Nickname: Pips
Date of Birth: 27.07.1915 - Ingolstadt, Bayern (German Empire)
Date of Death: 20.05.1961 - Böbing, Bayern (West Germany)
Battles and Operations: Battle of France, Battle of Britain, Channel Battle, Circus offensives, Normandy Invasion, Operation Bodenplatte
NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: No information
Siblings: No information
Spouse: Johanna Riegele (married after 1945)
Children: One son (Sebastian Priller)
Promotions:
1 April 1937 Leutnant
1 September 1939 Oberleutnant
July 1941 Hauptmann
1 January 1943 Major
1 January 1944 Oberstleutnant
1 January 1945 Oberst
Career:
1935-1936 Fahnenjunker in Infanterie-Regiment 19
October 1936-April 1937 Flight training at Salzwedel
1937-1939 I./Jagdgeschwader 135 (later JG 51 and JG 71)
1 October 1939-November 1940 Staffelkapitän 6./Jagdgeschwader 51
20 November 1940-December 1941 Staffelkapitän 1./Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter
6 December 1941-10 January 1943 Kommandeur III./Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter
11 January 1943-27 January 1945 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter
28 January 1945-May 1945 Inspekteur der Jagdflieger Ost
Awards and Decorations:
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz
Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger und Einsatzzahl 300
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (30.05.1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (10.07.1940)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (19.10.1940) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 6.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51). Awarded for his 20th confirmed aerial victory during the Battle of Britain. Priller was the fourth pilot in his Geschwader to receive it. Priller’s tally reached exactly 20 on 17 October 1940 when he downed a Hurricane over Kent (near Tunbridge Wells) in the late afternoon. His victim was Pilot Officer H. W. Reilly of No. 66 Squadron RAF, who was killed. Earlier that month he had claimed two Spitfires on 15 October (one against No. 92 Squadron elements) and built his score steadily through dogfights over the Thames Estuary, Dover, Margate, Clacton, and Canterbury—mostly against Spitfires and Hurricanes of Fighter Command. Vivid battle description: The skies above southern England on 17 October were a cauldron of twisting contrails and roaring Merlin engines as JG 51’s Bf 109s tore into RAF formations escorting bombers. Priller, in his yellow-nosed Bf 109E, spotted the Hurricane lagging slightly during a high-speed merge over Kent. He rolled inverted, dove sharply from above and behind in a classic “boom-and-zoom” attack, and closed to point-blank range. His 20 mm cannon and twin 7.92 mm machine guns hammered the British fighter’s fuselage and cockpit in a staccato burst. Smoke and flames erupted; the Hurricane rolled onto its back and plunged earthward in a flat spin, trailing black oil. Reilly never escaped. Priller pulled up hard, evading pursuing Spitfires, and radioed a laconic victory claim while his Staffel reformed. This 20th kill—following six in the Battle of France (including a Spitfire and Hurricane northwest of Dunkirk on 28 May 1940)—marked him as an elite pilot in the desperate air war over Britain.
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (09.12.1941)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #28 (20.07.1941) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 1.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) "Schlageter". Awarded for reaching 40 (then 41) aerial victories, primarily in an explosive June–July 1941 scoring run with 1./JG 26 after transferring from JG 51. He had accumulated 20 more victories in just weeks on the Channel front. The decisive 40th victory came on 14 July 1941 during RAF Circus No. 48—a daylight raid by Blenheim bombers on Hazebrouck motor yards, heavily escorted by Spitfires. Priller, now Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 26 and flying a Bf 109F, attacked No. 72 Squadron Spitfires south of Dunkirk. He shot down a Spitfire V from dead ahead; the pilot, Sergeant W. M. Lamberton (R7219), bailed out wounded and was captured. His 41st followed five days later on 19 July—a second No. 72 Squadron Spitfire 5 km off Dover.
Vivid battle description: On the morning of 14 July, the Channel coast hummed with the growl of approaching Blenheims and their Spitfire umbrella. Priller led his Schwarm in a head-on intercept, climbing to meet the escorts head-to-head south of Dunkirk. Spotting the No. 72 Squadron formation, he pushed his throttle wide open and bored straight in from the front at closing speeds exceeding 600 km/h. Tracer from his cannon stitched the lead Spitfire V’s nose and cockpit; the British pilot jinked wildly but couldn’t escape the stream of fire. Smoke poured from the Merlin engine, the fighter shuddered, rolled over, and dived away trailing glycol. Lamberton parachuted into captivity moments later. Priller snap-rolled away from retaliatory fire, reformed with his wingman, and claimed the kill as the Circus scattered. By 19 July he repeated the feat off Dover against another Spitfire of the same squadron. These Channel battles—fast, low-altitude merges against elite RAF wings—catapulted his score past 40 in weeks and earned him the Oak Leaves, presented personally by Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair alongside other aces.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #73 (02.07.1944) as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) "Schlageter". Awarded for his 100th aerial victory (he finished with 101), claimed as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26. He became the 77th Luftwaffe pilot to reach the century mark. The milestone kill occurred on 15 June 1944 at 07:10 near L’Aigle (west of Dreux, southwest of Chartres) during an Eighth Air Force raid on tactical targets in France. Priller and his wingman Unteroffizier Heinz Wodarczyk (in Fw 190A-8s) attacked a combat box of about 20 B-24 Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group from the front, deliberately avoiding the escort fighters.
Vivid battle description: Dawn light glinted off the silver Liberators as the massive US formation droned eastward. Priller, leading from the left vic of the lead box, spotted the vulnerability and ordered a daring head-on charge with Wodarczyk tight on his wing. Ignoring the P-51 escorts above, the two Fw 190s screamed in at high speed from slightly below and ahead. Priller lined up the lead B-24’s cockpit and left engines, squeezed off long bursts from his 20 mm cannons and 13 mm machine guns. Shells slammed into the nose, shattering glass and instruments; strikes walked along the port wing, igniting both engines in bright orange fireballs. The huge bomber lurched, flames spreading to a third engine as it rolled and plunged earthward in a fiery spiral, trailing smoke across the French countryside. Priller and Wodarczyk broke hard right and dove away through flak and pursuing fighters, the 100th victory confirmed. This bold frontal assault on heavy bombers—rare for a fighter pilot who specialized in single-engine kills—secured the Swords just weeks after the Normandy invasion.
Wehrmachtbericht (02.05.1942 and 08.10.1944)
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Josef "Pips" Priller was a German military aviator and wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 101 enemy aircraft shot down in 307 combat missions, all of them claimed over the Western Front against British and American forces, including at least 68 Supermarine Spitfires and 11 four-engine bombers such as B-17s and B-24s. Born on 27 July 1915 in Ingolstadt in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Priller earned the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for his exceptional leadership and aerial successes, rising to command Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" and becoming one of the most recognizable Luftwaffe pilots of the conflict. His career spanned the invasions of France and the Low Countries, the intense air battles over Britain and the English Channel, the defense of occupied France against American daylight raids, and the chaotic final months of the war, all while flying Messerschmitt Bf 109s early on and transitioning to the more rugged Focke-Wulf Fw 190. After the war he returned to civilian life managing a family brewery, but his exploits, particularly a lone low-level attack on the Normandy beaches on D-Day, cemented his place in aviation history until his death in 1961.
Priller, nicknamed "Pips" from his early youth, graduated with his Abitur before entering military service in the Wehrmacht as a Fahnenjunker with Infantry Regiment 20 in Amberg on 1 April 1935. Defying his battalion commander's wishes, he transferred to the Luftwaffe as an Oberfähnrich on 1 October 1936 and underwent pilot training at the flight school in Salzwedel, where he proved a natural in the cockpit. Promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1937, he served initially with Jagdgruppe Wiesbaden, which evolved into elements of Jagdgeschwader 334 and later Jagdgeschwader 51, acting as communications officer for I. Gruppe under Major Max Ibel. By July 1939 he had moved through several fighter groups, including a stint with Jagdgeschwader 71 that became II./JG 51, and was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 September 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland. These formative years honed his skills in formation flying and tactical intercepts, preparing him for the rapid expansion of the Luftwaffe as Europe edged toward total war.
World War II thrust Priller into combat almost immediately upon his appointment as Staffelkapitän of 6. Staffel in II./JG 51 on 20 October 1939. During the Battle of France in May and June 1940, his squadron operated from bases supporting the German advance, moving to Dinant on 26 May amid the evacuation at Dunkirk. On 28 May 1940, Priller achieved his first two confirmed victories by downing two RAF fighters over the Dunkirk perimeter in swirling dogfights against Hurricanes and Spitfires protecting the retreating British Expeditionary Force; German pilots claimed 26 British aircraft that day amid heavy losses on both sides. He followed with additional kills, including a Curtiss P-36 Hawk on 2 June, two Bristol Blenheims on 8 June near Abbeville, and another Spitfire on 25 June, bringing his French campaign total to six. These successes earned him the Iron Cross Second Class on 30 May 1940 and the First Class on 10 July 1940, marking him as one of JG 51's rising stars in the campaign that shattered French and British air defenses.
The Battle of Britain in the summer and autumn of 1940 tested Priller's endurance as JG 51 engaged in the Kanalkampf and Adlertag operations over southern England. Flying Bf 109E fighters from bases in northern France, he claimed a Hurricane southeast of Dover on 14 July, another off the English coast on 20 July that contributed to No. 32 Squadron's losses, and a Spitfire on 29 July near Dover where British pilots force-landed or were killed. His scoring accelerated through August and October amid massive RAF intercepts, including two fighters on 24 August west of Boulogne and further Hurricanes over Canterbury and during large-scale raids on 15 August, known to the Germans as "Black Thursday." Priller's 20th victory came on 17 October 1940 when he shot down a Hurricane of No. 66 Squadron over Kent, sending Pilot Officer H. W. Reilly to his death in a smoking spiral; this milestone, achieved in just months of intense combat against superior numbers of Spitfires and Hurricanes, resulted in the award of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 October 1940, making him the fourth pilot in JG 51 to receive the honor and solidifying his reputation for precise, aggressive attacks in high-speed merges.
Transferred to Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" in November 1940 at the request of Geschwaderkommodore Adolf Galland, Priller took command of 1. Staffel and quickly adapted to the Channel front's grueling routine of RAF Circus raids. In June and July 1941 he exploded in a scoring spree, claiming 20 more victories including a Spitfire and Blenheim on 16 June during Circus No. 13, two Spitfires on 7 July, and his 40th—a Spitfire of No. 72 Squadron shot down head-on south of Dunkirk on 14 July during Circus No. 48, where he bored straight into the escort formation at over 600 km/h and stitched the British fighter's nose with cannon fire until it rolled inverted and plunged trailing glycol. This run brought his total to 41 by 19 July, earning the Oak Leaves on 19 October 1941 as the 28th recipient overall. Promoted to Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26 on 6 December 1941 and later Geschwaderkommodore on 11 January 1943, Priller reached his 70th victory on 5 May 1942 and led the wing through escalating American bomber streams, always emphasizing head-on attacks and tight formations in his yellow-nosed Fw 190s.
Priller's most legendary exploit occurred on 6 June 1944 during the Allied invasion of Normandy, when he and his wingman Unteroffizier Heinz Wodarczyk became two of the only Luftwaffe fighters to attack the beaches in daylight. Despite orders grounding most aircraft and overwhelming Allied air superiority, the pair in their Fw 190A-8s roared at treetop level across Sword Beach, machine guns and cannons blazing at landing craft, troops, and vehicles amid a storm of anti-aircraft fire from ships and shore batteries; they completed the daring strafing run unscathed before racing back to base, an act of defiance that symbolized the Luftwaffe's desperate last stands and later featured prominently in accounts of the Longest Day. Just nine days later, on 15 June 1944 near L'Aigle west of Dreux, Priller claimed his 100th victory by leading a head-on charge with Wodarczyk against a box of B-24 Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group, hammering the lead bomber's cockpit and engines with 20 mm cannon shells until flames engulfed three powerplants and the massive aircraft spiraled down in a fiery trail across the French countryside; this feat, achieved while deliberately bypassing P-51 escorts, brought him the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 2 July 1944 as the 77th recipient. He participated in Operation Bodenplatte on 1 January 1945, personally leading JG 26's strike on Brussels-Evere and Grimbergen airfields, and on 31 January 1945 was appointed Inspekteur der Jagdflieger West, ending his operational flying after 307 missions.
Following Germany's surrender in May 1945, Priller avoided prosecution and returned to Bavaria, where he took over management of the family brewery and farming interests near Augsburg, living quietly with his wife Johanna. He remained a respected figure among former comrades for his charismatic leadership and survival against overwhelming odds on the Western Front. Priller suffered a fatal heart attack on 20 May 1961 in Böbing, Upper Bavaria, at the age of 45, and was buried in Augsburg's Westfriedhof cemetery alongside his wife. His legacy endures through detailed postwar analyses of his 101 victories, his bold D-Day sortie, and his unwavering commitment to aggressive fighter tactics in the face of ever-increasing Allied numerical and technological superiority.
Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Priller
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/25685/Priller-Josef-Pips.htm
https://grokipedia.com/page/Josef_Priller
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
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https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
Donald Caldwell, JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe
Mike Spick, Luftwaffe Fighter Aces
Johannes Steinhoff et al., The Luftwaffe Fighter Force in World War II
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