Hans Döbrich

Hans Friedrich Döbrich (24 March 1916 – 6 April 1984) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Hans Döbrich was credited with 65 victories. All his victories were recorded over the Eastern Front.

Career
Döbrich was born on 24 March 1916 in Sonneberg, at the time in Saxe-Meiningen within the German Empire, present-day in Thuringia. He was the fourth and youngest child of the Austrian sculptor Albin Döbrich and his wife Anna, née Eckl. He had an older brother Albin, and two older sisters, Josephine and Hertha.

Döbrich, as a member of 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing), participated in battles on the northern flank of the Eastern Front in the Soviet Arctic. On 19 July 1942, he made a forced landing 20 km west of Murmashi Russia in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 trop (Werknummer 10169—factory number) "Yellow 9" following aerial combat. Döbrich, who had been injured, walked back to his unit, returning on 26 July.

Wounded in combat to end of war
On 16 July 1943, whilst flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 20088), Döbrich was wounded by enemy fighters after downing two aircraft and was forced to bail out 20 km west of the Rybachy Peninsula into Petsamo Fjord, Finland. He was rescued by a Kriegsmarine Minenräumboot (minesweeper) and taken ashore and then flown on a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch to a Luftwaffe hospital at Kirkenes. While hospitalized, he was awarded awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 19 September 1943. The presentation was made at the hospital by Generalmajor Ernst-August Roth, at the time Fliegerführer Nord.

In December 1943, Döbrich was released from the Luftwaffe hospital in Kirkenes and spent Christmas with his family. Since he still hadn't fully recovered from his injuries, he spent most of 1944 in the Luftwaffe hospital 4/XVII in Vienna, interrupted by occasional visits to his family. In 1944, Döbrich was promoted to Fahnenjunker-Feldwebel and to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 November 1944.

His total victory tally was at least 65 victories achieved in 248 missions, an additional 19 victories were unconfirmed. All his victories were recorded over the Eastern Front.

Aerial victory claims
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Döbrich was credited with 65 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 65 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 36 Ost 39172". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 x in size.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (26 April 1942)
 * 1st Class (26 May 1942)
 * Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Fighter Pilots
 * in Silver (27 June 1942)
 * in Gold (26 October 1942)
 * Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 17 August 1942 as Unteroffizier and pilot
 * German Cross in Gold on 15 October 1942 as Unteroffizier in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 5
 * Wound Badge in Black (16 July 1943)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 September 1943 as Feldwebel and pilot in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 5