Edmund Roßmann

Edmund "Paule" Roßmann (11 January 1918 – 4 April 2005) was a Nazi Germany Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II. He was credited with 93 aerial victories achieved in 640 combat missions, among the numerous ground attack missions. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He is also noted as being an early mentor of Erich Hartmann, history's leading fighter ace.

Early life and career Roßmann was born on 11 January 1918 in Caaschwitz in the Principality of Reuss-Gera within the German Empire. Following completion of his flight and fighter pilot training, Roßmann was posted to 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 1 March 1940 holding the rank of Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer). At the time, 7. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Herbert Ferner. The Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 52 headed by Major Wolf-Heinrich von Houwald. The Gruppe had been formed on 1 March 1940 at Strausberg and was equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1 and E-3. On 6 April, the Gruppe was moved to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield where it was placed under the control of the Stab (headquarter unit) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53–53rd Fighter Wing).

World War II World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. On 1 July 1940, III. Gruppe transferred from Jever Airfield to Werneuchen. According to Mathews and Foreman, Roßmann filed claim for an unconfirmed aerial victory over an unknown type of aircraft that day. This claim is not listed by Barbas nor by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.

On 21 July during the Kanalkampf phase of the Battle of Britain, Roßmann claimed a Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber shot down over the English Channel. Three days later, Roßmann claimed a Supermarine Spitfire shot down north of Margate. That day, III. Gruppe had engaged in combat with Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfires from No. 610 Squadron on a fighter escort mission for 15 Dornier Do 17 bombers attacking shipping in the Thames Estuary. Roßmann's claim was not confirmed. On 29 July, Roßmann had a mid-air collision with a Spitfire fighter in the combat area near Dover. The following day, III. Gruppe, which had sustained heavy casualties during the Battle of Britain, was withdrawn from the English Channel and ordered to relocate to Leeuwarden Airfield. The Gruppe was then ordered to Zerbst on 1 August before moving to Merseburg on 25 August, to Neuruppin on 7 September and to Schönwalde on 18 September. At Schönwalde, III. Gruppe continued training, in particular aerial gunnery was practiced. On 7 October, the Gruppe was placed under command of Major Gotthard Handrick.

The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) . Luftwaffenmission Rumänien also defended Germany's southeastern borders, with its primary objective defending the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești. On 15 October, the Stab and 9. Staffel of III. Gruppe of JG 52 were sent to Bucharest Pipera Airfield, followed by 7. And 8. Staffel in late November. There, the III. Gruppe of JG 52 temporarily became the I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing). On 4 January 1941, the Gruppe again became the III. Gruppe of JG 52. On 25 May, III. Gruppe was sent to Greece where it was subordinated to Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and fought in the Battle of Crete.

War against the Soviet Union Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III. Gruppe was back in Bucharest by mid-June. There, the unit was again subordinated to the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien and reequipped with the new, more powerful Bf 109 F-4 model. On 21 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of 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. Prior to the invasion, Major Gotthard Handrick was replaced by Major Albert Blumensaat as commander of III. Gruppe. Blumensaat was then replaced by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin on 1 October. At the time, von Bonin was still in convalescence so that Hauptmann Franz Höring, the commander of 9. Staffel, was also made the acting Gruppenkommandeur (group commander). 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 25 June, Roßmann claimed his first confirmed aerial victory when he shot down a Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bomber.

Roßmann received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 17 November. By the end of 1941 he had accumulated 32 aerial victories. On 19 March 1942, Roßmann and fellow JG 52 pilot Leutnant Adolf Dickfeld were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . From March to June 1942, he was posted to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group, East) as fighter pilot instructor and returned to his Staffel afterwards. Nevertheless, he almost doubled his score by the end of 1942 and claimed his 80th victory on 29 November 1942. At the time, he was an early mentor of Erich Hartmann, history's leading fighter ace. When in March 1943, Oberleutnant Walter Krupinski was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel, Roßmann was assigned as his wingman and assisted in familiarizing him with the combat conditions over the Kerch Peninsula.

On 5 July 1943 on the first day of Operation Citadel, Roßmann claimed three aerial victories. Four days later on 9 July, Roßmann attempted to rescue Feldwebel Ernst Lohberg who had crash landed behind enemy lines, approximately west of Oboyan. Roßmann successfully landed his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 20154—factory number) next to Lohberg's aircraft. At this moment, the Soviet infantry arrived, while Lohberg was shot, Roßmann was taken prisoner of war.

Later life Roßmann died on 4 April 2005 at the age of in Krefeld, Germany.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Roßmann was credited with 93 aerial victories. Spick also lists Roßmann with 93 aerial victories claimed in approximately 640 combat missions. This figure includes 87 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and further six victories over the Western Allies. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 93 aerial victory claims, plus six further unconfirmed claims. All of his confirmed aerialvitories were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 44457". The Luftwaffe grid map covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Action at the Channel and over England — 26 June – 1 August 1940 ? 1 July 1940 unknown 24 July 1940 Spitfire northeast of Margate 21 July 1940 Swordfish English Channel 25 July 1940 Bréguet 690 east of Margate ? 21 July 1940 unknown Strait of Dover ? 29 July 1940 Spitfire Dover – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 1 25 June 1941 17:40 DB-3 southeast of Constanța 16 17 September 1941 10:30 I-16 Brovary 2 8 July 1941 15:56? DB-3 northeast of Mamaia 17 2 October 1941 08:25 I-26 (Yak-1) east of Poltava 3 8 July 1941 16:00 DB-3 northeast of Mamaia 18 3 October 1941 17:10 R-10 (Seversky) north of Karjap 4 8 July 1941 16:03 DB-3 northeast of Mamaia 19 4 October 1941 12:10 ground-attack aircraft (Seversky) south of Covaci 5 4 August 1941 05:55 I-16 20 14 October 1941 16:30 I-26 (Yak-1) 6 4 August 1941 14:35 I-18 (MiG-1) 21 14 October 1941 16:50 I-16 7 7 August 1941 06:15 I-16 22 17 October 1941 07:21 I-26 (Yak-1) 8 7 August 1941 06:40 DB-3 23 24 October 1941 12:45 I-15 Chaplynka 9 11 August 1941 09:29 I-18 (MiG-1) 24 24 October 1941 12:50 I-61 (MiG-3) Chaplynka 10 26 August 1941 10:40 I-16 25 25 October 1941 11:45 I-16 11 1 September 1941 11:16 I-17 (MiG-1) 26 31 October 1941 15:32 I-61 (MiG-3) 12 7 September 1941 09:25 I-16 Stschastliwaja 27 9 November 1941 11:21 V-11 (Il-2) 13 7 September 1941 09:30 I-17 (MiG-1) 28 16 November 1941 13:31 I-26 (Yak-1) 14 7 September 1941 11:41 DB-3 29 28 November 1941 12:53 I-61 (MiG-3) 15 13 September 1941 12:45? I-17 (MiG-1) northwest of Dnepropetrovsk northeast of Dnepropetrovsk 30 2 December 1941 08:10 I-16 – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 28 April 1942 31 8 December 1941 09:12 I-16 39 17 February 1942 08:02 I-61 (MiG-3) 32 11 December 1941 10:47 V-11 (Il-2) 40 17 February 1942 10:32 I-61 (MiG-3) 33 4 January 1942 13:03 LaGG-3 41 17 February 1942 10:36 I-16 34 5 January 1942 12:00 DB-3 42 18 February 1942 16:09 I-61 (MiG-3) northeast of Belgorod 35 7 January 1942 09:30 DB-3 west of Karankut 43 22 February 1942 15:36 I-61 (MiG-3) 36 15 January 1942 10:25 DB-3 west of Karankut 44 16 March 1942 10:31 I-16 37 15 January 1942 14:50 DB-3 45 16 March 1942 11:47 Il-2 38 17 February 1942 07:59 Su-2 (Seversky) – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 29 April 1942 – 3 February 1943 46 13 June 1942 16:15 LaGG-3 65 6 September 1942 14:47 LaGG-3 PQ 44457vicinity of Mozdok 47 23 June 1942 16:35 MiG-1 66 6 September 1942 16:50 I-16 PQ 4444 48 23 June 1942 16:37 Hurricane PQ 70332vicinity of Shevchenkovo 67 7 September 1942 12:05 I-16 PQ 44474 49 21 July 1942 15:20 I-16 PQ 98821vicinity of Rostov 68 8 September 1942 13:50? LaGG-3 PQ 44472south of Mozdok 50 23 July 1942 07:15 I-16 69 8 September 1942 13:51 LaGG-3 PQ 44443, north of Georgjewsk 51 24 July 1942 06:28 I-16 70 13 September 1942 09:35 LaGG-3 PQ 44362 52 24 July 1942 09:50 LaGG-3 71 19 September 1942 16:38 LaGG-3 PQ 54351 53 23 August 1942 05:35 I-16 PQ 44251 72 29 September 1942 10:40 I-16 PQ 44533, south of Nizhniy Kurp 54 23 August 1942 05:37 I-153? PQ 44213 73 9 October 1942 09:07 I-16 PQ 44484 55 23 August 1942 16:35 LaGG-3 PQ 44281 74 9 October 1942 13:25 LaGG-3 PQ 44623vicinity of Malgobek 56 24 August 1942 11:45 Il-2? PQ 44374 75 15 October 1942 09:30 LaGG-3 PQ 44453south of Mozdok 57 26 August 1942 17:23 LaGG-3 PQ 44471south of Mozdok 76 29 October 1942 10:15 LaGG-3 PQ 44551southwest of Daiskoje 58 28 August 1942 14:16 LaGG-3 PQ 44454south of Mozdok 77 29 October 1942 13:35 LaGG-3 PQ 34694 59 30 August 1942 09:57 I-16 PQ 54213vicinity of Volkenskoje 78 6 November 1942 08:15 I-16 PQ 44857 60 30 August 1942 09:59 LaGG-3 PQ 54373 79 6 November 1942 11:34 LaGG-3 PQ 44764 61 30 August 1942 10:01 LaGG-3 PQ 54342vicinity of Beketowka 80 29 November 1942 05:47 R-5 PQ 44793 62 30 August 1942 11:23 LaGG-3 PQ 54371vicinity of Kalinowskaja 81 8 December 1942 09:54 LaGG-3 PQ 44567 63 5 September 1942 11:00? LaGG-3 PQ 54454vicinity of Wosnessnokaja 82 8 December 1942 10:00 Il-2 PQ 44551west of Elkhotovo 64 6 September 1942 07:35 I-16 PQ 44453south of Mozdok – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 3 February – 9 July 1943 83 28 March 1943 05:40 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 86571northwest of Sslaeanskaja 89 5 July 1943 03:55 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61442 north of Belgorod 84 30 April 1943 08:30 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85173southwest of Krymsk 90 5 July 1943 18:09 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61652 northwest of Vovchansk 85 30 April 1943 08:32 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85174east of Krymsk 91 5 July 1943 18:12 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 61652 northwest of Vovchansk 86 6 May 1943 16:47 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 76693west of Slavyansk-na-Kubani 92 6 July 1943 10:30 Il-2 m.H. PQ 35 Ost 61652 northwest of Vovchansk 87 31 May 1943 09:55 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 75232, north of Krymskaya 93 7 July 1943 04:58 Il-2 m.H. PQ 35 Ost 61634 north of Vovchansk 88 31 May 1943 14:11 Pe-2 PQ 34 Ost 75232, north of Krymskaya

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 17 November 1941 as Unteroffizier and pilot German Cross in Gold on 22 January 1942 as Feldwebel in the III./Jagdgeschwader 52 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 March 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 52