Johannes "Hannes" Seifert
Oberstleutnant

Johannes Seifert

    Johannes “Hannes” Seifert was born on 6 October 1915 at Pinneberg in Holstein. Seifert participated in the invasion of Poland as a Zerstörer pilot before transferring to the Jagdwaffe. He was then posted to JG 26. Oberleutnant Seifert was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 26 on 1 March 1940. He gained his first victory when he shot down a Dutch Fokker D.XXI fighter on 10 May 1940 near Rotterdam. By the end of 1940, his victory total stood at eight. On 11 July 1941, Seiffert was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 26, a post he was to hold until 31 May 1943. He had raised his victory total to 24 by the end of 1941. On 7 June 1942, Hauptmann Seifert was awarded the Ritterkreuz for 36 victories. Over the Dieppe landings, Seifert gained his 41st victory, shooting down a RAF Spitfire fighter. In January 1943, Major Seifert was ordered to take I./JG 26 to replace a Gruppe of JG 54 on the Eastern Front. Between 18 February and 18 March Seifert’s pilots claimed 75 victories, while suffering only three combat casualties during the Demyansk withdrawal. Moved to Smolensk, I./JG 26 covered the final stages of Operation Büffel. Seifert recorded 11 victories during his time in Russia. On 1 June 1943, Seifert gave up command of I./JG 26 and took up a position on the staff of the German mission to Bulgaria. Unknown to Seifert, his mother had invoked the last surviving son rule when his younger brother, Gerhard, a fighter pilot serving with III./JG 26, was killed, and requested his removal from combat duty. Major Seifert was reprieved from his exile in Bulgaria after an appeal to General Adolf Galland (104 victories, RK-Br). He returned as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 26 on 9 September 1943. On 25 November 1943, Seifert led 6. and 8./JG 26 against P-38 twin-engine fighters of the 55th FG, USAAF on a sweep over Lille. In the resulting combat Seifert’s Fw 190 A-6 (WNr 470006) << + - was seen to collide with an opposing P-38, dive away out of control and crash. Seifert’s body was found still strapped in the weckage of his plane. Seifert was posthumously promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant.
    Johannes Seifert flew 439 combat missions resulting in 57 victories. He recorded 46 victories over the Western Front, including three four-engine bombers and 32 Spitfires. Included in the 10 victories he recorded over the Eastern front are six Il-2 Sturmoviks.
 
No
Date
Time
A/c Type
Unit
Location
Comments
1.
10.5.1940
10:15
 DXXI 3./JG 26 SE Rotterdam DXXI of 1e JaVA of Nederlandse Militaire Luchtvaart
2.
28.5.1940
10:45
 Spitfire 3./JG 26 20km SW Ostend -
3.
8.6.1940
~14:50
 Battle 3./JG 26 N Beauvais Battle of 103 Sqn, RAF
4.
9.6.1940
11:10
 Potez 63 3./JG 26 10-15km SE Rouen -
5.
20.9.1940
12:25
 Hurricane 3./JG 26 Thames Estuary Hurricane of 253 Sqn, RAF
6.
20.9.1940
12:37
 Hurricane 3./JG 26 Maidstone Hurricane of 242 Sqn, RAF
7.
5.11.1940
17:15
 Hurricane 3./JG 26 Thames Estuary Hurricane (P2806) of 242 Sqn RAF flown by P/O Hart
8.
13.11.1940
12:00
 Hurricane 3./JG 26 S Folkestone Hurricane of 249 Sqn, RAF
9.
11.6.1941
13:30
 Hurricane 3./JG 26 mid-Channel Hurricane of 248 Sqn, RAF
10.
23.6.1941
13:50
 Spitfire 3./JG 26 Near Samer -
11.
4.7.1941
15:20
 Spitfire 3./JG 26 N Bethune -
12.
11.7.1941
15:05
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 E Wimereux -
13.
14.7.1941
10:30
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 S Dunkirk -
14.
21.7.1941
8:25
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 SW Ypres -
15.
21.7.1941
8:40
 Stirling Stab I./JG 26 Channel Stirling of XV Sqn, RAF
16.
7.8.1941
11:25
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Near Gravelines -
17.
12.8.1941
13:00
 Blenheim Stab I./JG 26 SE Vlissingen -
18.
19.8.1941
11:45
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Near Gravelines Spitfire of 452 or 485 Sqn, RAF
19.
19.8.1941
19:40
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Near Cassel Spitfire of 111 Sqn, RAF
20.
17.9.1941
15:30
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 N Hazebrouck -
21.
3.10.1941
15:37
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 20km NW Ostend Spitfire of 92 Sqn, RAF
22.
12.10.1941
13:20
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Berck-sur-Mer Spitfire of 452 or 602 Sqn, RAF
23.
8.11.1941
13:05
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 NW Dunkirk Spitfire Vb (AB930) “ZF-J” of 308 Sqn, RAF flown by F/O F Surma (7/2.333/0 victories), killed
24.
8.12.1941
13:20
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Near Le Touquet -
25.
13.3.1942
16:15
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 SW Dunkirk Spitfire of 303 Sqn, RAF
26.
24.3.1942
17:10
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 12km W Boulogne Spitfire of 411 Sqn, RAF
27.
4.4.1942
11:40
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Gravelines Spitfire of 317 Sqn, RAF
28.
12.4.1942
13:35
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Boulogne-St Omer Spitfire of 41 Sqn, RAF
29.
24.4.1942
15:02
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Near Calais Spitfire of 72 or 124 Sqn, RAF
30.
25.4.1942
16:40
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 10km W Berck-sur-Mer -
31.
27.4.1942
15:50
 Boston Stab I./JG 26 Near Bourbourg Boston of 107 Sqn, RAF
32.
28.4.1942
11:35
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 3km W Gravelines Spitfire of 121, 222 or 317 Sqn, RAF
33.
5.5.1942
15:40
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Bailleul Spitfire Vb (BM321) “MT-T” of 122 Sqn RAF flown by F/Lt Baudoin de Hemptinne
34.
17.5.1942
11:40
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 2km NW Wissant -
35.
1.6.1942
13:45
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 15km NNW Ostend Spitfire of 111 Sqn, RAF
36.
2.6.1942
11:25
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 5km S St Valery Spitfire of 403 Sqn, RAF
37.
30.7.1942
17:45
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Boulogne -
38.
30.7.1942
~14:50
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Near Dungeness -
39.
30.7.1942
19:18
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 NW St Omer -
40.
31.7.1942
15:28
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 20km W Berck-sur-Mer Spitfire of 133 Sqn, RAF
41.
19.8.1942
-
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 7km W Dieppe -
42.
4.12.1942
14:52
 Spitfire Stab I./JG 26 Near Calais Spitfire of 401 or 402 Sqn, RAF
43.
16.2.1943
14:10
 Il-2 Stab I./JG 26 8-10km SE Adler 7 -
44.
23.2.1943
11:10
 Il-2 Stab I./JG 26 18430 -
45.
28.2.1943
15:00
 P-39 Stab I./JG 26 18412 -
46.
28.2.1943
15:01
 LaGG-5 Stab I./JG 26 18350 -
47.
5.3.1943
13:40
 Pe-2 Stab I./JG 26 18220 -
48.
5.3.1943
13:53
 Il-2 Stab I./JG 26 18160 -
49.
5.3.1943
13:54
 Il-2 Stab I./JG 26 18240 -
50.
14.3.1943
14:50
 Pe-2 Stab I./JG 26 18242 -
51.
16.3.1943
16:16
 Il-2 Stab I./JG 26 18211 -
52.
12.5.1943
11:35
 Il-2 Stab I./JG 26 36612 -
53.
13.5.1943
14:05
 MiG-3 Stab I./JG 26 4556/64 -
54.
23.9.1943
17:10
 Spitfire Stab II./JG 26 Le Fresne Spitfire of 308 Sqn, RAF
55.
10.10.1943
15:30
 B-17 Stab II./JG 26 NE Rheine -
56.
14.10.1943
13:32
 B-17 Stab II./JG 26 Maastricht B-17 of 305 BG, USAAF
57.
25.11.1943
13:21
 P-38 Stab II./JG 26 Near Cuinchy P-38 of 55 FG, USAAF flown by Lt Manuel Aldecoa, killed

Victories : 57
Awards : Ehrenpokal (30 December 1940)
                Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (25 February 1942)
                Ritterkreuz (7 June 1942)
Units : ZG ?, JG 26

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