Karl-Heinz Weber


Karl-Heinz Weber was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Weber was credited with 136 aerial victories—that is, 136 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft. All his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front in over 500 combat missions.

Career

Karl-Heinz Weber was born on 30 January 1922 in Heringsdorf in the province of Pomerania, a Free State of Prussia. A pre-war glider pilot, he volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe in late 1939. Leutnant Weber was posted to 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 on 1 October 1940. He claimed his first aerial victory on 24 June 1941 during the opeing phase of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
During the Battle of Rzhev on 3 September 1942, Weber claimed a Petlyakov Pe-2 twin-engined dive bomber shot down in combat southwest of Sychyovka. Later that day, the airfield at Dugino came under Soviet bomber attack, during its defense, he was shot down and wounded in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 northwest of Dugino. While Weber was recovering from his injuries, III. Gruppe was relocated to Jesau, near Königsberg in East Prussia for conversion to the Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-2 and A-3. On 19 November 1942, Soviet forces launched the Velikiye Luki offensive operation. During this operation, Weber claimed a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter east-southeast of Zubtsov on 15 January 1943.
On 5 June 1943, Weber temporarily was given command of 7. Staffel, replacing Hauptmann :de:Herbert Wehnelt|Herbert Wehnelt who had fallen ill. During the Battle of Kursk on 12 July, Weber and his wingman Unteroffizier Heinrich Dittlmann shot down Mladshiy Leytenant Nikolay Zhukov and Leytenant Nikolay Safonov from 32 GIAP.
On 13 August, Weber was then officially appointed Staffelkapitän of the Staffel. The day before, he had been credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 49th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.

Group commander and death

Weber was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 1 on 3 June 1944. Only four days later, on 7 June, Weber led III. Gruppe of JG 1 from Beauvais–Tillé against Allied fighters south of Rouen on his first mission over the Invasion Front. It is assumed that he was shot down and killed in his Bf 109 G-6/AS by P-51 Mustang fighters from No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron.
Following Weber's death, command of III. Gruppe was temporarilly given to Haupmann Alfred Grislawski who had led 8. Staffel of JG 1. Weber's body was never recovered. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Authors Prien, Rodeike, Obermaier and Spick list Korts with 136 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 132 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 57744". 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 3 × 4 km in size.

Awards