Hans-Joachim Kroschinski

Hans-Joachim Kroschinski
Born	(1920-05-11)11 May 1920 Saalfeld in East Prussia, Germany (now Poland)
Died	7 January 1995(1995-01-07) (aged 74) Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1939–1945
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	JG 54
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hans-Joachim Kroschinski (11 May 1920 – 7 January 1995) was a former German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Serving with 2./JG 54 Kroschinski gained his first known Soviet victory, a MiG-3 on 5 August 1942. He had a total of four by the end of 1942. On 21 December 1944 while flying Fw 190 A-9 (W.Nr.380360) "Yellow 6", he shot down five Pe-2 bombers, but was then seriously wounded by return fire from other Pe-2s over Frauenburg.

He bailed out of his Fw-190 but as a result of his wounds lost both eyes and his right leg.

Feldwebel Hans-Joachim Kroschinski was credited with at least 76 victories, all recorded over the Eastern Front in 360 missions, including 240 low level attacks. Included in his total is 15 Il-2 Sturmoviks, 2 tanks, a Gun Boat on Lake Ladoga, and 2 MTB's in the Finnish Bay.

Awards

Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
Wound Badge in Gold
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (October 11, 1943)
German Cross in Gold (October 27, 1943)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (April 17, 1945, After 76 victories)

References

Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002
Fellgiebel W.P., Elite of the Third Reich, The recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-1945: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-46-9
Patzwall K., Scherzer V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Geschichte und Inhaber Band II, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001, ISBN 3-931533-45-X
Patzwall K.D., Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg, Studien zur Geschichte der Auszeichnungen, Band 6, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2008, ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of Jagdgeschwader 54

Horst Ademeit (Oak Leaves) Hans Beißwenger (Oak Leaves) Hans-Ekkehard Bob Paul Brandt Hugo Broch Herbert Broennle Anton Döbele Franz Eckerle (Oak Leaves) Franz Eisenach Günter Fink Hans Götz Horst Hannig¹ (Oak Leaves) Hans-Joachim Heyer Reinhold Hoffmann Dietrich Hrabak² (Oak Leaves) Karl Kempf Otto Kittel (Oak Leaves & Swords) Rudolf Klemm Gerhard Koall Hans-Joachim Kroschinski Emil Lang (Oak Leaves) Arnold Lignitz Gerhard Loos Walter Nowotny (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) Max-Hellmuth Ostermann (Oak Leaves & Swords) Hans Philipp (Oak Leaves & Swords) Wilhelm Philipp Josef Pöhs Rudolf Rademacher Erich Rudorffer³ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Friedrich Rupp Günther Scheel Wilhelm Schilling Hermann Schleinhege Reinhard Seiler (Oak Leaves) Wolfgang Späte (Oak Leaves) Heinrich Sterr Max Stotz (Oak Leaves) Fritz Tegtmeier Alfred Teumer Gerhard Thyben (Oak Leaves) Hannes Trautloft Joachim Wandel Robert Weiß (Oak Leaves) Heinz Wernicke Ulrich Wernitz Ulrich Wöhnert Albin Wolf (Oak Leaves) Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart

¹ Oak Leaves with JG 2. ² Oak Leaves with JG 52. ³ Knight's Cross with JG 2.

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