Karl-Heinz Weber
Victories : 136
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Country : Germany
Fought in : WW2
Fought for : Axis
Died : 7th June 1944
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Karl-Heinz "Benjamin" Weber was born on 30 January 1922 in Heringsdorf, Pommern.
A glider pilot, Weber volunteered for service in the Luftwaffe in autumn 1939.
Weber joined 7./JG 51 on 1 October 1940 as a Leutnant. He claimed his first victory on 24 June 1941 and by 25 October had accumulated a total of 12 confirmed victories. In November 1941 he was designated Staffelkapitän of Ergänzungsstaffel/JG 51.
Returning to active duty in June 1942, Weber achieved his 20th victory on 9 August. On 3 September his Bf 109 F-2 “White 0” was damaged in combat with Russian twin-engine bombers and he was forced to bail out. Landing safely, he was, however, wounded by a German sentry and remained several months in hospital during which he was awarded the Ehernpokal on 30 September. Returning to combat in mid-December, Weber began to increase his tally rapidly. He was decorated with the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 16 March 1943. He claimed five victories on 5 July (41-45), six on 7 July (46-51) and five on 4 August (79-83). Oberleutnant Weber recorded his 100th victory on 10 October and received the Ritterkreuz on 12 November 1943. By now serving as Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 51, he was promoted to Hauptmann on 25 May 1944. On 29 May, 7./JG 51 was transferred to the Western Front to re-enforce II./JG 1 engaged in Reichsverteidigung duties. On 3 June he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 1. On 7 June, Weber led III./JG 1 in Bf 109 G-6/AS “White 20” against Allied fighters south of Rouen on his first mission over the Invasion Front. He never returned from the mission and his body was never recovered. It appears that he was shot down and killed by RAF Mustangs. He was posthumously awarded the Eichenlaub (Nr. 529) on 20 July 1944.
Karl-Heinz Weber flew over 500 missions and claimed 136 victories over the Eastern Front, including at least 28 Il-2 Sturmoviks.
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