Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart

Zweigart was born on 3 May 1914 in Saargemünd of Alsace–Lorraine within the German Empire, now Sarreguemines, a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France.^[2] He volunteered for military service in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in October 1935. Initially serving in the Army, he later transferred to the Luftwaffe (air force).^[3] Trained as a fighter pilot,^{[Note 1]} Zweigart was posted to 9. Staffel (9th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing), a squadron of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 54, in October 1940.^[5]

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In October 1940, III. Gruppe was based at an airfield at Guînes where it participated in the Battle of Britain against the Royal Air Force (RAF). At the time, 9. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Richard Hausmann while III. Gruppe was temporarily led by Oberleutnant Hans-Ekkehard Bob who transferred command to Hauptmann Arnold Lignitz on 4 November.^[6] On 21 October, the Gruppe was withdrawn from the English Channel and dispersed to multiple airfields in the Netherlands with 9. Staffel sent to Amsterdam-Schiphol Airfield and then to Haamstede three days later. Here on 10 November, Zweigart claimed his first aerial victory, a Bristol Blenheim bomber shot down northeast of De Kooy. His only claim during the Battle of Britain^[7]

On 29 March 1941, III. Gruppe was ordered to Graz-Thalerhof in preparation for the Balkans campaign.^[8] On 20 April, III. Gruppe was withdrawn from combat operation, relocating to Belgrad-Semlin.^[9] On 4 May, the Gruppe began its transfer to Airfield Stolp-Reitz in Pomerania, present-day Słupsk, by train, arriving at Stolp-Reitz on 10 May.^[10]

At Stolp-Reitz, JG 54 upgraded their aircraft to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2. For the next four weeks, the pilots familiarized themselves with the new aircraft before on 15 June, III. Gruppe was ordered to Blumenfeld in East Prussia, present-day Karczarningken in the Kaliningrad Oblast, in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. During the upcoming invasion, JG 54 would be deployed in the area of Army Group North, was subordinated to I. Fliegerkorps (1st Air Corps) and supported the 16th and 18th Army as well as the Panzer Group 4 in their strategic objective to reach Leningrad.^[10]

On 22 June, the first day of Operation Barbarossa, Zweigart claimed his second aerial victory, a Polikarpov I-153 fighter. On 12 September, the German advance into the Soviet Union, had III. Gruppe relocate to Ziverskaya. Here on 11 November, Zweigart made a forced landing at Sablin, near Lyuban, following combat damage sustained to his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 12943—factory number). By end 1941, Zweigart had claimed seven further aerial victories, taking his total to nine.^[11] For this, he had been awarded both classes of the Iron Cross.(Eisernes Kreuz).^[5]

On 28 September 1942, Zweigart shot down and killed Kapitan Dmitriy Buryak from 3 GvIAP (Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment—Gvardeskiy Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk). Buryak had been credited with eleven aerial victories claimed in 170 combat missions.^[12] On 22 January 1943, Zweigart was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 54 aerial victories claimed.^[13]

In mid-February 1943, III. Gruppe of JG 54 was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and ordered to Vendeville, France where it was subordinated to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing). The Gruppe was equipped with the Bf 109 G-4 armed with 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons installed in conformal gun pods under the wings. The original plan was to exchange JG 26 which had been fighting on the Western Front with JG 54. The plan was cancelled in March. Instead of III. Gruppe of JG 54 returning to the Eastern Front, the Gruppe was ordered to Bad Zwischenahn on 25 March and then to Oldenburg Airfield two days later. Here, the Gruppe was subordinated to the 2. Jagd-Division (2nd Fighter Division) which was fighting in defense of the Reich.^[14]

Late on 22 June, III. Gruppe moved from Oldenburg to Deelen Airfield in the Netherlands. Here, Zweigart claimed his first heavy bomber shot down. That day, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) VIII Bomber Command, later renamed to Eighth Air Force, attacked various targets of opportunity in East Frisia. III. Gruppe intercepted a formation of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers near Dörpen where Zweigart claimed a B-17 bomber shot down.^[15] On 8 July, the Gruppe relocated again, moving from Deelen to Amsterdam-Schiphol Airfield. Here on 18 July, Zweigart claimed a RAF North American P-51 Mustang fighter shot down west of Scheveningen.^[16]

On 25 July during Blitz Week, the USAAF VIII Bomber Command attacked Hamburg and Kiel. In order to fragment German aerial defenses, Allied forces also attacked the Fokker factory in Amsterdam, the airfields at Amsterdam-Schiphol and Woensdrecht, and a coking factory at Ghent. Defending against these attacks, Zweigart claimed a Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down west of Wijk aan Zee.^[17][18] Two days later, Zweigart was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 15678) by Spitfire fighters, bailing out near Noorden.^[19]

On 6 March 1944, the USAAF targeted various industrial centers in and around Berlin. In total, the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Force mustered 730 heavy bombers with an escort of 796 aircraft in the first, full-scale daylight attack on Berlin. Defending against this attack, Zweigart claimed three B-17 bombers shot down in combat during the morning and afternoon.^[20]

When Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-occupied Western Europe on 6 June, III. Gruppe was immediately ordered to relocate to Villacoublay Airfield. That day, the Gruppe reached Nancy, arriving in Villacoublay the following day where it was subordinated to II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps). Its primary objective was to fly fighter-bomber missions in support of the German ground forces. The Gruppe flew its first missions on 7 June to the combat area east of Caen and the Orne estuary.^[21]

A days later on 8 June, Zweigart was shot down flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 (Werknummer 170736) in aerial combat near Les Champeaux, France.^[22][23] He bailed out and was allegedly shot and killed while hanging in his parachute.^[24][25] He was interred at the Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux German war cemetery.^[26]