Gotthard Handrick | |
|---|---|
) Gotthard Handrick at the 1936 Olympic Games | |
| Born | 25 October 1908 |
| Died | 30 May 1978 (aged 69) |
| Sports career | |
| Country | .svg.png){kind=small} Nazi Germany |
| Sport | Modern pentathlon |
| Sports achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | 1936 Berlin |
Medal record | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | ){kind=small} Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1929–45 |
| Rank | Oberst (colonel) |
| Commands held | JG 26, JG 77, JG 5 |
| Battles/wars | Spanish Civil War World War II |
| Awards | German Cross in Gold |
.svg.png "Gold medal – first place"){kind=icon}
Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
Career
)
Handrick won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[1][2] As a fighter pilot, he fought in the Spanish Civil War and claimed 5 aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor (including a I-15 on 9 September 1937 and an I-16 on 18 May 1938).
In July 1937 Handrick was appointed to command Jagdgruppe 88 (18 July 1937 – 10 September 1938) and assumed command of I./JG 26 (1 May 1939 – 23 June 1940) after his return from Spain in 1938.[3] On 24 June 1940 command of Jagdgeschwader 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Hpt. Kurt Fischer.[4] In June 1941 Handrick was posted to command JG 77. While serving on the Eastern Front he claimed a MiG-3 on 29 September and a Pe-2 on 22 October 1941.
During World War II he was a recipient of the German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943.[5] In May 1942 Oberstlt. Handrick transferred to command JG 5 in Norway and Northern Russia. From June 1943 to June 1944 he was Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark, then as an Oberst. become commanding officer of 8. Jagddivision in Austria until the end of the war. After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.[6]
Awards
- German Cross in Gold (17 October 1943)[5]
References
Citations
- ^ "Olympics Statistics: Gotthard Handrick". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ "Gotthard Handrick Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ Caldwell 1991. p. 4.
- ^ Caldwell 1991. p. 8.
- ^ a b Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 163.
- ^ Mandell 1987, online Preface xiii
Bibliography
- Caldwell, Donald L. (1991). JG 26 Top Guns of the Luftwaffe. Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1050-6.
- Mandell, Richard D. (1987). The Nazi Olympics. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-01325-5.
- Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
- Toliver, Raymond F. and Constable, Trevor J. (1998). Das waren die Deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939-1945 (in German). Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-193-0.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Major Hans Hugo Witt | Commander of Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter 24 June 1940 – 21 August 1940 | Succeeded by Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland |
| Preceded by Major Bernhard Woldenga | Commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 Herz As 23 June 1941 – May 1942 | Succeeded by Major Gordon M. Gollob |
| Preceded by none | Commander of Jagdgeschwader 5 Eismeer May 1942 – June 1943 | Succeeded by Oberstleutnant Günther Scholz |
| Preceded by none | Commander of Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark 15 June 1943 – 15 June 1944 | Succeeded by 8. Jagd-Division |
| Preceded by Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark | Commander of 8. Jagd-Division 15 June 1944 – 8 May 1945 | Succeeded by none |