Hans Dammers

Hans Dammers (8 August 1913 – 17 March 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 113 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. During his numerous ground attack missions he destroyed eleven aircraft, eight locomotives, 39 horse-drawn wagons, 34 trucks, three anti-aircraft emplacements and one armored reconnaissance vehicle.

Born in Scherpenberg near Moers, Dammers was trained as a fighter pilot and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in 1941. Fighting on the Eastern Front, he claimed his first aerial victory on 31 August 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. On 23 August 1942, Dammers was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 58 aerial victories claimed. He was credited with his 100th aerial victory on 5 May 1943. He then served as an instructor with Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a supplementary fighter pilot training unit. In January 1944, he was posted to 9. Staffel (9th squadron) of JG 52. Dammers died on 17 March 1944 in a hospital at Stanislau from wounds sustained in a mid-air collision.

Career Dammers was born on 8 December 1913 in Scherpenberg, present-day a borough of Moers, at the time in the Rhine Province of the German Empire. Following flight training as a fighter pilot, he was posted to the 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 52, in the summer of 1941.

War against the Soviet Union Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III. Gruppe was ordered to Bucharest by mid-June. There, the unit was subordinated to the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) and reequipped with the new, more powerful Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 model. On 21 June 1941, the Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești. Prior to the invasion, Major Gotthard Handrick was replaced by Major Albert Blumensaat as commander of III. Gruppe. Blumensaat was then replaced by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin on 1 October. At the time, von Bonin was still in convalescence so that Hauptmann Franz Höring, the commander of 9. Staffel, was also made the acting Gruppenkommandeur (group commander). On 27 August, III. Gruppe had reached an airfield named Stschastliwaja located approximately east-southeast of Oleksandriia. There, Dammers claimed his first aerial victory on 31 August over a Polikarpov I-16 fighter aircraft. The following day, he was credited with another I-16 fighter shot down.

On 24 September, III. Gruppe moved to the Poltava Air Base, supporting the 17th Army in the First Battle of Kharkov. On 14 October, Dammers claimed his third aerial victory over another I-16 fighter. Three days later, he claimed an I-26 fighter, an early Luftwaffe designation for a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter. On 23 October, III. Gruppe moved from Poltava to Chaplynka. The following day, he claimed a Polikarpov I-15 fighter aircraft near Ishun. On 2 November, the Gruppe moved to Taganrog where they stayed until 1 January 1942. During this period, Dammers claimed two I-16 fighters on 6 December, another I-16 fighter on 9 December, and his last claim in 1941, a further I-16 fighter, on 27 December.

On 29 April, III. Gruppe had relocated to Zürichtal, a small village at the Inhul in the former German settlement west of Feodosia in the Crimea during the Crimean campaign. On 1 May, the Gruppe was subordinated to VIII. Fliegerkorps and was supporting the 11th Army in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula and the Siege of Sevastopol. That day, he claimed his first aerial victory of 1942 and tenth in total when he shot down a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter. Operating from Zürichtal, Dammers claimed eight further aerial victories, increasing his total to 18 victories claimed. On 12 May III. Gruppe relocated again and was ordered to an airfield named Kharkov-Rogan, east of Kharkov where they participated in the Second Battle of Kharkov. The next day, Dammers claimed three aerial victories over MiG-1 fighters in the combat area of Staryi Saltiv on the Donets. Over the next weeks, III. Gruppe was moved several times. On 19 May, the Gruppe moved to Barvinkove where they stayed until 12 June mostly fighting over the encircled Soviet forces in the Izium salient. Here, Dammers claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and three Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers on 26 May.

The Grupp was then ordered to Belgorod and to Grakowo, located approximately halfway between Kharkov and Kupiansk, on 22 June. That day, Dammers became an "ace-in-a-day" for the first time when shot down five Soviet fighter aircraft. On 28 June, German forces had launched Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. On 7 July, Army Group A began their advance towards the oil fields in the Caucasus. On 10 July, Dammers was awarded the German Cross in Gold . Three days later, III. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Luhanske. There on 17 July, Dammers (flying Bf 109 G-2 Werknummer 13435—factory number) and his wingman Unteroffizier Kurt Keser jumped Soviet Yak-1 fighter pilot (then Starshiy Leytenant) Aleksandr Pokryshkin, but the future second highest scoring Soviet ace managed to shoot both down. Keser was killed and Dammers bailed out.

On 19 July, III. Gruppe moved to Taganrog, staying there until 29 July. Dammers continued his successes, shooting down two Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3s on 28 July, and on 6 August 1942 he claimed an Polikarpov I-153 biplane fighter and two LaGG-3s. Dammers was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 August 1942, nominated after 51 aerial victories. The presentation was made by Hermann Graf. On 27 August, III. Gruppe reached an airfield named Gonschtakowka located north-northeast of Mozdok on the Terek. There Dammers became an "ace-in-a-day" for the second time on 5 September over five Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters which took his total to 63 aerial victories claimed. On 19 September, III. Gruppe reached an airfield named Soldatskaya, west of Mozdok. The Gruppe would remain here until 1 January 1943 but would also use airfields at Mozdok and Digora. Operating from Soldatskaya, Dammers increased his number of aerial victories to 75 by 18 September. By the end of 1942, his total number of aerial victories had increased to 89, making him the fourth most successful fighter pilot of III. Gruppe.

On 15 March 1943, Dammers' 7. Staffel was placed under the command of Oberleutnant Walter Krupinski. The Gruppe was moved to the combat area of the Kuban bridgehead on 1 April 1943 where it was based at an airfield at Taman. Operating from Taman until 2 July, III. Gruppe also flew missions from Kerch on 12 May, from Sarabuz and Saky on 14 May, Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement Kirovske on 23 May, and Yevpatoria on 25/26 June. On 5 May 1943, Dammers was credited with his 100th aerial victory, claiming two LaGG fighters that day. He was the 39th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.

Fighter pilot instructor and death

In May 1943, Dammers transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, specialized training unit for new fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front, as an instructor. On 23 July, he was severely injured in a ground accident when his Bf 109 overturned at Laleu Airfield. Following his recovery, he was transferred to 9. Staffel of JG 52, also known as the Karaya-Staffel, of JG 52 in January 1944. At the time, 9. Staffel was under the command of Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann. This Staffel was also subordinated to III. Gruppe of JG 52. Its commanding officer von Bonin had been replaced by Hauptmann Günther Rall on 5 July 1943.

III. Gruppe was based at Mala Vyska in early January 1944. On night of 9/10 January, the airfield was overrun by Soviet T-34 tanks and had to be abandoned in a hurry. The Gruppe then moved to an airfield at Novokrasne located approximately east of Pervomaisk. The Gruppe stayed in Mala Vyska until 22 February when it withdrew to Uman. On 6 March, II. Gruppe headed to Kalynivka and to Vinnytsia on 8 March and then to Proskuriv on 12 March. There, Dammers claimed his last two aerial victories, a LaGG fighter on 12 March and another the following day.

Dammers' Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 20162—factory number) "yellow 9" was struck on 13 March 1944 by debris from a shot down Lavochkin La-5 near Oleschyn. Dammers bailed out but his parachute got caught on his wing. Dammers succumbed to his injuries and died in hospital on 17 March 1944 in Stanislau, present-day Ivano-Frankivsk. He was posthumously promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant). Dammers was married to Gertrud Dammers, née Falkenburg. The couple had two sons, Manfred and Hans-Joachim.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Dammers was credited with 113 aerial victories. Authors Obermaier and Spick also list Dammers with 113 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number combat missions, plus further 23 unwitnessed claims. In numerous ground attack missions, he destroyed eleven aircraft, eight locomotives, 39 horse-drawn wagons, 34 trucks, three anti-aircraft emplacements and one armored reconnaissance vehicle. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 103 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 06894". 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.

Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location – Claims with 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 1 31 August 1941 10:11 I-16 4 17 October 1941 07:27 I-26 (Yak-1) 2 1 September 1941 18:15 I-16 5 24 October 1941 12:50 I-15 vicinity of Ishun 3 14 October 1941 16:51 I-16 – Claims with 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Winter War — 6 December 1941 – 28 April 1942 6 6 December 1941 08:25 I-16 8 9 December 1941 08:58 I-16 7 6 December 1941 13:51 I-16 9 27 December 1941 11:20 I-16 – Claims with 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 29 April 1942 – 3 February 1943 10 29 April 1942 17:39 MiG-1 50 27 July 1942 07:01 R-5 11 30 April 1942 13:34 I-61 (MiG-3) 51 28 July 1942 18:35 LaGG-3 12 2 May 1942 18:08 I-16 52 28 July 1942 18:35 LaGG-3 13 3 May 1942 07:08 I-16 53 6 August 1942 11:02 I-153 PQ 06894 14 5 May 1942 18:18? I-16 54 6 August 1942 13:15 LaGG-3 PQ 05233 15 8 May 1942 15:43 MiG-1 55 6 August 1942 13:19 LaGG-3 PQ 16774, west of Armawir 16 8 May 1942 15:48 MiG-1 56 15 August 1942 08:29 LaGG-3 PQ 34412 17 9 May 1942 12:24 MiG-1 57 15 August 1942 08:35 LaGG-3 PQ 34434 18 9 May 1942 12:29 Yak-1 58 31 August 1942 16:03? LaGG-3 PQ 49392 south of Stalingrad 19 13 May 1942 11:25 MiG-1 59♠ 5 September 1942 09:35 P-40 PQ 49294 east of Stalingrad 20 13 May 1942 14:12 MiG-1 southwest of Staryi Saltivvicinity of Saltow 60♠ 5 September 1942 09:38 P-40 PQ 59321 21 13 May 1942 14:23 MiG-1 61♠ 5 September 1942 09:45 P-40 PQ 59193 22 14 May 1942 04:12 MiG-1 62♠ 5 September 1942 12:40 P-40 PQ 49411 east of Stalingrad 23 14 May 1942 04:14 MiG-1 63♠ 5 September 1942 12:43 P-40 PQ 49413vicinity of Krasnaya Sloboda 24 14 May 1942 11:22 I-16 64 8 September 1942 06:11 Yak-1 PQ 49294 east of Stalingrad 25 16 May 1942 07:25 MiG-1 65 13 September 1942 16:07 Il-2 PQ 49331over Stalingrad 26 16 May 1942 07:26 MiG-1 66 14 September 1942 12:33 Yak-1 PQ 49362 south of Stalingrad 27 17 May 1942 17:03 MiG-1 67 14 September 1942 16:02 LaGG-3 PQ 49272 east of Stalingrad 28 18 May 1942 10:25 MiG-1 68 14 September 1942 16:12 LaGG-3 PQ 49413vicinity of Krasnaya Sloboda 29 18 May 1942 10:25 MiG-1 69 15 September 1942 04:57 La-5 PQ 49283 east of Stalingrad 30 19 May 1942 07:58 MiG-1 70 15 September 1942 14:08 LaGG-3 PQ 49411 east of Stalingrad 31 24 May 1942 17:52 MiG-1 71 15 September 1942 14:15 LaGG-3 PQ 49274 east of Stalingrad 32 26 May 1942 11:13 Il-2 72 17 September 1942 12:40 LaGG-3 PQ 49412 east of Stalingrad 33 26 May 1942 15:38 Pe-2 73 17 September 1942 16:51 LaGG-3 PQ 49424 east of Stalingrad 34 26 May 1942 15:47 Pe-2 74 18 September 1942 14:25 La-5 PQ 49133 north of Grebenka 35 26 May 1942 15:53 Pe-2 east of Izium 75 18 September 1942 14:29 LaGG-3 PQ 49212northeast of Grebenka 36 31 May 1942 16:44 I-16 76 20 September 1942 06:58 Yak-1 PQ 40742 37 1 June 1942 06:52 LaGG-3 77 20 September 1942 07:02 Yak-1 PQ 40743 38 1 June 1942 06:56 LaGG-3 78 22 September 1942 14:37 Yak-1 PQ 49423 east of Stalingrad 39♠ 22 June 1942 08:30 MiG-1 79 22 September 1942 14:38 Yak-1 PQ 49401vicinity of Kurpjok 40♠ 22 June 1942 08:34 MiG-1 80 22 September 1942 14:56 Yak-1 PQ 49413vicinity of Krasnaya Sloboda 41♠ 22 June 1942 14:16 LaGG-3 81 23 September 1942 16:30 Yak-1 PQ 40794 north of Grebenka 42♠ 22 June 1942 14:34 Hurricane 82 23 September 1942 16:34 Yak-1 PQ 40753 north of Gumrak 43♠ 22 June 1942 14:40 Hurricane 83 25 September 1942 16:15 Yak-1 PQ 40734 north of Grebenka 44 23 June 1942 16:37 MiG-1 84 24 November 1942 11:54 LaGG-3 PQ 43213 45 25 June 1942 07:53 MiG-1 85 28 November 1942 13:40 LaGG-3 PQ 44761 46 17 July 1942 10:12 I-15 86 28 November 1942 13:41 Il-2 PQ 44733 47 21 July 1942 07:26 MiG-1 87 28 November 1942 13:50? LaGG-3 PQ 44593 48 21 July 1942 12:40 LaGG-3 88 29 November 1942 13:36 MiG-1 PQ 44761 49 21 July 1942 12:46 LaGG-3 89 29 November 1942 13:40 MiG-1 PQ 44734 – Claims with 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 4 February – 31 December 1943 90 20 March 1943 06:40 Pe-2 PQ 34 Ost 66493lake north of Cape Achileon 96? 28 April 1943 17:36 LaGG north of Mertschanskaja 91 16 April 1943 14:45 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 85114vicinity of Mertschanskaja 97 29 April 1943 17:10 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 75263vicinity of Nowo-Bakanskaja 92 18 April 1943 16:17 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 75451 south of Novorossiysk 98 3 May 1943 13:35 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85151, northeast of Abinskajavicinity of Abinsk 93 23 April 1943 17:11 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 75411vicinity of Vasilyevka 99 4 May 1943 09:10 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 85112north of Mertschanskaja 94 27 April 1943 17:19 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85114, east of Krymskajavicinity of Mertschanskaja 100 5 May 1943 11:01 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85181northeast of Usun 95 28 April 1943 13:18 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85172, southwest of Abinskajasouthwest of Abinsk 101 5 May 1943 11:08 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85123east of Mertschanskaja – Claims with 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — March 1944 102 12 March 1944 16:40 LaGG PQ 25 Ost 7035 103 13 March 1944 08:50 LaGG PQ 25 Ost 60632vicinity of Balakliia

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 29 June 1942 as Unteroffizier and pilot German Cross in Gold on 10 July 1942 as Unteroffizier in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 52 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 August 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot in the 9./Jagdgeschwader 52