Career
The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Born 3 December 1920 in Neumark, Austria, Axthammer joined the Luftwaffe in November 1938, and during 1941 was posted to the Eastern Front with 7. flying the Henschel Hs 123 ground attack biplane. He then served with 1.52, 5./Schlachtgeschwader 77 and later 8.0 by August 1944.
During his wartime career he flew 530 missions, 300 with the Hs 123 and the remainder with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
He claimed four Soviet aircraft destroyed in aerial combat (plus two unconfirmed victories) and numerous ground targets, including 42 trucks, 27 other vehicles, two tanks, two artillery pieces, two anti-aircraft positions, and two aircraft on the ground. After the war he worked as a miner and in 1958 he joined the German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany.
He served until 1979 retiring as a Stabsfeldwebel. Axthammer died in December 2015 at the age of 95.
Flugzeugführerabzeichen Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 April 1945 as Feldwebel and pilot in the Stab0 Bibliography.
