Gotthard Handrick

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Gotthard Handrick
Gotthard Handrick at the 1936 Olympic Games
Born(1908-10-25)25 October 1908
Died30 May 1978(1978-05-30) (aged 69)
Sports career
Country Nazi Germany
SportModern pentathlon
Sports achievements and titles
Olympic finals1936 Berlin
Medal record
Men's Modern pentathlon
Gold medal – first place 1936 Berlin Modern pentathlon
Military career
Allegiance 
JG 5
Battles/warsSpanish Civil War
World War II
AwardsSpanish Cross in Gold with Swords
German Cross in Gold

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.

Career

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

Handrick was born on 25 October 1908 in Zittau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony as part of the German Empire.[1] He won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[2][3]

In July 1937, Handrick was appointed

Legion Condor, including a Polikarpov I-15 fighter on 9 September 1937 and an Polikarpov I-16 fighter on 18 May 1938.[4] He was later awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern) on 14 April 1939 for his service in the Spanish Civil War.[5]

Handrick was then given command of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 132 "Schlageter" on 11 September 1938 after his return from Spain.[6] This unit then became I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" on 1 May 1939 which he led until 23 June 1940.[7] On 24 June 1940 command of JG 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Hauptmann Kurt Fischer.[8] After he left JG 26, Handrick served with the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) Wilhelm Speidel.[9][10]

On 7 October, Handrick took over command of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) from Hauptmann Alexander von Winterfeld who was transferred. He led this Gruppe until 23 June 1941.[11] Command of the Gruppe was then given to Major Albert Blumensaat.[12]

Wing commander

In June 1941, Handrick was transferred and became the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing).[13] While serving on the Eastern Front he claimed a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter on 29 September and a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber on 22 October 1941.[14]

During

Daimler-Benz.[18]

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ^ Munzinger.
  2. ^ "Olympics Statistics: Gotthard Handrick". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  3. ^ "Gotthard Handrick Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  4. ^ Forsyth 2011, p. 105.
  5. ^ a b Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 476.
  6. ^ Prien et al. 2000, p. 180.
  7. ^ Caldwell 1991, p. 4.
  8. ^ Caldwell 1991, p. 8.
  9. ^ Weal 2004, p. 54.
  10. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 23.
  11. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 279.
  12. ^ Schreier 1990, p. 190.
  13. ^ Prien 1995, p. 2370.
  14. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 304.
  15. ^ a b Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 163.
  16. ^ Mombeek 2011, p. 295.
  17. ^ Weal 2016, p. 31.
  18. ^ Mandell 1987, p. xiii.

Bibliography

Military offices
Preceded by Commander of Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter
24 June 1940 – 21 August 1940
Succeeded by
Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland
Preceded by Commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 Herz As
23 June 1941 – May 1942
Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
Commander of Jagdgeschwader 5 Eismeer
March 1942 – 31 August 1943
Succeeded by
Oberstleutnant Günther Scholz
Preceded by
none
Commander of Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark
15 June 1943 – 15 June 1944
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of 8. Jagd-Division
15 June 1944 – 8 May 1945
Succeeded by
none