Heinz Lange (officer)

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.

Heinz Lange
Born	(1917-10-02)2 October 1917
Died	26 February 2006(2006-02-26) (aged 88)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Major
Unit	JG 21, JG 54
Commands held	JG 51
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Lange flew 628 combat missions and was credited with 70 aerial victories, all but one on the Eastern Front. In April 1945 he was appointed commander of fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51.

Shortly after the end of the war the British wanted to evaluate the performance of the German Fw 190 D-13. At Flensburg, the British Disarmament Wing wanted to compare the fighter's performance against a Hawker Tempest. Squadron Leader Evans approached Major 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.[1] The mock dogfight was conducted at an altitude of 3,000 meters, with only enough fuel for the flight and no ammunition. The machines proved evenly matched. Major Lange assessed that the outcome of such a contest greatly depended on the skills of the individual pilot. At the time Major Lange was not aware that he was not flying a D-13, but rather a D-9.[1]

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

Awards

• German Cross in Gold on 17 May 1943 as Hauptmann in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 51[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 November 1944 as Hauptmann and leader of the IV./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"[3]

References

Citations

1. Crandal 2000, p. 17.
2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 268.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 492.

Bibliography

• Crandall, Jerry (2000). Yellow 10 The story of the ultra-rare Fw 190 D-13. Hamilton, MT: Eagle Edition. ISBN 978-0-9660706-3-7.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

Military offices
Preceded by Major Fritz Losigkeit	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders 2 April 1945 – 8 May 1945	Succeeded by none