August 25, 1944: Aerial Combat's All-Time "Ace of Aces"

August 25, 1944: Although this was the day that the Allies liberated Paris -- I have a separate entry for that event -- there was one good story for the Nazis: They gave their highest military decoration, the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, to Erich Hartmann.

Erich Hartmann was born in 1922 in Weissach, in Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. A glider pilot before World War II, he joined the Luftwaffe in 1940, and completed his fighter pilot training in 1942. He was posted to the Eastern Front, and placed under the supervision of some of the Luftwaffe's most experienced fighter pilots. Under their guidance, Hartmann steadily developed his tactics.

"The Black Devil" is credited with having shot down 352 Allied planes: 345 Soviet and 7 American. This makes him the most successful fighter pilot who ever lived, and ever fought in any war. He is the all-time "ace of aces" in military history. He was forced to crash-land his fighter 16 times after either mechanical failure or damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he had shot down. He was never shot down by direct enemy action.

He shot down over 4 times as many planes as Manfred von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron, and lived until 1993, at the age of 71. But hardly anybody has ever heard of him. Part of it is because World War I was the last "romantic war," or perhaps it was the war to end all romantic wars. (Even that isn't really true: The Spanish Civil War did that.) Part of it is that Germany still isn't allowed to have heroes from the war that the Nazis started. Marshal Erwin Rommel is sometimes considered an exception.

*

August 25, 1944 was a Friday. This was also the day that the Nazis gave their highest decoration to the war's most successful fighter pilot, Erich Hartmann. I have a separate entry for this event.

Hockey coach Jacques Demers and actor Anthony Heald were born that day. And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 4-2 in 11 innings at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 10-2 at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan.

* A doubleheader was played at Shibe Park (later renamed Connie Mack Stadium) in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Athletics swept the Boston Red Sox, winning the 1st game 6-1, and the 2nd game 9-4.

* A doubleheader was played at Braves Field in Boston. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 1st game, 9-7. The Boston Braves won the 2nd game, 4-3.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 10-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 1-0 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.