Seeking info on death of Hans Eck of 6./JG52 sometime around the beginning of the war

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

In developing the EoE color profile packages for 6./JG52 for 1939-40, we've found that three of the seven aircraft we're profiling carried the commemorative names of fallen comrades on the port side of the fuselage below the cockpit. The a/c of the Sta Kap, Oblt Werner Lederer, carried the name "Hans Eck" on all of his a/c from the fall of 1939 until the Battle of Britain, circa Sept., 1940. I can find no record of the death of "Hans Eck" from 6./JG52, which must have happened very early in the war. One source has speculated that he may have been a member of the ground staff. Does anyone have any record of this person, including the circumstances of his death, and the place and date this took place?

The other two instances of these commemorative names are known to us, "Paul Gutbrod" and "Heiner Hoffmann." These three were apparently the only fatalities in 6 Staffel during the first sixteen months of the war.

Your help would be appreciated.

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator