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Karl Gratz
Karl Gratz (24 January 1919 – 14 March 2002) was an Austrian-born Luftwaffe fighter pilot during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 138 aerial victories claimed in more than 900 missions. Gratz claimed the majority of his victories over the Eastern Front, and 17 over the Western Front. In late 1941, Gratz was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—8th squadron of the 52nd Fighter Wing) which at the time was fighting on the Eastern Front. He claimed his first aerial victory on 15 February 1942. On 1 July 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross following his 54th aerial victory. He then served as a fighter pilot instructor and was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) in March 1943. Back on the Easter Front in 1944, he claimed his 100th aerial victory in March/April 1944. At the end of World War II, he served as ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 10. '' Staffel'' (10th squadron) of JG ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land District. The city is the site of one of the world's oldest military academies, the Theresian Military Academy, which was established by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in 1751 to train officers for the Austrian army. History The area once belonged to the County of Pitten, which had been inherited by Margrave Ottokar III of Styria in 1158. After the dynasty of the Otakars became extinct with the death of his son Ottokar IV, the Duchy of Styria passed to the Austrian House of Babenberg according to the Georgenberg Pact. Duke Leopold V of Austria established the town called Neustadt in 1194 and financed the construction of a fortress close to the Hungarian border with the ransom paid for the English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organization Of The Luftwaffe (1933–1945)
Between 1933 and 1945, the organization of the Luftwaffe underwent several changes. Originally, the German military high command, for their air warfare forces, decided to use an organizational structure similar to the army and navy, treating the aviation branch as a strategic weapon of war. Later on, during the period of rapid rearmament, the Luftwaffe was organized more in a geographical fashion. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), Germany was prohibited from having an air force, with the former German Empire's ''Luftstreitkräfte'' disbandment in 1920. German pilots were secretly trained for military aviation, first in the Soviet Union during the late 1920s, and then in Germany in the early 1930s. In Germany, the training was done under the guise of the German Air Sports Association ( (DLV)) at the Central Commercial Pilots School ( (ZVF)). Following its 15 May 1933 formation in secret, the formation of the German air arm was openly announced in February 1935, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Izium
Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative center. Izium has a population of making it the second-most populous city in Kharkiv Oblast behind Kharkiv proper. It has held economic significance for centuries due to its position as a transportation link between Kharkiv and the Donbas region to the southeast. The area around Izium has been periodically inhabited since ancient times, but the modern city has its origins in a 17th-century fortress defending against Tatars, Tatar raids. Izium was the site of several battles during World War II, but still grew rapidly during the 20th century due to its importance as a transport hub. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces occupied the city in April 2022 after Battle of Izium, a battle that destroyed much of the city. However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the Bf 109 formed the backbone of the ''Luftwaffe's'' fighter force during the World War II. It was commonly called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces/pilots, even though this was not the official model designation. The Bf 109 was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser, who worked at BFW during the early to mid-1930s. It was conceived as an interceptor aircraft, interceptor. However, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as Escort fighter, bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day fighter, day-, night fighter, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and aerial reconnaissance aircraft. It was one of the most advanced fighters when the fighter first appeared, being furnished with an all-me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donets Basin
The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts) and then again through Russia (Rostov Oblast) to join the river Don, about from the Sea of Azov. The Donets is the fourth-longest river in Ukraine, and the largest in eastern Ukraine, where it is an important source of fresh water. It gives its name to the Donets Basin, known commonly as the Donbas, an important coal-mining and industrial region in Ukraine. Etymology The names ''Don'' and its diminutive ''Donets'' are derived from Iranic, Sarmatian "the river".Mallory, J.P. and Victor H. Mair. ''The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West''. London: Thames and Hudson, 2000. p. 106 Scytho-Sarmatians inhabited the areas to the north of the Black Sea from 110 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgorod
Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensive fort on the southern border of Russia. Contested by various Russian and Ukrainian factions during World War I and the Russian Civil War, the city served as the temporary Soviet Ukrainian capital at the turn of 1918 and 1919. Etymology The name ''Belgorod'' (Белгород) in Russian literally means "white city", a compound of "" (''bely'', "white, light") and "" (''gorod'', "town, city"). The name is a reference to the region's historical abundance of limestone. Demographics The population of Belgorod is 339,978 as of the most recent censuses: As of the 2021 Census, the ethnic composition of Belgorod was: 1149,931 people (or 44.1% of the population) residing in Belgorod did not state their ethnicity in the 2021 census. Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group South
Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Gerd von Rundstedt and his chief of staff Erich von Manstein. Two years later, Army Group South became one of three army groups into which Germany organised their forces for Operation Barbarossa. Army Group South's principal objective was to capture Soviet Ukraine and its capital Kiev. In September 1944, Army Group South Ukraine was renamed Army Group South in Eastern Hungary. It fought in Western Hungary until March 1945 and retired to Austria at the end of the Second World War, where it was renamed Army Group Ostmark on 2 April 1945. Operation Barbarossa Ukraine was a major center of Soviet industry and mining and had the good farmland required for Hitler's plans for ''Lebensraum'' ('living space'). Army Group South was to advance up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Air Corps (Germany)
IV. FliegerkorpsFor more details see Luftwaffe Organization (4th Air Corps) was formed 11 October 1939 in Düsseldorf from the 4. Flieger-Division. The Corps was disbanded on 16 September 1944 and its ''Stab'' formed the ''Kommandierenden General der Deutschen Luftwaffe in Dänemark'' (commanding general of the German Luftwaffe in Denmark). Commanding officers *Generaloberst Alfred Keller, 11 October 1939 – 19 August 1940 *General der Flieger Kurt Pflugbeil, 20 August 1940 – 24 August 1943 *General der Flieger Rudolf Meister, 4 September 1943 – 16 September 1944 Chiefs of staff *Oberst Alexander Holle, 11 October 1939 – 19 December 1939 *Oberst Josef Kammhuber, 19 December 1939 – 27 December 1939 *Oberst Alexander Holle, 27 December 1939 – 31 January 1940 *Oberst Hans-Detlef Herhudt von Rohden, 20 February 1941 – 30 September 1941 *Oberst Torsten Christ, ? – 23 February 1943 *Oberst Anselm Brasser, 23 February 1943 – 30 November 1943 *Oberst Walter Storp, 1 Dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kharkov
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.Kharkiv "never had eastern-western conflicts" , ''Euronews'' (23 October 2014) Located in the northeast of the country, it is the largest city of the historic region of Sloboda Ukraine. Kharkiv is the administrative centre of Kharkiv Oblast and Kharkiv Raion. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, it had an estimated population of 1,421,125. Founded in 1654 as a Cossacks, Cossack fortress, by late 19th century Kharkiv had developed within the Russian Empire as a major commercial and industrial centre. From December 1919 to January 1934, Kharkiv was the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Rep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taganrog
Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of an ancient Greek and medieval Italian colony, modern Taganrog was founded in 1698. Contested by various factions during World War I and the Russian Civil War, the city served as the temporary Soviet Ukrainian capital in 1918. Demographics History The history of the city goes back to the late Bronze Age–early Iron Age. Later, it became the earliest Ancient Greek colonies, Greek settlement in the northwestern Black Sea region and was probably mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus as Emporium (antiquity), emporion Kremnoi (Κρήμνοι, meaning cliffs). It had contacts as well to the other Greek colonies around the Black Sea as well as to the indigenous communities of the hinterland. In the 13th century, Republic of Pisa, Pisan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagdbombergeschwader 33
''Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33'' (Tactical Air Force Wing 33; abbreviated as: ''TaktLwG 33''), formerly known as ''Jagdbombergeschwader 33'' (Fighter-Bomber Wing 33; abbreviated as: ''JaBoG 33'') is a fighter-bomber wing of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe''). The wing is based in west Germany at Büchel Air Base. Its role are Air interdiction, Air Interdiction, Offensive counter air, Offensive Counter Air and Close air support, Close Air Support. The wing flies the Panavia Tornado, Panavia Tornado IDS. The Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader rondle and patch display a top down view of the Tornado IDS. The unit was renamed on 1 October 2013 in the course of the restructuring of the German Air Force. History On 13 November 1956 the Luftwaffe raised its first flying school at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base under Major Walter Krupinski. The unit was named ''Waffenschule der Luftwaffe 30'' (Air Force Weapons School 30) and flew Republic F-84F Thunderstreak fighters. At the end of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
