Service/branch Luftwaffe Name Friedrich Korner | Unit JG 27 | |
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Born 24 January 1921
Schwerte, Province of Westphalia ( 1921-01-24 ) Died 3 September 1998(1998-09-03) (aged 77)
Paris, France Allegiance Nazi Germany (to 1945)
West Germany Years of service 1939–45
1956–79(Bundesluftwaffe) Rank Oberleutnant
Brigadegeneral | ||
Friedrich Korner (24 January 1921 – 3 September 1998) was a World War II Luftwaffe Flying ace. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Korner was credited with 36 victories in over 250 missions. All of his victories were scored whilst flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
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Military career
Korner joined the Luftwaffe on 15 November 1939 and after completion of his pilot training joined II./Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27) in North Africa on 4 July 1941. Korner scored his first victory on 19 March 1942 over Tobruk. In June 1942 he scored 20 kills, three on the 26 June, Korner's most successful day. On 4 July 1942, a year to the day of his arrival, he was shot down whilst scrambling to intercept a Royal Air Force (RAF) bomber formation over the front line in Bf 109 F-4/Trop (Werknummer 8696—factory number) "Red 11". Korner was captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Canada, and released in 1947.
After the war
Korner joined the Bundesluftwaffe in 1955, he retired from military service on 30 June 1979 as Brigadegeneral. Korner lived in Paris until his death on 3 September 1998.