Hans Dortenmann

Following World War II, Dortenmann studied civil engineering and worked in construction. He committed suicide on 1 April 1973 in Heidelberg.

Following World War II, Dortenmann studied civil engineering and architecture. In 1956, he purchased the construction company Müller GmbH. Initially the business prospered during the years of the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle). In the early 1970s, business declined and the company was only able to procure contracts for building garages. Unable to cope with the decline, Dortenmann committed suicide on 1 April 1973 in Heidelberg.

On 31 December, Dortenmann led a flight of 20 Fw 190 aircraft from III. Gruppe to Fürstenau in preparation for Operation Bodenplatte. Bodenplatte was an attempt at gaining air superiority during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge. That evening, the pilots were briefed on the mission objectives, which was the Grimbergen Airfield near Brussels. Under the overall command of Priller, 47 aircraft from the Geschwaderstab and I. Gruppe of JG 26, and further 17 aircraft from III. Gruppe of JG 54 took off at 08:14 on 1 January 1945. Flying at an altitude of approximately 50–150 metres (160–490 feet), the attack force sustained losses during the approach to the target area, largely due to anti-artillery fire. The airfield at Gimbergen was almost completely abandoned, the damage inflicted was minimal, and the losses sustained were significant. III. Gruppe of JG 54 alone suffered five pilots killed or missing in action, plus four further taken prisoner of war, making the mission a total failure. Dortenmann just made it to Kirchhellen.

On 29 March 1945, Oberleutnant Alfred Heckmann, commander of 3. Staffel of JG 26 was transferred. In consequence, Dortenmann was given command of 3. Staffel as Staffelkapitän. Command of his former 14. Staffel was handed over to Prager. Dortenmann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 20 April for 35 victories. He was the last member of JG 26 to receive this distinction.

Born in Weingarten, Dortenmann grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He joined the military service of the Wehrmacht, at first in the infantry, before transferring to the Luftwaffe where he was trained as a fighter pilot. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in November 1943. Flying with this wing, Dortenmann claimed his first aerial victory on 6 February 1944 over a Soviet Air Forces fighter aircraft. In mid-1944, elements of JG 54 were moved to the Western Front, fighting in the aerial battles of the Normandy invasion. In June 1944, he was appointed squadron leader of 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of JG 54. This unit was renamed and reorganized a few times and became part of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) In February 1945. Dortenmann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 April 1945, the last member of JG 26 to be so honored. He surrendered to British forces in May 1945.

On 14 January 1944, Soviet forces launched the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive, an attack on the German Army Group North with the objective to lift the Siege of Leningrad. Dortenmann claimed his first aerial victory on 6 February 1944 over a Lavochkin La-5 fighter. In the engagement, Dortemann collided with the La-5, losing approximately 1 meter (3.3 feet) of his left wing. This resulted in a forced landing at the Orsha airfield. According to Mathews and Foreman, Dortenmann was credited with 15 aerial victories on the Eastern Front. The last claim was filed on 8 April over a Yakovlev Yak-9 30 kilometres (19 miles) south-southeast of Ostrov. According to Weal, he was credited with 14 aerial victories on the Eastern Front. Dortenmann was presented with the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) by the Gruppenkommandeur, Hauptmann Horst Ademeit, and was sent on home leave to marry his bride-to-be Ingeborg.

In January 1944, the Luftwaffe had planned to exchange JG 54 with Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) fighting on the Western Front. In order to keep up operations, the exchange was planned by rotating each Gruppe by Gruppe and every Staffel by Staffel. III. Gruppe of JG 54, under the command of Hauptmann Reinhard Seiler, was the first unit to relocate to the Western Front in February 1943. Following the Invasion of Normandy on 6 June, III. Gruppe was augmented by a fourth squadron by moving 2. Staffel of JG 54, under the command of Leutnant Horst Forbig, to France. On 12 June, Forbig was killed in action. On 20 June, Dortenmann succeeded Forbig when he was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel. Dortenmann was shot down by a Supermarine Spitfire near Paris on 26 June but managed to bail out of his Fw 190. On 22 June, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force, Ninth Air Force and Allied Expeditionary Air Force flew numerous missions in support of the Allied ground forces breaking out of the beachhead and the Battle of Cherbourg. Defending against this attack, Dortenmann claimed a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter shot down near Rouen.

In November 1943, Dortenmann was posted to Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) where he was assigned to 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) and shortly after, transferred to 2. Staffel. At the time, 2. Staffel was officially led by Oberleutnant Otto Vinzent who temporarily replaced Hauptmann Walter Nowotny as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe (1st group). While Vinzent replaced Nowotny, 2. Staffel was headed by Oberleutnant Alfred Teumer. The Gruppe was based at Orsha and Vilnius, on the northern sector of the Eastern Front, flying the Fw 190 A-4, A-5 and A-6. Teumer made him the Technischer Offizier (TO—Technical Officer) of the Staffel. As a Technical Officer, Dortenmann was responsible for the supervision of all technical aspects such as routine maintenance, servicing and modifications.

On 1 June 1941, Dortenmann was posted to the Flugzeugführerschule A/B 2 (FFS A/B 2—flight school for the pilot license) in Demblin, present-day Dęblin. The school moved to Luxeuil-les-Bains in France on 25 June. On 9 June 1942, he was transferred to the Flugzeugführerschule A/B 116 (FFS A/B 116—flight school) in Göppingen, completing his Flugzeugführerabzeichen (Pilot's Badge) on 15 January 1943. In January 1943, Dortenmann was selected for fighter pilot training and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 103 (JG 103—103rd Fighter Wing), a Luftwaffe fighter pilot training unit. The unit was initially based at Bad Aibling but then relocated to Chateauroux-Deols Airfield in central France. There, Dortenmann trained on the French Dewoitine D.520 fighter aircraft, making 35 flights on this type. On 21 July, Dortenmann was posted to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a supplementary training unit for fighter pilots destined to serve on the Eastern Front which was then based at Toulouse Airfield. Here, one of his instructors was Fritz Tegtmeier. On 9 August, Dortenmann was instructed to conduct a training flight in a Focke Wulf 190, climbing to an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet). During the decent, the aircraft went into an uncontrollable steep dive from which he was unable to recover. At an altitude of approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet), he bailed out and was injured in the hard landing. He was hospitalized in Toulouse, and following his convalescence, was sent on home leave for four weeks.

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Dortenmann initially served with Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon 390 (390th Infantry Replacement Battalion) based in Heilbronn. There he received his recruit training. On 1 November 1939, the unit was moved to Iglau, present-day Jihlava in the Czech Republic. In late February 1940, Dortenmann was transferred to Infanterie-Regiment 390, a regiment of the 215th Infantry Division. At the time, the Division was stationed between Lauterbourg and Kehl, defending Germany's western border during the "Phoney War" period of World War II. The division fought in the Battle of France and breached the Maginot Line near Wörth am Rhein between 19 and 24 June 1940. Following the Armistice of 22 June 1940, the division remained in France where they were based at Belfort, Besançon and Nevers. During the Battle of France, Dortemann was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) on 2 June. In April 1941, he transferred to the Luftwaffe to undergo pilot training.

Hans Dortenmann (11 December 1921 – 1 April 1973) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 39 aerial victories achieved in 150 combat missions. This figure includes 17 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 22 over the Western Allies.

Dortenmann was born 11 December 1921 at Weingarten in the Free People's State of Württemberg. He was the son of a dentist. Dortenmann attended the National Political Institutes of Education (Nazi Secondary Education School) in Rottweil together with Erich Hartmann. He graduated with his Abitur (diploma) in 1939 and volunteered for military service as an officer candidate of the reserves with the Heer (German Army). Following the German mobilization, he was conscripted into service. His brother, Josef, also served in the infantry.