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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures Germany H to K  Krohn, Hans |
Hans Krohn
Krohn was born in Hamburg in 1919. He served as a Stuka radio operator with Schlachtgeschwader 2 'Immelmann' throughout the war, flying 965 combat missions mostly with Heinz Jungclaussen (K.C.-winner). Krohn was awarded the Knights cross and ended the war with the rank of Oberfeldwebel. Krohn and Jungclaussen were considered to be one of the top Stuka crews of the war He died on 17th November 2012.
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| Knights Cross |
| Hans Krohn - Signed Aviation Art |
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Stukas of SG77 by Jason Askew. (P) Stukas from StG77 attack soviet T-34 tanks , supporting the German forces in their drive towards Moscow. From 13-22 December 1941, 420 vehicles and 23 tanks were destroyed by StG 77, greatly improving the morale of the German infantry, who were by now on the defensive. StG 77 finished the campaign as the most effective Sturzkampfgeschwader. It had destroyed 2,401 vehicles, 234 tanks, 92 artillery batteries and 21 trains for the loss of 25 Ju 87s to hostile action. |
Dawn Raiders by Ivan Berryman. Junkers JU87 R-1 Stukas find a gap in the cloudbase en route to their target during the Norwegian Campaign of 1941. |
Ju87 Stuka Dive-Bombing by Jason Askew. (P) A Ju87 is pictured in a bombing dive. The portrait is of Stuka legend Hans-Ulrich Rudel. |
Stuka - Tribute to Hans Rudel by Ivan Berryman. German Ju87 Stuka. |
Stukas of SG2 by Jason Askew. (P) Stukas from StG 2 Immelmann, part of the mixed unit Schlachtgeschwader, attack soviet T-34 tanks in an attempt to blunt the soviet 1943 offensives. Throughout 1943-45, squadrons operating the Ju87G variants equipped with 37mm cannons became effective tank-killers, although in increasingly small numbers. Despite the success of Stuka tank killers, the losses inflicted on soviet armour were unable to prevent the soviet advance. |
Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey by Jason Askew. (P) The unit participated in large battles of summer 1944 during the Finnish-Soviet continuation war. The unit flew some 2,700 missions against the enemy and dropped 770 tonnes of bombs on the enemy. It destroyed over 150 Soviet aircraft, about 200 tanks, dozens of bridges and transport vessels. Twenty-three of the pilots died and 24 were wounded in battle. The unit lost 41 of its aircraft. The detachment consisted of some 70 airworthy aircraft to support the 200 strong Finnish force, but its operational strength varied due to losses, additions and troop movements. |
Stuka Ju87 - Preparing for the Day by Ivan Berryman. Pilots prepare for their bombing missions in their Ju-87 Stukas. |
Stuka Ace by Jason Askew. (P) A portrait of legendary Stuka Ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel, alongside a Ju87 Stuka on a dive-bombing mission. |
Stuka Legend - Hans-Ulrich Rudel by Jason Askew. (P) A portrait of Stuka legend Hans-Ulrich Rudel - the only recipient of the Golden Oakleaves with Sword and Diamonds to the Knights Cross, such was his prowess with this aircraft - alongside a scene of a Stuka attacking Russian T-34 tanks. |
Tank-Busting Stuka by Jason Askew. (P) Portrait of Hans-Ulrich Rudel inset against a scene of a Ju87 Tankbusting Russian T-34s. |
The Stuka Myth by Jason Askew. (P) The Battle of Britain destroyed the myth of the Stuka, proving for the first time that the Junkers Ju87 was slow, lumpish and vulnerable in air battles against well-organised and determined fighter opposition, such as the more manoeuverable and faster Spitfires and Hurricanes. The Ju87, like other dive bombers, was slow, cumbersome, and possessed inadequate defences. Furthermore, it could not be effectively protected by fighters because of its low speed, and the very low altitudes at which it ended its dive bomb attacks. The Stuka depended on air superiority, which was a situation that did not quite occur for the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. The Stuka was withdrawn from attacks on Britain in August 1940 after prohibitive losses, leaving the Luftwaffe without precision ground-attack aircraft. On 18th August, a day known as the hardest day the Stuka was withdrawn after 16 were destroyed and many others damaged. According to the Generalquartiermeister der Luftwaffe, 59 Stukas were destroyed and 33 damaged, being shot full of holes to varying degrees, in six weeks of operations. Over 20% of the total Stuka strength had been lost between 8th August and 18th August and the myth of the Stuka was over. |
SG77 Stuka Attack by Jason Askew. (P) Cannon equipped Ju87 Stukas from Hauptmann Rudel's squadrons had a devastating effect on Soviet armour at Orel and Bolgorod during the Kursk offensive of1943. The Ju87s participated in a huge aerial counter-offensive lasting from 16th July to 31st July against a Soviet offensive at Khotynets and saved two German armies from encirclement, reducing the attacking Soviet 11th Guard Army to just 33 tanks by 20th July. The Soviet offensive had been completely halted from the air. |
Tribute to Hans-Ulrich Rudel by Jason Askew. (P) Hans Rudel, born in July 1916, was the most decorated Nazi pilot. In 2,530 combat missions flying dive-bombers, mainly on the Russian front, Rudel was credited with destroying 519 tanks, 150 gun emplacements and 800 combat vehicles of various types. According to Luftwaffe records, he also sunk a Russian battleship, a cruiser, a destroyer, 70 smaller craft and numerous trains. For this he was awarded the Golden Oakleaves with Sword and Diamonds to the Knights Cross - the sole recipient of this award. |
| Hans Krohn Aircraft details |
 Ju87 Manufacturer : Junkers Built : 6500 | Ju87 By 1935 the German Luftwaffe was developing its first monoplane divebomber which entered production in 1936 as the Ju87 Stuka. The Stuka was to evolve into arguably the most successful single engine Axis divebomber of WW II. Utilizing a nearly vertical dive position the Stuka was stunningly accurate in the days when horizontal bombing was a relatively inaccurate science. The Ju87 was built for functionality and ruggedness. A fixed landing gear and exceptionally strong wing design were incorporated and no attempt was made to minimize protrusions. The Stuka was not designed for speed; it was an aerodynamic nightmare. The Stuka also incorporated a siren which when activated during a dive was designed to inflict psychological damage on the enemy below. The Ju87 was used with tremendous success in the Blitzkrieg attacks on Norway, Poland, Belgium, France, Holland, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Virtually unchallenged in the air during these Blitzkriegs the Stukas took a devastating toll on Allied ground and mechanized forces. Shipping was also vulnerable to the pinpoint attacks of the Stuka, and the Ju87 destroyed more Allied shipping than all other German aircraft put together during WW II. During Hitlers air attacks on Britain the Stukas reputation for invulnerability was shattered. Facing British Hurricanes and Spitfires the slower and less maneuverable Ju87s were destroyed in large numbers, eventually forcing their withdrawal from that conflict. Germanys attempt to develop an improved twin engine divebomber resulted in the introduction of the Messerschmitt 210 which was an unmitigated disaster. As a result, the Stuka remained in production longer than expected and the aircraft played a major role in Germanys surprise attack on Russia. In the first day of combat alone Stukas were credited with the destruction of over 700 Russian aircraft with minimal losses. One of Germanys top aces of WW II was Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Rudel flew over 2,500 combat missions in Ju87s, and was shot down on twelve occasions. Rudel was credited with destroying 519 tanks, 800 vehicles, 150 artillery pieces, one Russian battleship, one cruiser and one destroyer. Rudel was also credited with shooting down nine Russian aircraft in air-to-air combat. |
| Hans Krohn Squadron details |
SG2 Country : Germany | SG2 |
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