Oberleutnant Fritz Dinger (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53) in Sicily, Italy, 1943.
Date of Birth: 20.08.1915 - Ottweiler, Neunkirchen, Rheinprovinz (German Empire)
Date of Death: 27.07.1943 - Scalea, Sicily (Italy)
Buried: Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Cassino (Italy), Plot: 8. Grave: 718.
Promotions:
01.05.1939 Unteroffizier
01.08.1939 Feldwebel
01.11.1940 Leutnant
01.01.1943 Oberleutnant
01.07.1943 Hauptmann
Career:
00.08.1939 Pilot in 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53)
16.08.1940 WIA - Bf 109 E-3 in combat 50 km North of Cherbourg, ditched in the Channel
00.10.1941 Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53)
26.07.1942 Stabsoffizier I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53)
15.10.1942 Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53)
27.07.1943 Killed in action – hit and killed on the ground at Scalea airfield in South Italy by bomb fragments during Allied raid.
Awards and Decorations:
01.08.1939 Flugzeugführerabzeichen
00.00.19__ Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
00.00.19__ Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
16.08.1940 Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz
26.10.1942 Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg
05.11.1942 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
01.12.1942 Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold
23.12.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Leutnant and Staffelführer 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) "Pik-As". Awarded after achieving 49 aerial victories over the course of 500+ sorties.
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Fritz Dinger was born on 20 August 1915 at Ottweiler in Saar. He joined the Luftwaffe pre-war and trained as a fighter pilot. Dinger was posted to JG 53 in August 1939. Unteroffizier Dinger was assigned to 4./JG 53. He participated in the French campaign and the Battle of Britain. On 16 August 1940, Feldwebel Dinger was shot down and wounded. He was forced to come down in the sea 50km north of Cherbourg where he was rescued by the German air-sea rescue service. He was promoted to the rank of Leutnant on 1 November 1940. Operating over the Eastern front, Dinger gained his first victory on 1 July 1941. By the end September he had raised his total to 11. On 5 October, he force-landed Bf 109 F-4 (W.Nr. 7187) near Solugubowka following aerial combat. Dinger escaped injury. In October 1941, II./JG 53 was relocated to the North Sea coast based at Leeuwarden in Holland. Dinger claimed a RAF Blenheim twin-engined bomber shot down on 27 October to record his 12th victory. II./JG 53 were relocated to Sicily in December 1941. He claimed six RAF fighters shot down over and around Malta during spring 1942 (13-18). On 26 July 1942, Dinger was transferred to I./JG 53 based on the Eastern front. Leutnant Dinger was assigned to 1./JG 53. During the summer months of 1942, Leutnant Dinger claimed 30 Russian aircraft shot down, including 29 victories from 1 to 22 September alone. On 15 October 1942, Dinger was appointed Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 53 based on Sicily in the Mediterranean theatre. Leutnant Dinger was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 December for 49 victories. He was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant a short while later. On 4 June 1943, he recorded his 60th victory. Dinger was killed by bomb fragments in an allied bombing raid of Scalea on 27 July 1943. Fritz Dinger was credited with 67 victories in over 600 missions. He recorded 41 victories over the Eastern front.
At a Tunisian airport Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (center), Supreme Commander South in the Mediterranean, presented the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes to Leutnant Fritz Dinger (left, Staffelführer 4.Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As"). To the right is Oberstleutnant Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn (Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik'As"). Dinger formally received the Ritterkreuz dated 23 December 1942. The medal was awarded after achieving 49 aerial victories over the course of 500+ sorties.
At a Tunisian airport Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (right),
Supreme Commander South in the Mediterranean, presented the Ritterkreuz
des Eisernen Kreuzes to Leutnant Fritz Dinger (center, Staffelführer
4.Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As"). To the left is Oberstleutnant
Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn (Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 53
"Pik'As"). Dinger formally received the Ritterkreuz dated 23 December
1942. The medal was awarded after achieving 49 aerial victories over the
course of 500+ sorties.
Fritz Dinger, possibly in the time he received the Ritterkreuz from Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring
Fritz Dinger (left) in Tunisia, North Africa.
Leutnant Fritz Dinger (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As") in Tunisian airfield, North Africa, end of 1942 or early 1943. The picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Marnowitz of KBK Lw 6 (Kriegsberichter-Kompanie Luftwaffe 6).
Leutnant Fritz Dinger (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As") in Tunisian airfield, North Africa, end of 1942 or early 1943. The picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Marnowitz of KBK Lw 6 (Kriegsberichter-Kompanie Luftwaffe 6).
Leutnant Fritz Dinger (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As") in Tunisian airfield, North Africa, end of 1942 or early 1943. The picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Marnowitz of KBK Lw 6 (Kriegsberichter-Kompanie Luftwaffe 6).
Leutnant Fritz Dinger (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As") in Tunisian airfield, North Africa, end of 1942 or early 1943. The picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Marnowitz of KBK Lw 6 (Kriegsberichter-Kompanie Luftwaffe 6).
Leutnant Fritz Dinger (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As") in Tunisian airfield, North Africa, end of 1942 or early 1943. The picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Marnowitz of KBK Lw 6 (Kriegsberichter-Kompanie Luftwaffe 6).
Source :
Bundesarchiv photo collection
ECPAD Archive photo collection
"Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries: Section A-F" by Henry L. deZeng IV and Douglas G. Stankey
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-albert-kesselring-presents-lieutenant-fritz-dinger-the-knights-cross-36996661.html?imageid=6F2950C4-FD2C-45D9-93BD-D3CFC037755A&p=291611&pn=1&searchId=654f2b36d0128b97e79066d9962cbd1d&searchtype=0
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http://www.luftwaffe.cz/dinger.html
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https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/22547/Dinger-Fritz.htm
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