Heinz Hackler

On 1 July 1944, Hackler was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 8. Staffel (8th squadron) of JG 77. He succeeded Leutnant Wilhelm Mockel who had temporarily replaced Hauptmann Helmut Goedert after he had been wounded in combat on 31 May. As part of the group expansion from three Staffeln per Gruppe to four Staffeln per Gruppe, Hackler's 8. Staffel was re-designated and became the 11. Staffel of JG 77 on 15 August.

On 23 October 1942, the British Eighth Army launched the Second Battle of El Alamein. Preceding this attack, the Luftwaffe had already planned to replace Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing), which had been fighting in North African theater, with JG 77. In preparation for this rotation, III. Gruppe of JG 77 was moved to Munich on 19 October where it was equipped with the Bf 109 G-2/trop. On 23 and 24 October, the Gruppe moved to Bari in southern Italy. The Gruppe then relocated to Tobruk Airfield on 26 October. The following day, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Tanyet-Harun.

On 25 September 1941, Hackler claimed his fifth aerial victory, a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter in the combat area near Perekop. The next day, he became an "ace-in-a-day" claiming his aerial victories six through ten. Hackler was credited with shooting down two Polikarpov I-16 fighters, two Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft and a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber. During the fighting along the Isthmus of Perekop on 29 September, Hackler claimed a MiG-3 fighter shot down. On 15 October, while the 11th Army was preparing for the attack on the Crimea Peninsula in what would become the Crimean campaign, Hackler shot down a Pe-2 bomber on mission to Armiansk and Ishun, located approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) southeast of Krasnoperekopsk. The next day, he claimed two I-16 fighters in the same combat area. By 27 October, the fighting has moved to the combat area south of Perekop. That day, Hackler claimed a Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighter.

Heinrich "Heinz" Hackler (14 December 1918 – 1 January 1945) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Heinz Hackler was listed as missing in action near Antwerp, Belgium after being hit by Allied flak during Operation Bodenplatte. Heinz Hackler was credited with 56 aerial victories.

Hackler was born on 14 December 1918 in Siegen, at the time in the Province of Westphalia of the Weimar Republic. Following flight training, he was posted to the 8. Staffel (8th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) in early 1941. At the time, 8. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Kurt Ubben. The Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 77 which was headed by Major Alexander von Winterfeldt. In preparation for Operation Marita, the German invasion of Greece, III. Gruppe of JG 77 was moved to Deta in western Romania on 4 April 1941 and to Korinos on 19 April. That day, Hackler claimed hsi first aerial victory when he shot down a Hawker Hurricane fighter near Larissa.