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Hermann Graf (24 October 1912 – 4 November 1988) was a German ''Luftwaffe'' World War II fighter ace. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.〔Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.〕 He served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He became the first pilot in aviation history to claim 200 aerial victories—that is, 200 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft.〔Obermaier 1989, p. 21.〕 He claimed 212 aerial victories in over 830 combat missions, 202 of which were on the Eastern Front. Graf, a pre-war football player and glider pilot, joined the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1935. He was initially selected for transport aviation and was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) in May 1939. At the outbreak of war he was stationed on the German–Franco border flying uneventful patrols. Serving as a flight instructor, he was stationed in Romania as part of a German military mission training Romanian pilots. Graf flew a few ground support missions in the closing days of the German invasion of Crete. Following the start of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Graf claimed his first aerial victory on 4 August 1941. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ((ドイツ語:Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes)) after 45 Eastern Front victories on 24 January 1942. By 16 September 1942 his number of victories had increased to 172 for which he was honored with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (ドイツ語:''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten''). At the time of its presentation to Graf it was Germany's highest military decoration. On 26 September 1942 he became the first fighter pilot in aviation history to claim 200 enemy aircraft shot down. By then a national hero, Graf was taken off combat operations and posted to a fighter pilot training school in France before being tasked with leadership of a high flying de Havilland Mosquito intercept unit called ''Jagdgeschwader'' 50 (JG 50—Fighter Wing 50). In November 1943 Graf returned to combat operations. He was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (Wing Commander) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) and claimed his last aerial victory on 29 March 1944. He was severely injured during this encounter and, after a period of convalescence, became ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). He and the remainder of JG 52 surrendered to units of the United States Army on 8 May 1945, and were turned over to the Red Army. Graf was held in Soviet captivity until 1949. After the war he worked as an electronic sales manager and died of Parkinson's disease in his home town of Engen on 4 November 1988. == Early life == Hermann Anton Graf was born on 24 October 1912 in Engen in the Grand Duchy of Baden not far from the Swiss border, the son of Wilhelm Graf (1878–1937), a farmer, and his wife Maria, née Sailer (1877–1953). He was the third of three children, with two older brothers, Wilhelm Wilhelm (1904–1981) and Josef Wilhelm (1909–1981).〔Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 11.〕 His father had fought in World War I as an artillery soldier and was awarded the Iron Cross (''Eisernes Kreuz''). He did not return home until Hermann was six years old. The young Hermann's main reference point in his life was his mother, and the bond he formed with her lasted the remainder of her life. Inflation in the Weimar Republic in 1923 wiped out all the family savings, as a result, from a very early age, Hermann learned to work hard to make a living.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hermann Graf」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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