Alfred Heckmann

Alfred Heckmann (25 June 1914 – 27 July 1993) was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.Template:Sfn He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Template:Langx). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Heckmann was born 25 June 1914 at Bochum-Langendreer in the Province of Westphalia, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia within the German Empire.Template:Sfn In early 1939 he joined the military service in the Luftwaffe and following fighter pilot training,Template:Refn Heckmann was posted to 5. Staffel (5th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) with the rank of Unteroffizier (a junior non-commissioned officer) in February 1940.Template:Sfn

He claimed his first victory in June 1940, when he shot down a French Morane MS 406 fighter over Abbeville. He added two Supermarine Spitfires during the Battle of Britain.

War against the Soviet Union

In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe headed further east on 18 June. Following a stopover at Kraków, the unit was moved to Hostynne. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 under the command of Major (Major) Günther Lützow was subordinated to the 5th Air Corps, under the command of General der Flieger (General of the Aviators) Robert Ritter von Greim, itself part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under the command of Generaloberst (Colonel General) Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South, with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev. At 17:00 on 21 June 1941, the 5th Air Corps, based at Lipsko, briefed the various unit commanders of the upcoming attack. That evening, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe Lothar Keller informed his subordinates of the attack.Template:Sfn

The II. Gruppe of JG 3 (II./JG 3—2nd group of the 3rd fighter wing) was relocated to Sicily in January 1942, and Heckmann flew over Malta without claiming any aerial victories. II./JG 3 returned to the Eastern Front in June 1942. In July Oberfeldwebel Heckmann claimed 17 Soviet aircraft, including four Douglas Boston bombers shot down on 10 July. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in September 1942.

With Jagdgeschwader 26

In October 1942, Heckmann was transferred to 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (1./JG 26—1st squadron of the 26th fighter wing) on the Channel front.

In January 1943, the Luftwaffe planned to move JG 26 to the Eastern Front. The idea was to exchange JG 26 with Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which supported Army Group North.Template:Sfn The style of combat between the two fronts was quite different and overall the experiment was not a success; I. Gruppe of JG 26 was the only Gruppe of JG 26 to serve in Russia.Template:Sfn On 21 January, I. Gruppe left France and arrived in Heiligenbeil, present-day Mamonovo, on 27 January. There, the Gruppe received factory-new Fw 190 A-5 and A-4 aircraft.Template:Sfn On 31 January, I. Gruppe moved to Riga and two days later to an airfield named Rielbitzi at Lake Ilmen.Template:Sfn

In the 14 weeks the Gruppe was based in Russia Oberfeldwebel Heckmann claimed four victories; all Il-2 Stormovik's.

On 28 February 1943, Heckmann was transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group, East), a specialized training unit for new fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front.Template:Sfn He returned to JG 26 on 31 July.Template:Sfn Heck claimed his first aerial victory in defense of the Reich over the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) VIII Bomber Command, later renamed to Eighth Air Force, on 14 October, during the second Schweinfurt raid also called "Black Thursday". That day, Heckmann was credited with the destruction of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber.Template:Sfn

Squadron leader

He returned to 1./JG 26 in July. On 23 January 1944, Heckamm was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 26. He succeeded Leutnant Herfried Kloimüller who had briefly led the Staffel after its former commander, Oberleutnant Heinrich Jessen, had been killed in a flying accident on 10 January.Template:Sfn On 21 September, I./JG 26 attacked a formation of RAF C-47 Douglas Dakota transports over 's-Hertogenbosch en route to supply the Allied aerial landings at Arnhem. Heckmann claimed four shot down.

On 1 January 1945, Heckmann led 23 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9s of 3./JG 26 in Operation Bodenplatte, the attack on the Allied airfields in the Netherlands and Belgium.

On 26 March 1945, Oberleutnant Karl-Wilhelm Hofmann, the Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel of JG 26 was killed in action. In consequence, Heckmann was transferred, taking command of 5. Staffel on 29 March. Command of his former 3. Staffel was passed on to Oberleutnant Hans Dortenmann.Template:Sfn On 14 April, Heckmann received orders from Generalleutnant Adolf Galland and transferred to Jagdverband 44 at Munich-Riem. Command of 5. Staffel of JG 26 was passed on to Leutnant Peter Crump.Template:Sfn

Later life

Heckmann died on 27 July 1993 at the age of in Brakel, Germany.Template:Sfn

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Heckmann was credited with 71 aerial victories.Template:Sfn Spick also lists him 71 aerial victories, 54 on the Eastern Front and 17 over the Western Allies, including three four-engined heavy bombers, claimed in approximately 600 combat missions.Template:Sfn Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 69 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claims This number includes fifteen on the Western Front, including three four-engined heavy bombers, and 54 on the Eastern Front.Template:Sfn

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 08453". The Luftwaffe grid map () 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 . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.Template:Sfn

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –Template:Sfn Battle of France — 19 May – 25 June 1940
1	6 June 1940	11:10	M.S.406	AbbevilleTemplate:Sfn
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –Template:Sfn Action at the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 8 June 1941
2	16 August 1940	13:20	Spitfire	AshfordTemplate:Sfn	3	20 September 1940	12:20	Spitfire	south of LondonTemplate:Sfn
– 5. Steffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –Template:Sfn Operation Barbarossa – 22 June – 1 November 1941
3?Template:Refn	22 June 1941	07:45	I-153Template:Sfn		16	26 July 1941	17:23	SB-3Template:Sfn
5	23 June 1941	04:50	I-16Template:Sfn		17	26 July 1941	17:28	SB-3Template:Sfn
6	26 June 1941	08:10	DB-3Template:Sfn		18	3 September 1941	07:00	I-26 (Yak-1)Template:Sfn
7	26 June 1941	08:30	DB-3Template:Sfn		19	12 September 1941	10:00	I-26 (Yak-1)Template:Sfn
8	27 June 1941	08:05?Template:Refn	I-15?Template:Sfn		20	12 September 1941	14:50	I-26 (Yak-1)Template:Sfn
9	30 June 1941	14:30	I-16Template:Sfn		21	13 September 1941	06:55	V-11 (Il-2)Template:Sfn
10	2 July 1941	16:25	R-5Template:Sfn		22	13 September 1941	06:57	V-11 (Il-2)Template:Sfn
11	2 July 1941	16:30	R-5Template:Sfn		23	13 September 1941	07:03	R-5Template:Sfn
12	5 July 1941	13:10	SB-2Template:Sfn		24	24 September 1941	08:30	I-153Template:Sfn
13	5 July 1941	16:20	DB-3Template:Sfn		25	5 3 October 1941	09:55	Pe-2Template:Sfn
14	10 July 1941	17:20	one-engine aircraft	west of KolontschinaTemplate:Sfn	26	17 October 1941	09:12	I-17 (MiG-1)Template:Sfn
15	10 July 1941	17:30	one-engine aircraft?Template:Refn	west of KolontschinaTemplate:Sfn	27	18 October 1941	14:50	I-61 (MiG-3)Template:Sfn
– 5. Steffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –Template:Sfn Eastern Front – 26 April – October 1942
28	10 June 1942	13:10	Il-2Template:Sfn		41	20 July 1942	11:58	MiG-1	PQ 08453Template:Sfn
29	1 July 1942	13:11	Il-2Template:Sfn		42	22 July 1942	16:15	LaGG-3	PQ 29362Template:Sfn
30	4 July 1942	03:40	MiG-1	UstiaTemplate:Sfn	43	26 July 1942	11:25	Yak-1	south of KalachTemplate:Sfn
31	4 July 1942	03:41	MiG-1	MalyschewoTemplate:Sfn	44	26 July 1942	11:26	Yak-1	south of KalachTemplate:Sfn
32	4 July 1942	03:43	MiG-1Template:Sfn	Malyschewo	45	26 July 1942	11:29	Yak-1	south of KalachTemplate:Sfn
33	9 July 1942	13:15	Yak-1Template:Sfn		46	6 August 1942	06:50	LaGG-3	PQ 39682Template:Sfn east-southeast of Kletskaya
34	9 July 1942	13:16	Yak-1Template:Sfn		47	7 August 1942	17:46	Pe-2	PQ 49556Template:Sfn
35	10 July 1942	04:30	Boston	north of VoronezhTemplate:Sfn	48	16 August 1942	04:30	LaGG-3	PQ 4034Template:Sfn
36	10 July 1942	04:31	Boston	north of VoronezhTemplate:Sfn	49	18 August 1942	06:45	I-16	PQ 30132Template:Sfn
37	10 July 1942	04:33	Boston	north of VoronezhTemplate:Sfn	50	18 August 1942	06:50	I-16	PQ 30251Template:Sfn
38	10 July 1942	04:34	Boston	north of VoronezhTemplate:Sfn	51	23 September 1942	07:25	LaGG-3	PQ 47331Template:Sfn northeast of Agaimon
39	13 July 1942	08:25	Yak-1Template:Sfn		52	4 October 1942	13:50	LaGG-3	PQ 38574Template:Sfn
40	13 July 1942	08:28	Yak-1Template:Sfn		53	4 October 1942	13:55	LaGG-3	PQ 38721Template:Sfn
– 1. Steffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" –Template:Sfn Eastern Front – February 1943
54	16 February 1943	14:53	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 18423Template:Sfn	56	18 February 1943	11:02	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 28311Template:Sfn
55	16 February 1943	15:25	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 28142Template:Sfn	57	18 February 1943	11:04	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 28351Template:Sfn
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" –Template:Sfn On the Western Front — October – 31 December 1943
58	14 October 1943	13:40?Template:Refn	B-17	PQ 05 Ost S/EN-7Template:Sfn Waldenrath
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" –Template:Sfn On the Western Front — 1–21 January 1944
59	11 January 1944	13:25	B-17	Nordhorn-ZuiderzeeTemplate:Sfn
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" –Template:Sfn On the Western Front — 22 January 1944 – 28 March 1945
60	4 February 1944	14:30	B-17	east-southeast of RotterdamTemplate:Sfn	66	21 September 1944	17:17	DC-3	PQ 05 Ost JL/JMTemplate:Sfn Nijmegen
61	8 February 1944	12:45	P-51	PQ 05 Ost QJ-8/1Template:Sfn south of Maubeuge	67	21 September 1944	17:18	DC-3	PQ 05 Ost JL/JMTemplate:Sfn Nijmegen
62	6 March 1944	14:47	P-47	PQ 05 Ost GO-5/3Template:Sfn Almelo	68	21 September 1944	17:19	DC-3	's-HertogenboschTemplate:Sfn west of Arnhem
63	15 August 1944	12:28	P-51	PQ 04 Ost N/BC-3Template:Sfnsoutheast of Dreux	69	21 September 1944	17:20	DC-3	's-HertogenboschTemplate:Sfn west of Arnhem
64	22 August 1944	12:35	Auster	PQ 04 Ost N/DU-8Template:Sfn northwest of Paris	70	23 September 1944	16:50	P-51	GochTemplate:Sfn
65	17 September 1944	17:51	Spitfire	PQ 05 Ost JN-7Template:Sfn Nijmegen	71	25 February 1945	08:25	P-47	southeast of CologneTemplate:Sfn

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st ClassTemplate:Sfn
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (11 August 1941)Template:Sfn
• German Cross in Gold on 9 April 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 3Template:Sfn
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 September 1942 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"Template:SfnTemplate:Refn