Years of service 1929–45 | Name Gotthard Handrick | |
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Born 25 October 1908Zeitz ( 1908-10-25 ) Commands held III./JG 52, JG 26, JG 77, JG 5 Battles/wars Spanish Civil WarWorld War II Died May 30, 1978, Hamburg, Germany Similar People Silvano Abba, Jimmy Doolittle, Dietrich Peltz, Arthur Coningham, Hoyt Vandenberg | ||
Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
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Career
Handrick won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. As a fighter pilot, he participated in Spanish Civil War and claimed 5 aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor (including a I-15 on 9 September 1937 and an I-16 on 18 May 1938).
In July 1937 Handrick was appointed to command Jagdgruppe 88 (18 July 1937 – 10 September 1938) and assumed command of I./JG 26 (1 May 1939 – 23 June 1940) after his return from Spain in 1938. On 24 June 1940 command of Jagdgeschwader 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Hpt. Kurt Fischer. In June 1941 Handrick was posted to command JG 77. While serving on the Eastern Front he claimed a MiG-3 on 29 September and a Pe-2 on 22 October 1941.
During World War II he was a recipient of the German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943. In May 1942 Oberstlt. Handrick transferred to command JG 5 in Norway and Northern Russia. From June 1943 to June 1944 he was Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark, then as an Oberst. become commanding officer of 8. Jagddivision in Austria until the end of the war. After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.