- Johannes Wiese
Infobox Military Person
name=Johannes Wiese
lived=birth date|1915|5|7|df=y — death date and age|1991|8|16|1915|5|7|df=y
placeofbirth=Breslau ,Schlesien
placeofdeath=Kirchzarten
caption=Johannes Wiese
nickname="Lion ofKuban "
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi GermanyNazi Germany (to 1945)
flagicon|West GermanyWest Germany
branch=Heer (1934-1935)Luftwaffe (1935-1945), (1956-1970)
serviceyears=1934-1945, 1956-1970
rank=Oberst Oberstleutnant
commands=2./JG 52 , I./JG 52 ,JG 77
unit=JG 52 ,JG 77
battles=World War II
*Operation Barbarossa
awards="Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves"
laterwork=Bundeswehr Johannes Wiese (
7 May 1915 -16 August 1991 ) was a GermanWorld War II fighter ace who served in theLuftwaffe from 1935 until the end ofWorld War II on8 May 1945 . After the war in 1956 he joined theBundeswehr and attained the rank ofOberstleutnant . He retired on30 November 1970 .His most successful day was
5 July 1943 when he shot down twelve enemy aircraft in one mission.Fritjof Schaulen, page 140]Johannes Wiese was officially credited with 133 victories claimed in 480 combat missions. Additionally he had 25 more unconfirmed claims.Fritjof Schaulen, page 140] Among his claims are 70 Il-2 Stormoviks. Soviet fighter pilots therefore greatly respected Wiese, and referred to him as the "Lion of the
Kuban ."On December 1, 1944, Wiese became "Geschwaderkommodore" of the JG 77. Only three weeks later he was severely injured when, following ejection at an altitude of more than 9000 meters after combat with British Spitfires, his parachute ruptured 80 meters above ground. He spent the rest of the winter in hospital, and was replaced as commander by
Erich Leie . He surrendered to U.S. forces at the end of the war but was released from captivity only weeks later. However, Wiese spent over four years in Soviet POW camps from September 1945 onward, having been denounced by German communists.Awards
*
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (6 November 1941)
*Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
*German Cross in Gold (8 February 1943)
*Iron Cross 2. and 1. class
* Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross (5 January 1943)
** 418. Oak Leaves (2 March 1944)References
*cite web | title=Aces of the Luftwaffe| work=Johannes Wiese| url= http://www.luftwaffe.cz/wiese.html| accessdate=7 May| accessyear=2007
* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Schaulen, Fritjof. "Eichenlaubträger 1940-1940 Band III Radusch-Zwernemann". Pour le Mérite, 2005. ISBN 3-932381-22-X.
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