Karl-Heinz Langer

Karl-Heinz Langer (19 April 1914 – 6 May 1955) 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 30 aerial victories in 486 missions, 10 on the Western Front and 20 on the Eastern Front.

Karl-Heinz Langer
Born	19 April 1914 Görlitz, German Empire
Died	6 May 1955(1955-05-06) (aged 41) Remscheid, West Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Major (major)
Unit	JG 3
Commands	III./JG 3
Battles / wars	World War II Eastern Front Defense of the Reich Operation Bodenplatte
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

War against the Soviet Union

The Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Moderówka on 18 June where the Gruppe concluded their last preparations for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the V. Fliegerkorps (5th Air Corps), under command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev.^[1]

In December 1942, III. Gruppe's primary task was providing fighter escort to Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft and Heinkel He 111 bombers shuttling supplies for the encircled German forces fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad. On 17 December, Langer and the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 3, Major Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, escorted 16 Ju 52 transport aircraft to the Pitomnik Airfield which was located within the Stalingrad pocket. While taking off at Pitomnik Airfield, his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13739—factory number) ran over unexploded ordnance which then exploded, destroying his aircraft and significantly injuring Langer. He was later flown out of the pocket on a Ju 52.^[2]

Squadron leader

Langer was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) on 1 June 1943. He succeeded Oberleutnant Eberhard von Boremski who was wounded in combat the day before.^[3]

On 14 July 1943 during the Battle of Kursk, Langer was temporarily given command of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 3 after its former commander Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald was shot down behind enemy lines and taken prisoner of war. In consequence, command of 7. Staffel was briefly given to Leutnant Hans Schleef. When on 20 July, Hauptmann Walther Dahl took command of the Gruppe, Langer returned to his 7. Staffel.^[4][5]

III. Gruppe flew its last combat missions on the Eastern Front on 1 August 1943. The next day, the Gruppe was ordered to Chasiv Yar and then back to Germany where it was based at Münster-Handorf Airfield.^[6]

Defense of the Reich

III. Gruppe arrived in Münster-Handorf on 3 August where Dahl took over command of the unit.^[7] The Gruppe immediately began preparations for Defense of the Reich (Reichsverteidigung) missions and was subordinated to Fighter Leader for the Holland area (Jagdfliegerführer Holland).^[7]

On 14 October, during the Second Raid on Schweinfurt, Langer claimed the destruction of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber shot down 8 kilometers (5.0 miles) east of Hammelburg.^[8] In this engagement, his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 26924) was shot down by defensive fire. Langer was forced to bail out near Hammelburg.^[9] Due to the injuries sustained, he was replaced by Leutnant Erwin Stahlberg as leader of 7. Staffel.^[10] Following his convalescence, Langer served with Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a fighter pilot training unit.^[11]

On 21 May 1944, Langer was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 3 based at Ansbach Airfield. He thus succeeded Dahl who was transferred.^[12] On 27 May, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force sent 1,126 heavy bombers, escorted by 1,135 fighter aircraft, to railroad infrastructure and Luftwaffe airfields in southwest Germany and northeast France. III. Gruppe led by Langer were scrambled at 11:26 and vectored to Karlsruhe where they began their pursuit of an escorted B-17 bomber formation heading for Strasbourg. III. Gruppe attacked the bombers south of Strasbourg and before the escorting fighters broke off the attack, III. Gruppe claimed two B-17 bombers shot down, including one by Langer. The claim filed by Langer was in fact an Herausschuss (separation shot)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from its combat box which was counted as an aerial victory. In this engagement, III. Gruppe lost six fighters to the escorting USAAF fighters.^[13]

On 20 April 1945, Langer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).^[14]

Later life

Langer died on 6 May 1955 at the age of 41 in Fischbach, West Germany.^[15]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Langer was credited with 30 aerial victories claimed in 486 combat missions.^[16] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 29 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This number includes ten on the Western Front, including four four-engined bombers, and 19 on the Eastern Front.^[17]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 4056". The Luftwaffe grid map (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 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[18]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This along with the * (asterisk) indicates an Herausschuss (separation shot)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from his combat box which was counted as an aerial victory.   This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –[17] Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 6 November 1941
1	14 July 1941	07:10	I-153[19]		2	5 October 1941	14:55	DB-3[20]
– 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Eastern Front – 10 February 1942 – 14 April 1942
3	9 March 1942	11:08	I-61 (MiG-3)	12 km (7.5 mi) southwest of Salustsche[22]	4	18 March 1942	10:15	Pe-2[23]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Eastern Front – 19 May 1942 – 3 February 1943
5	24 August 1942	13:50	R-5	Zarjew[24]	9	17 October 1942	06:23	Il-2	PQ 4056, west of Rulew[25]
6	24 August 1942	13:56	MiG-1	east of Leninsk[24]	10	26 October 1942	14:15	Il-2	PQ 49357, Bassargino railway station[25]
7	3 September 1942	15:53	LaGG-3	Akelin[26]	11	28 December 1942	—	Yak-1	Stalingrad[27]
8	1 October 1942	06:57	LaGG-3	PQ 40793, northeast Gratschi[28] vicinity of Spartak
– 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Eastern Front – 1 June – 1 August 1943
12	5 July 1943	11:16	La-5	southeast of Kobenaja[29] southeast of Rakitnoye	14	21 July 1943	09:45	Il-2	14 km (8.7 mi) northeast of Dworeznaja[30] 9 km (5.6 mi) northwest of Bogoroditskoye
13	7 July 1943	04:07	Il-5	northwest of Vovchansk[31]	15	31 July 1943	11:15	Il-2	Kuybyshevo[30]
– 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Defense of the Reich — 8 August – 14 October 1943
16	14 October 1943	14:40	B-17	8 km (5.0 mi) east of Hammelburg[32]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Defense of the Reich — 1 January – 5 June 1944
17	27 May 1944	12:17	B-17*	PQ 04 Ost S/DO, southwest of Strasbourg[33]	19	30 May 1944	11:17	B-17	Dessau[33]
18	30 May 1944	11:12	B-17	Dessau[33]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Normandy Invasion — 6 June – 22 September 1944
20	21 June 1944	19:10	P-47	PQ 04 Ost N/AD-7[34] vicinity of Houdan	22	26 July 1944	14:50	P-38	PQ 14 West BU-2/3[34] east of Briouze
21	21 June 1944	19:25	P-51	PQ 04 Ost N/AC-2[34] vicinity of Dreux	23	19 August 1944	09:10	P-47	PQ 05 Ost UB-6/1[34] vicinity of Bernay
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Defense of the Reich — 24 November – 31 December 1944
24?[Note 1]	23 December 1944	—	B-26[34]		25	27 December 1944	—	P-47[35]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[21] Eastern Front — 1 January – May 1945
26	19 February 1945	08:55	Boston[36]		29	19 April 1945	—	Il-2[36]
27	6 March 1945	15:24	Il-2[36]		30	23 April 1945	—	Yak-3[36]
28	18 March 1945	—	Il-2[36]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[15]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (12 August 1944)^[16]
• German Cross in Gold on 26 July 1944 as Hauptmann in the III./Jagdgeschwader 3^[37]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 April 1945 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"^[38][39]

Notes

1. According to Mathews and Foreman, this claim is unconfirmed.^[21]