Paul-Heinrich Dähne (7 July 1921 – 24 April 1945) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 100 aerial victories—that is, 100 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in about 600 combat missions.
Born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Dähne was trained as a fighter pilot and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in late 1940. Fighting on the English Channel, he claimed his first aerial victory on 26 August 1941 over a Royal Air Force (RAF) Bristol Blenheim bomber. His unit was then posted to the Eastern Front where his number of aerial victories increased to 90. Dähne was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944. He was then transferred to the Western Front where he fought in Defense of the Reich. There he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) and later of II. Gruppe of JG 11. Dähne was killed in a flight accident while training on the Heinkel He 162 jet fighter near Warnemünde, Germany on 24 April 1945.
Career
Dähne was 7 July 1921 in Frankfurt an der Oder, at the time in the Province of Brandenburg in the German Empire. Following flight training as a fighter pilot, he was posted to the 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 52, in late 1940. At the time, 2. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Leesmann and I. Gruppe was led by Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald. Dähne was nicknamed "Sarotti", referring to the German chocolate brand Sarotti, by his comrades for his dark taint and his love of chocolate. He had joined the Gruppe following its withdrawal from the English Channel while it was based at Krefeld Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment. On 26 December, I. Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Katwijk where it was tasked with patrolling the Dutch coast area and German Bight. On 21 February 1941, the three Staffeln were deployed at various airfields on the Dutch, German and Danish North Sea coast.
On 24 May, Ewald was transferred and in consequence Leesmann was given command I. Gruppe while Oberleutnant Robert Göbel then headed 2. Staffel. On 7 July, 2. Staffel moved to Langeoog, staying on the island until 31 August. While based at Langeoog, Dähne claimed his first aerial victory on 26 August when he shot down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Bristol Blenheim bomber north of Juist. On 23 September, I. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Western Front and was sent to the Eastern Front where it would be based at an airfield at Ponyatovka, located approximately southwest of Roslavl.
The war against the Soviet Union
On 22 June, German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Pror to its deployment on the Eastern Front, I. Gruppe was fully equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2. The Gruppe reached Orsha on 27 September before heading to Ponyatovka on 2 October. There, the Gruppe was initially subordinated to the Stab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) and supported German forces fighting in the Battle of Vyazma as part of Operation Typhoon, the code name of the German offensive on Moscow. Here, Dähne claimed his first aerial victory on the Eastern Front on 18 October when he shot down an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. On 20 October, the Gruppe moved to an airfield named Kalinin-Southwest, present-day Tver, and located on the Volga, and to Staritsa on 31 October and then to Ruza located approximately west of Moscow on 3 November. Here, Dähne claimed a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber on 18 November. The failed assault on Moscow forced I. Gruppe to retreat to an airfield at Dugino, present-day Novodugino, on 15 December where they stayed until 31 January 1942. Here on 20 January, he claimed two I-61 fighters, an early German designation for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3.