Kurt “Kuddel” Ubben was born on 18 November 1911
at Dorstadt in Harz. He joined the navy in 1931 undertaking his training
on the sailing ship “Gorch Foch”. In 1935, Ubben transferred to the Luftwaffe
and, by 1938, was serving with the Küstenjagdstaffel Kiel. At the outbreak
of World War 2, Oberfeldwebel Ubben was serving with 5./JGr 186. The unit
was destined to be based aboard the German navy’s aircraft carrier Graf
Zeppelin, at that time still under construction. He participated in air
operations supporting the invasion of Poland in September 1939. He gained
his first aerial success when he shot down a Dutch Fokker D XXI fighter
over Holland on 10 May 1940. In June 1940, Ubben transferred with II./JGr
186 to Norway where the unit was based at Stavanger. On 5 July, II./JGr
186 was absorbed into III./JG 77 when it became obvious that the Graf Zeppelin
would not be completed for some time. On 22 July, Ubben was appointed Staffelkapitän
of 8./JG 77. By the end of 1940, 8./JG 77 was stationed on the Channel
front. The unit transferred to take part in the invasion of the Balkans
in early April 1941. Ubben claimed an RAF Hurricane fighter shot down in
the Lamia area of Greece on 19 April. However, Ubben’s Bf 109 was badly
damaged in the engagement necessitating a forced-landing behind Allied
lines. He was rescued by a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch flown by a colleague
of his unit, which landed and flew him back to his base. Ubben also performed
many ground attack missions and fighter-bomber attacks against Allied shipping
around the coasts of Greece and Crete. On 22 May, Oberleutnant Ubben and
Oberleutnant Wolf-Dietrich Huy (40 victories, RK-EL) attacked the Royal
Navy’s Force “C” between the islands of Kythera and Antikythera. Both were
successful in gaining hits on the British battleship “Warspite”. He also
claimed a British Motor Torpedo Boat sunk during this period. Ubben participated
in the invasion of Russia in June 1941. He claimed his 20th and 21st victories
on 25 July. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 4 September for 32 aerial
victories, 26 aircraft destroyed on the ground and 15 tanks destroyed.
On 5 September 1941, Hauptmann Ubben was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of
III./JG 77. He achieved his 50th victory on 19 October. Ubben shot down
four Russian aircraft on 9 December (58-61). He was awarded the Eichenlaub
(Nr 80) on 12 March 1942 for 69 victories. When III./JG 77 was transferred
to North Africa, Ubben had 92 victories to his credit. He continued his
success in the new theatre gaining his 100th and 101st victories on 14
January 1943. In October, Ubben led III./JG 77 to Rumania where it was
tasked with the aerial protection of the Ploesti oilfields from the increasing
Allied bombing attacks. Major Ubben was appointed Kommodore of JG 2 based
in France on 10 March 1944, replacing Oberstleutnant Egon
Mayer (102 victories, RK-S, killed in action 2 March 1944). On 27 April
1944, Ubben engaged USAAF fighters near Fere-en-Tardenois. In the ensuing
combat, Ubben was shot down in Fw 190 A-8/R2/R6 (W.Nr. 680 113). He baled
out but his parachute failed to open either due to insufficient altitude
or an improperly fastened harness.
“Kuddel” Ubben was credited 111 victories in approximately
500 combat missions. He recorded 90 victories over the Eastern
front. Included in his total is one four-engined bomber and seven P-38
twin-engine fighters.
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10.5.1940
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Fokker D XXI | 5./JGr 186 | De Kooi |
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19.4.1941
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Hurricane | 8./JG 77 | Lamia area / Hurricane of 33 Sqn, RAF |
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22.6.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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26.6.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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26.6.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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26.6.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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26.6.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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4.7.1941
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SB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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4.7.1941
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SB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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8.7.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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8.7.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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8.7.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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10.7.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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10.7.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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10.7.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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11.7.1941
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MiG-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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21.7.1941
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I-61 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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22.7.1941
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I-61 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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25.7.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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25.7.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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27.7.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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27.7.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | not confirmed |
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31.7.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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31.7.1941
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Potez 25 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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5.8.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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5.8.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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11.8.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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13.8.1941
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I-5 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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17.8.1941
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Seversky | 8./JG 77 | - |
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22.8.1941
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I-15 | 8./JG 77 | 17692 |
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29.8.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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30.8.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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1.9.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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1.9.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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2.9.1941
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Pe-2 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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4.9.1941
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DB-3 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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5.9.1941
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I-16 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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26.9.1941
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I-153 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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29.9.1941
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R-10 | 8./JG 77 | - |
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1.10.1941
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I-16 | Stab III./JG 77 | Perekop |
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2.10.1941
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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3.10.1941
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.10.1941
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | Chaplinka |
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9.10.1941
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | Chaplinka |
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9.10.1941
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | Chaplinka |
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10.10.1941
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | 3784 |
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10.10.1941
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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11.10.1941
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Pe-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | 3622 |
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18.10.1941
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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19.10.1941
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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19.10.1941
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I-15 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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20.10.1941
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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22.10.1941
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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23.10.1941
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I-15 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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4.11.1941
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I-153 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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6.11.1941
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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6.11.1941
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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7.12.1941
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I-16 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.12.1941
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I-15 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.12.1941
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I-15 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.12.1941
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I-16 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.12.1941
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DB-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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23.2.1942
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I-15 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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23.2.1942
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MiG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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24.2.1942
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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25.2.1942
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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26.2.1942
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I-16 | Stab III./JG 77 | not confirmed |
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2.3.1942
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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5.3.1942
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I-16 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.3.1942
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I-153 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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12.3.1942
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I-153 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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8.6.1942
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I-153 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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11.6.1942
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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12.6.1942
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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18.6.1942
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MiG-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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24.6.1942
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Yak-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | Yak-1 of 6 GIAP, VVS-ChF |
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5.7.1942
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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5.7.1942
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | 66 823 |
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5.7.1942
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Yak-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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6.7.1942
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I-16 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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6.7.1942
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.7.1942
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E/a | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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14.7.1942
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E/a | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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9.9.1942
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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10.9.1942
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Yak-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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12.9.1942
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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14.9.1942
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Il-2 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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15.9.1942
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Yak-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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20.9.1942
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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20.9.1942
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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21.9.1942
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Yak-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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22.9.1942
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LaGG-3 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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25.9.1942
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Yak-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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30.9.1942
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Yak-1 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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3.11.1942
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Hurricane | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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7.11.1942
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Hurricane | Stab III./JG 77 | 61/66/4 |
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11.12.1942
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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13.12.1942
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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15.12.1942
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | 81/6/1 |
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10.1.1943
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Spitfire | Stab III./JG 77 | W Tamet |
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13.1.1943
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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14.1.1943
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | 43893 |
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14.1.1943
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | 51281 |
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18.1.1943
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P-38 | Stab III./JG 77 | 22112 |
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27.1.1943
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P-40 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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4.2.1943
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P-38 | Stab III./JG 77 | 85682 |
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8.2.1943
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P-38 | Stab III./JG 77 | 95673 |
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8.2.1943
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P-38 | Stab III./JG 77 | 95751 |
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15.2.1943
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Spitfire | Stab III./JG 77 | 20km SW Sidi Bou Zid |
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24.6.1943
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P-38 | Stab III./JG 77 | 81593/04 Ost |
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24.6.1943
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P-38 | Stab III./JG 77 | 7039/04 Ost |
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10.8.1943
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P-38 | Stab III./JG 77 | - |
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1.10.1943
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B-17 | Stab III./JG 77 | 04 195/14 Ost |
Victories : 111
Awards : Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (9 December 1941)
Ritterkreuz (4 September 1941)
Eichenlaub (12 March 1942)
Units : JGr 186, JG 77, JG 2