Franz Eckerle

Franz Eckerle
Franz Eckerle
Born	24 April 1912 Baden-Baden, Germany
Died	14 February 1942 (aged 29) missing in action near Velikiye Luki
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Hauptmann
Unit	JG 76, JG 54
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Franz Eckerle (24 April 1912 – 14 February 1942) was a German former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during 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.^[1]

Franz Eckerle was forced to make an emergency landing behind Soviet lines southeast of Schlüsselburg on 14 February 1942. He was posted as missing in action and presumed killed. He was posthumously honoured with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 12 March 1942 for 59 aerial victories.^[2]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (13 September 1939)^[3]
  • 1st Class (11 August 1940)^[3]
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (19 December 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 July 1941 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 1./JG 54^[4]
  • 82nd Oak Leaves on 12 March 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./JG 54^[4]

References

Citations

1. Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.
2. Weal 2007, p. 24.
3. Thomas 1997, p. 139.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 287.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
• Weal, John (2007). More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-177-9.

External links

• "Franz Eckerle". Aces of the Luftwaffe. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
• "Franz Eckerle". Lexikon der wehrmacht. Retrieved 1 February 2010.