After training at various pilot and fighter-pilot schools, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), operating on the Eastern Front, in August 1942.

He then fought in the skies over France after the Western Allied Invasion of Normandy, claiming seven aerial victories, before converting to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in late 1944.

Flying the Me 262, Waldmann shot down two North American P-51 Mustangs on 22 February 1945 before being killed in a mid-air collision with one of his squadron members on 18 March 1945 near Schwarzenbek, Holstein.

[3] After the outbreak of World War II, while still at school, Waldmann and his fellow students were forced into compulsory labour service (Reichsarbeitsdienst).

[Tr 2] Since Waldmann had intended to study aircraft construction after his military service, he was reassigned to the Institute of Aeronautical Metrology and Flight Meteorology at the Braunschweig-Waggum airfield under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Heinrich Koppe.

[6] Upon completion, Waldmann was transferred to the Flugzeugführerschule A/B 72 (flight school for the pilot license) at Markersdorf near Sankt Pölten in early October 1940.

[Note 1] Eight days later his training group returned to Fels am Wagram because Markersdorf was overcrowded with other flight courses.

[10] By August 1941 Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, had been underway for two months, and after completing his A/B flight training at Markersdorf Waldmann was transferred to the Jagdfliegerschule 6 (6th Fighter Pilot School) at Lachen-Speyerdorf near Neustadt an der Weinstraße.

[11] He completed the final phase of his fighter pilot training in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, from 3 June to 17 August 1942, before transferring to the front.

Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) at Tusow, operating in the combat area of Stalingrad.

[13][Note 2] On arrival, Waldmann was approached by Hauptmann (Captain) Johannes Steinhoff and asked whether he would like to fly as his wingman.

Flying a Bf 109 marked with a black "Chevron-2", indicating an aircraft of the Stab, he flew his first combat mission on 31 August 1942 in the vicinity of Stalingrad.

At the time, Waldmann was still officially assigned to a transfer squadron, but Steinhoff decided to keep him in his Stabs-Schwarm, flight of four.

[18] On 25 September, Waldmann's Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13650—factory number) sustained minor damage in combat, resulting in a forced landing at Maikop.

[21] After 84 victories on 1 September 1943, Waldmann was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) and assigned to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group East).

[22] The presentation of the award was announced by the Greater German Radio—the official radio station of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda—on the evening of 20 February 1944.

[24][25] He succeeded Oberleutnant Heinrich Sturm who had been wounded by bomb debris in an attack on the airfield at Chersonesus at Sevastopol on 16 April.

[33] On 1 June, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) Major Gerhard Barkhorn was ordered to transfer one Staffel to the west in Defence of the Reich.

II./JG 3 "Udet" (2nd Group of the 3rd Fighter Wing) was stationed at Nogent-le-Roi, roughly 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Paris.

[40] Waldmann attacked and with his first pass at an altitude of 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) had hit one of the B-24 between the two starboard engines, which immediately set the bomber on fire.

The pilots first learned to fly the Siebel Si 204 and Messerschmitt Bf 110 to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of a twin-engine aircraft.

[45] Together with his wingman‚ Oberfähnrich Günter Schrey, Waldmann took off at 11:39 on 22 February 1945 from Oranienburg on an offensive counter-air mission against inbound Allied heavy bombers.

About 20 minutes into the flight, roughly 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Berlin, they spotted an American P-51 Mustang flying at 7,000 metres (23,000 ft).

The Mustang was observed crashing into a forest 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz mountain range.

The jet was not fully cleared for instrument flight, mandating a lower cloud ceiling of more than 800 metres (2,600 ft).

Major Erich Rudorffer, Gruppenkommandeur of the I./JG 7, was attending a meeting at the Luftgaukommando in Hamburg-Blankenese, when Oberleutnant Hans Grünberg, the most senior officer on duty and Staffelkapitän of the 1st Staffel, received the order from Major Richter, the Ia (operations officer), to engage inbound heavy bombers.

Grünberg initially argued that weather conditions prohibited a safe takeoff but Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring intervened and ordered the jets to engage the enemy.

Four minutes into the flight, having travelled roughly 50 kilometres (31 mi) and flying at less than 800 metres (2,600 ft) above the ground, Weihs' aircraft experienced a heavy blow from below after Waldmann collided with him.

Apparently he had managed to bail out but failed to deploy his parachute in time, although the injuries sustained during the crash with Weihs' aircraft may have already been fatal as the recovery party found Waldmann with his upper forehead smashed.