Jürgen Harder

Jürgen Harder (13 June 1918 – 17 February 1945) was a German military aviator and wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 64 enemy aircraft shot down claimed in approximately 500 combat missions. He claimed 17 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 47 over the Western Allies, including nine four-engined heavy bombers.

Born in Swinemünde, Harder joined the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1939. Following flight training, he was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) in March 1941. He claimed his first aerial victory on 22 June 1941, the first day of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. His unit was transferred to the Mediterranean Theatre in November 1941. In February 1942, Harder was appointed '' Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 7. '' Staffel'' (7th squadron) of JG 53 and ''Gruppenkommandeur'' (group commander) of I. '' Gruppe'' (1st group) of JG 53 a year later. In January 1945, Harder was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 1 February 1945. Less than three weeks later on 17 February, he was killed in a flying accident near Strausberg when his aircraft suffered engine failure.

Career

Harder was born on 13 June 1918 in Swinemünde in the Province of Pomerania within the German Empire, present-day Świnoujście, Poland. Harder had two brothers Harro and Rolf. Harro also was a fighter pilot and was killed in action on 12 August 1940, Rolf served with the artillery and was killed in April 1943. On 1 October 1939, Harder joined the military service of the Luftwaffe as a '' Fahnenjunker'' (cadet) and was trained as a fighter pilot. On 1 February 1941, Harder was promoted to '' Leutnant'' (second lieutenant) and in March was posted to the '' Gruppenstab'' (headquarters unit) of III. '' Gruppe'' (3rd group) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing). While flying with the ''Gruppenstab'', Harder made a crash landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (''Werknummer'' 8085—factory number) at the Maldegem Airfield. Two days later, his aircraft sustained damage in aerial combat with Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire fighters over the English Channel.

War against the Soviet Union

On 8 June 1941, the bulk of JG 53's air elements moved via Jever, in northern Germany, to Mannheim-Sandhofen. There the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul prior to moving east. On 12 June, III. ''Gruppe'' was ordered to transfer to a forward airfield at Sobolewo. On 21 June, the ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) of JG 53 and its ''Gruppenkommandeure'' were summoned to nearby Suwałki, where '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) Albert Kesselring gave the final instructions for the upcoming attack. ''Hauptmann'' Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, the ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of III. ''Gruppe'', briefed his pilots that evening.

On 22 June, the ''Geschwader'' crossed into Soviet airspace in support of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front. III. ''Gruppe'' took off on its first mission at 3:20 am with the ''Gruppenstab'' (headquarters unit) and 7. ''Staffel'' targeting Soviet airfields at Alytus and Oranji. Thad day, Harder claimed his first aerial victory, shooting down an I-17 fighter, an early war designation for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1.

On 25 September, Harder got disoriented and his Bf 109 F-2 (''Werknummer'' 9212) ran out of fuel resulting in an emergency landing near Novgorod. In early October, III. ''Gruppe'' was withdrawn from the Eastern Front, relocating to Mannheim-Sandhofen. The air elements left on 4 October with the ground elements travelling by train, arriving in Mannheim-Sandhofen on 13 October.

Mediterranean theater

At Mannheim-Sandhofen, III. ''Gruppe'' was equipped with the then new Bf 109 F-4. On 8 November, the ''Gruppe'' moved to Husum in northern Germany where they stayed until 14 November. They were then ordered to relocate to the Mediterranean theater in Sicily. The ground elements arrived at Catania Airfield on 28 November followed by the air elements two days later. On 13 October, Harder claimed a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter on a morning escort mission for Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. Later that day, he claimed a second P-40 shot down.

On 12 January 1943, Harder was awarded the German Cross in Gold () and promoted to ''Oberleutnant'' (first lieutenant) on 1 February. On 3 February, Harder received news that his wife had given birth on 30 January to their daughter Elke. Two days later, Harder was appointed '' Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 7. ''Staffel'' of JG 53. He replaced ''Hauptmann'' Wilfried Pufahl who was transferred. From 25 May onwards, Harder only led the ''Staffel'' from the ground while in the air they were initially led by ''Leutnant'' Franz Barten and from July by ''Leutnant'' Walter Hicke. Harder had been taken off combat duty following the death of his younger brother Rolf in April.

On 22 March, Harder claimed his first heavy bomber when he shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber from a force of 24 B-17s, escorted by 40 fighter aircraft, on mission heading for Palermo. On 8 May, 8. ''Staffel'' flew from Sciacca on escort mission for three military transports heading for Tunesia without engaging in combat. Later that day east of Cape Bon, Harder claimed two Spitfire fighters shot down. Together with Franz Schieß, Harder was promoted to the rank of '' Hauptmann'' (captain) on 1 September 1943.

Group commander

On 22 January 1944, Allied forces launched the amphibious landing Operation Shingle, also known as the Battle of Anzio. In an attempt to contain the Allied beachhead at Anzio and Nettuno, German forces moved available forces into the combat area. In consequence, III. ''Gruppe'' relocated to Orvieto near Lake Bolsena on 24 January. In this combat area on 7 February, Harder claimed his 40th in total and first aerial aerial victory after he was again allowed to fly operationally over a Spitfire near Lake Albano. On 12 February, III. ''Gruppe'' moved to a makeshift airfield at Arlena di Castro located southeast of Lake Bolsena. Escorting German ground attack aircraft on 14 February, Harder shot down a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The following day, Harder was informed that he had been appointed ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 53, replacing ''Major'' Friedrich-Karl Müller who was transferred. Prior to taking his new command, Harder met with ''Oberst'' Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, the ''Jagdfliegerführer Oberitalien'' (Fighter Leader Northern Italy), in Udine where he received more specific orders. Command of his 7. ''Staffel'' then went to ''Oberleutnant'' Rolf Klippen. At the time, I. ''Gruppe'' was based at Maniago.

The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Fifteenth Air Force attacked Regensburg on 25 February. I. ''Gruppe'' intercepted the bombers north of Laibach, present-day Ljubljana. In the resulting aerial combat fought between 11:25 and 12:05, Harder shot down one of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers near Klagenfurt. However, his wingman ''Oberleutnant'' Horst Torrau was shot down and is missing in action since. In early March, a soldier of 2. ''Staffel'', a squadron of Harder's I. ''Gruppe'', was killed in a fight with residents of Maniago. In an act of retaliation, a flight of 2. ''Staffel'' made multiple strafing attacks on Maniago during a training exercise. Whether Harder was aware of the plans prior to the attack remains unknown. Harder however was summoned by the ''Geschwaderkommodore'' ''Oberstleutnant'' Helmut Bennemann to report on the incident.

On 25 April, Harder attacked a four-engined bomber formation and shot one of them down and rammed another after his aircraft was damaged thereby claiming his aerial victories number 49 and 50. Elements of JG 53 had been scrambled at 11:00 and intercepted a flight of approximately 30 B-24s at 11:30 west of Forlì. Harder shot down one of the B-24s and rammed a second. He bailed out of his Bf 109G-6 (''Werknummer'' 162717) near Casentino, spraining his ankle and breaking his wrist. On 1 May, Harder was promoted to ''Major'' (major).

On 4 January 1945, Harder claimed his 64th and last aerial victory when he shot down a Lavochkin La-5 fighter. Shortly after, he was ordered to Berlin where he met with ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Göring. The purpose of the meeting was to present Harder with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (). However, expressed his concerns about the technical superiority of the Allied aircraft to Göring. This infuriated Göring to the point that Harder was yelled at and accused of incompetence. Harder was then released and sent back to his unit where he arrived on 16 January without the Oak Leaves. On 21 January, Harder was again ordered to Berlin to take command ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing). The next day, Harder left I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 53. Command of the ''Gruppe'' was temporarily given to ''Hauptmann'' Wolfgang Ernst, then to ''Hauptmann'' Erich Hartmann, before ''Hauptmann'' Helmut Lipfert officially took command on 15 February.

Wing commander and death

In late January 1945, Harder took command of JG 11 as appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore''. He replaced ''Major'' Günther Specht who had been killed in action on 1 January during Operation Bodenplatte. On 12 January, Soviet forces launched the Vistula–Oder offensive on the Eastern Front. In consequence on 21 January, JG 11 moved to Strausberg, located east of Berlin, where they arrived on 23 January. For his 64th aerial victory, Harder was then awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 1 February 1945. He was the 727th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. In early February, JG 11 predominately flew ground support missions in the area of Kienitz, present-day part of Letschin, where Soviet forces had created the first bridgehead across the Oder.

On 17 February, Harder and his wingman ''Leutnant'' Hans Jung flew an aerial reconnaissance mission over the Oder. During the landing approach at Werneuchen, Jung observed Harder's Bf 109 G-14/AS (''Werknummer'' 784738) going into an unexplainable steep dive, crashing into the ground and killing Harder. Technical experts later analyzed the wreckage and came to the conclusion that engine failure had caused the accident. The piston of cylinder 12 had penetrated the engine block, escaping toxic fumes thus intoxicated Harder who then lost control of the aircraft. Command of JG 11 was then given to ''Major'' Anton Hackl who took command on 22 February.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Harder was credited with 64 aerial victories.Obermaier also lists him with 64 aerial victories, 17 over the Eastern Front and 47 in the Mediterranean theater and Western Allies, including nine four-engined heavy bombers. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and state that he was credited with more than 56 aerial victories, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes at least 12 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 44 over the Western Allies, including ten four-engined heavy bombers.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 14 Ost N/LH-4". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, 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 16 November 1942 as '' Leutnant'' and pilot
* German Cross in Gold (12 January 1943)
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross on 5 December 1943 as '' Hauptmann'' and '' Staffelkapitän'' in the III./''Jagdgeschwader'' 53
** 727th Oak Leaves on 1 February 1945 as ''Major'' and ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of the ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11

Notes

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harder, Jurgen
1912 births
1945 deaths
People from Świnoujście
Luftwaffe pilots
Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Pilots who performed an aerial ramming
Military personnel from the Province of Pomerania
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany