(1913-1941) Heinrich Hoffmann was a German fighter ace in the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hoffmann was credited with 63 aerial victories in 261 combat missions and was the first non-commissioned officer and first posthumous Wehrmacht recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was "ace-in-a-day" twice, shooting down five aircraft on a single day.
He achieved his 33rd aerial victory on 2 August 1941, shooting down three Polikarpov R-5s, one Polikarpov I-15 and two Neman R-10 bombers, making him an "ace-in-a-day". Hoffmann received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) after 40 aerial victories on 12 August 1941. He also destroyed three locomotives and 10 trucks in numerous ground support missions. He claimed his 50th aerial victory on 2 September 1941 by destroying four R-3s, which may have been R-5s or Polikarpov R-Zs. Two days later he claimed two Ilyushin DB-3s and one Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3. On 8 September, Hoffmann claimed two more Tupolev SBs, bringing his total to 55 aerial victories. These were his last successes on the Leningrad front. His unit, IV./JG 51, was relocated further south.
On 3 October 1941, the Luftwaffe officially listed Oberfeldwebel (Staff Sergeant) Hoffmann as missing in action after a low altitude engagement with several Il-2s near Shatalovo in the early evening hours. He was flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2 Werknummer (factory number) 12876 and may have been shot down by the Soviet 233 IAP's (233rd Fighter Aviation Regiment) Starshiy Leytenant Sergeyev, who claimed his first aerial victory in the vicinity where Hoffmann disappeared.