pütnitz, present-day part of Ribnitz-Damgarten. He was then posted to the German: [[Jagdfliegerschule]] (fighter pilot school) at Werneuchen where served with 1. German: [[Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945)#Staffel|Staffel]] (1st squadron) from 2 June to 1 November 1941.[1] On 2 November 1941, Buchner was transferred to the German: Schlacht-Lehr-Ergänzungsgruppe in Lippstadt, a supplementary training unit of German: [[Lehrgeschwader 2]] (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing).

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. In February 1942, his former training unit was redesignated and became 8. German: Staffel (8th squadron) of German: [[Schlachtgeschwader 1]] (SG 1—1st Ground Attack Wing), a front line ground attack unit which was sent to the Eastern Front. Buchner's 8. German: Staffel was equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E. On 7 May 1942, Buchner flew his first combat mission in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula. With this unit, which was redesigned in late 1943 and became part of II. German: [[Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945)#Gruppe|Gruppe]] (2nd group) of German: [[Schlachtgeschwader 2]] "Immelmann" (SG 2—2nd Ground Attack Wing), Buchner fought in the Crimean Peninsula, during the Battle of Stalingrad, and in Romania.

Buchner logged his 300 combat mission on 27 August 1943, his 500th on 4 March 1944. Following his 500th combat mission, at the time credited with 13 aerial victories, he was nominated for Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). From 1 June 1944 to 1 August 1944, Buchner was appointed as German: [[Staffelkapitän|Staffelführer]] (acting squadron leader) of 4. German: Staffel (4th squadron) of SG 2. As a ground attack pilot with 6. German: Staffel (6th squadron) of SG 2, Buchner was credited with 46 tanks destroyed. On 20 July 1944, Buchner was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. At the time, he had been credited with 46 aerial victories, including a Boeing B-17 bomber over Romania, and 46 tank destroyed, claimed in over 600 combat missions. The presentation was made by German: [[Oberst]] (Colonel) Alfred Druschel.

Flying the Messerschmitt Me 262

Buchner then briefly served with German: Schlachtflieger-Ergänzungsgruppe 154 in Proßnitz, present-day Prostějov in the Czech Republic, before on 15 October 1944 he was transferred to Lechfeld Air Base for conversion training to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. He flew his first combat mission on the Me 262 on 26 November 1944 and claimed a P-38 Lightning shot down. The P-38 F-5 (work-number 43-28619) belonged to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron and was piloted by Second Lieutenant Irvin J. Rickey who bailed out and became a prisoner of war. He flew a further 19 missions with III. German: Gruppe of German: [[Jagdgeschwader 7]] (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing) on the Me 262 and claimed eleven more aircraft shot down. On 18 January 1945, Buchner married the Red Cross nurse Käthe. On 22 February 1945, Buchner, accompanied by his wingman Oberfähnrich Heinz Russel, on a bomber intercept mission, came under attack by P-51 Mustangs of the 352nd, 363rd and 364th Fighter Group. In this encounter, Buchner shot down and killed Lieutenant Francis Radley of the 364th Fighter Group. On 20 March and 22 March 1945 each, Buchner claimed one B-17 bomber of the USAAF Eighth Air Force. On 31 March 1945, he claimed an Avro Lancaster bomber shot down. On 31 March, 428 Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF) No. 1 Group and the Royal Canadian Air Force No. 6 Group attacked the U-boat pens and the Blohm+Voss aircraft factory in Hamburg. The bombers were supposed to be escorted by RAF P-51 fighters but had failed to meet up in the Netherlands. The attack force was intercepted by 30 Me 262 fighters from I. and III. German: Gruppe of JG 7 dispatched by the German: [[2nd Fighter Division (Germany)|2. Jagd-Division]] (2nd Fighter Division).

Later life

Buchner, in the two years following World War II, served as an observer in the weather service of the American occupation forces. He helped found the Aero-Club Salzburg and worked as a flight instructor at glider school Zell am See. Austria regained its political autonomy in 1955 and Buchner joined the newly emerging Austrian Air Force as a flight instructor and officer. Buchner was one of the first pilots trained on the British DH 115 "Vampire" and later the Swedish Saab J-29. He served as a technical officer in the German: Jagdbomber-Schulstaffel (ground attack training squadron) in Graz under command of Major Karl "Charly" Bleckl. Promoted to German: Oberstleutnant and staff officer in German: Jagdbombergeschwader 1 and at the same time surrogate of commander German: Oberst Bleckl he was made commander of the airfield at Linz-Hörsching in 1979. Buchner retired from active service one year later. Buchner died on 1 December 2005 at the age of in Hörsching in the district Linz-Land, Austria.

Publications

Summary of career

During World War II, Buchner logged 631 combat missions, of which 215 on the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E, 396 on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and 20 on the Messerschmitt Me 262. He was shot down five times, including two bail outs with a parachute, and was wounded twice. Buchner was credited with 58 aerial victories—46 on the Eastern Front and 12 flying the Me 262 in the Defence of the Reich. As a ground attack pilot, he was credited with the destruction of 46 tanks and one armoured train.

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Buchner was credited with 58 aerial victories. Morgan and Weal also list him with 58 aerial victories, 12 of which flying the Me 262 jet. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives state that he claimed 58 aerial victories. This figure includes 45 claims on the Eastern Front and 13 claims on the Western Front. Buchner claimed 12 victories flying the Me 262 including more than ten four-engined bombers.

Chronicle of aerial victories
ClaimDateTimeTypeLocationClaimDateTimeTypeLocation
– 8. Staffel of German: Schlachtgeschwader 1 –
Eastern Front — August 1943
19 August 194311:30~Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Warwarowka329 August 194308:40~Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Stalino-North
29 August 194318:10~Il-2 m.H.vicinity of Warwarowka
– 6. German: Staffel of German: Schlachtgeschwader 2 –
Eastern Front — October 1943 – June 1944
421 October 194310:00~R-5267 May 194410:40~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus
524 October 194312:00R-5vicinity of Kirovohrad277 May 194410:40~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus
628 October 194306:30Bostonvicinity of Kirovohrad287 May 194416:25~P-39vicinity of Chersonesus
728 October 194308:35U-2vicinity of Kirovohrad297 May 194416:25~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus
829 October 194315:00P-39vicinity of Kirovohrad308 May 194418:30~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus
96 November 194314:40Il-2 m.H.319 May 194411:10~Il-2vicinity of Chersonesus
106 November 194314:45Il-2 m.H.329 May 194411:10~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus
1112 February 194408:40Yak-9339 May 194413:15~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus
1225 February 194411:23P-393430 May 194414:55Yak-9
132 March 194409:40Yak-93530 May 194415:05Il-2
1418 April 194413:00~Il-2vicinity of Chersonesus3630 May 194415:08Il-2
1522 April 194417:05~Pe-2vicinity of Chersonesus3731 May 194406:40P-39
1622 April 194417:00~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus3831 May 194414:55Il-2
1723 April 194414:10~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus391 June 194413:30P-39
1823 April 194414:10~Il-2vicinity of Chersonesus404 June 194408:55Yak-9
1924 April 194415:20~Il-2vicinity of Chersonesus414 June 194415:00Il-2
2026 April 194414:25~Il-2vicinity of Chersonesus425 June 194413:50Il-2
215 May 194408:10~Bostonvicinity of Chersonesus435 June 194413:53Il-2
225 May 194411:30~Bostonvicinity of Chersonesus445 June 194416:48Il-2
236 May 194411:50~Il-2vicinity of Chersonesus455 June 194416:50Il-2
246 May 194411:50~Il-2vicinity of Chersonesus4623 June 194409:50B-17vicinity of Bucharest
256 May 194416:00~Yak-9vicinity of Chersonesus
– 9. German: Staffel of German: Jagdgeschwader 7 –
Defense of the Reich — November 1944 – February 1945
4726 November 194412:15P-38vicinity of Spessart4822 February 194512:20~P-51vicinity of Stendal
– 10. German: Staffel of German: Jagdgeschwader 7 –
Defense of the Reich — March – April 1945
4920 March 194512:15B-17?northwest of Hamburg5125 March 1945B-24
5022 March 1945B-175231 March 1945Lancaster

Awards

Hermann Buchner had been nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The nomination was not processed before the end of World War II in Europe.

References

Bibliography

. David T. Zabecki . 2015 . World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia . London, UK . . 978-1-135-81242-3.

Notes and References

  1. For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II.