Nickname: He was widely known by his nickname "Franzl" (or sometimes "Franz") among fellow pilots and in contemporary accounts
Date of Birth: 04.09.1912 - Kiel, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Date of Death: 24.04.1945 - near Donauwörth/Schrobenhausen, Bavaria, Nazi Germany (missing in action)
Battles and Operations: Spanish Civil War, Battle of France, Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, Eastern Front, Italian Front, Defense of the Reich
NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: Father Friedrich Lützow (naval officer), Mother Hildegard née Kinzel
Siblings: Werner (older brother, Korvettenkapitän KIA 24.11.1943), Liselotte (older sister), Hildegard (younger sister), Joachim (younger brother)
Spouse: Gisela von Priesdorff (married 11.03.1939 in Berlin)
Children: Hans-Ulrich (born 29.01.1940), Carola (born 31.08.1942)
Promotions:
01.10.1934 Leutnant
00.00.1937 Oberleutnant
20.11.1937 Hauptmann
30.08.1940 Major
00.00.1942 Oberstleutnant
01.04.1943 Oberst
Career:
00.00.1912-03.03.1931 school education in Kiel, Abitur at Stiftische Landesschule zur Pforta on 03.03.1931
07.04.1931-19.02.1932 pilot training at Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule Schleißheim
1932 secret pilot training in Lipetsk, Soviet Union
15.10.1932-31.03.1933 Offizieranwärter with 5. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Stettin
00.00.1933-00.00.1934 Kriegsschule Dresden
01.10.1934 transferred to emerging Luftwaffe
08.03.1935-31.03.1936 fighter pilot instructor at Schleißheim
01.04.1936-03.11.1936 II. Gruppe Sturzkampfgeschwader 162 and Staffeloffizier 4./Jagdgeschwader 132 Richthofen at Jüterbog-Damm
19.03.1937-15.09.1937 Staffelkapitän 2./Jagdgruppe 88 Condor Legion in Spanish Civil War
16.10.1937 Reichsluftfahrtministerium Sonderstab W
01.11.1938-31.10.1939 head flight instructor and Lehrgangsleiter at Jagdfliegerschule 1 Werneuchen
03.11.1939 Gruppenkommandeur I./Jagdgeschwader 3
25.08.1940 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 3
September-November 1941 acting Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 51
11.08.1942 Inspector of Day Fighters East on staff of General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland
July 1943 Inspector of Day Fighters Italian Front based in Naples
September 1943-March 1944 Kommandeur 1. Jagd-Division at Döberitz
01.11.1944 brief command of 4. Flieger-Schuldivision
April 1945 adjutant to Adolf Galland in Jagdverband 44 equipped with Me 262
Awards and Decorations:
Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern und Brillanten (06.06.1939)
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (26.05.1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (03.06.1940)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (18.09.1940, 120. Verleihung) as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3 for outstanding leadership and 15 aerial victories during the Battle of Britain including multiple RAF fighters downed while protecting bomber formations and conducting fighter sweeps over southern England
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub (20.07.1941, 27. Verleihung) as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3 for exceptional combat success on the Eastern Front reaching his 42nd aerial victory on that day by downing two V-11s during intense air battles supporting Army Group Center advances in the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern (11.10.1941, 4. Verleihung) as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3 for continued brilliance in aerial combat on the Eastern Front accumulating 92 victories since September 1939 including 29 claims in October 1941 alone with five bombers destroyed on a single day 08.10.1941 during heavy fighting around key Soviet positions
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant 300
Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds
Wound Badge in Black
Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht (25.10.1941 for 101st victory)
Spanish Medalla de la Campaña
Spanish Medalla Militar Individual
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Günther Lützow, affectionately called Franzl by his fellow pilots, was a highly skilled and respected Luftwaffe fighter ace and commander who flew more than 300 combat sorties and achieved 110 confirmed aerial victories including five during the Spanish Civil War. Born into a naval family in Kiel he volunteered for the Reichswehr in 1931 and underwent secret pilot training before transferring to the newly revealed Luftwaffe where he quickly became an instructor and then a Condor Legion volunteer scoring the first Bf 109 victory in Spain. In World War II he led I./JG 3 through the French campaign with nine kills then took command of the full Geschwader during the Battle of Britain earning the Ritterkreuz after fifteen victories over the RAF. On the Eastern Front in 1941 his unit achieved spectacular success under his leadership pushing his personal score rapidly to over ninety which brought the Oak Leaves and shortly afterward the Swords. Later staff and divisional roles followed but differences with higher command over operational decisions and his participation in the Fighter Pilots Revolt against Hermann Göring in January 1945 led to his temporary exile to Italy. Undeterred he volunteered for the elite Jagdverband 44 flying the Me 262 jet fighter and on 24 April 1945 he intercepted a formation of USAAF B-26 Marauders near Donauwörth claiming one before disappearing in combat his aircraft believed to have crashed into the Danube River with his body never recovered. Lützow remains one of the most accomplished early aces whose leadership and courage exemplified the Luftwaffe fighter force in the first years of the war.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günther_Lützow
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/1129/L%C3%BCtzow-G%C3%BCnther-Franzl.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://grokipedia.com/page/G%C3%BCnther_L%C3%BCtzow
https://rk.balsi.de/
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_L%C3%BCtzow
Braatz, Kurt. Gott oder ein Flugzeug - Leben und Sterben des Jagdfliegers Günther Lützow. Moosburg: NeunundzwanzigSechs Verlag, 2005.
Obermaier, Ernst. Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939-1945. Mainz: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, 1989.
Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard. Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" in WWII. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2002.
Scherzer, Veit. Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945. Jena: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, 2007.
Additional cross-referenced data from https://forum.axishistory.com/, https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/, https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/, https://www.geni.com/, books.google.com, and aircrewremembered.com Kracker Database.
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