Hermann Graf

He was the third of three children, with two older brothers, Wilhelm Wilhelm (1904–1981) and Josef Wilhelm (1909–1981).

His father fought in and survived World War I as an artillery soldier, being awarded the Iron Cross.

Hermann Graf (24 October 1912 – 4 November 1988) was a German Luftwaffe World War II fighter ace.

He served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts.

He became the first pilot in aviation history to claim 200 aerial victories—that is, 200 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft.

In about 830 combat missions, he claimed a total of 212 aerial victories, almost all of which were achieved on the Eastern Front.

Hermann Anton Graf was born on 24 October 1912 in Engen in what was then the Grand Duchy of Baden near Lake Constance and the border to Switzerland, the son of Wilhelm Graf (1878–1937), a farmer, and his wife Maria, née Sailer (1877–1953).

Herberger was a forward in the Germany national football team from 1921–25, and later head coach of the German 1954 FIFA World Cup-winning team.

However, a broken thumb ended Graf's early hopes for a professional football career.

Postwar, the Weimar Inflation crisis of 1923 wiped out virtually all the family savings, and as a result, from a very early age, Graf had to work.

As a young boy, Graf was an avid footballer.

He started with his local football club DJK Engen and later became a goalkeeper at FC Höhen.

In his teens, he was selected to join a group of talented young players trained by Sepp Herberger.

Graf finished his Volksschule (primary school) in 1926 at the age of thirteen.

Without the means to fund a higher education, Graf applied for an apprenticeship.

For the next three years, he worked as a locksmith's apprentice at a local factory.

A locksmith had a low income, so when offered work as an apprentice clerk, he gladly accepted a change in career.

Graf saw his first aircraft when he was twelve years old.

This sight created a conflict between his passion for football and a new obsession with flying.

From 1930, he worked at the Engen town hall and saved all his money to buy a glider.

Before his 20th birthday, he provided a homemade glider to the new Engen Sailplane Club.

Graf, a pre-war football player and glider pilot, joined the Luftwaffe and started flight training in 1936.

He was initially selected for transport aviation but was subsequently posted to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) in May 1939.

At the outbreak of war he was stationed on the Franco–German border flying uneventful patrols.

He was then posted as a flight instructor stationed in Romania as part of a German military mission training Romanian pilots.

Graf flew a few ground support missions in the closing days of the German invasion of Crete.

Following the start of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Graf claimed his first aerial victory on 4 August 1941.

He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after 45 victories on 24 January 1942.

It was during the second summer of the eastern campaign; however, that his success rate dramatically increased.

By 16 September 1942 his number of victories had increased to 172 for which he was honored with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.

At the time of its presentation to Graf it was Germany's highest military decoration.

On 26 September 1942 he shot down his 200th enemy aircraft.

By then a national hero, Graf was withdrawn from combat operations and posted to a fighter pilot training school in France before being tasked with the setting up of a new special unit: Jagdgeschwader 50 (JG 50—Fighter Wing 50).

Its mission was as a high-altitude unit to intercept the de Havilland Mosquito intruders.

In November 1943 Graf returned to combat operations.

He was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (Wing Commander) of Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) and claimed his last and 212th aerial victory on 29 March 1944.

He and the remainder of JG 52 surrendered to units of the United States Army on 8 May 1945, but were turned over to the Red Army.

Graf was held in Soviet captivity until 1949.

He was severely injured during that encounter and, after a period of convalescence, became Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing).

After the war he worked as an electronic sales manager and died after a long illness in his home town of Engen on 4 November 1988.