Hans W. Meyer
| Hans Meyer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth date | 28 May 1927 |
| Place of birth | Brandenburg, German Reich |
| Death date | 19 November 2016 (aged 89) |
| Place of death | Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA |
| Resting place | Saint Andrew the Apostle cemetery in Holt, Norfolk |
| Allegiance |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Luftwaffe Heer
|
| Rank | Obergefreiter |
| Unit | JG 54 Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Eastern Front |
| Awards | Iron Cross Front Flying Clasp Wound Badge (1939) |
| Relations | ∞ 1963 Waltraud E. Meyer; 1 son (Dirk; Jacksonville, FL) |
| Other work | Machinist, welder, mechanical engineer and designer |
Hans Wilhelm Meyer (1927–2016) was a German fighter pilot (Jagdflieger) of the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was a flying ace with five victories (Luftsiege). In 1965, Hans and Waltraud Meyer emigrated to the USA and later became citizens. In America, he once again became a glider pilot and then a motor pilot until retiring his license in 2019.
Life
Still a school boy, Meyer, who for some time lived with his grandparents in Braunschweig, joined the Hitler Youth, was 12-years-old when the war started and became a glider pilot in 1941, now only 14 years old, learning to fly and repair the Schneider DFS 108-14 SG-38 Schulgleiter (school glider). In 1943, he joined the RAD. In 1944, knowing he would soon be drafted, he volunteered for the Luftwaffe and was accepted due to his flying skills and the overall pilot shortage (the Luftwaffe had enough planes, but not enough pilots and fuel).
After only four weeks of training on the two-seater Messerschmitt Bf 108 "Taifun" and on a two-seater Bf 109 trainer at the Werneuchen Air Base (Fliegerhorst), he was transferred to the Jagdgeschwader 54, the "Green Hearts" fighter wing. He was considered the youngest fighter pilot of the Luftwaffe, many did not believe him, when he told them as what he was serving. At the Eastern Front he received six weeks more training in a replacement squadron and was then finally transferred to an operational squadron. His first victory was on his 3rd combat mission against a Yakovlev Yak-7 or Yakovlev Yak-9. He was a wingman of the swarm leader and part of a four-finger formation (the Vier-Finger-Schwarm was a formation of four aircraft consisting of two Rotten with two leaders or Rottenführer and two wingmen or Rottenflieger). His swarm leader shot a second Russian down. For his first kill, he was promoted to Gefreiter (Private E-2/Lance Corporal).
Strangely, his mechanic was much older than him and a Unteroffizier (NCO), which meant, officially he had to salute his mechanic. But the two friends worked this out. During another combat mission during a dogfight with an Ilyushin Il-2, he flew to low and was hit by the Russian Flak. He still managed to down the Russian, but then had to make an emergency landing in a meadow. He made it out of his wrecked Bf 109, only to see Russians running at him. He became a POW but later escaped.
After his fifth aerial victory with his Bf 109 G, Meyer, defending one of his comrades, was severely wounded in a dog fight with Soviet Rata fighters near Königsberg (bullet to the leg), reached his own airfield (bleeding heavily) and was hospitalized. After recuperation in late 1944, it was no longer possible to reach his wing, which was surrounded at the Courland Pocket. He was therefore transferred to the infantry. With his Sturmgewehr 44 and Panzerfaust he managed to destroy two Russian T-34 tanks. For this he was promoted to Obergefreiter (Private First Class E-3/Senior Lance Corporal) and received the Iron Cross, 1st class. Wounded a second time, he was transported over Denmark to Berlin. During the Battle of Berlin, he destroyed three more T-34 tanks in close combat.
After the war and some time as a POW, he trained three years to become a mechanical engineer. At a veterans meeting, he met Adolf Galland for the first time. He received a picture with autograph which he always proudly showed to the visitors of his home. Even after emigration, he often visited veteran and historical organizations in Germany (returning every two to three years as long as his health allowed that) and the US, reporting on his past and experiences. For example, on 19 July 2014, Meyer was invited to "Family Day" at the "National DDay Memorial" in Bedford, VA. In November 2015, he was the guest of honor at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach. The pictures of him touching a Messerschmitt Bf 109 in commemoration and later sitting in the cockpit have become famous.
Awards and decorations
- HJ Sports Badge
- NSFK glider badge (NSFK-Segelflieger-Abzeichen, C-Prüfung)
- Pilot Badge (Flugzeugführerabzeichen)
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
- Wound Badge (1939) in Black
