Iro Ilk

Iro Ilk
Born	(1919-10-18)October 18, 1919
Died	25 September 1944 (1944-09-26) (aged 24)
Place of birth	Nassau an der Lahn, Germany
Place of death	near Moers, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1937–1945
Rank	Major
Unit	LG 1, JG 300
Commands held	1./LG 1, III./JG 300
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Britain Siege of Malta Mediterranean Theater Defense of the Reich†
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Iro Ilk (18 October 1919 – 25 September 1944) was a German World War II Luftwaffe bomber pilot, fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Ilk is credited with 10 aerial victories claimed in more than 300 missions as a bomber and fighter pilot.

Ilk was killed in action on 25 September 1944 near Moers in combat with Supermarine Spitfires flying Bf 109 G-14 (Werknummer 782295—factory number).

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (23 August 1943)
• German Cross in Gold on 27 March 1942 as Leutnant in the 1./LG 1
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 October 1942 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the 1.(K)/LG 1

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 (in German). Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Kaiser, Jochen (2010). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger—Band 1 (in German and English). Bad Zwischenahn, Germany: Luftfahrtverlag-Start. ISBN 978-3-941437-07-4.
• Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall (in German). ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Schumann, Ralf (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1 (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-013-9.

External links

"Iro Ilk". Aces of the Luftwaffe. http://www.luftwaffe.cz/ilk.html. Retrieved 29 April 2010.