Johannes Steinhoff

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Johannes Steinhoff : biography

September 15, 1913 – February 21, 1994

Steinhoff remained with JG 52 until March 1943, when he took over Jagdgeschwader 77 as Geschwaderkommodore operating over the Mediterranean. A short time after taking command Steinhoff was shot down by Spitfires and had to crash-land his damaged aircraft. Previously he had been shot down only once during the Battle of Britain.

On 28 July 1944, Steinhoff received the Swords to the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. He ended the war as a jet pilot, first being posted to Kommando Nowotny in October 1944, and then, with the rank of Oberst, as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 7 in December. JG 7 was equipped with the Me 262 jet fighter, and Steinhoff was allowed to hand-pick several Staffelkapitäne, including Heinz Bär and Gerhard Barkhorn. After the heavy losses suffered during Operation Bodenplatte, Steinhoff and other fighter leaders fell into disfavour following the so-called ‘Fighter Pilots Revolt’ against what was perceived as the incompetence of Luftwaffe high command, and Hermann Göring in particular. Along with several others, Steinhoff was relieved of his command for challenging Göring’s leadership.

After a brief period spent in internal exile, Steinhoff transferred to the Jet Experten unit JV 44 then being put together by his close friend and confidant Adolf Galland in early 1945. Steinhoff initially acted as a de facto recruiting officer, persuading a number of veteran Luftwaffe aces to join the unit – some coming out of the Fighter Pilots’ Rest Home at Bad Wiessee to do so. Steinhoff himself scored six confirmed kills with the unit.For a list of Luftwaffe Jet aces see List of German World War II jet aces Steinhoff survived nearly 1000 combat missions, only to see his flying career come to an end on the ground. On 18 April 1945, Steinhoff’s Me-262 suffered a tyre blow-out and crashed on take-off from Munchen-Riem airfield. Steinhoff suffered severe burns (spending two years in hospital) which left him visibly scarred despite years of reconstructive surgery. His eyelids were rebuilt by a British surgeon after the war.

His wartime record was 176 aircraft claimed destroyed, of which 152 were on the Eastern front, 12 on the Western front and 12 in the Mediterranean. He also flew 993 operational sorties. During his career as a fighter pilot, Steinhoff was shot down 12 times, but had to bail out only once.