Johann-Hermann Meier Explained

Johann-Hermann Meier
Birth Date:	10 June 1921
Death Place:	Florennes, Belgium
Serviceyears:	?–1944
Rank:	Leutnant (second lieutenant)
Battles:	World War II Eastern Front Defence of the Reich

Johann-Hermann Meier (10 June 1921 – 15 March 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 77 enemy aircraft shot down in 305 combat missions. All of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front.

On 15 March 1944, Meier was killed in a takeoff accident after his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 collided with another Fw 190 while taxiing at the Luftwaffe base in Florennes, Belgium. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 December 1944.

Career

On 12 October 1942, Meier was posted to 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) fighting on the Eastern Front. The Staffel was subordinated to I. Gruppe (1st group) and had moved to Pitomnik Airfield, approximately 15abbr=offNaNabbr=off west of Stalingrad, on 22 September. At the time, his commanding officer of 1. Staffel was Oberleutnant Friedrich Bartels while the Gruppe was headed by Hauptmann Helmut Bennemann.

On 10 June 1943, the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 52 was killed in action. In consequence, Meier was transferred from 1. Staffel and temporarily given command of 3. Staffel until Hauptmann Erich Schreiber assumed command on 15 July.

With Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" and death

Meier was transferred to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26–26th Fighter Wing) in February 1944 fighting on the Western Front flying the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter. At the time, the Gruppe was based at Florennes Airfield and commanded by Hauptmann Karl Borris. There, Meier was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1. Staffel on 29 February. He replaced Leutnant Leberecht Altmann who was transferred.

On 15 March, the United States Army Air Forces attacked Braunschweig with a force of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers. Defending against this attack, I. and II. Gruppe of JG 26 was scrambled. During takeoff, Meier in his Fw 190 A-6 (Werknummer 470057–factory number) collided with his wingman Unteroffizier Hans Ruppert. Both aircraft caught fire, while Ruppert escaped, Meier was killed in the accident. According to an eyewitness report, Meier was drunk at the time. For his 77 aerial victories claimed with JG 52, Meier was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Meier was succeeded by Oberleutnant Kurt Kranefeld as Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Spick, Meier was credited with 77 aerial victories, 76 of which on the Eastern Front and one on the Western Front, claimed in 305 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces: Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 76 aerial victory claims, all of which were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 62322". 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
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
1?	18 December 1942	14:10	Il-2		2	1 February 1943	09:00	Il-2	PQ 62322 vicinity of Kursk
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
3	28 April 1943	10:45	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 85281 vicinity of Smolenskaya	27	5 September 1943	07:28	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 65253 over sea, south of Taman
4	14 May 1943	17:25	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 61222 10km (10miles) east of Prokhorovka	28	9 September 1943	16:34	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 76883 vicinity of Akkermanka
5	14 May 1943	17:37?	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 61276, 25km (16miles) north of Belgorod 20km (10miles) north-northeast of Belograd	29	13 September 1943	14:15	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 76351 northeast of Varenikovskaya
6	26 May 1943	05:11	Spitfire	PQ 34 Ost 76887 vicinity of Kesselerowo	30	14 September 1943	11:14	Boston	PQ 34 Ost 75393 over sea, southeast of Anapa
7	26 May 1943	09:45	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 76853 vicinity of Kolonka	31	14 September 1943	11:46	Boston	PQ 34 Ost 76613 vicinity of Sswisteljnikoff
8	29 May 1943	09:45	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 85112, 8km (05miles) northeast of Krymskaja north of Mertschanskaja	32	20 September 1943	15:47	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 75483 vicinity of Gaiduk
9	4 June 1943	05:55	La-5	PQ 34 Ost 85112, 12km (07miles) northeast of Krymskaja north of Mertschanskaja	33	21 September 1943	12:55	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 66882 over sea, south of Taman
10	5 June 1943	18:25	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 75236, north of Krymskaja north of Mertschanskaja	34	21 September 1943	16:37	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 76772 vicinity of Blagoweschtschenskaja
11	5 June 1943	18:32	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 75262, west of Krymskaja vicinity of Warenikowskaja	35	22 September 1943	07:10	Pe-2	PQ 34 Ost 66842 southwest of Taman
12	6 June 1943	18:10	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 76682, 12km (07miles) northeast of Kurtschannoje vicinity of Sswisteljnikoff	36	22 September 1943	09:44	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 76813 south of Kurtschanskaja
13	8 June 1943	16:01	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 76821, east of Kalabatka vicinity of Kalabatka	37	22 September 1943	16:37	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 76642 northeast of Temryuk
14	14 June 1943	06:35	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 76674 east of Temryuk	38	23 September 1943	07:45	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 76273 Gostagdiewskaja
15	16 June 1943	09:12	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 75454 Black Sea, 10km (10miles) south of Novorossiysk	?	23 September 1943	07:51	Il-2	south of Starotitarovskaya
16	16 June 1943	09:16	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 75494 Black Sea, 10km (10miles) southwest of Gelendzhik	?	23 September 1943	07:51	Il-2	over sea, west of Blagoweschtschenskaja
17	16 June 1943	19:06	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 75492 Black Sea, 10km (10miles) west of Gelendzhik	39	24 September 1943	12:51	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 76782 vicinity of Ssuworowsko-Tscherkeskij
18♠	5 July 1943	05:53	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 61151 10km (10miles) north of Krasnyi Lyman	40	25 September 1943	12:45	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 66893 over sea, south of Wennlowka
19♠	5 July 1943	09:10	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 51234 25km (16miles) northwest of Krasnyi Lyman	41	26 September 1943	12:45	LaGG-3	PQ 34 Ost 76354 Sea of Azov
20♠	5 July 1943	09:23	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 61132 10km (10miles) west of Prokhorovka	42	27 September 1943	11:47	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 76593 east of Temryuk
21♠	5 July 1943	18:27	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 61481, vicinity of Belgorod 15km (09miles) southeast of Belograd	43	27 September 1943	14:12	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 76714 Black Sea, 75km (47miles) west-southwest of Gelendzhik
22♠	5 July 1943	18:29	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 35 Ost 61613, vicinity of Belgorod 15km (09miles) south of Belograd	44?	29 September 1943	07:58	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 76742
23♠	5 July 1943	18:34	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 35 Ost 61484, vicinity of Belgorod 15km (09miles) southeast of Belograd	45?	29 September 1943	08:04	Il-2	PQ 34 Ost 75712
24	7 July 1943	18:27	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 61152 10km (10miles) north of Krasnyi Lyman	46	2 October 1943	09:30	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 76723 east of Starotitarovskaya
25	9 July 1943	10:56	Il-m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 62786, east of Belgorod 20km (10miles) south of Oboyan	47	2 October 1943	15:24	LaGG-3	PQ 34 Ost 76714 south of Starotitarovskaya
26	5 September 1943	07:27	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 66893 over sea, south of Wennlowka	48	3 October 1943	12:10	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 76584 west of Temryuk
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
49	14 October 1943	11:56	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 58154, south of Zaporizhzhia northeast of Zaporizhzhia	58	27 October 1943	07:28	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 48884 20km (10miles) south-southwest of Bilozerka
50	20 October 1943	14:09	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 58173 5km (03miles) southwest of Zaporizhzhia	59	27 October 1943	07:30	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 48893 20km (10miles) south of Bilozerka
51	20 October 1943	14:13	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 58181 5km (03miles) southeast of Zaporizhzhia	60	30 October 1943	06:47	Yak-9	PQ 34 Ost 47361 15km (09miles) west-southwest of Ivanovka
52	23 October 1943	09:05	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 58561 vicinity of Kalinówka	61	5 November 1943	09:25	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 37872 15km (09miles) southwest of Perekop
53	23 October 1943	12:42	La-5	PQ 34 Ost 59751 35km (22miles) north-northeast of Zaporizhzhia	62	10 November 1943	14:51	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 37842 10km (10miles) southwest of Perekop
54	23 October 1943	12:49	La-5	PQ 34 Ost 59751 35km (22miles) north-northeast of Zaporizhzhia	63	29 November 1943	07:03	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 39344 10km (10miles) south of Alexandrija
55	24 October 1943	06:26	La-5	PQ 34 Ost 59742 30km (20miles) north of Zaporizhzhia	64	29 November 1943	07:06	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 39174 10km (10miles) north of Alexandrija
56	24 October 1943	06:29	La-5	PQ 34 Ost 59744 20km (10miles) south of Grishino	65	29 November 1943	14:21	La-5	PQ 34 Ost 29294 20km (10miles) northwest of Alexandrija
57	25 October 1943	15:02	Yak-9	PQ 34 Ost 57152 3km (02miles) northwest of Melitopol	66	17 December 1943	14:15	P-39	west of Dubiyevka
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
67	6 January 1944	11:50	P-39	10km (10miles) north of Kirovograd	73	15 January 1944	10:05	Yak-9	15km (09miles) northwest of Kirovograd
68	6 January 1944	12:07	Yak-9	vicinity of Fewal	74	16 January 1944	09:30	Yak-9	24km (15miles) west-northwest of Kirovograd
69	7 January 1944	14:15	Yak-9	10km (10miles) east of Kirovograd	75	16 January 1944	11:50	P-39	10km (10miles) east of Kirovograd
70	11 January 1944	13:16	Yak-9	20km (10miles) south-southwest of Kirovograd	76	16 January 1944	11:52	P-39	25km (16miles) west of Kirovograd
71	11 January 1944	13:17	Yak-9	20km (10miles) south-southwest of Kirovograd	77	17 January 1944	14:36	Il-2	10km (10miles) west of Aleksandrovka
72	12 January 1944	11:02	P-39	15km (09miles) west of Kirovograd

Awards

• Flugzeugführerabzeichen
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 September 1941 as Leutnant and pilot
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold on 27 October 1943 as Leutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 52
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 December 1944 as Leutnant and Staffelführer of the 1./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"

References

Bibliography

• Web site: Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website . Bergström . Christer .

  sv:Christer Bergström

  . Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181222042030/http://www.bergstrombooks.elknet.pl/bc-rs/planquadrat.htm . 8 April 2021 . 22 December 2018 . .
• Book: Caldwell , Donald L. . 1998 . The JG 26 War Diary: Volume Two 1943–1945 . Grub Street . London . 978-1-898697-86-2.
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• Book: Fellgiebel , Walther-Peer .

  de:Walther-Peer Fellgiebel

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• Book: Scherzer, Veit . 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 . 2007 . Scherzers Militaer-Verlag . Jena, Germany . de . 978-3-938845-17-2.
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