Bio of Oberleutnant Max-Hellmuth Ostermann (1917-1942)

Full name: Max-Hellmuth Ostermann. This is the consistently used form across all reliable historical sources. It appears as his official given name (Vorname) with the hyphenated compound first name "Max-Hellmuth" (sometimes written without the hyphen as Max Hellmuth in informal or older English texts, but the hyphenated version is standard in German records and most modern references). A few sources occasionally spell it as Max-Helmuth Ostermann (with "Helmuth" instead of "Hellmuth"), but this appears to be a minor orthographic variation or anglicized/transliterated difference—the predominant and accepted spelling is Max-Hellmuth Ostermann. No evidence exists of additional middle names or alternate full names beyond this. 
Nickname: No information  

Date of Birth: 11.12.1917 - Hamburg, German Empire  
Date of Death: 09.08.1942 - near Amossowo, Lake Ilmen area, Soviet Union  

Nationality: German  
Religion: No information  
Parents: Father a civil servant  
Siblings: No information  
Spouse: No information  
Children: No information  

Promotions  
00.03.1937 Fahnenjunker  
01.08.1939 Leutnant  
04.09.1941 Oberleutnant  

Career  
00.03.1937 joined the Luftwaffe as Fahnenjunker and trained as a Zerstörer pilot flying the Bf 110 with I./ZG 1  
00.09.1939 Leutnant with 1./ZG 1 participating in the Invasion of Poland  
00.03.1940 transferred to 1./JG 21 due to his small stature requiring wooden blocks on the rudder pedals for tight turns in the Bf 109  
00.05.1940 participated in the Battle of France claiming his first victory on 20 May 1940  
00.08.1940 redesignated 7./JG 54 and participated in the Battle of Britain  
00.04.1941 Balkans Campaign claiming one victory over Belgrade  
22.06.1941 transferred with III./JG 54 to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa  
01.08.1941 temporarily led 7./JG 54  
05.11.1941 temporarily led 3./JG 54  
12.03.1942 appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 54  
01.08.1942 re-appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 54  
09.08.1942 killed in action as Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 54  

Awards and Decorations  
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (31.05.1940)  
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (1940)  
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (04.09.1941) as Leutnant and Flugzeugführer in 7./JG 54 for 29 aerial victories  
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub (12.03.1942) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän in 8./JG 54 for 62 aerial victories  
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern (17.05.1942) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän in 8./JG 54 for 100 aerial victories  
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz (12.05.1942)  
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger und Einsatzzahl 300  
Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen  
Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on several occasions including 24.04.1942 07.05.1942 14.05.1942 and posthumously 14.08.1942

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Max-Hellmuth Ostermann joined the Luftwaffe in March 1937 after completing his Abitur and began training as a Zerstörer pilot but his small physical stature led to a transfer to single-engine fighters with JG 21 where he flew the Bf 109. He opened his victory tally during the Battle of France on 20 May 1940 by downing a Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 west of Péronne and added further claims including Spitfires and Hurricanes over England during the Battle of Britain while serving in what became 7./JG 54. In the Balkans Campaign he claimed one Yugoslav Bf 109 over Belgrade on 6 April 1941. With the launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941 Ostermann rapidly accumulated victories on the Eastern Front claiming multiple Tupolev SB bombers in the first days including three on 5 July and two more on 6 July near Ostrov. On 1 August 1941 he claimed JG 54s 1000th victory of the war. By early September 1941 he had reached 29 confirmed aerial victories which earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September 1941 as the eighth pilot in his Geschwader to receive the award. This recognition came for his consistent success in escort and interception missions during the opening phase of the campaign against the Red Air Force where he demonstrated exceptional skill in dogfights and bomber interceptions despite frequent combat damage including belly landings. Continuing operations through the winter and into 1942 Ostermann maintained a high scoring rate reaching his 50th victory on 9 January his 60th on 28 January and his 62nd by early March. For this sustained performance and leadership he received the Eichenlaub on 12 March 1942 and was promptly appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 54. In the weeks that followed he added pairs of victories on 19 March and 27 April pushing toward the century mark. On 12 May 1942 he claimed his 100th aerial victory becoming only the sixth pilot overall and the second in JG 54 to achieve this milestone but in the same engagement his Bf 109 F-4 was hit by enemy fire or flak wounding him severely in the right arm and upper thigh. Despite the injuries and aircraft damage he managed to nurse the fighter back to his airfield and force-land safely. While still hospitalized five days later on 17 May 1942 he was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz in recognition of reaching 100 victories and his overall combat record of more than 300 sorties with repeated displays of courage under fire. The formal presentation of the Swords took place at the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze on 28 and 29 June 1942. Recovering from his wounds Ostermann returned to duty only to be killed in action on 9 August 1942 near Lake Ilmen. Flying his Bf 109 G-2 at low altitude with his wingman he downed a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk for his 102nd and final victory but was then attacked from behind by Soviet LaGG-3 fighters and shot down in the cockpit by Starshiy Leytenant Arkady Ivanovich Sukov of 41 IAP causing his aircraft to crash into woods southeast of the lake. With 102 confirmed victories including eight in the West one in the Balkans and 93 on the Eastern Front Ostermann ranked among the leading aces of Jagdgeschwader 54 Grünherz at the time of his death.  

Unique and interesting facts include that due to his very small stature wooden blocks had to be fitted to the rudder pedals of his Bf 109 so he could reach them during tight combat turns. His youthful appearance once caused him to be briefly arrested while on leave as authorities mistook the decorated pilot for a child impersonating an officer on his way to his own wedding ceremony. He was shot down or forced to land five times during his career but survived until his fatal mission on 9 August 1942 and was the first recipient of the Oak Leaves and Swords to die in aerial combat during the Second World War.  



Source:  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max-Hellmuth_Ostermann  
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/34530/Ostermann-Max-Helmuth-Jagdgeschwader-54.htm  
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/O/OstermannMH.htm  
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html  
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300  
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units  
https://forum.axishistory.com/  
Obermaier Ernst. Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe. Band 1 Jagdflieger 1939-1945. Mainz Verlag Dieter Hoffmann 1989.  
Weal John. Jagdgeschwader 54 Grünherz. Osprey Publishing 2001.  
Bergström Christer Mikhailov Andrey. Black Cross Red Star. Volume 2. Pacifica Military History 2000.  
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/  
https://www.geni.com/  
https://books.google.com/ (various previews on JG 54 and Luftwaffe aces)  
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/  
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html  
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html