Nickname: Willi
Date of Birth: 21 May 1916 - Bamberg, Bavaria, German Empire
Date of Death: 11 September 1988 - Mauschendorf, Bavaria, West Germany
Battles and Operations: Eastern Front (Kuban bridgehead, Crimea, Romania, Hungary 1943-1945), limited actions over Western Allies (Ploiești oil fields)
Religion: unknown
Parents: unnamed civil servant (father, Beamter), mother unknown
Siblings: none recorded
Spouse: Aenne Batz (marriage date unknown, died 1999)
Children: Lothar Batz (1950-1971)
Promotions:
1 November 1940 Leutnant
1 April 1943 Oberleutnant
1 April 1944 Hauptmann
1945 Major
1964 Oberstleutnant (Bundeswehr)
Career:
1 November 1935 joined Luftwaffe as volunteer
1936-1942 flight instructor at Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 23 Kaufbeuren, Jüterbog-Damm, Reinsdorf and other schools (over 5,000 flying hours logged)
20 December 1942 2. Staffel Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, Saint-Jean-d'Angély, France
early 1943 transferred to II./JG 52 Eastern Front
26 May 1943 Staffelkapitän 5./JG 52
19 April 1944 Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 52
1 February 1945 Gruppenkommandeur II./JG 52
1956 joined Bundesluftwaffe as Major
1958 training squadron at Flugzeugführerschule S
1959-1961 Ausbildungsgruppe A Diepholz
1 October 1961-31 January 1964 Kommodore Lufttransportgeschwader 63
1972 retired as staff officer Lufttransport-Kommando Köln-Wahn
Awards and Decorations:
Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen
Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse 24 April 1943
Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse 3 July 1943
Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber
Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg 13 December 1943
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold 28 January 1944
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes 26 March 1944 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel, II. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 52. The award recognized his 75th confirmed aerial victory, achieved by 2 March 1944, with his total climbing to 100 victories by 4 March 1944. This milestone came after steady accumulation on the Eastern Front starting with his first claim, a LaGG-3 on 11 March 1943. By November 1943 he had reached 40 victories and by 7 December 1943 exactly 75, including three separate ace-in-a-day tallies on 1 December, 2 December, and 5 December 1943. Combat over the Kuban bridgehead and Crimea was especially fierce; on 7 December 1943 he was forced to land after strafing Soviet vessels off Eltigen and was wounded. In early 1944 he added three victories on 10 February and reached 88 by the end of February. On 22 March 1944, near Sovietskyi, he claimed a Yak-9 and a Bell P-39 Airacobra, pushing his score higher in the days immediately before the award notification arrived.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #526 20 July 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 52. Sources vary slightly between 175 and 188 victories at the time of the award, but all agree it recognized his rapid scoring during the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive and the subsequent defense of Romania and the Crimea. On 8 April 1944 he claimed six victories and on 10 April another five, bringing his total to 120 by 13 April. He was wounded by bomb splinters on 10 April at Cape Chersonesus yet continued flying. On 2 May 1944 he scored another ace-in-a-day with three P-39 Airacobras, one Yak-1, and one Il-2. His most spectacular day came on 31 May 1944 when, in seven missions over Romania, he destroyed 15 Soviet aircraft – six Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmoviks, five P-39s, and four Lavochkin La-5s – raising his personal score to 155. Further claims followed in June, including two P-51 Mustangs on 23 June and a B-24 Liberator on 24 June while defending the Ploiești oil fields. On 17 August 1944 near Sandomierz he achieved yet another ace-in-a-day with six victories, reaching his 200th confirmed kill. The Oak Leaves were personally presented by Adolf Hitler at the Führer Headquarters in Rastenburg on 25 August 1944.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #145 21 April 1945 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 52, making him the 145th recipient of the Swords. By this stage of the collapsing Eastern Front the award was given for cumulative leadership and combat success rather than a single milestone, with Batz close to his final total of 237 victories after 445 combat sorties. He had assumed command of II./JG 52 at Veszprém, Hungary, on 1 February 1945. Between 13 and 19 March 1945 he claimed eight additional victories over Hungary, several of which are corroborated by Soviet loss records. The Swords recommendation was confirmed postwar by the Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger although the original paperwork was lost in the final weeks of the war and is not preserved in the Bundesarchiv.
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger "400"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Batz was born on 21 May 1916 in Bamberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria German Empire as the son of a civil servant Beamter. Details about his mother siblings or early family life are not recorded. He grew up during the interwar period idolizing Manfred von Richthofen the Red Baron as the ideal fighter pilot. After completing his Abitur he volunteered for service in the newly formed Luftwaffe on 1 November 1935. He underwent basic training at Neubiberg followed by flight training at Kaufbeuren Airfield beginning 1 February 1936. He spent much of his early career as a flight instructor with Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 23 at Kaufbeuren later at Jüterbog-Damm and Reinsdorf logging over 5000 flying hours. Despite repeated requests for combat duty he was retained as an instructor. He attended officers' training at Luftkriegsschule 2 in Berlin-Gatow and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 November 1940. He continued instructing until 31 October 1942 then moved to Jagdfliegerschule in Bad Aibling before joining 2. Staffel Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost at Saint-Jean-d'Angély France on 20 December 1942.
His combat career began on 1 February 1943 with transfer to II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on the Eastern Front initially serving briefly as adjutant to Johannes Steinhoff. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 he claimed his first victory a LaGG-3 on 11 March 1943 near Rostov-on-Don followed by a Douglas A-20 Havoc two days later during a relocation to the Kuban bridgehead. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1943 he claimed two LaGG-3s on 15 April and four victories including an Il-2 on 20 April. He received the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 24 April 1943 and the Iron Cross 1st Class on 3 July 1943. On 26 May 1943 he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52. By the end of October 1943 he had 36 victories rising to 50 by November and exactly 75 by 7 December including three ace-in-a-day tallies on 1 2 and 5 December. On 7 December while strafing Soviet vessels near Eltigen his Bf 109 was hit by flak forcing a landing; he was wounded in the shoulder and sent on convalescent leave receiving the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 December 1943 and the German Cross in Gold on 28 January 1944.
Returning in February 1944 he claimed three victories on 10 February reaching 88 by month's end. On 22 March 1944 near Sovietskyi he achieved his 100th victory a Yak-9 and a P-39 Airacobra becoming the 67th Luftwaffe pilot to reach this milestone. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän for his 75th victory with his total at 101 by early March. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1944 he took command of III. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on 19 April succeeding Günther Rall during the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. He claimed six victories on 8 April five on 10 April reaching 120 by 13 April before being lightly wounded by bomb splinters at Cape Chersonesus. On 2 May he scored another ace-in-a-day with three P-39s one Yak-1 and one Il-2. His most notable day was 31 May 1944 over Romania where in seven missions he claimed 15 Soviet aircraft six Il-2s five P-39s and four La-5s raising his score to 155. Relocated to defend Ploiești he claimed two P-51 Mustangs on 23 June a B-24 Liberator on 24 June and reached 170 by early June. On 17 August near Sandomierz during the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive he achieved another ace-in-a-day with six victories to reach his 200th. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 20 July 1944 for approximately 188 victories the 526th such award presented personally by Adolf Hitler at Rastenburg on 25 August after which he attended Erich Hartmann's wedding during leave. By October 1944 his total stood at 226 second in III. Gruppe behind Hartmann.
On 1 February 1945 he transferred to command II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 at Veszprém Hungary. He continued claiming victories including eight between 13 and 19 March 1945 over Hungary some corroborated by Soviet records. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 21 April 1945 the 145th recipient as Major and Gruppenkommandeur though original documentation was lost the award was confirmed postwar by the Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger. In the war's final days he led his Gruppe to Zeltweg Austria by 4 May then to American lines at Unterbiberg on 8 May to surrender and avoid Soviet captivity. He was a prisoner of war briefly released in June 1945.
Batz married Aenne whose maiden name and wedding date are unknown; she died in 1999. They had one son Lothar born 1950 who died in 1971. Batz was wounded three times overall and shot down four times once escaping Soviet captivity after two days in summer 1943.
In 1956 he joined the Bundesluftwaffe as Major. After training he commanded a squadron at Flugzeugführerschule S from 1958 then Ausbildungsgruppe A at Diepholz from 1959 to 1961. Promoted to Oberstleutnant in 1964 he served as Kommodore of Lufttransportgeschwader 63 from 1 October 1961 to 31 January 1964 then as a staff officer in Lufttransport-Kommando Köln-Wahn until retirement on 30 September 1972. He died on 11 September 1988 in Mauschendorf Bavaria aged 72 and is buried in the family grave at Quettingen cemetery Leverkusen-Opladen alongside his wife and son.
Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BatzW-R.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Batz
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/28243/Batz-Wilhelm-Willi.htm
https://ww2gravestone.com/people/batz-wilhelm-willi/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://forum.axishistory.com/
Fellgiebel, W.P. Elite of the Third Reich. Helion & Company, 2003.
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://books.google.com/ (references to Obermaier and Mathews/Foreman victory lists)
No comments:
Post a Comment