Gotthard Handrick

Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

Gotthard Handrick
Gotthard Handrick at the 1936 Olympic Games
Born(1908-10-25)25 October 1908
Zittau, German Empire
Died30 May 1978(1978-05-30) (aged 69)
Ahrensburg, West Germany
Sports career
Country Nazi Germany
SportModern pentathlon
Sports achievements and titles
Olympic finals1936 Berlin
Medal record
Men's Modern pentathlon
1936 BerlinModern pentathlon
Military career
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
Years of service1929–45
RankOberst (colonel)
Commands heldJG 26, JG 77, JG 5
Battles/warsSpanish Civil War
World War II
AwardsGerman Cross in Gold

Career
Medal presentation at the 1936 Olympic games, with Handrick in 1st place

Handrick won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[1][2] As a fighter pilot, he fought in the Spanish Civil War and claimed 5 aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor (including a I-15 on 9 September 1937 and an I-16 on 18 May 1938).

In July 1937 Handrick was appointed to command Jagdgruppe 88 (18 July 1937 – 10 September 1938) and assumed command of I./JG 26 (1 May 1939 – 23 June 1940) after his return from Spain in 1938.[3] On 24 June 1940 command of Jagdgeschwader 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Hpt. Kurt Fischer.[4] In June 1941 Handrick was posted to command JG 77. While serving on the Eastern Front he claimed a MiG-3 on 29 September and a Pe-2 on 22 October 1941.

During World War II he was a recipient of the German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943.[5] In May 1942 Oberstlt. Handrick transferred to command JG 5 in Norway and Northern Russia. From June 1943 to June 1944 he was Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark, then as an Oberst. become commanding officer of 8. Jagddivision in Austria until the end of the war. After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.[6]

Awards

References

Citations
  1. "Olympics Statistics: Gotthard Handrick". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  2. "Gotthard Handrick Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  3. Caldwell 1991. p. 4.
  4. Caldwell 1991. p. 8.
  5. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 163.
  6. Mandell 1987, online Preface xiii

Bibliography
  • Caldwell, Donald L. (1991). JG 26 Top Guns of the Luftwaffe. Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1050-6.
  • Mandell, Richard D. (1987). The Nazi Olympics. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-01325-5.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Toliver, Raymond F. and Constable, Trevor J. (1998). Das waren die Deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939-1945 (in German). Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-193-0.
Military offices
Preceded by
Major Hans Hugo Witt		 Commander of Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter
24 June 1940 – 21 August 1940		 Succeeded by
Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland
Preceded by
Major Bernhard Woldenga		 Commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 Herz As
23 June 1941 – May 1942		 Succeeded by
Major Gordon M. Gollob
Preceded by
none		 Commander of Jagdgeschwader 5 Eismeer
May 1942 – June 1943		 Succeeded by
Oberstleutnant Günther Scholz
Preceded by
none		 Commander of Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark
15 June 1943 – 15 June 1944		 Succeeded by
8. Jagd-Division
Preceded by
Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark		 Commander of 8. Jagd-Division
15 June 1944 – 8 May 1945		 Succeeded by
none
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