Friedrich Geisshardt

Friedrich Geißhardt
Friedrich Geißhardt
Born	(1919-01-22)22 January 1919 Sonnefeld, Oberfranken
Died	6 April 1943(1943-04-06) (aged 24) Sint-Denijs-Westrem, Ghent, German-occupied Belgium
Buried	Bourdon German war cemetery, France
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1937–1943
Rank	Hauptmann (captain)
Unit	LG 2, JG 77, JG 26
Commands	III./JG 26
Battles / wars	See battles World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of Britain Balkans Campaign Battle of Crete Operation Barbarossa Siege of Malta North African Campaign Defense of the Reich  (DOW)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Friedrich Geißhardt^{[Note 1]} (22 January 1919 – 6 April 1943) was a German former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.^[1] The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award in the armed forces of Germany during World War II.

Geißhardt is credited with 102 victories in 642 combat missions, including 37 close air support missions. He achieved 63 of his victories over the Eastern Front. In his total are at least seventeen Spitfires.^[2] Geißhardt was mortally wounded in combat with US bombers on 5 April 1943 and succumbed to his injuries the next day.

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