Seifert, Johannes “Hannes”, born 06-10-1915 at Pinneberg, Holstein, grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Johannes joined the military service in the Luftwaffe
and was trained as a fighter pilot. Following flight training, he was posted to
(JG 26—26th Fighter Wing). under command of Major Gotthard
Handrick
Handrick was born on 25-10-1908 in Zittau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony as part of the German Empire. He won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Handrik survived the war and died 30-05-1978 (aged 69) in Ahrensburg, The Geschwadery renaming Jagdgeschwader 132 (JG 132—132nd Fighter Wing) and was commanded by Oberst Eduard Ritter von Schleich,
a flying ace of World War I. Sources differ as to hen exactly Seifert joined JG 26. According to Clive Robertson Caldwell
an Australian flying ace, Seifert was among the first pilots assigned to this unit following his training as a fighter pilot. While Mathews and Foreman claim that Seifert first served in another unit flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter during the Invasion of Poland before transferring to JG 26. His brother Gerhard was also a pilot with JG 26, shot down and killed in action on 04-02-1943.
Flying with this wing, Seifert claimed his first aerial victory on 10 May 1940 on the Western Front during the Battle of France fighter aircraft. He was made Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of JG 26 in March 1940 and in July 1941, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of JG 26. Following his 36th aerial victory, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on 07-06-1942. In January 1943, his unit was posted to the Eastern Front. In September 1943, he was given command II. Gruppe of JG 26.
On 05-03-1943, Seifert led his Stabsschwarm on a mission south of Lake Ilmen. On this mission, he wanted to evaluate the performance of a new pilot, Feldwebel Karl Preeg, who was recently transferred to I. Gruppe and was shot down and killed on this mission. Later that day, Seifert claimed a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber and two Il-2 ground-attack aircraft destroyed. On 14 March, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Dno, southwest of Rielbitzi and west of Staraya Russa. That day, Seifert claimed a Pe-2 bomber destroyed, his 50th aerial victory. Two days later, he claimed an Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. On 12 May, I. Gruppe relocated to Shatalovka and then 50 kilometres (31 miles) east to Osinovka. On the transfer flight, Seifert shot down another Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. The next day, he claimed his 53rd and last aerial victory on the Eastern Front when he shot down a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter aircraft.
On 20-05-1943, Hannes Seifert had to leave his command of I. Gruppe when transferred to a staff position with the Luftwaffe detachment of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM—Ministry of Aviation) in Bulgaria. Unknown to Seifert, his mother had invoked the ‘last surviving son’ ruling as his younger brother, Gerhard, had been killed in action, and was thus allowed to be removed from active combat duties. Hauptmann Fritz Losigkeit
temporarily succeeded him as commander of I. Gruppe.
Seifert personally appealed to Adolf “Dolfo” Galland,
the General der Jagdflieger (general of the fighter force) and his former Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 26, to be placed on active duty. In consequence, his tour with the RLM ended and he returned to France in September 1943 and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur II. Gruppe of JG 26, replacing
in this capacity. Naumann had briefly led II. Gruppe following the death of its previous commander Major Wilhelm-Ferdinand “Gutz” Galland,
brother of Adolf Galland, on 17 August. Seifert took command of the Gruppe on 9 September, then based at Beauvais–Tillé Airfield. At the time of his posting to II. Gruppe, the Western Allies were executing Operation Cockade, a series of deception operations alleviate German pressure on operations in Sicily and on the Soviets on the Eastern Front. The idea behind Cockade was to force the Luftwaffe into massive air battles with the RAF and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) VIII Bomber Command that would give the Allies air superiority over Western Europe. As part of this operation, Martin B-26 Marauder bombers attacked Beauvais–Tillé Airfield on 23 September. In defense of this attack, Seifert claimed an escorting Spitfire fighter from the No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron “City of Kraków”
under command of Squadron leader Żulikowski Zbigniew Józe
shot down. Żulikowski Zbigniew Józe survived the war and died age 78 on 21-10-1993, in Swindon.
Death and burial ground of Seifert, Johannes “Hannes”.

On 10 October, VIII Bomber Command targeted Münster with 274 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Leading his II. Gruppe from Rheine Airfield, Seifert claimed a B-17 shot down northeast of Rheine. Four days later, during the second Schweinfurt raid, Seifert shot down a B-17 bomber from the 305th Bombardment Group, which lost 13 of its 16 aircraft, near Maastricht. On 25-11-1943, Hannes Seifert led 6. and 8. Staffel of JG 26 against the USAAF Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters of the 55th Fighter Group under command of Colonel Benjamin “Ben” Rimerman
over Lille.
During combat, Seifert’s Fw 190 A-6 (Werknummer 470006—factory number) collided with a P-38, and crashed near La Couture, 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Estaires, killing both pilots. The American pilot, Lieutenant Manuel Aldecoa bailed out but his parachute had failed to deploy properly and he fell to his death. Seifert however, never attempted to leave his Fw 190, his body was recovered from the wreckage. Posthumously, he was promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). Manuel Aldecoa served in the Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, as a Fighter pilot of the P-38 Lightning #42-67061 during World War II. On 25-11-1943, he took off from airfield station 131 at RAF Nuthampstead, England, on a sweep mission to Lille and Arras in France. At 1:20 PM, his plane was shot down by an Fw190 Fighter plane (possibly collision with his opponent Major Johannes Seifert). The plane was evacuated by parachute, but one German airplane came to strafe it. The parachute tore, resulting in the death of 2Lt Aldecoa.2Lt Aldecoa is now buried in the Morris Hill Cemetery, Boise, Ada County, Idaho, USA.
Seifert, Johannes “Hannes”.thus was killed in action in mid-air collision with a Lockheed P-38 Lightning on 25-11-1943 near Béthune, France. Hannes is buried at Bourdon German war cemetery, France.


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