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Heinz "Esau" Ewald was one of the renowned
aces of JG 52, a Luftwaffe fighter unit that operated
on the Eastern Front from June 1941 until the end
of the war. Born in Zoppot (Sopot), near present-
day Gdańsk, he joined Fliegerausbildungsregiment
23 in December 1941 and completed pilot and fighter
training. His training continued with JG 106 at
Lachen-Speyersdorf, and later with Ergänzungs-
Jagdgruppe Ost in La Rochelle, France, where he
was prepared for combat.
At 21, Ewald, an NCO, was assigned to II./JG 52 led
by Hptm. Gerhard Barkhorn in autumn 1943 . The unit
had recently withdrawn from Anapa, Kuban, and
operated from various airfields in Ukraine before
moving to Bagerowo in Crimea in November. Ewald
was transferred to II./JG 52’s 6th Staffel, led by
Lt. Helmut Lipfert, who already had over 40 victories.
As a complete novice, Ewald achieved his
first victory during his fourth combat flight. This
milestone occurred during a "free hunt" mission
on November 12, 1943 over the Kerch Strait. Ewald
was flying as a wingman for Fw. Ellendt of the
5th Staffel. After about twenty minutes of flying
beneath a low-lying, continuous cloud layer,
the German duo received a report of Soviet aircraft
operating south of their position. They immediately
headed toward the designated area at maximum
speed, maintaining an altitude of about 100 meters
above sea level.
Suddenly, four Soviet Yaks emerged from the
clouds roughly a thousand meters ahead of them,
and Ellendt quickly pointed them out. What followed
happened in mere seconds. The formations flew
directly at each other, and Ewald instinctively
opened fire on one of the enemy aircraft. Moments
later, Ellendt radioed in, confirming a successful
shootdown. A confused Ewald asked who had
brought down the enemy plane, only to be surprised
when Ellendt informed him that it had been Ewald’s
shot. The Soviet aircraft spiralled down, crashing on
the coast and exploding upon impact.
After landing, Heinz Ewald received numerous
congratulations but also found himself on the
receiving end of warnings. Fellow pilots repeatedly
reminded him that shooting at the enemy head-on
was a dangerous tactic that wouldn’t allow him
to live long. Over the next few weeks, as Ewald
displayed remarkable luck and quickly accumulated
several victories, these comments became more
frequent.
In German, expressions referring to a large dose
of luck often include the words Schwein (pig) or Sau
(swine). It was fitting, then, that Ewald earned the
nickname "Esau," coined by his comrades in the
6th Staffel. Ofw. Kuhn, acting as the spokesman
for the group, formally announced the nickname to
Ewald. Kuhn reminded him of the unit’s superstition:
a rookie who rapidly racks up victories typically
doesn’t live long. Kuhn playfully advised Ewald to
go ahead and write a farewell letter to his parents—
just in case.
As a supposed candidate for an early death,
Ewald received especially generous portions of
food from Obergefreiter Prümmer, the chief cook of
II./JG 52. After a few weeks, "Esau" found himself
often thinking that he would indeed soon fall in
battle. This mindset was a result of his colleagues’
remarks, which were likely well-intentioned and
meant to temper his enthusiasm, encouraging him
to take fewer risks during combat.
The teasing from the pilots of the 6th Staffel
eventually subsided when Ewald was selected
by Hptm. Gerhard Barkhorn, the commander of
II./JG 52, to be his wingman. Ewald went on to fly
over a hundred combat sorties alongside his new
leader.
Between late 1943 and spring 1944, Ewald
achieved 17 aerial victories during the battles
in Crimea. Aviation historian Ivan Lavrinenko’s
suggests in his book about JG 52´s top aces in
Crimean campaign that Ewald likely destroyed
between three and nine enemy aircraft. Multiple
Luftwaffe pilots often claimed responsibility for the
same Soviet aircraft, a common occurrence during
intense air battles.
The box art by Antonis Karydis depicts one of
Ewald's two victories over Hungary on February
4, 1945, against fighters from the 848th IAP. Both
Soviet airmen remain missing. Details of this
engagement, along with other battles involving
Ewald, can be found in Daniel and Gabor Horvath's
book, which provides an in-depth analysis of the
Luftwaffe's ace air victories over Hungary in late
1944 and early 1945.
Lucky Ewald survived a dogfight with American
fighters on June 24, 1944 over Romania, bailing
out after being shot down and sustaining injuries.
In early March 1945, he was accidentally shot
down by an SS anti-aircraft unit, and a month later,
he rejoined his unit after making an emergency
landing in a front-line area. "Esau" Ewald was
indeed “lucky as a pig.” For a detailed description
of these incidents, refer to the article on "Heino"
Sachsenberg in INFO magazine 11/2010 and the
article The end of the war at the Danube.
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Antonis Karydis
Esau
INFO Eduard24
February 2025