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On this day, the II Gruppe of JG 52 engaged Soviet bombers and ground attack aircraft, and during the day they manage to file claims for a total of 21 abschuss. One of the pilots scoring this day was Oblt. George Hackbarth who by downing a SB-2 bomber at 17:52 filed his first confirmed victory. George Hackbarth started his military career in the Heer, the German Army in 1934. However two years later he joined the Luftwaffe and was on February 1938 promoted to the rank of Leutnant. He initially went to Lechfeld for observer training but was later transferred to pilot trains flying Ju 87 Stukas. After being promoted to Oberleutnant he was in May 1941 transferred to a fighter unit, Erg.Gr./JG 51. And when the invasion of the USSR commenced he had taken up a post in Stab of II./JG 51. While in the Stab, he would fly as the wingman of four Gruppenkommandeurs during 1941, Josef Fözö, Hubertus von Bonin, Erich Hohagen and finally Hermann Grasser. And while protecting his boss back Oblt. Hackbarth manage to increase his score to eight VVS machines. The last one, a Pe-2 was filed on 5 November 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann he would later be posted to heavy fighter training units. Later he was posted to I./JG 108 as their commander and finally, on 28 December 1944 he ended up as the Kommandeur of I./JG 1. He would fly his last combat mission during the New Year Eve, Bodenplatte attack, shot down and killed when his Gruppe attacked the Allied Maldegem and Ursel airfields. Credit with downing him was Fig.Sgt. Josef Stanowski of RAF 308 Sqn. Hptm. George Hackbarths Fw 190 A-9 was seen crashing into the back of the "Toebaert" flower shop and smashed through the front window, with the crumpled body of him being thrown into the street of St. Pieters RR Station in Gent. At the time of his death
Hackbarth was accredited with a total of 30 confirmed victories. |
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