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Karl-Heinz Weber Victories : 136 ----------------------------- Country : Germany Fought in : WW2 Fought for : Axis Died : 7th June 1944 Knights Cross Oak Leaves Karl-Heinz "Benjamin" Weber was born on 30 January 1922 in Heringsdorf, Pommern. A glider pilot, Weber volunteered for service in the Luftwaffe in autumn 1939. Weber joined 7./JG 51 on 1 October 1940 as a Leutnant. He claimed his first victory on 24 June 1941 and by 25 October had accumulated a total of 12 confirmed victories. In November 1941 he was designated Staffelkapitän of Ergänzungsstaffel/JG 51. Returning to active duty in June 1942, Weber achieved his 20th victory on 9 August. On 3 September his Bf 109 F-2 “White 0” was damaged in combat with Russian twin-engine bombers and he was forced to bail out. Landing safely, he was, however, wounded by a German sentry and remained several months in hospital during which he was awarded the Ehernpokal on 30 September. Returning to combat in mid-December, Weber began to increase his tally rapidly. He was decorated with the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 16 March 1943. He claimed five victories on 5 July (41-45), six on 7 July (46-51) and five on 4 August (79-83). Oberleutnant Weber recorded his 100th victory on 10 October and received the Ritterkreuz on 12 November 1943. By now serving as Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 51, he was promoted to Hauptmann on 25 May 1944. On 29 May, 7./JG 51 was transferred to the Western Front to re-enforce II./JG 1 engaged in Reichsverteidigung duties. On 3 June he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 1. On 7 June, Weber led III./JG 1 in Bf 109 G-6/AS “White 20” against Allied fighters south of Rouen on his first mission over the Invasion Front. He never returned from the mission and his body was never recovered. It appears that he was shot down and killed by RAF Mustangs. He was posthumously awarded the Eichenlaub (Nr. 529) on 20 July 1944. Karl-Heinz Weber flew over 500 missions and claimed 136 victories over the Eastern Front, including at least 28 Il-2 Sturmoviks.

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Karl-Heinz Weber

Aircraft for : Karl-Heinz Weber
A list of all aircraft associated with Karl-Heinz Weber. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Squadron	Info
Me109 Click the name above to see prints featuring Me109 aircraft. Manufacturer : Messerschmitt Production Began : 1937 Retired : 1945 Number Built : 33984	Me109 Willy Messerschmitt designed the BF109 during the early 1930s. The Bf109 was one of the first all metal monocoque construction fighters with a closed canopy and retractable undercarriage. The engine of the Me109 was a V12 aero engine which was liquid-cooled. The Bf109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and flew to the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons. During the Battle of Britian the Bf109 was used in the role of an escort fighter, a role for which it was not designed for, and it was also used as a fighter bomber. During the last days of May 1940 Robert Stanford-Tuck, the RAF ace, got the chance to fly an Me109 which they had rebuilt after it had crash landed. Stanford-Tuck found out that the Me109 was a wonderful little plane, it was slightly faster than the Spitfire, but lacked the Spitfire manoeuvrability. By testing the Me109, Tuck could put himself inside the Me109 when fighting them, knowing its weak and strong points. With the introduction of the improved Bf109F in the spring of 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the invasion of Yugoslavia and during the Battle of Crete and the invasion of Russia and it was used during the Siege of the Mediteranean island of Malta. The Bf109 was the main fighter for the Luftwaffe until 1942 when the Fw190 entered service and shared this position, and was partially replaced in Western Europe, but the Me109 continued to serve on the Eastern Front and during the defence of the Reich against the allied bombers. It was also used to good effect in the Mediterranean and North Africa in support of The Africa Korps. The Me109 was also supplied to several German allies, including Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia. The Bf109 scored more kills than any other fighter of any country during the war and was built in greater numbers with a total of over 31,000 aircraft being built. The Bf109 was flown by the three top German aces of the war war. Erich Hartmann with 352 victories, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories and Gunther Rall with 275 kills. Bf109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen Luftwaffe Aces scored more than 200 kills. Altogether this group of pilots were credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills, of which the Messerschmitt Bf109 was credited with over 10,000 of these victories. The Bf109 was the most produced warplane during World War II, with 30,573 examples built during the war, and the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945. Bf109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf109s until 1955. The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s.

Known Claims : 133

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