Erich Hartmann. The Black Devil of the Luftwaffe
Erich Alfred Hartmann, nicknamed (Bubi) by his German comrades and "The Black Devil" by his Soviet adversaries, was a German fighter pilot during World War II, considered the greatest flying ace in the history of aerial warfare.
Luftwaffe General Adolf Galland called Erich Hartmann "the greatest fighter pilot of all time." His combat performances support this claim: 352 kills in 1,404 missions. His squadron mates nicknamed him ("Bubi" in German) for achieving these records while still in his twenties.
Hartmann was born on April 19, 1922. From a very young age, he began to develop his passion for the air, influenced by his mother, Elisabeth, who was part of an aviation club in Weil (their home near Stuttgart) and held a pilot's license.
In this family environment, Erich learned to fly gliders at the age of fourteen. This early skill helped him become a flight instructor for these aircraft in the Hitler Youth in 1936. Hartmann, who is said to have never been a convinced Nazi, used its structures to further his passion. Thus, in 1937, he obtained his license for powered flights.
With the outbreak of World War II, he began to look up to various Luftwaffe aces, such as Werner Mölders, the Condor Legion's best pilot, and Johannes Steinhoff, who stood out for his performances against British bombers early in the war. He joined the Luftwaffe on October 1, 1940, when he joined the 10th Military Training Regiment. Six months later, he flew his first military aircraft, demonstrating his skill at the controls thanks to the flight hours he had accumulated since his adolescence. His rapid progress earned him a posting to the Magdeburg fighter school, where he would pilot a Messerschmitt Bf 109. He graduated there on March 31, 1942, as a second lieutenant and was assigned to the Luftwaffe fighter wing, JG-52, one of the most prestigious units, which, at the time, was deployed in the Caucasus, in the midst of a campaign to seize the region's oil fields.
The young pilots were not immediately assigned to combat, but spent several weeks adapting to the unit's tactics, always under the supervision of their commanders.He was assigned as a wingman for Sergeant Eduard "Paule" Rossmann, a veteran who became his great mentor and taught him the weaknesses of Soviet aircraft so he knew where to aim.
