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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hans-Joachim Kroschinski (11 May 1920 – 7 January 1995) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.
Hans-Joachim Kroschinski | |
---|---|
Born | Saalfeld in East Prussia, Germany (now Poland) | 11 May 1920
Died | 7 January 1995 74) Germany | (aged
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | Luftwaffe |
Years of service | 1939–1945 |
Rank | Leutnant |
Unit | JG 54 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Serving with 2./JG 54 Kroschinski gained his first known Soviet victory, a MiG-3 on 5 August 1942. He had a total of four by the end of 1942. On 21 December 1944 while flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-9 (Werknummer380360—factory number) "Yellow 6", he shot down five Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers, making him an "ace-in-a-day", but was then seriously wounded by return fire from other Pe-2s over Frauenburg.[1] He bailed out of his Fw 190 but as a result of his wounds lost both eyes and his right leg.[2]
Lieutenant Hans-Joachim Kroschinski was credited with at least 76 victories, all recorded over the Eastern Front in 360 missions, including 240 low level attacks. Included in his total is 15 Il-2 Sturmoviks, 2 tanks, a Gun Boat on Lake Ladoga, and 2 MTB's in the Finnish Bay.
According to Heaton, Lewis, Olds and Schulze, Kroschinski was credited with 76 aerial victories.[3] Spick also lists him with 76 aerial victories claimed in 360 combat missions.[4] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 74 aerial victories, plus two further unconfirmed claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.[5]
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