Ritterkreuzträger of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52)

Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) was the most successful fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II, exclusively equipped with variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 throughout its existence from 1939 to 1945 and credited with more than 10,000 claimed aerial victories, primarily on the Eastern Front. Formed initially as I./JG 433 near Munich in 1938 and redesignated in May 1939 at Boeblingen near Stuttgart under the early command of figures like Major Hubert Merhart von Bernegg, the Geschwader participated in the Phony War, the Battle of France, and limited actions during the Battle of Britain before focusing overwhelmingly on the Soviet Union following Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, where its Gruppen operated across southern and central sectors supporting Army Group South. Operating from makeshift forward airfields amid harsh conditions, JG 52's pilots capitalized on the vast numbers of often inexperienced Soviet aircraft, achieving milestones such as its 2,000th victory in June 1942, 4,000th in December 1942 during the Caucasus and Stalingrad campaigns, 5,000th by Hauptmann Guenther Rall in April 1943, 8,000th by December 1943, and the historic 10,000th by Hauptmann Adolf Borchers on 2 September 1944. The unit produced an extraordinary number of aces, including the top three scorers of all time - Oberst Erich Hartmann with 352 victories, Major Gerhard Barkhorn with 301, and Major Guenther Rall with 275 - along with many other Knight's Cross recipients like Hermann Graf, who earned the Diamonds as the first pilot to reach 200 kills while serving with JG 52. Reorganized with three Gruppen (I., II., and III.) and later expanded Staffeln, JG 52 conducted fighter sweeps, bomber escorts, ground-attack missions, and defensive operations through campaigns like Kursk, the Crimea, Romania's oil fields defense against USAAF raids, and retreats into Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria, suffering heavy attrition from improved Soviet fighters, anti-aircraft fire, and logistical strains yet maintaining high operational tempo until the final days, when remnants surrendered to Western Allies or Soviet forces in May 1945, cementing its legendary status as history's premier fighter unit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BRILLANTENTRÄGER


Oberst Hermann Graf (1912-1988) was born on 24 October 1912 in Engen, Baden, the youngest of three sons of a farmer who had served as an artilleryman in the First World War, and after completing Volksschule he worked first as a locksmith’s apprentice and later as a clerk at the Engen town hall while pursuing his dual passions for football (as a goalkeeper coached by future World Cup-winning manager Sepp Herberger until a thumb injury ended his hopes of a professional career) and gliding; accepted into the Luftwaffe in 1936, he completed A- and B-level pilot training before being posted in May 1939 as an Unteroffizier to 2. Staffel of I./Jagdgeschwader 51, flying uneventful patrols on the Franco-German border during the Phoney War and later serving as a flight instructor with the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien training Romanian pilots, participating in limited ground-support missions over Crete in May 1941. Transferred with III./Jagdgeschwader 52 to the Eastern Front after the start of Operation Barbarossa, he scored his first aerial victory on 4 August 1941 near Kiev while flying a Bf 109, rapidly increasing his tally amid the intense fighting over Ukraine and the Crimea to reach 42 victories by the end of the year, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 January 1942 as Leutnant der Reserve and Flugzeugführer of 9. Staffel, III. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 52; promoted to Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 52 in March 1942, his scoring rate exploded during the summer campaign of 1942, culminating in the award of the Eichenlaub (93rd recipient) on 17 May 1942 after 104 victories, the Schwerter (11th recipient) only two days later on 19 May after 106 victories, and finally the Brillanten (5th recipient) on 16 September 1942 after 172 victories, making him the first fighter pilot in history to claim 200 aerial victories when he downed three more aircraft over the Pitomnik airfield near Stalingrad on 26 September 1942. Withdrawn from front-line combat as a national hero and promoted through the ranks to Major and later Oberst, he commanded the high-altitude Jagdgeschwader 50 formed to intercept Mosquitoes, then served as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 11 on the Western Front where he claimed ten four-engine bombers before being severely wounded on 29 March 1944 after ramming a P-51, and finally took command of Jagdgeschwader 52 in late 1944, surrendering with the unit to American forces on 8 May 1945 only to be handed over to the Soviets and held in captivity until 1949; after the war he worked as an electronic-sales manager, married three times (including a brief wartime marriage to actress Jola Jobst), and died of Parkinson’s disease in his hometown of Engen on 4 November 1988, having flown approximately 830 combat missions and been officially credited with 212 aerial victories, nearly all on the Eastern Front.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Leutnant der Reserve Leopold Steinbatz (1918-1942) was born on 25 October 1918 in Stammersdorf (now part of Vienna), Austria-Hungary, learned to fly gliders in his youth and trained as a butcher before volunteering for the Austrian Air Force’s Flieger-Ausbildungsregiment at Wiener Neustadt on 1 October 1937; after the Anschluss in March 1938 he transferred to the Luftwaffe, completed fighter-pilot training at the Jagdfliegerschule Wien-Aspern, and at the outbreak of war was posted to 2. Staffel of the Ergänzungsgruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52, later joining 9. Staffel of III./Jagdgeschwader 52 in August 1940. Deployed with his Gruppe to Romania in October 1940 as part of the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien to protect the Ploiești oil fields and train Romanian pilots, he flew ground-attack missions during the Battle of Crete in May–June 1941 before returning to Romania and converting to the Bf 109 F-4; with the launch of Operation Barbarossa he claimed his first aerial victory, a Polikarpov I-16, southeast of Kiev on 4 August 1941 while escorting Ju 87s, and thereafter scored steadily through the battles for Kiev, Poltava, the Crimea and Kharkov, reaching 42 victories by mid-February 1942. For these successes he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 February 1942 as Oberfeldwebel and Flugzeugführer in 9./Jagdgeschwader 52; continuing to fly as Hermann Graf’s wingman in the highly successful Karaya-Staffel, he became an ace-in-a-day several times over the Kerch Peninsula and during the Second Battle of Kharkov, raising his tally to 83 by early June and receiving the Eichenlaub on 2 June 1942—the third non-commissioned officer in the Luftwaffe so honoured. Determined to reach 100 victories before leave, he claimed four more aircraft east of Vovchansk on 15 June 1942, bringing his total to 99 in over 300 combat missions, all on the Eastern Front; shortly afterward his Bf 109 F-4/R1 was hit by Soviet anti-aircraft fire northwest of Shebekino and crashed into woodland, his body never being recovered. Posthumously awarded the Schwerter on 23 June 1942 (the only NCO in the entire Wehrmacht to receive this distinction) and promoted to Leutnant der Reserve effective 1 June 1942, Steinbatz remains the sole non-commissioned officer to have earned the Ritterkreuz with Oak Leaves and Swords.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Leutnant Gerhard Köppen (1918-1942) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace credited with 85 aerial victories in approximately 380 combat sorties during World War II, primarily on the Eastern Front. Born in Holzendorf, he joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and initially served as a bomber pilot with Kampfgeschwader 1 "Hindenburg" before undergoing fighter pilot conversion training in 1939 and transferring in 1941 to the 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52. He claimed his first victories on 24 June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa and rapidly became one of the most successful pilots in his unit, achieving notable success in intense air combat over the Soviet Union. After reaching his 40th aerial victory, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 December 1941 as Feldwebel and pilot in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 52, becoming the first pilot in III. Gruppe to receive the honor. On 24 February 1942, Köppen claimed four Soviet aircraft in a single day, bringing his total to 72 victories; this feat earned him the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 February 1942 (the 79th such award to a member of the Wehrmacht and the second to a non-commissioned officer), with the presentation made personally by Adolf Hitler, who also promoted him to Leutnant effective 1 April 1942. His distinguished career ended tragically on 5 May 1942 during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula when, while flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 7303, "white 4") in combat against Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers north of Akmonaj over the Sea of Azov, he was forced to ditch; he was last seen swimming as Soviet boats approached and was posted missing in action, later officially declared dead, with the Wehrmachtbericht praising him as one of the Luftwaffe's most daring and successful fighter pilots.



Oberst Adolf Dickfeld (1910-2009) was born on 20 February 1910 in Jüterbog, Brandenburg, the son of an artillery officer, and developed an early passion for aviation by learning to fly gliders under instructors including Hanna Reitsch at Grunau, Wolf Hirth on the Hornberg, and Heini Dittmar and Oskar Ursinus at the Wasserkuppe before obtaining his powered-aircraft licenses at flight schools in Frankfurt (Oder), Stolp, and Hagenow and serving as an instrument-flight instructor at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule in Braunschweig; officially joining the Luftwaffe on 1 January 1939, he was posted to II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 on 28 October 1939, promoted to Leutnant der Reserve on 1 December 1939, and earned both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz during the Phoney War before flying in the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, and ground-support missions over Crete in May 1941. Transferred with III./Jagdgeschwader 52 to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa, he claimed his first two victories—an Ilyushin DB-3 and a Tupolev SB—on 26 June 1941 near Constanța, steadily increasing his score through the battles for Kiev, the Crimea, and the Kerch Peninsula, becoming an ace-in-a-day on 24 October 1941 by downing five Polikarpov I-15s near Ishun and again a double-ace-in-a-day on 8 May 1942 with eleven victories, reaching approximately 47 confirmed aerial victories plus numerous ground targets by mid-March; for these achievements he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 March 1942 as Leutnant der Reserve and Flugzeugführer of 7. Staffel, III. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 52. Continuing his rapid scoring, he became one of the first Luftwaffe pilots to reach 100 victories (credited with his 100th and 101st on 18 May 1942) and received the Eichenlaub (94th award) on 19 May 1942, presented by Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze on 25 May. Later transferred to the Mediterranean theatre, he commanded II./Jagdgeschwader 2 in Tunisia flying the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 until injured in a crash on 8 January 1943, then briefly led II./Jagdgeschwader 11 in the Defence of the Reich before moving to staff positions in the Reichsluftfahrtministerium as Reichs-Inspekteur der Flieger-Hitlerjugend and later General für Nachwuchs der Luftwaffe, ending the war as Oberst with a final official tally of 136 aerial victories (mostly on the Eastern Front, plus a handful over North Africa and several four-engine bombers) in roughly 1,072–1,098 combat missions; after the war he founded a safari airline in East Africa, published memoirs, and died on 17 May 2009 in Dreieich at the age of 99.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdgeschwader_52

Bio of Oberst Johannes Steinhoff (1913-1994)

Full name: Johannes Steinhoff
Nickname: Macky

Date of Birth: 15 September 1913 - Bottendorf, Thuringia, Sachsen, Prussia (German Empire)
Date of Death: 21 February 1994 - Wachtberg-Pech, Bonn (Germany)

Battles and Operations: Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Battle of France, Battle of Britain, Operation Weserübung, Operation Barbarossa, Battle of Stalingrad, Tunisian campaign, Defense of Sicily, Italian campaign, Defense of the Reich

NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: unnamed agricultural mill-worker (father) and unnamed traditional housewife (mother)
Siblings: Bernd Steinhoff, Wolf Steinhoff, Greta Steinhoff, Charlotte Steinhoff
Spouse: Ursula (married 29 April 1939)
Children: Wolf Steinhoff, Ursula Steinhoff

Promotions:
1 April 1936 Leutnant
1 January 1939 Oberleutnant
14 February 1941 Hauptmann
1 April 1944 Oberstleutnant
1 October 1944 Oberst
1 October 1958 Brigadegeneral (Bundeswehr)
1965 or 1966 Generalleutnant (Bundeswehr)
2 January 1971 General (Bundeswehr)

Career:
1934-1935 Kriegsmarine naval flying cadet
1936 transfer to Luftwaffe
1 September 1939 transferred to Jagdgeschwader 26, commanded 10.(Nacht)/JG 26
1940 transferred to Jagdgeschwader 2, commanded 11.(Nacht)/JG 2
early 1940 Staffelkapitän 4./Jagdgeschwader 52
1 March 1942 Gruppenkommandeur II./Jagdgeschwader 52
3 April 1943 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 77
12 November 1944 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 7 and Kommando Nowotny
early 1945 transferred to Jagdverband 44
1952 consultant on military aviation in Rearmament Office
1955 joined Bundeswehr
September 1966 - December 1970 Inspekteur der Luftwaffe
1971-1974 Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

Awards:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (1940)
Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg (18 August 1941)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (30 August 1941) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52), after he reached his 35th aerial victory. This came during the early phase of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, where II./JG 52 had been supporting the 18th Army's advance toward the Neva River and Lake Ladoga. The Gruppe had moved to the forward airfield at Spasskaya Polist on the Polist River, south of Chudovo and north of Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, operating in a sector of dense forests, rivers, and Soviet defensive positions. In his first month of combat alone Steinhoff had already claimed 28 Soviet aircraft, beginning with an I-153 biplane near Varėna in Lithuania on the opening day of the invasion, 22 June 1941, followed by a DB-3 bomber south of Varėna three days later. The decisive 35th victory occurred on 29 August 1941 southeast of Kolpino when Steinhoff, flying his Messerschmitt Bf 109, spotted a lone I-15 fighter low over the battlefield. He dove from altitude in a classic high-speed bounce, closing rapidly through patchy cloud and ground haze, then raked the Soviet biplane with cannon and machine-gun fire. The I-15 burst into flames and spiraled down trailing black smoke, crashing near Soviet lines. This single kill, achieved amid intense low-level dogfights and flak over the advancing German infantry, pushed him past the threshold for the Ritterkreuz.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #115 (2 September 1942) as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52), achieved he reached his 100th and 101st aerial victories on 31 August 1942. By this stage the Gruppe was operating from Tusov airfield, 25 kilometers southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the western bank of the Don, in the middle of the ferocious air battles surrounding Stalingrad. Soviet LaGG-3 fighters and Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft swarmed the skies in dense formations, trying to protect Red Army reinforcements and counter the German push across the Don bend. On that hot summer afternoon Steinhoff led his Staffeln into a swirling melee above the river and the approaching city. He first latched onto a LaGG-3 in a turning fight at medium altitude, using the superior climb and roll rate of his Bf 109 G to outmaneuver the heavier Soviet fighter, then opened fire at close range; the LaGG-3 disintegrated in mid-air with pieces tumbling toward the Volga. Moments later, in the same engagement, he spotted a second LaGG-3 attempting to escape at lower level and pursued it through scattered cumulus clouds and heavy anti-aircraft bursts, finishing it off with a precise burst into the cockpit area. The two kills in quick succession brought his score to exactly 100, making him only the 18th Luftwaffe pilot to reach the century mark. The award were presented personally by Adolf Hitler on 4 November 1942 alongside other leading aces.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #82 (28 July 1944) as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77), after he had accumulated 168 confirmed victories. The award recognized his sustained leadership and combat success in the Mediterranean theater, particularly during the desperate defense of Sicily and the Italian mainland in 1943-44. A vivid example of the actions that contributed to this high honor occurred on 25 June 1943 northwest of Trapani, Sicily, roughly 150 kilometers from the coast. USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses had bombed Messina earlier that day, and JG 77, together with elements of JG 53, scrambled approximately 80 fighters under coordination from Adolf Galland and Günther Lützow. Hazy weather and mistaken intelligence about the bombers' route scattered the intercept force, with only a handful of German aircraft managing to reach the returning American formation. Steinhoff, flying his Bf 109 G, pressed through the haze and thick contrails at high altitude, closing on a straggling B-17 from astern. He opened fire with his cannon, targeting the left wing engines and fuselage; flames erupted from the bomber's wing root as it shuddered and began trailing thick smoke. The Fortress rolled slowly onto its back and plunged into the Mediterranean in a long, fiery arc, its crew bailing out or perishing with the aircraft. This four-engined kill, achieved against overwhelming odds and in coordination with a depleted fighter force, exemplified the aggressive leadership Steinhoff demanded of JG 77 even as the theater collapsed around them. By the time the Swords were awarded in mid-1944 his score had climbed to 168 (including four four-engined bombers), reflecting continued victories and command under extreme pressure in Italy and the early Defense of the Reich.
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger und Einzatszahl (with number 900)
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger
Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer-Beobachter Abzeichen (ohne Brillanten)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938
Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4. Klasse (4 Jahre)
Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Stern und Schulterband (4 July 1972)
Legion of Merit (USA, 1970)
Légion d'honneur (France, March 1972)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Johannes Steinhoff was a Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II, a German general in the postwar Bundeswehr, and a senior NATO official. Born on 15 September 1913 in Bottendorf, Thuringia, then part of the Province of Saxony in Prussia within the German Empire, he rose to become one of the highest-scoring pilots of the conflict with 176 confirmed aerial victories achieved over 993 operational sorties. Steinhoff flew combat missions from the first day of the war in September 1939 until April 1945 and was among the very few Luftwaffe pilots to operate the revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in action as a member of Jagdverband 44 under Adolf Galland. He survived twelve shoot-downs himself and endured severe burns in a fiery crash during the final weeks of the war. Decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, Steinhoff later received high civilian honors including the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the American Legion of Merit, and the French Legion of Honour. After the conflict he played a pivotal role in rebuilding West Germany's air force and served as Inspector of the Luftwaffe and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, while also participating in the late-war Fighter Pilots' Revolt against Hermann Göring's leadership.

The son of an agricultural mill-worker father and a traditional housewife mother, Steinhoff grew up with two brothers named Bernd and Wolf and two sisters named Greta and Charlotte. One sister, Charlotte, later married Ludwig Hahn, who commanded the Security Police and Security Service in occupied Warsaw and was involved in the Warsaw Ghetto operations. After attending the Klosterschule Roßleben convent school where he studied classics and languages including French, English, Latin, and Greek, Steinhoff enrolled at the University of Jena from 1932 to 1934 to study philology. There he joined the Landsmannschaft Suevia academic fencing fraternity. Financial difficulties forced him to leave university, leading him to enlist in the Kriegsmarine in 1934 as a naval flying cadet alongside his friend Dietrich Hrabak. In 1936 he transferred to the newly reestablished Luftwaffe, where he was promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1936 and to Oberleutnant on 1 January 1939. On 29 April 1939 he married Ursula, with whom he had a son named Wolf and a daughter also named Ursula, the latter later marrying an American economics professor and Colorado state senator.

In the summer of 1939 the Luftwaffe experimented with single-engine night fighter tactics, and Steinhoff was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 11th Night Fighter Squadron of Lehrgeschwader 2 at Greifswald, initially equipped with Arado Ar 68 biplanes before switching to Messerschmitt Bf 109 D variants. With the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939 he moved to Jagdgeschwader 26 and took command of its newly formed 10th Night Fighter Squadron at Bonn-Hangelar. During the Battle of the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939 he claimed two Vickers Wellington bombers from RAF Bomber Command shot down south-southwest of the island. In early 1940 his unit became the 11th Night Fighter Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 2, and he participated in Operation Weserübung in Norway before supporting the Battle of France, where he downed two Bristol Blenheim bombers on 10 May 1940 near The Hague and Düsseldorf. Transferred in August 1940 to the 4th Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 52, he scored his fifth victory, a Supermarine Spitfire over Dorking during the Battle of Britain on 30 September 1940, and continued claiming additional Spitfires along the English Channel coast into 1941.

Steinhoff's career accelerated dramatically after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 when II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 moved east to support Army Group North. Operating from forward airfields such as Suwałki, Varėna, and later Spasskaya Polist on the Polist River south of Chudovo, the unit engaged Soviet fighters and bombers amid dense forests and river lines near Lake Ladoga. Steinhoff opened his Eastern Front tally on the first day of Operation Barbarossa by downing a Polikarpov I-153 biplane near Varėna in Lithuania, followed quickly by an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. By late August the Gruppe was heavily engaged supporting the 18th Army's advance, and on 29 August 1941 southeast of Kolpino he spotted a lone I-15 fighter low over the battlefield. Diving through patchy cloud and ground haze in his Bf 109, Steinhoff closed rapidly and raked the Soviet biplane with cannon and machine-gun fire, sending it spiraling down in flames to crash near enemy lines. This 35th victory secured him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 August 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän.

By early 1942 Steinhoff had assumed command of II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52, which redeployed to the Stalingrad sector and operated from Tusov airfield southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the Don River's western bank amid ferocious air battles protecting German advances and countering dense Soviet formations of LaGG-3 fighters and Il-2 Sturmoviks. On the hot afternoon of 31 August 1942 he led his squadrons into a swirling melee above the river. First engaging a LaGG-3 in a tight turning fight at medium altitude, he exploited the Bf 109 G's superior climb and roll to outmaneuver the heavier opponent and disintegrate it with close-range fire, pieces tumbling toward the Volga. Moments later he pursued a second LaGG-3 attempting to escape at low level through scattered clouds and flak, finishing it with precise bursts into the cockpit. These two kills brought his total to 101 and earned him the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 2 September 1942 as the 115th recipient, presented personally by Adolf Hitler in November alongside other leading aces.

Transferred in April 1943 to become Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 77 in the Mediterranean theater, Steinhoff led defensive operations over Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy against overwhelming Allied bomber streams. On 25 June 1943 northwest of Trapani in Sicily, amid hazy weather and confused intelligence after USAAF B-17s bombed Messina, he pressed through thick contrails at high altitude with only a handful of fighters and closed on a straggling Flying Fortress from astern. Targeting the left wing engines and fuselage with cannon fire, he ignited flames at the wing root; the B-17 rolled onto its back and plunged into the Mediterranean in a long fiery arc. This four-engine victory, achieved under extreme pressure, contributed to his promotion to Oberstleutnant and the award of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 28 July 1944 after 168 victories. Steinhoff later commanded the first Me 262-equipped Jagdgeschwader 7 before joining Jagdverband 44 in early 1945, where he scored additional jet kills. His flying ended abruptly on 18 April 1945 at München-Riem when, during takeoff in formation against American raids, his left wheel struck debris, causing the jet to veer wildly, nearly collide with another aircraft, run off the runway, and explode in flames. Pulled from the burning wreckage, he suffered disfiguring burns requiring two years of hospitalization and sixty-nine operations, including eyelid reconstruction by a British surgeon.

After the war Steinhoff served as a consultant on military aviation during West Germany's rearmament and joined the Bundeswehr in 1955. He rose rapidly, becoming Inspector of the Luftwaffe from September 1966 to December 1970 and then Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1971 to 1974. He authored several books drawing on his experiences, including accounts of operations over Sicily and reflections on the final hours of the war. Steinhoff died on 21 February 1994 in Wachtberg-Pech near Bonn at the age of eighty, remembered as both a brilliant combat leader who fought through every theater of the air war and a key architect of postwar German and Allied air power.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Steinhoff
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/34548/Steinhoff-Johannes.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/S/SteinhoffJ.htm
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://grokipedia.com/
Steinhoff, Johannes: Messerschmitts Over Sicily (via books.google.com)
Steinhoff, Johannes: In letzter Stunde (via books.google.com)
Spick, Mike: Luftwaffe Fighter Aces (via books.google.com)
Mathews, Andrew J. & Foreman, John: Luftwaffe Aces (via books.google.com)

Bio of Major Wilhelm Batz (1916-1988)

Full name: Wilhelm Batz
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"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wilhelm Batz was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II credited with 237 aerial victories in 445 combat missions. Of these 234 were achieved over the Eastern Front including at least 46 Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and three against Western Allied aircraft including one four-engine bomber over the Ploiești oil fields. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords one of the highest decorations for bravery in Nazi Germany. After the war he served in the Bundesluftwaffe reaching the rank of Oberstleutnant before retiring in 1972.

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)

Bio of Major Günther Rall (1918-2009)

Full name: Günther Rall
Nickname: No information

Date of Birth: 10.03.1918 - Gaggenau, German Empire
Date of Death: 04.10.2009 - Bad Reichenhall, Germany

Battles and Operations: Western Campaign, Battle of Britain, Balkans Campaign and Battle of Crete, Operation Barbarossa, air defence of Romania, Battle of Kiev, First Battle of Kharkov, Crimean Campaign, Battle of the Caucasus, Kuban Bridgehead, retreat from Stalingrad, Operation Citadel and Battle of Kursk, air battles over Central and Southern Ukraine, Crimean Offensive, Reichsverteidigung

NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: Rudolf Rall (merchant and member of Stahlhelm and DNVP) and Minna Rall (née Heinzelmann)
Siblings: one sister Lotte (four years older)
Spouse: Hertha Schön (married 1943)
Children: four (first child Monika born and died November 1943, second child Alex born 1945 and died young, Franziska born 28.09.1950, Felizitas born 17.03.1955)

Promotions:
04.12.1936 Offiziersanwärter (Heer)
01.07.1938 Oberfähnrich (Luftwaffe)
00.00.1939 Leutnant
01.08.1940 Oberleutnant
00.00.1943 Hauptmann
01.11.1943 Major
01.01.1956 Major (Bundeswehr)
00.00.1964 Oberst (Bundeswehr)
00.00.1967 Brigadegeneral (Bundeswehr)
15.11.1967 Generalmajor (Bundeswehr)
00.00.1970 Generalleutnant (Bundeswehr)

Career:
00.00.1922 family moved to Stuttgart
00.00.1928 joined Christian Boy Scouts (later Deutsches Jungvolk)
00.00.1935 Abitur at Napola Backnang
04.12.1936 entered Heer as Offiziersanwärter, Infanterieregiment 13
01.07.1938 transferred to Luftwaffe as Oberfähnrich
07.1939-09.1939 fighter pilot training at Jagdfliegerschule Werneuchen
16.09.1939 posted to 4. Staffel/JG 52 as Rottenführer
25.07.1940 Staffelkapitän 8./JG 52
05.07.1943 (acting earlier) Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 52
19.04.1944 Gruppenkommandeur II./JG 11
20.02.1945-08.05.1945 Geschwaderkommodore JG 300
08.05.1945-08.1945 prisoner of war
07.1947-05.1948 salesman Siemens & Halske
01.01.1956 rejoined Bundeswehr as Major
09.1956-03.1957 flight refresher training on T-6 and T-33
late 1958 first German F-104 Starfighter pilot licence
00.00.1964-31.03.1966 Kommodore Jagdbombergeschwader 34
1966/67 Inspizient Fliegende Verbände der Luftwaffe
1967/68 Kommandeur 3. Luftwaffendivision
1968/69 Kommandeur 1. Luftwaffendivision
1969/70 Chef des Stabes 4. Allied Tactical Air Force
01.10.1970-31.12.1970 Kommandierender General Luftwaffenführungskommando
01.01.1971-31.03.1974 Inspekteur der Luftwaffe
1974-1975 Deutscher Militärischer Bevollmächtigter im NATO-Militärausschuss, Brüssel
01.10.1975 retired
00.00.1975-1989 consultant in aerospace industry (General Electric, MTU Aero Engines)

Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (23.05.1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (07.1940)
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (17.11.1941)
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (15.12.1941)
Ärmelband Kreta
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold
Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (03.09.1942) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 8./JG 52, on the occasion of his 65th aerial victory. Rall had already claimed 36 victories by November 1941 (when he was shot down, badly wounded, and grounded for nearly a year). He returned to combat in August 1942 during the Battle of the Caucasus. In a remarkable four-week span (2–30 August), he scored 26 victories (raising his total from 37 to 62), including four in a single day on 6 August. His unit operated in intense air battles supporting German ground advances deep in southern Russia. A notable episode involved defending German pontoon bridges over the Terek River near Grozny: Soviet forces repeatedly attacked the crossings, but Rall’s III. Gruppe (with pilots like Adolf Dickfeld and Alfred Grislawski) inflicted heavy losses on the Soviet 4th Air Army (which lost 149 aircraft in September 1942 alone). Rall’s 61st victory was scored near Grozny. His 65th victory—a LaGG-3 fighter—was claimed on 2 September 1942 at 15:50 southeast of Kalinowskaja (grid reference PQ 54611). This rapid scoring run in support of the Caucasus offensive earned him the Ritterkreuz the next day.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #134 (26.10.1942) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 8./JG 52, on the occasion of his 100th aerial victory (achieved 22 October 1942). He was the 28th Luftwaffe pilot to reach the “century mark.”. Following the Ritterkreuz, Rall continued flying with JG 52 on the Eastern Front. He reached exactly 100 victories on 22 October 1942 at 14:36 by shooting down another LaGG-3 west of Werchne Atschakuli. This came during ongoing operations in the Caucasus and southern Russia, just before the major Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad. The award recognised his consistent performance and leadership as a Staffelkapitän. After the presentation he was granted leave and married his fiancée Hertha Schön shortly afterwards. He returned to the front as the German armies began retreating following the disaster at Stalingrad.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #34 (12.09.1943) as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 52, on the occasion of his 200th aerial victory (achieved 29 August 1943). He became only the third fighter pilot (after Hermann Graf and Hans Philipp) to reach the double-century mark. In summer 1943, Rall flew during and after the Battle of Kursk and the subsequent German withdrawal in Ukraine. In August 1943 alone he claimed 33 victories while his Gruppe operated over Central Ukraine. On 29 August he shot down two LaGG-3 fighters in the vicinity of Kuybyshev (present-day Samara area); the second of these was his 200th victory (claimed at 08:21 near Sinjewka, grid PQ 34 Ost 88364, 25 km south-southeast of Jalisawehino). This achievement was highlighted in the official Wehrmachtbericht (armed forces communiqué) the same day. By the end of 1943 he had passed 250 victories (second pilot after Walter Nowotny to do so), but the Swords were specifically tied to the 200th. The award recognised not only the raw score but his leadership of III. Gruppe during intense defensive fighting against growing Soviet air superiority.
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger 600
Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht (29.08.1943 and 30.11.1943)
Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (1973)
Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Günther Rall (10 March 1918 – 4 October 2009) was a highly decorated German military aviator, officer and General, whose military career spanned nearly forty years. Rall was the third most successful fighter pilot in aviation history, behind Gerhard Barkhorn, who is second, and Erich Hartmann, who is first. 

Rall was born on 10 March 1918 in Gaggenau, at the time in the Grand Duchy of Baden of the German Empire during World War I. He was the second child of merchant Rudolf Rall and his wife Minna, née Heinzelmann. His sister Lotte was four years older than Rall. Rall stated that his father was a member of Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten (The Steel helmet, League of front-line Soldiers) and had an affiliation with the German National People's Party.

In 1922, the Rall family moved to Stuttgart. There, in 1928, Rall joined the Christian Boy Scouts. In 1934, the Gleichschaltung converted the Christian Boy Scouts into the Deutsches Jungvolk as part of the Hitler Youth. He attended the Volksschule in Stuttgart. For his secondary education, he first attended the humanities-oriented Karls-Gymnasium in Stuttgart. Then in 1935 he transferred to the National Political Institutes of Education (Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt—Napola) in Backnang, a secondary boarding school founded under the recently established Nazi state. The goal of the Napola schools was to raise a new generation for the political, military and administrative leadership of Nazi Germany. There he received his Abitur (university entry qualification). Following graduation, Rall volunteered for military service in December 1936.

On 4 December 1936, Rall joined the 13. (Württembergisches) Infanterie-Regiment of the Army in Ludwigsburg as a Fahnenjunker (junior officer candidate). From 1 January to 31 June 1938, he attended the Kriegsschule, a military school in Dresden. In the summer of 1938, Rall requested to be transferred to the Luftwaffe. Now an Oberfähnrich, he was trained as a pilot at Unterbiberg airfield. On 1 September 1938, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant). Rall then attended the Jagdfliegerschule Werneuchen (fighter pilot school) from 15 July to 15 September 1939. He was then posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 16 September where he served as a Rottenführer (flight leader of a Rotte).

World War II in Europe began on 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. JG 52 did not support the invasion. It was posted to western Germany, protecting the German border during the "Phoney War" and Rall did not see combat. On 7 March 1940, he was transferred to 8. Staffel when JG 52 was augmented by the newly created III. Gruppe (3rd group). On 10 May 1940 Fall Gelb began, and JG 52 supported German forces in the invasion of Belgium and Battle of France. On the third day of the campaign, 12 May 1940, Rall achieved his first victory. Three French Curtiss H75-C1 fighters were attacking a German reconnaissance aircraft at a height of 26,000 feet (7,900 meters). Rall attacked them and shot down one, stating: "I was lucky in my first dogfight, but it did give me a hell of a lot of self-confidence ... and a scaring, because I was also hit by many bullets." The victory was his only success on the Western Front.

JG 52 was later moved to Peuplingues and Coquelles on the French Channel coast where it fought in the Battle of Britain. Due to heavy losses, he was given command as a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 8. Staffel JG 52 on 25 July 1940. He was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) a week later, on 1 August 1940. Rall replaced Oberleutnant Lothar Ehrlich, who was killed in action with No. 610 Squadron RAF the previous day during the convoy battles. Ehrlich was one of three pilots killed that day. Rall said of the battle, "probably no one even had time to shout a warning. Suddenly a flock of Spitfires were on us like hawks on a bunch of chickens." Rall placed the blame for losses on faulty tactics such as flying the Bf 109s in close escort roles for the slow Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers. On the day he was appointed Oberleutnant, JG 52 lost another four pilots, including two Staffelkapitäns. Rall's Staffel lost one pilot missing in action with No. 65 Squadron RAF over Dover in the early afternoon. Rall and his unit achieved little. Several of the highest claiming pilots of JG 52, including Gerhard Barkhorn, Alfred Grislawski, Adolf Dickfeld, were not successful over England.

The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this task, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) Wilhelm Speidel. III. Gruppe JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Rall arrived at Pipera Airfield on 15 October, where 8. Staffel stayed until 18 November when they moved to Leipzig-Mockau Airfield. Three days later, 8. Staffel moved to Parndorf in Austria. On 30 November, the Staffel began relocating back to Pipera Airfield where they arrived on 2 December, staying there until 27 May 1941.

Rall's unit was then transferred to Greece and participated in the final phase of the Balkans Campaign. On 27 May, Rall flew to Plovdiv, Saloniki, Tatoi Airfield north of Athens and then to Molaoi where he stayed until 10 June. Based at Molaoi, he flew combat missions in support of the airborne invasion and subsequent Battle of Crete. JG 52 was transferred back to Romania to help defend their recently acquired allies' Ploiești oil fields.

On 21 June 1941, III. Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești. The invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June. The next day, the Gruppe moved to Mamaia, the northern district of Constanța on the Black Sea coast. On 22 June, the Axis forces launched the war on the Eastern Front. The majority of JG 52 were supporting Army Group South and the invasion of the Ukrainian SSR.

Rall's contingent remained in eastern Romania. The Red Air Force (VVS) immediately began a campaign to destroy the Romanian oil fields. Major General Pavel Zhigarev, commanding the VVS ChF (Air Command Crimea), committed the 63 BAP (63rd Bomber Aviation Regiment) and 40 SBAP (40th High Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment). The attacks met with some success, although heavy losses forced the switch to night bombing from mid-July. Rall scored his second, third and fourth victories intercepting Soviet bombers. During a five-day period, III. Gruppe JG 52 claimed between 45 and 50 Soviet aircraft. Rall remarked the reason for the success was the Soviets did not provide fighter escort for their bombers.

The Gruppe moved to Belaya Tserkov on 1 August during the Battle of Kiev and also used an airfield at Yampil from 6 to 8 August. Rall claimed his fifth victory on 4 August thus becoming an "ace". While providing escort for Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77—77th Dive Bomber Wing) on 13 August 1941, with Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), Rall claimed a Polikarpov I-16 as did JG 3's Günther Lützow. The Soviet pilots were from the 88 IAP Fighter Regiment and identified as Lieutenants Yakov Kozlov and Ivan Novikov. III. Gruppe JG 52 supported the encirclement of Kiev in August.

Rall claimed 12 victories in October 1941 as III. Gruppe JG 52 fought for air superiority during the First Battle of Kharkov; an autumn offensive to seize the industrialized regions of Eastern Ukraine. On 14 October there was heavy air fighting. Rall claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 over his group's Poltava airfield after being scrambled in the midst of a Soviet air attack. The Germans had failed in the race for the Ukrainian industrial heartland. After the capture of Kharkov and Stalino the Germans found 54 medium and 223 large factories; all empty. Some 1.5 million wagonloads had been evacuated.

On 23 October, III. Gruppe JG 52 moved to Chaplynka in the Crimea. With II. Gruppe JG 3 and JG 77, it was ordered to clear the skies. The Crimean Campaign lasted into the following year. The German fighter units claimed 140 aircraft from 18 to 24 October over Perekop. Rall had reached 28 victories by this date. At the time, his regular wingman was Obergefreiter Friedrich Wachowiak.

The Gruppe then moved to an airfield at Taganrog on 2 November where they stayed until 1 January 1942. In November the Red Army regrouped and conducted a well-orchestrated recapture of Rostov. The victory denied the Germans access to the Caucasus. Rall received the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 17 November. On 28 November 1941, Rall claimed his 36th victory near the contested city, but as he watched the burning I-16 fall in the fading light, Rall relaxed his vigilance and was shot down. He tried to fly back to German lines with a damaged engine, but crash landed and was knocked unconscious. A German tank crew rescued him from the wreck. His Bf 109 came down hard, breaking his back. Rall was hospitalized for nearly a year and was invalided from flying duties.

Rall returned to combat operations in August 1942. He quickly regained his form and on 3 September 1942 was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after reaching 65 victories. By 22 October 1942 he claimed his 100th victory and received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. Rall participated in the intense air battles over the Eastern Front, including operations supporting the advance toward the Caucasus and later defensive actions. In 1943 he suffered another injury in a hard landing that broke his back again. While recovering he married Hertha Schön, the doctor who treated him. By late August 1943 he reached 200 victories. On 12 September 1943 he was awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves after surpassing 250 victories by the end of the year. Rall commanded elements of JG 52 during major operations such as the Battle of Kursk and subsequent retreats.

In April 1944 Rall was transferred from the Eastern Front to command II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 11 on the Western Front for the Defense of the Reich. There he was wounded for the third time when his left thumb was shot off during combat with a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. In November 1944 he served as an instructor, test-flying captured Allied fighters including American and British types to prepare tactical notes for Luftwaffe pilots. His final wartime assignment was command of Jagdgeschwader 300 near Salzburg, Austria. He surrendered to American forces in May 1945.

After the war Rall was held briefly as a prisoner before release. In 1956 he joined the newly reconstituted West German Air Force, the Bundesluftwaffe, as one of its founding officers. He trained in the United States on jet aircraft such as the F-84 Thunderjet and later the F-104 Starfighter. Rall rose steadily through the ranks, commanding various fighter wings and groups during the Cold War era. He served in key leadership roles, including staff positions at the Ministry of Defence. From 1970 to 1974 he held the position of Inspector of the Air Force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe), the highest command role in the German air arm. He then served as the German military representative to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels until his retirement in 1975 at the rank of Generalleutnant. For his contributions to rebuilding Germany's air force and strengthening NATO ties, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Following retirement Rall worked as a consultant for aviation and defence companies. He remained involved in historical and veterans' organisations, frequently speaking about his wartime experiences and the evolution of air power. He authored memoirs detailing his career and maintained contacts with former comrades and Allied pilots. Rall lived quietly in southern Germany and continued to advocate for professional military standards.

Rall died on 4 October 2009 in Bad Reichenhall, Germany, at the age of 91.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://books.google.com/
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
Günther Rall: Mein Flugbuch. Erinnerungen 1938-2004 (2004)
Christopher Shores, Clive Williams: Aces High. A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII (1994)
Mike Spick: Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. The Luftwaffe's Greatest Pilots (1996)