Gotthard Handrick
{{short description|German Olympic athlete & Luftwaffe fighter pilot (1908-1978)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gotthard Handrick
| image = Gotthard Handrick 1936 Olympic Games.jpg
| caption = Gotthard Handrick at the 1936 Olympic Games
| birth_place = Zittau, German Empire
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|10|25|df=y}}
| death_place = Ahrensburg, West Germany
| death_date = {{death date and age|1978|5|30|1908|10|25|df=y}}
| module = {{Infobox sportsperson
| embed = yes
| country = {{Flag|Nazi Germany}}
| sport = Modern pentathlon
| olympics = 1936 Berlin
| medaltemplates=
{{MedalSport | Men's Modern pentathlon}}
{{MedalGold|1936 Berlin|Modern pentathlon}}
| show-medals =
}}
| module2 = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| branch = Luftwaffe
| serviceyears = 1929–45
| rank = Oberst (colonel)
| commands = JG 26, JG 77, JG 5
| unit=
| battles = Spanish Civil War
World War II
| awards = Spanish 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
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G00825, Berlin, Olympiade, Siegerehrung Fünfkampf.jpg
Handrick was born on 25 October 1908 in Zittau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony as part of the German Empire.{{sfn|Munzinger}} He won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.{{cite web|url=http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=HANDRGOT01 |title=Olympics Statistics: Gotthard Handrick |access-date=2012-07-01 |work=databaseolympics.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114105243/http://databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=HANDRGOT01 |archive-date=2012-11-14 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/gotthardt-handrick-1.html |title=Gotthard Handrick Olympic Results |access-date=2012-07-01 |work=sports-reference.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113080623/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/gotthardt-handrick-1.html |archive-date=2012-11-13 }}
In July 1937, Handrick was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of Jagdgruppe 88 (18 July 1937 – 10 September 1938). This unit fought in the Spanish Civil War where he claimed five aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor, including a Polikarpov I-15 fighter on 9 September 1937 and an Polikarpov I-16 fighter on 18 May 1938.{{sfn|Forsyth|2011|p=105}} He was later awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords ({{lang|de|Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern}}) on 14 April 1939 for his service in the Spanish Civil War.{{sfn|Mathews|Foreman|2015|p=476}}
Handrick was then given command of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 132 "Schlageter" on 11 September 1938 after his return from Spain.{{sfn|Prien|Stemmer|Rodeike|Bock|2000|p=180}} This unit then became I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" on 1 May 1939 which he led until 23 June 1940.{{sfn|Caldwell|1991|p=4}} 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.{{sfn|Caldwell|1991|p=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.{{sfn|Weal|2004|p=54}}{{sfn|Barbas|2010|p=23}}
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.{{sfn|Barbas|2010|p=279}} Command of the Gruppe was then given to Major Albert Blumensaat.{{sfn|Schreier|1990|p=190}}
=Wing commander=
In June 1941, Handrick was transferred and became the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing).{{sfn|Prien|1995|p=2370}} 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.{{sfn|Prien|Stemmer|Rodeike|Bock|2003|p=304}}
During World War II he was a recipient of the German Cross in Gold ({{Lang|de|Deutsches Kreuz in Gold}}) on 17 October 1943.{{sfn|Patzwall|Scherzer|2001|p=163}} In March 1942, Oberstleutnant Handrick transferred to command Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) in Norway and Northern Russia.{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}} From June 1943 to June 1944 he was Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark. Then as an Oberst, he became the commanding officer of 8. Jagd-Division in Austria, a position he held until the end of the war.{{sfn|Weal|2016|p=31}} After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.{{sfn|Mandell|1987|p=xiii}}
Awards
- Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (14 April 1939){{sfn|Mathews|Foreman|2015|p=476}}
- Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943 as Oberst in Jagdgeschwader 5{{sfn|Patzwall|Scherzer|2001|p=163}}
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist|25em}}
=Bibliography=
{{Refbegin|30em}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Barbas
|first=Bernd
|year=2010
|title=Die Geschichte der III. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 52
|trans-title=The History of 3rd Group of Fighter Wing 52
|language=de
|location=Eutin, Germany
|publisher=Struve-Druck
|isbn=978-3-923457-94-6
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Caldwell
|first=Donald L.
|year=1991
|title=JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe
|location=New York
|publisher=Ivy Books
|isbn=978-0-8041-1050-1
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Forsyth
|first=Robert
|year=2011
|title=Aces of the Legion Condor
|series=Aircraft of the Aces
|volume=99
|location=Oxford, UK
|publisher=Osprey Publishing
|isbn=978-1-84908-347-8
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Mandell
|first=Richard D.
|year=1987
|title=The Nazi Olympics
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CYYYeTT5mEC&q=Gotthardt+Handrick&pg=PR13
|publisher=University of Illinois Press
|isbn=978-0-252-01325-6
}}
- {{Cite book
|last1=Mathews
|first1=Andrew Johannes
|last2=Foreman
|first2=John
|year=2015
|title=Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 2 G–L
|location=Walton on Thames
|publisher=Red Kite
|isbn=978-1-906592-19-6
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Mombeek
|first=Eric
|date=2011
|title=Eismeerjäger—Zur Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 5—Band 4
|trans-title=Fighters in the Arctic Sea—The History of the 5th Fighter Wing—Volume 4
|location=Linkebeek, Belgium
|publisher=ASBL, La Porte d'Hoves
|isbn=978-2-930546-05-6
}}
- {{Cite book
|last1=Patzwall
|first1=Klaus D.
|last2=Scherzer
|first2=Veit
|year=2001
|title=Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II
|trans-title=The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2
|language=de
|location=Norderstedt, Germany
|publisher=Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall
|isbn=978-3-931533-45-8
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Prien
|first=Jochen
|year=1995
|title=Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 77—Teil 4—1944–1945
|trans-title=History of Jagdgeschwader 77—Volume 4—1944–1945
|language=de
|location=Eutin, Germany
|publisher=Struve-Druck
|isbn=978-3-923457-29-8
}}
- {{Cite book
|last1=Prien
|first1=Jochen
|last2=Stemmer
|first2=Gerhard
|last3=Rodeike
|first3=Peter
|last4=Bock
|first4=Winfried
|year=2000
|title=Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 1—Vorkriegszeit und Einsatz über Polen—1934 bis 1939
|trans-title=The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 1—Pre-War Period and Action over Poland—1934 to 1939
|language=de
|location=Eutin, Germany
|publisher=Struve-Druck
|isbn=978-3-923457-54-0
}}
- {{Cite book
|last1=Prien
|first1=Jochen
|last2=Stemmer
|first2=Gerhard
|last3=Rodeike
|first3=Peter
|last4=Bock
|first4=Winfried
|year=2003
|title=Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/II—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941
|trans-title=The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/II—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941
|language=de
|location=Eutin, Germany
|publisher=Struve-Druck
|isbn=978-3-923457-70-0
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Schreier
|first=Hans
|year=1990
|title=JG 52 Das erfolgreichste Jagdgeschwader des 2. Weltkriegs
|trans-title=JG 52 The Most Successful Fighter Wing of World War II
|language=de
|location=Berg am See
|publisher=K. Vowinckel
|isbn=978-3-921655-66-5
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Weal
|first=John
|year=2004
|title=Jagdgeschwader 52: The Experten
|series=Aviation Elite Units
|volume=15
|location=Oxford, UK
|publisher=Osprey Publishing
|isbn=978-1-84176-786-4
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Weal
|first=John
|year=2016
|title=Arctic Bf 109 and Bf 110 Aces
|series=Aircraft of the Aces
|volume=124
|publisher=Osprey Publishing
|location=London, UK
|isbn=978-1-78200-798-2
}}
- {{Cite web
|title=Gotthard Handrick
|url=https://www.munzinger.de/search/go/document.jsp?id=01000051555
|language=de
|publisher=Munzinger-Archiv
|access-date=30 June 2021
|ref={{sfnRef|Munzinger}}
}}
{{Refend}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box
|before=Major Hans Hugo Witt
|after=Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland
|title= Commander of Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter
|years=24 June 1940 – 21 August 1940
}}
{{succession box
|before=Major Bernhard Woldenga
|after=Major Gordon Gollob
|title= Commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 Herz As
|years=23 June 1941 – May 1942
}}
{{succession box
|before=none
|after=Oberstleutnant Günther Scholz
|title=Commander of Jagdgeschwader 5 Eismeer
|years=March 1942 – 31 August 1943
}}
{{succession box
|before=none
|after=8. Jagd-Division
|title=Commander of Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark
|years=15 June 1943 – 15 June 1944
}}
{{succession box
|before=Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark
|after=none
|title=Commander of 8. Jagd-Division
|years=15 June 1944 – 8 May 1945
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Aces of the Condor Legion}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Modern Pentathlon Men}}
{{Subject bar
| portal1=Aviation
| portal2=Biography
| commons=y
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handrick, Gotthard}}
Category:Modern pentathletes at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Category:German male modern pentathletes
Category:Olympic modern pentathletes for Germany
Category:Olympic gold medalists for Germany
Category:Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon
Category:Spanish Civil War flying aces
Category:German World War II flying aces
Category:Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Category:Military personnel from the Province of Saxony
Category:Condor Legion personnel
Category:Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics