# Ludwig Häfner

Ludwig Häfner (17 February 1921 – 10 November 1942) was a German Luftwaffe 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. On 10 November 1942, Ludwig Häfner was killed north of Stalingrad after he was attacked by a large number of Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 21 December 1942. During his career he was credited with 52 aerial victories, all on the Eastern Front.

## Career

On 26 June 1941, Häfner sustained a bullet wound in aerial combat resulting in a crash landing of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-1 (Werknummer 5728—factory number) at Berestechko. Following his convalescence on 7 September, Häfner was again injured when he crashed a Bf 109 F-4 on a shuttle flight at Przemyśl.

### Squadron leader and death

On 1 October 1942, Häfner was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). He succeeded Oberleutnant Alfons Raich who was transferred. On 10 November, Häfner was shot down and killed in action in aerial combat with Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters. His Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13631) crashed 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) west of the airfield at Kolobovka. Command of 3. Staffel was then handed to Leutnant Franz Daspelgruber.

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Hafner was credited with 52 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 47 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 39411". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km$^2$). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.
Chronicle of aerial victories :
| This and the ? (exclamation mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews, and Foreman. ||||||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
| – 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 6 November 1941 ||||||||||
| 1 | 24 June 1941 | 13:22 | Potez 63 | 30 km (19 mi) east of Hostynne | 2 | 25 June 1941 | 07:01 | DB-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Włodzimierz |
| – 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" – Eastern Front – 26 April – September 1942 ||||||||||
| 3 | 20 May 1942 | 14:25 | Il-2 | 2 km (1.2 mi) southeast of Verhulivka | 21 | 25 July 1942 | 09:55 | Yak-1 | Farupolina |
| 4 | 29 May 1942 | 06:14 | MiG-1 | Balakliia | 22 | 25 July 1942 | 10:12 | MiG-1 | Ruslow |
| 5 | 13 June 1942 | 10:23 | Il-2 | 2 km (1.2 mi) east of Nikolske | 23 | 29 July 1942 | 17:52 | Il-2 | PQ 39411, Kalach 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Kalach |
| 6 | 13 June 1942 | 10:43 | MiG-1 | Bodomowka | 24 | 30 July 1942 | 05:32 | LaGG-3 | PQ 39253, Kalach 15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Pitomnik Airfield |
| 7 | 1 July 1942 | 12:05 | LaGG-3 | 7 km (4.3 mi) east of Voronezh | 25 | 30 July 1942 | 05:47 | LaGG-3 | PQ 39294, Kalach |
| 8 | 2 July 1942 | 08:04 | R-5 | Stary Oskol | 26? | 30 July 1942 | 05:48 | LaGG-3 | PQ 39411, Kalach |
| 9 | 4 July 1942 | 13:37 | Il-2 | Malyschewo | 27 | 30 July 1942 | —? | Pe-2 | Dmitriyevka 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Kalach |
| 10 | 6 July 1942 | 16:52? | Yak-1 | Panikorjez | 28 | 31 July 1942 | 13:45 | LaGG-3 | PQ 39282, Kalach 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Pitomnik Airfield |
| 11 | 9 July 1942 | 17:55 | LaGG-3 | 3 km (1.9 mi) east of Nowo Ushman | 29 | 31 July 1942 | 13:55 | Il-2 | PQ 39192, Kalach 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Kalach |
| 12 | 9 July 1942 | 18:10 | LaGG-3 | 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Demschtschinsk | 30 | 31 July 1942 | 14:05 | Il-2 | PQ 39183, Skoworin 20 km (12 mi) west of Kalach |
| 13 | 9 July 1942 | 18:13 | LaGG-3 | 3 km (1.9 mi) north of Mal Losowaja center of Lozow | 31 | 6 August 1942 | 05:35 | Pe-2 | Stalingrad |
| 14 | 9 July 1942 | 18:33 | LaGG-3 | Wislaja Poljana | 32 | 7 August 1942 | 05:47 | Il-2 | PQ 49521, Slotowitoje |
| 15 | 10 July 1942 | 04:37 | P-39 | 3 km (1.9 mi) southeast of Rykanje Voronezh | 33 | 7 August 1942 | 10:25 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49521, Sklakatow |
| 16 | 10 July 1942 | 09:17 | MiG-1 | Voronezh | 34 | 20 August 1942 | 06:20 | MiG-1 | PQ 40471, Kalach |
| 17 | 13 July 1942 | 04:55 | Pe-2 | Morosowskaja | 33? | 23 August 1942 | — | MiG-1 | Stalingrad |
| 18 | 13 July 1942 | 11:55 | R-5 | Krasnaja-Jar | 34? | 23 August 1942 | — | LaGG-3 | Stalingrad |
| 19 | 14 July 1942 | 11:22 | Il-2 | Gruzynow | 37? | 21 September 1942 | — | LaGG-3 | Rzhev |
| 20 | 23 July 1942 | 09:30 | Yak-1 | Kalach | 38? | 21 September 1942 | — | LaGG-3 | Rzhev |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" – Eastern Front – September – 10 November 1942 ||||||||||
| 39 | 29 September 1942 | 09:35 | LaGG-3 | 7 km (4.3 mi) northwest of Cosmin Leninsk | 46 | 27 October 1942 | 08:32 | MiG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 49283 25 km (16 mi) east of Stalingrad |
| 40 | 29 September 1942 | 12:10 | MiG-3? | 12 km (7.5 mi) northeast of Akhtuba 35 km (22 mi) east of Stalingrad | 47 | 28 October 1942 | 15:09 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 49223 vicinity of Werchne |
| 41 | 9 October 1942 | 14:46 | LaGG-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Kotluban train station 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Grebenka | 48 | 30 October 1942 | 14:12 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 49131 vicinity of Bassargino |
| 42 | 9 October 1942 | 14:48 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 49132, Kotluban train station 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Grebenka | 49 | 1 November 1942 | 14:25 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 59172 |
| 43 | 14 October 1942 | 07:10 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 40751 | 50 | 2 November 1942 | 12:12 | MiG-1 | PQ 35 Ost 49422 30 km (19 mi) east of Stalingrad |
| 44 | 26 October 1942 | 11:40 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 49474 north of Wassnoarmejsk | 51 | 3 November 1942 | 11:08 | Yak-1 | PQ 35 Ost 59192 |
| 45 | 27 October 1942 | 08:12 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 49443 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Stalingrad | 52 | 10 November 1942 | 11:54 | Yak-1 | PQ 35 Ost 59362, north of Kolobowka |

### Awards

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 21 September 1942 as Leutnant and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 25 September 1942 as Leutnant in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 3
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 December 1942 as Leutnant and pilot in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 3