Berthold Korts ( German: Berthold Korts ; May 21, 1912 , Karlsruhe , Baden-Württemberg - August 29, 1943 , near Kharkov , USSR , USSR ) - German ace of the Luftwaffe of the Second World War . He shot down 113 enemy aircraft - all on the Eastern Front. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross .
| Bertold Corts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date of Birth | May 21, 1912 | ||||
| Place of Birth | Karlsruhe , Baden-Wurttemberg | ||||
| Date of death | August 29, 1943 ( 31) | ||||
| A place of death | near Kharkov [1] , USSR , USSR | ||||
| Affiliation |  Germany | ||||
| Type of army |  Luftwaffe | ||||
| Rank | lieutenant | ||||
| Part | Jg 52 | ||||
| Commanded | 9. / JG 52 | ||||
| Battles / wars | The Second World War | ||||
| Awards and prizes |
| ||||
Content
- 1 Biography
- 2 Awards
- 3 notes
- 4 Bibliography
Biography
Until the summer of 1940 , when the future German ace was transferred to the Luftwaffe , Corts served in the Wehrmacht artillery troops. After completing flight training in June 1942, Berthold was assigned the rank of sergeant major in the 9th squadron of JG 52 , which conducted military operations on the Eastern Front. In the spring of 1943, he served at the headquarters of the 3rd Group JG 52 .
On April 15, 1943, in the battles over the Kuban, the German ace won 4 air victories (No. 23-26). With the assignment of the officer rank on May 11, 1943, Corts was appointed commander of 9. / JG 52 . Further, the account of the downed Bertold planes begins to grow rapidly: on May 27, 1943 - 5 victories (No. 36-40), on June 2, 1943 - the 50th victory of the German, on August 3, 1943 - the 75th. Corts shot down his hundredth plane on August 17, 1943 ; in total, in August of this year he won 39 air victories.
Ironically, the German ace received his Knight's Cross on the day of his disappearance. Corts and his wingman Hans-Otto Müller were last seen in a battle with Soviet R-39 Aerocobra aircraft on August 29, 1943 .
Rewards
- Iron Cross (1939) 1st and 2nd degree
- Luftwaffe Honorary Cup (February 1, 1943)
- German cross in gold (August 23, 1943)
- Knight's Cross (August 29, 1943) - lieutenant , pilot 9./JG 52 [2]
Notes
- ↑ according to other sources near Makeevka, Donetsk region
- ↑ in the award document, Corts is for some reason listed as a pilot of the 9th squadron, although at that time he was already its commander
Bibliography
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 . Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5 .
- Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939-1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 3-87341-065-6 .
- 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 in Bunarchives . Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 .