1. Hans Ehlers was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II.
17 Facts About Hans Ehlers
1. 2.
Hans Ehlers claimed eleven victories on the Eastern Front and 44 over the Western Allies, including 23 four-engine bombers.
3.
Hans Ehlers then fought in Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.
4.
On 9 June 1944, Hans Ehlers was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was killed in action on 27 December 1944, when he was shot down near Bereborn during the Battle of the Bulge.
5.
Hans Ehlers was born on 15 July 1914 in a Hennstedt, at the time in the Province of Schleswig-Holstein of the German Empire.
6.
Hans Ehlers volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War.
7.
On 18 May 1940, during the Battle of France, Hans Ehlers claimed his first aerial victories when he shot down a Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire fighter and Hawker Hurricane fighter near Valenciennes.
8.
That day, Hans Ehlers claimed his fifth aerial victory over a Spitfire fighter shot down northwest of Saint-Omer.
9.
That day, Hans Ehlers claimed an I-16 fighter, one of three aerial victories claimed by the Gruppe that day.
10.
Hans Ehlers claimed an R-10 aircraft, referring to either a light bomber, biplane or a Seversky aircraft, and an I-17 fighter.
11.
Hans Ehlers was promoted to Leutnant on 1 July 1943.
12.
In consequence, Hans Ehlers was appointed Staffelkapitan of 2.
13.
At 05:00, Hans Ehlers received the order to relocate to France.
14.
Hans Ehlers was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 June 1944.
15.
Hans Ehlers had ignored the warnings of his fellow pilots and only three pilots returned from this mission.
16.
Hans Ehlers was succeeded by Hauptmann Georg Hackbarth as commander of I Gruppe.
17.
Hans Ehlers was nominated for the posthumous Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.