Gotthard Handrick


Gotthard Handrick was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

Career

Handrick won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. As a fighter pilot, he fought in the Spanish Civil War and claimed 5 aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor.
In July 1937 Handrick was appointed to command Jagdgruppe 88 and assumed command of I./JG 26 after his return from Spain in 1938. On 24 June 1940 command of Jagdgeschwader 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Hpt. Kurt Fischer. In June 1941 Handrick was posted to command JG 77. While serving on the Eastern Front he claimed a MiG-3 on 29 September and a Pe-2 on 22 October 1941.
During World War II he was a recipient of the German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943. In May 1942 Oberstlt. Handrick transferred to command JG 5 in Norway and Northern Russia. From June 1943 to June 1944 he was Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark, then as an Oberst. become commanding officer of 8. Jagddivision in Austria until the end of the war. After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.

Awards