Reinhold Hoffmann (9 August 1921 â 24 May 1944) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. On 24 May 1944, Hoffmann attempted an emergency landing at Friesack following aerial combat. His Focke-Wulf Fw 190 crashed, killing him instantly. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 28 January 1945. Depending on source, he was credited between 61 and 67 aerial victories, at least 58 of which on the Eastern Front.
Hoffmann was born on 9 August 1921 in Petersdorf, now Piechowice in southwestern Poland, then in Province of Lower Silesia within the Weimar Republic.
On 24 May 1944, Hoffmann was killed in action flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 (Werknummer 680184âÂÂfactory number), crashing west of Friesack. His aircraft somersaulted during the emergency landing. Posthumously, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 28 January 1945.
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Hoffmann was credited with 67 aerial victories. Spick lists him with 66 aerial victories, 60 on the Eastern Front and six heavy bombers on the Western Front, claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces â Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 67 aerial victory claims. This number includes 64 claims on the Eastern Front and three heavy bombers on the Western Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 54431". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.