Karl-Wilhelm Hofmann

A Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter similar to those flown by Hofmann.

Following a lengthy period of convalescence, Hofmann returned to 1. Staffel on 31 March 1943.[8] I. Gruppe of JG 26 had been ordered to the Eastern Front in late January 1943 as part of the plan to exchange JG 26 with Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing).[9] At the time of Hofmann's return to his unit, the Gruppe was based at Dno and fighting in the vicinity of Demyansk in support of the 16th Army and 18th Army.[10] He claimed his only aerial victory on the Eastern Front on 14 May when he shot down a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter in combat east of Bryansk.[11] In late May, Major Seifert was replaced by Major Fritz Losigkeit as commander of I. Gruppe. On 6 June, the Gruppe started relocating back to the Western Front, at first to Warsaw, and then to Brandenburg-Briest and Rheine. Before, the relocation was completed, Losigkeit was replaced by Hauptmann Karl Borris as Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe.[12]

The Gruppe arrived in France on 10 June and was based at an airfield at Poix-de-Picardie.[13] Hofmann was transferred from 1. Staffel to 10. Staffel on 28 September.[14] Commander of 10. Staffel was Hauptmann Rudolf Leuschel, the Staffel was renamed on 1 October and from then on was known as 8. Staffel and a squadron of III. Gruppe commanded by Major Klaus Mietusch.[15] On 18 October, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) targeted Düren, but the attacking bombers were recalled over the North Sea due to bad weather. The attack force was accompanied by numerous Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Spitfire fighters which had the mission to clear the coastal area of Luftwaffe fighters. III. Gruppe encountered the Spitfires from No. 132 Squadron near Béthune. In this encounter, Hofmann claimed a Spitfire shot down near Ardes.[16]

On 4 January 1944, the USAAF Eighth and Ninth Air Force, together with the RAF Second Tactical Air Force, attacked multiple V-1 flying bomb sites as well as Luftwaffe airfields in Germany and German-occupied territory. In support of this mission, two Spitfires from No. 501 Squadron were on a reconnaissance mission, photographing the target at Ligescourt. Hofmann shot down one of the Spitfires which crashed near Rue.[17] Three days later, the USAAF Eighth Air Force bombed the IG Farben chemical plant at Ludwigshafen. In defense of this attack, Hofmann claimed his first heavy bomber destroyed, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress shot down 8 km (5.0 mi) east of La Calique, located east of Boulogne-sur-Mer.[18] On 11 January, Hofmann was credited with a endgültige Vernichtung (final destruction), a coup de grâce inflicted on an already damaged heavy bomber. While, the 2nd Air Division and most of the 3rd Air Division were recalled due to worsening weather conditions, the 1st Air Division successfully bombed the Focke Wulf factory at Oschersleben. The USAAF lost 42 B-17 bombers that day, including the B-17 destroyed by Hofmann 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of Rheine.[19] On 28 January 1944, Hofmann shot down a RAF No. 2 Squadron P-51 tactical reconnaissance aircraft near Abbeville.[20] The next day, he claimed his third heavy bomber destroyed, a B-17 bomber shot down north of Lutrebois. That day, the USAAF had attacked targets in the greater Frankfurt area.[21][22] On 12 April, Hofmann claimed his fifth heavy bomber destroyed when he shot down a B-24.[23]

On 25 February 1944, the Staffelkapitän of 8. Staffel, Hauptmann Rudolf Leuschel, was killed in action.[24] The following day, Hofmann succeeded Leuschel as commander of 8. Staffel.[25] On 8 June, two days after the Normandy landings, he claimed three USAAF fighters shot down in combat in the vicinity of Caen.[26] Hofmann received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 22 July.[Note 1] At the time, he was credited with 26 aerial victories, 13 of which following the Normandy invasion.[28] On 21 September, during the Battle of Arnhem, Hofmann shot down an unarmed Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft on a mission to drop reinforcements for the British 1st Airborne Division.[29]

On 21 October, Hofmann, who was flying a Fw 190 A-9, was slightly wounded in combat with a P-38 from the 474th Fighter Group south of Viersen. The next day, he was again injured in ground accident while examining a removed aerial machine gun. The bolt closed unexpectedly, striking him in the left eye. He retained sight but lost the ability to focus. Refusing hospitalization, he continued flying combat missions wearing an eyepatch. Temporarily, command of his 8. Staffel was passed on to Leutnant Wilhelm Mayer. Hofmann received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) two days later.[30]

Oberleutnant Heinz-Gerhard Vogt, the Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel, was killed in action 14 January 1945. The next day, Hofmann was transferred to the II. Gruppe, at the time under the command of Major Anton Hackl, to take command of 5. Staffel while officially retaining command of his 8. Staffel until 15 February.[31] Hofmann claimed his 44th and last aerial victory on 26 March 1945. His opponent was Warrant Officer C. A. Ligtenstein flying a Hawker Tempest from No. 33 Squadron. Ligtenstein safely bailed out following combat southeast of Münster. Shortly later, Hofmann was also shot down in his Fw 190 D-9, presumably by a Luftwaffe pilot from I. Gruppe. He managed to bail out, the altitude was too low for his parachute to fully deploy and he fell to his death. His body was recovered on 2 April near Haselünne.[32][33] Oberfähnrich Erich Schneider was charged with shooting Hofmann down and tried at the headquarters of the 14th Air Division, but was acquitted.[34]

Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 44 aerial victories claimed 260 combat missions. This figure includes one aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 43 over the Western Allies, including six four-engined bombers.[35]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 35 Ost 44184". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.[36]

• German Cross in Gold on 23 July 1944 as Leutnant in the 8./Jagdgeschwader 26[71]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 October 1944 as Oberleutnant of the Reserves and pilot in the 8./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"[72][Note 6]