Viktor Petermann

Viktor Petermann (26 May 1916 – 19 May 2001) was a German Luftwaffe 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. Viktor Petermann was captured by American troops in May 1945, he was handed over to Soviet troops and was released in August 1945 due to his health problems. At the end of the war he flew the Me 262 fighter jet. During his career was credited with 64 aerial victories, four of them, after he lost his arm in an airfight, all on the Eastern Front.

Career
Petermann was born on 26 May 1916 in Weipert, at the time part of the district of Kaaden in the Sudetenland, present-day Vejprty in the Czech Republic.

On 6 June 1943, Petermann was wounded in aerial combat with Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters near Petrovskaya located approximately 20 km northwest of Slavyansk-on-Kuban. He made an emergency landing of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-4 (Werknummer 19527—factory number) near Krasny Oktyabr located 40 km west of Slavyansk-on-Kuban at 18:00. He returned to his unit on 10 June.

On 1 October 1943, Petermann became a victim of friendly fire when his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 15851) was shot down by German anti-aircraft artillery resulting in an emergency landing at Nove Zaporizhzhya at 12:15. His injuries were severe, requiring the amputation of his left arm and a toe on his left foot.

Aerial victory claims
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Petermann was credited with 64 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 64 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. All of his aerial victories were achieved over the Eastern Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 64 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 54522". 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

 * Flugzeugführerabzeichen
 * Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (31 August 1942)
 * 1st Class (16 October 1942)
 * Wound Badge (1939)
 * in Black (12 June 1943)
 * in Silver (22 December 1943)
 * German Cross in Gold on 23 July 1943 as Feldwebel in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 52
 * Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 9 August 1943 as Feldwebel and pilot
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 February 1944 as Leutnant and pilot in the III./Jagdgeschwader 52