Hans Kolbow

Hans Kolbow
Born	8 January 1914 Hamburg
Died	17 July 1941(1941-07-17) (aged 27) Stara Bychow, Russia
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	?-1941
Rank	Oberleutnant
Unit	Condor Legion JG 20 JG 51
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II Battle of France Battle of Britain Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hans Kolbow (8 January 1914 – 17 July 1941) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. On 17 July 1941 Hans Kolbow was hit by Soviet flak near Stara Bychow. He managed to bail out, but was to low for his parachute and plunged to his death. During his career he was credited with 27 victories, 14 on the Eastern Front and 13 on the Western Front. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 27 July 1941.

Awards

• Aviator badge
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 6./Jagdgeschwader 51

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.

External links

• Aces of the Luftwaffe