Matthäus Hetzenauer was an Austrian sniper in the 3rd Mountain Division on the Eastern Front of the World War II, who was credited with 345 kills. His longest confirmed kill was reported at 1,100 meters (3,600 ft). Hetzenauer was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
He utilised both a Karabiner 98k sniper variant with 6x telescopic sight and a Gewehr 43 with ZF4 4x telescopic sight. He saw action against Soviet forces in the Carpathians, Hungary and Slovakia. On 6 November 1944 he suffered head trauma from artillery fire, and was awarded the Verwundeten-Abzeichen three days later. Gefreiter Hetzenauer received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 April 1945. Generalleutnant and Divisions commander Paul Klatt had recommended Hetzenauer because of his numerous sniper kills, which totalled two enemy companies, without fear for his own safety under artillery fire and enemy attacks.
Hetzenauer was captured by Soviet troops the following month, and served 5 years in routinely appalling conditions in a Soviet prison camp. He died on 3 October 2004 after several years of deteriorating health.
View in the forward torpedo room, showing 21-inch torpedo tubes and three crew members. Taken at Sasebo, Japan, 28 January 1946. This submarine torpedoed and sank USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on 30 July 1945. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph.
Japanese aircraft carrier, 1942) At Sasebo, Japan, 26 September 1945. Two HA-201 class small submarines are alongside. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. View of the ship's island, taken at Sasebo, Japan, circa Fall 1945, following the end of World War II. Note her radar antennas and outward-raked smokestack. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. View looking aft from her island, showing the flight deck and after aircraft elevator. Photographed at Sasebo, Japan, 26 September 1945. Two HA-201 class submarines are beached in the right background. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. View looking forward from her island, showing the flight deck and forward aircraft elevator. Photographed at Sasebo, Japan, 26 September 1945. Note that flight deck planking is laid fore-and-aft. Several U.S. Navy LSTs are in the distance.
YAMASHIO MARU (Japanese Aircraft Carrier, 1944) scuttled in Tokyo Bay in September 1945
Caption: YAMASHIO MARU (Japanese Aircraft Carrier, 1944) scuttled in Tokyo Bay in September 1945. Note boats from USS SKAGIT (AKA-105) in foreground.
Battle off Cape Engano, 25 October 1944
Description: Crewmembers salute as the Japanese Naval Ensign is lowered on the sinking carrier Zuikaku, during the afternoon of 25 October. View looks aft from the rear of the carrier's island, with radio antenna masts folded horizontal on her starboard side. Note her sharp list to port. A 25mm single anti-aircraft machine gun is mounted on the flight deck, at the lower right. Courtesy of Mr. Kazutoshi Hando, 1970. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
Catalog #: NH 73069
Interior of the ship's hangar, 13 October 1945, showing temporary deck built to provide extra berthing space. Hosho was then at Kure, Japan, undergoing conversion to a repatriation transport. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. View on the ship's forecastle, 13 October 1945. Hosho was then at Kure, Japan, undergoing conversion to a repatriation transport. Note her overhanging flight deck and anchor handling machinery.
View on the flight deck, looking forward at the island. Taken at Sasebo, Japan, 19 October 1945. Note the Type 3 radar antenna on the ship's mainmast. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps