1. Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was a German fighter pilot during World War II.
27 Facts About Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt
1. 2.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was born on 15 September 1920 in Kreuztal, Westphalia.
3.
On 1 March 1941, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was promoted to Leutnant with a rank age date of 1 February 1941.
4.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt achieved his first victory during the Siege of Tobruk on 15 June 1941.
5.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt claimed a Hawker Hurricane, probably of No 73 Squadron RAF.
6.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt did not file another claim until 20 November 1941.
7.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt claimed a trio of South African Air Force Martin Maryland bombers, west of Tobruk.
8.
On 14 December 1941 Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt claimed his sixth victory in another day of heavy air fighting.
9.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt shot down Flying Officer James McIntosh, who was killed.
10.
Crash landing in no man's land, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt escaped the burning wreck with just a pair of singed eyebrows.
11.
Once again, as he ran on foot toward German lines, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was fired on by an Allied truck convoy which he had just overflown.
12.
Back at Staffel HQ Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt learned from Marseille and Homuth that the lead Kittyhawk had pulled up sharply and fired accurately.
13.
Six days later, on 26 February 1942, flying his Bf 109F-4 Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was again shot down.
14.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was sent to a hospital in Munich for two weeks and a medical evaluation.
15.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 9 April 1942.
16.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt shot down a P-40 from No 250 Squadron RAF.
17.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt gained his 10th victory on 29 May 1942 as the Battle of Gazala and Bir Hakeim raged.
18.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt's Staffel attacked P-40s of No 450 Squadron RAAF and claimed three shot down.
19.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt slowly built a reputation as a combat leader over the summer, 1942.
20.
On this day of intensive air combat Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt downed four Desert Air Force aircraft over the battlefield.
21.
On 1 July 1942, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was himself promoted to Staffelkapitan of 2.
22.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was taken to Germany but captured and handed back the Egyptians in 1945.
23.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt claimed a Hurricane from 213 Squadron in the battle over El Hammam.
24.
However, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt's flight had failed to notice another flight, of Spitfire Mk Vc's of No 601 Squadron RAF, which had been flying up in the sun.
25.
Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was posted as missing in action, and his exact fate remains unknown to this day.
26.
In over 400 combat missions in North Africa Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt scored 59 victories, all but four being single-engine fighters.
27.
Behind Marseille and Werner Schroer, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was the third highest scoring Desert ace of the war.