Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart (3 May 1914 – 8 June 1944) a former German

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, awarded by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

for extreme battlefield bravery. He was credited with 69 victories.

Career

On 11 November 1941, Zweigart made a

forced landing A forced landing is a landing by an aircraft made under factors outside the pilot's control, such as the failure of engines, systems, components, or weather which makes continued flight impossible. For a full description of these, see article on ' ...

at Sablin, near Lyuban, following combat damage sustained to his

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

F-2 (''Werknummer'' 12943—factory number). On 27 July 1943, Zweigart was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 15678) by

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

fighters, bailing out near

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vil ...

. On 8 June 1944, Zweigart was shot down flying

Focke Wulf Fw-190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...

A-8 (''Werknummer'' 170736) in aerial combat near Les Champeaux, France. He bailed out and was allegedly shot and killed while hanging in his

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian

David T. Zabecki David T. Zabecki (born 1947) is an American military historian, author and editor. Zabecki served in the U.S. Army both in the Vietnam War and in United States Army Europe in Germany attaining the rank of major general. Zabecki holds PhDs in eng ...

, Zweigart was credited with 69 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 69 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. This figure includes 54 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 15 over the Western Allies. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (german: Bundesarchiv) are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture and t ...

and found records for 66 aerial victory claims plus two further unconfirmed claims. This figure includes 52 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 14 on the Western Front, including ten four-engined bombers. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 10131". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15

minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting (abbreviation MoM), protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a state ...

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

by 30 minutes of

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards

* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 26 October 1942 as '' Oberfeldwebel'' and pilot * German Cross in Gold on 17 November 1942 as ''Oberfeldwebel'' in the 9./''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 *

on 22 January 1943 as ''Oberfeldwebel'' and pilot in the 5./''Jagdgeschwader'' 54

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zweigart, Eugen-Ludwig 1914 births 1943 deaths People from Sarreguemines People from Alsace-Lorraine Lorraine-German people Luftwaffe pilots German World War II flying aces Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Burials at Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux German war cemetery Aviators killed by being shot down