HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREATEST

ERICH "BUBBI" - "KARAYA 1" HARTMANN

APRIL 19, 1922

 

 

 

Erich Hartmann  was the most successful and most feared fighter pilot of WWII.  His record of 352 Victories (Destruction of enemy aircraft) will never be broken.  He was so feared as a fighter in JG 54 that when his call sign "Karaya 1" was heard over the radio, the enemy would dispatch.  It got to the point where his famous "Black Tulip" BF-109 Messerschmitt became so recognizable that he had to repaint his "Iconic" plane so the enemy would not know who he was.



At the war's end, Hartmann would surrender to the Americans who were forced to hand Hartmann over the Red Army where he would face false charges of "Crimes against Humanity".  These charges would later be dropped and Hartmann would be released with a clean record, only after spending 10 years in a Russian Hell Hole. 

 

Hartmann went on to pilot the F-86 SabrerJet  in the New West German Air Force.  But today we celebrate a Legend and a true Hero.