Heinz Lange

Heinz Lange (October 2, 1917 – February 26, 2006) was an officer and pilot in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II who briefly commanded fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Career

On 1 October 1940, Lange was transferred and appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 1. '' Staffel'' (1st squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). He succeeded ''Hauptmann'' Reinhard Seiler was given command of III. '' Gruppe'' (3rd group) of JG 54.

On 6 November 1942, Lange was given command of 3. ''Staffel'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). He took over command from ''Oberleutnant'' Michael Sonner who had been transferred a week earlier. On 9 May 1944, Lange succeeded ''Major'' Hans-Ekkehard Bob as ''Gruppenkommandeur'' (group commander) of IV. ''Gruppe'' of JG 51. Command of his former 3. ''Staffel'' was then passed on to ''Oberleutnant'' Walther Wever.

Wing commander and end of war

On 2 April 1945, he was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) of fighter wing JG 51. He succeeded ''Major'' Fritz Losigkeit who took command of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). Command of IV. ''Gruppe'' of JG 51 was then passed to ''Oberleutnant'' Günther Josten.

Shortly after the end of the war the British wanted to evaluate the performance of the German Focke Wulf Fw 190 D-13/R11 "Yellow 10" (''Werknummer'' 836017—factory number) which had been assigned to the ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26, ''Major'' Franz Götz. At Flensburg, the British Disarmament Wing wanted to compare the fighter's performance against a Hawker Tempest. Squadron Leader Evans approached Lange and asked him to fly a mock combat against one of their pilots. Lange accepted, even though he had only ten flights in a D-9. The mock dogfight was conducted at an altitude of , with only enough fuel for the flight and no ammunition. The machines proved evenly matched. Lange assessed that the outcome of such a contest greatly depended on the skills of the individual pilot. At the time Lange was not aware that he was not flying a D-13, but rather a D-9. "Yellow 10" was further subjected to mock combat when on 25 June 1945 Josten was asked to fly a comparison flight against another Tempest. This very rare Fw 190 D-13/R11 is now on display at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington, which recently had its Junkers Jumo 213 engine made operable once more. However, it will not be flown again.

After the war Lange attended the University of Kiel and studied law receiving a doctorate in jurisprudence (''Dr. jur.'') degree. In August 1950 he started his career working for the Gerling Insurance Group. He retired in 1982.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Lange was credited with 70 aerial victories, claimed in 628 combat missions, all but one on the Eastern Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 73 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 72 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and one over the Western Allies.

Awards

* Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'') on 20 September 1943 as ''Oberleutnant'' and ''Staffelkapitän''
* German Cross in Gold on 17 May 1943 as ''Hauptmann'' in the 3./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 November 1944 as ''Hauptmann'' and ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of the IV./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 "Mölders"

Notes

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Citations

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Heinz
1917 births
2006 deaths
Military personnel from Cologne
Luftwaffe pilots
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
University of Kiel alumni
People from the Rhine Province