Franz Schall

Franz Schall (1 June 1918 – 10 April 1945) was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he flew approximately 550 combat missions and claimed 137 aerial victories—that is, 137 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

He was killed on 10 April 1945, when his aircraft rolled into a bomb crater and exploded during an attempted emergency landing at Parchim.

Early life and career Schall was born on 1 June 1918 in Graz in Austria-Hungary. He began his military service with the anti-aircraft artillery before in September 1941 he was trained as a fighter pilot. In December 1942, Schall was transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (EJGr Ost—Supplementary Fighter Group, East) which was based at Saint-Jean-d'Angély in France. EJGr Ost main purpose was to provide specialized training for new fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front. Training was provided by experienced Eastern Front veterans, who were rotated in and out of this unit. Schall was assigned to group of six trainee pilots which included Wilhelm Batz and Walter Wolfrum. Their fighter pilot instructor was Oberfeldwebel Karl Steffen, a combat veteran credited with 44 aerial victories.

Holding the rank of Leutnant (second lieutenant), Schall was posted to the 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 18 February 1943. At the time, this Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Rudolf Miethig and was part of I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 52 headed by Hauptmann Helmut Bennemann.

World War II World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Germany had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. In February 1943, I. Gruppe was based at Poltava on the Eastern Front and was subordinated to Luftwaffenkommando Don which supported the fighting in the Third Battle of Kharkov. Schall claimed his first aerial victory on 6 May when he shot down a Lavochkin La-5 fighter near Belgorod.

In preparation for Operation Citadel, I. Gruppe was moved to Bessonovka, a makeshift airfield located approximately on 4 July. On 13 July during the Battle of Kursk, Schall, accompanied by his wingman Oberfeldwebel Franz Woidich, claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft shot down. On 14 July, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and the Iron Cross 1st Class on 24 August. On 11 November 1943, Schall was shot down and wounded by anti-aircraft artillery in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 410131—factory number) resulting in a forced landing south of Kerch. In December 1943, Schall was temporarily put in command of 3. Staffel of JG 52. He replaced Leutnant Karl-Heinz Plücker who was transferred.

Schall was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 20 March 1944. On 5 April, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Leipzig, present-day Serpneve. Here Schall claimed his 50th aierial victory on 17 May. On 11 May, then Oberleutnant Franz Woidich succeeded Schall as commander of 3. Staffel. On 10 June 1944, I. Gruppe was ordered to an airfield named Poloniczna, a makeshift airfield located approximately northeast of Lemberg, now Lviv. Seven days later, they were moved to Serpneve. On 22 June, Soviet forces launched Operation Bagration, attacking Army Group Centre in Byelorussia, with the objective of encircling and destroying its main component armies. On 24 June, the Gruppe transferred to Galați and again to Peloniczna. The Gruppe reached Grabowiec in eastern Poland on 27 July and Kraków on 1 August. On 12 August they were again relocated and moved to Mzurowa. The day before, Schall was officially appointed Staffelkapitän (Squadron leader) of 3. Staffel after Woidich was transferred.

Fighting across Poland, it led to his most prolific period in the war with a number of multiple victories in a day: three on 12 August (74–76), three more on the 24th (79–81). On 26 August, Schall became a "double ace-in-a-day" for the first time, claiming eleven aerial victories which included six Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. On 31 August, he surpassed this figure, claiming thirteen aerial victories, including his 100th claim, which took his total to 109 victories. He was the 81st Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. In September 1944, Schall left JG 52 and transferred to a jet fighter unit. Command of 3. Staffel was transferred to Leutnant Leonhard Färber on 25 September.

Flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 On 25 September 1944, Schall was posted to a specialist unit dubbed Kommando Nowotny, named after Walter Nowotny, for testing and establishing tactics for the newly developed Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. General der Jagdflieger (General of the Fighter Force) Adolf Galland had hoped that the Me 262 would compensate for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) numerical superiority. There, following the death of Hauptmann Alfred Teumer on 4 October, Schall was appointed Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel on 16 October. On 7 October, Schall and Feldwebel Helmut Lennartz were scrambled at 13:45 from Hesepe airfield to intercept a heavy bomber formation. In this encounter, both Schall and Lennartz each claimed a USAAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber shot down, the first aerial victories of Kommando Nowotny. Schall claimed a North American P-51 Mustang fighter destroyed on 28 October and a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter on 6 November. Schall was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 October 1944 for 117 aerial victories claimed.

Generals Alfred Keller and Galland had scheduled an inspection of Kommando Nowotny for the afternoon of 7 November 1944. Galland had already visited Kommando Nowotny several times and was deeply concerned over the high attrition rate and meager success achieved by the Me 262. After inspecting the two airfields at Achmer and Hesepe, he stayed in the Penterknapp barracks discussing the problems of the past few weeks. Several pilots openly expressed their doubts as to the readiness of the Me 262 for combat operations. When the Generals arrived again at Nowotny's command post the next morning a large bomber formation was reported. Two Rotten of Me 262 were prepared for take-off, Erich Büttner and Schall at Hesepe, and Nowotny and Günther Wegmann at Achmer. At first only Schall and Wegmann managed to take off because Büttner had a punctured tire during taxiing and Nowotny's turbines initially refused to start. Schall and Wegmann both made contact with the Americans, claiming a P-51 and P-47 respectively. By the time the Americans returned from their bomb run, Nowotny, his aircraft now serviceable, and Schall took off alone and made contact with the bomber force at an altitude of . Schall shot down two P-51s before suffering engine failure. Attempting to glide his aircraft to Hesepe, Schall was shot down by Lieutenant James W. Kenney of the 357th Fighter Group. While Schall managed to bail out safely, Nowotny was killed in action.

Following Nowotny's death, the pilots of Kommando Nowotny were moved to Lechfeld where they were joined by 20–25 pilots from III. Gruppe of Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 2, also known as Erprobungskommando Lechfeld, a replacement training unit which had also trained on the Me 262. On 19 November, Kommando Nowotny became the III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7 - 7th Fighter Wing), the world's first operational jet fighter wing, and was moved to Brandenburg-Briest. JG 7 had been formed in August 1944 and placed under the command of Oberst Johannes Steinhoff. At the time of its creation, III./JG 7 was commanded by Major Erich Hohagen and command of 10. Staffel was handed to Schall.

On 18 March 1945, the USAAF Eighth Air Force attacked Berlin with 1,329 bombers, escorted by 733 fighter aircraft. A number of Me 262s intercepted the bomber formation and its escorts in vicinity of Nauen-Rathenow-Brandenburg-Potsdam. At approximately 11:15, Schall claimed a P-51 shot down. The next day, 374 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from the 3d Air Division attacked Carl Zeiss AG, a manufacturer of optical systems, in Jena, and the motor vehicle factories at Zwickau and Plauen. In defense of this attack, Schall claimed a B-17 shot down north of Chemnitz. On 21 March 1945, the USAAF Eighth Air Force attacked various Luftwaffe airfields in Germany with approximately 1,300 heavy bombers, escorted by 750 fighter aircraft. That day, Schall claimed another aerial victory over a P-51. The next, the Eighth Air Force again targeted various military installations and airfields in Germany. Yet again Schall claimed a P-51 shot down, that day in the Cottbus-Bautzen-Dresden area. On 24 March, 1,714 bombers, escorted by approximately 1,300 fighter aircraft, targeted 18 Luftwaffe airfields. Schall led 10. Staffel at about 12:00 from Parchim Airfield and engaged the bombers south of Berlin. Approximately 15 Me 262s, the majority of them armed with R4M air-to-air rockets, claimed a number of bombers destroyed, including a B-17 by Schall. On 31 March 1945, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command targeted Wilhelmshaven, Bremen and Hamburg. The attack force from No. 219, No. 429, No. 431, No. 434, No. 408, No. 415 and No. 425 Squadron had made their target approach by night. In morning hours, the British and Canadians were intercepted by 20 Me 262s from I. Gruppe and seven Me 262s from III. Gruppe who claimed 19 four-engined bombers, two fighters and probable destruction of another bomber. Schall claimed two victories in this engagement.

On 4 April, Schall claimed a P-51 shot down. That day, RAF Bomber Command had targeted Nordhausen with 243 Avro Lancaster bombers while the USAAF Eighth Air Force sent 950 B-17s and B-24s to Luftwaffe airfields at Kaltenkirchen, Parchim, Perleberg, Wesendorf, Faßberg, Hoya, Dedelstorf and Eggebek, as well as the U-boat yards at Finkenwerder and shipyards at Kiel. This bomber force was protected by 800 escort fighters. On 9 April, the RAF targeted the German ships , and moored at Kiel and other targets in northern Germany. That afternoon, Schall claimed a Lancaster shot down. On 10 April 1945, Schall claimed a P-51 shot down. He was then killed when his aircraft rolled into a bomb crater, flipped, and exploded during an attempted emergency landing at Parchim Airfield. That day, the Luftwaffe lost a number of Me 262 pilots, including Oberleutnant Walther Wever. The Americans dubbed this day the "great jet massacre". Schall had been nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves which was not approved before the war ended.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Schall was credited with 133 aerial victories. Forsyth also lists Schall with 133 aerial victories claimed in 530 combat missions. This figure includes 17 claims flying the Me 262 jet fighter, including six four-engined heavy bombers and eleven P-51 fighters. Spick however lists him with 137 aerial victories claimed in approximately 550 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 133 aerial victory claims, plus four further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 117 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 16 on the Western Front flying the Me 262 jet fighter, including five four-engined bombers.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 35 Ost 61184". 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 – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 4 February – 31 December 1943 1 6 May 1943 13:14 La-5 PQ 35 Ost 61184, vicinity of Belgorod north-northeast of Belgorod 13 27 September 1943 14:35 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 66865vicinity of Wennlowka 13 May 1943 04:15 La-5 14 27 September 1943 14:43 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 76772vicinity of Blagoweschtschenskaja 2 30 May 1943 16:12 La-5 PQ 34 Ost 75232north of Krymsk 15 20 October 1943 12:07 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 58143northwest of Zaporizhia 3 11 June 1943 10:25 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 76823vicinity of Kalabatka 16 21 October 1943 12:05 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 34 Ost 58738 4 5 July 1943 18:45 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 61652, north of Pukroska northwest of Vovchansk 17 22 October 1943 13:15 Yak-7? PQ 34 Ost 39652 southeast of Pjatichatki 5 12 July 1943 14:47 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 61132 west of Prokhorovka 18 23 October 1943 09:07 P-39? PQ 34 Ost 58561vicinity of Kalinowka 6 13 July 1943 08:57 Il-2 m.H. PQ 35 Ost 61293 southeast of Prokhorovka 19 24 October 1943 10:32 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58172 south of Melitopol 7 15 July 1943 13:10 Il-2 m.H. PQ 35 Ost 62883, northeast of Prokhorovka northeast of Prokhorovka 20 24 October 1943 13:50 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 34 Ost 57171 south of Melitopol 8 18 July 1943 06:50 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 88431vicinity of Marienheim (Perekrestovo) 21 28 October 1943 14:15 La-5? PQ 34 Ost 48512 west-southwest of Nikopol 9 26 July 1943 18:12 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 88267, south of Julizwechinovicinity of Jalisawehino 22 7 November 1943 15:05 U-2 PQ 34 Ost 47771vicinity of Gromovka 10 1 August 1943 10:38 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 88283 south of Jalisawehino 23 7 November 1943 15:06 U-2 PQ 34 Ost 47771vicinity of Gromovka 4 August 1943 15:30 Il-2? 24 7 November 1943 15:07 U-2 PQ 34 Ost 47771vicinity of Gromovka 11 7 August 1943 15:55? La-5? PQ 35 Ost 61595, north of Leskij south-southwest of Belgorod 25 9 November 1943 14:25 U-2 PQ 34 Ost 47771vicinity of Gromovka 12 25 September 1943 08:03 LaGG-3? PQ 34 Ost 76533southwest of Kurtschanskaja 26 9 November 1943 14:25 U-2? PQ 34 Ost 47771vicinity of Gromovka – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 1 January – 31 December 1944 27 7 January 1944 14:16 Yak-9? PQ 34 Ost 29392 east of Kropyvnytskyi 72 16 July 1944 15:36 Yak-9 PQ 25 Ost 41682 northwest of Brody 28 9 January 1944 14:05 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 29382 west of Alekandrovka 73 16 July 1944 15:40 Yak-9? PQ 25 Ost 41688 northwest of Brody 29 12 January 1944 11:06 P-39? PQ 34 Ost 29492 west of Kropyvnytskyi 74 12 August 1944 14:10 Yak-11? PQ 25 Ost 11379 northwest of Mielec 30 16 January 1944 09:34 Yak-9? PQ 34 Ost 19462 west-northwest of Kropyvnytskyi 75 12 August 1944 16:57 La-5? PQ 25 Ost 11358 south-southwest of Opatów 31 16 January 1944 11:51 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 29371 west of Kropyvnytskyi 76 12 August 1944 17:02 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11388 north-northwest of Mielec 32 16 January 1944 11:55 P-39? PQ 34 Ost 29381vicinity of Kropyvnytskyi 77 22 August 1944 18:45 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11415 west of Sandomierz 33 16 January 1944 12:03? La-5? PQ 34 Ost 29523vicinity of Alekandrovka 78 22 August 1944 18:50 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 25 Ost 11335 south of Opatów 34 17 January 1944 11:52 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 29383vicinity of Kropyvnytskyi 79 24 August 1944 11:12 Yak-9? PQ 25 Ost 11418 west of Sandomierz 35 26 January 1944 07:52 P-39? PQ 34 Ost 66641east of Bulganak 80 24 August 1944 14:25 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11755 south-southwest of Mielec 36 28 January 1944 15:00 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 34 Ost 66641east of Bulganak 81 24 August 1944 14:27 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11764 south of Mielec 37 22 February 1944 11:35 U-2 PQ 34 Ost 38664 southeast of Apostolove 82 25 August 1944 09:12 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 25 Ost 11334 south of Opatów 38 24 February 1944 08:35 U-2? PQ 34 Ost 38564 east of Apostolove 83♠ 26 August 1944 11:08 Pe-2 PQ 25 Ost 11292 northeast of Sandomierz 39 28 March 1944 14:45 R-5? PQ 24 Ost 98174 west-southwest of Balta 84♠ 26 August 1944 11:12 Pe-2? PQ 25 Ost 11323 south-southwest of Opatów 40 19 April 1944 13:48 P-39? PQ 24 Ost 78674 north of Iași 85♠ 26 August 1944 15:07 P-39 PQ 25 Ost 11189 west of Opatów 41 24 April 1944 18:00 Boston? PQ 24 Ost 97343 north of Leipzig 86♠ 26 August 1944 15:15 P-39 PQ 25 Ost 11331 south of Opatów 42 24 April 1944 18:20 Il-2 m.H. PQ 24 Ost 87634 north-northwest of Leipzig 87♠ 26 August 1944 17:15 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 11324 south-southwest of Opatów 43 24 April 1944 18:26 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 87632 north-northwest of Leipzig 88♠ 26 August 1944 17:17 Il-2? PQ 25 Ost 11357 south-southwest of Opatów 44 28 April 1944 11:00 P-39 PQ 24 Ost 78674 north of Iași 89♠ 26 August 1944 17:18 P-39? PQ 25 Ost 11379 northwest of Mielec 45 2 May 1944 10:35 P-39 PQ 24 Ost 68682 north of Târgu Frumos 90♠ 26 August 1944 18:50 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 11183 west of Opatów 46 2 May 1944 15:13 P-39 PQ 24 Ost 78741 north-northeast of Roman 91♠ 26 August 1944 18:51 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 11186 west of Opatów 47 2 May 1944 17:30 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 68833, southwest of Târgu Frumosnorth of Târgu Frumos 92♠ 26 August 1944 18:52 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11189 west of Opatów 48 15 May 1944 18:15 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 97131 west-northwest of Tiraspol 93♠ 26 August 1944 18:54 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11185 west of Opatów 49 15 May 1944 18:20 La-5? PQ 24 Ost 97132 south-southeast of Grigoriopol 94 28 August 1944 12:30 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11322 south-southwest of Opatów 50 17 May 1944 18:25 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 97233 south of Grigoriopol 95 28 August 1944 12:31 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11327 south-southwest of Opatów 51 30 May 1944 04:30 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 78675 north of Iași 96 28 August 1944 12:32 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11185 west of Opatów 52 30 May 1944 16:00 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 78614 southeast of Țuțora 97♠ 31 August 1944 12:54 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 25 Ost 11185 west of Opatów 53 30 May 1944 16:05 La-5? PQ 24 Ost 78684 north of Iași 98♠ 31 August 1944 14:10 P-39? PQ 25 Ost 11183 west of Opatów 54 31 May 1944 06:05 Il-2 m.H. PQ 24 Ost 78685 southeast of Țuțora 99♠ 31 August 1944 14:11 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11185 west of Opatów 55 31 May 1944 11:36 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 78821 south of Iași 100♠ 31 August 1944 14:12 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11189 west of Opatów 56 1 June 1944 12:35 Yak-9 PQ 24 Ost 78679 northeast of Silistra 101♠ 31 August 1944 14:20 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11177 west of Opatów 57 3 June 1944 11:50 Yak-9? PQ 24 Ost 78674, north of Iași north of Iași 102♠ 31 August 1944 16:02 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11185 west of Opatów 58 3 June 1944 12:05 Il-2 m.H. PQ 24 Ost 78592 103♠ 31 August 1944 16:03 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11322 south-southwest of Opatów 59 4 June 1944 16:14 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 78231 104♠ 31 August 1944 16:04 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11327 south-southwest of Opatów 60 4 June 1944 16:22 P-39? PQ 24 Ost 78231 northwest of Iași 105♠ 31 August 1944 16:08? Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11353 south-southwest of Opatów 61 6 June 1944 09:05? Yak-9? PQ 24 Ost 78649 south of Țuțora 106♠ 31 August 1944 17:50 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11327 south-southwest of Opatów 62 26 June 1944 15:30 P-39 PQ 24 Ost 49655 southwest of Kolomea 107♠ 31 August 1944 17:52 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11353 south-southwest of Opatów 63 26 June 1944 15:33 P-39? PQ 24 Ost 49663 south-southwest of Kolomea 108♠ 31 August 1944 17:54 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 25 Ost 11362 south of Opatów 64 7 July 1944 16:55 B-25? PQ 24 Ost 50598 south-southwest of Kovel 109♠ 31 August 1944 19:01 P-39? PQ 25 Ost 11185 west of Opatów 65 14 July 1944 12:00 P-39? PQ 24 Ost 41822 northwest of Brody 110♠ 1 September 1944 10:00 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11411 west of Sandomierz 66 14 July 1944 12:05 Il-2 m.H. PQ 24 Ost 51741 northeast of Zolkiew 111♠ 1 September 1944 10:01 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11415 west of Sandomierz 67 14 July 1944 12:08 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 24 Ost 51751 northeast of Brody 112♠ 1 September 1944 10:04 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11418 west of Sandomierz 14 July 1944 14:00~ P-39? 113♠ 1 September 1944 14:04 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11181 west of Opatów 68 15 July 1944 16:40 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 25 Ost 41681 northwest of Brody 114♠ 1 September 1944 14:06 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 25 Ost 11321 south-southwest of Opatów 69 15 July 1944 16:44 Yak-9? PQ 25 Ost 41656 northwest of Brody 115 2 September 1944 10:00 P-39? PQ 25 Ost 11181 west of Opatów 70 16 July 1944 11:02 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 41617 north of Busk 116 2 September 1944 10:03 Il-2 m.H. PQ 25 Ost 11316 southwest of Opatów 71 16 July 1944 11:03 Il-2 m.H.? PQ 25 Ost 41655 northwest of Brody 117? 2 September 1944 10:06 P-51 – 2. Staffel of Kommando "Nowotny" –Defense of the Reich — October – November 1944 7 October 1944 B-24 Magdeburg/Rothensee 120 8 November 1944 10:36 P-51 Bielefeld 118 28 October 1944 12:04 P-51 Coesfeld 121 8 November 1944 10:37 P-51 Osnabrück 119 6 November 1944 10:57 P-47 Schorlingborsteler BeekeLake Dümmer 122 8 November 1944 10:40 P-51 vicinity of Südmerzen – 10. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 7 –Defense of the Reich — March – 10 April 1945 123 18 March 1945 11:15 P-51 Nauen-Rathenow-Brandenburg-Potsdam 129 31 March 1945 08:37–09:32 Lancaster Hamburg 124 19 March 1945 14:00+ B-17 vicinity of Chemnitz 130 31 March 1945 08:37–09:32 P-51 Hamburg 125 21 March 1945 09:15~ P-51 northwest of Dresden 131 4 April 1945 09:00+ P-51 south of Bremen 126 22 March 1945 12:45~ P-51 Cottbus-Bautzen-Dresden 132 9 April 1945 Lancaster Hamburg 127 24 March 1945 11:36–12:28 B-17 vicinity of Wittenberg 133 10 April 1945 P-51 128 25 March 1945 10:10 P-51

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (14 July 1943) 1st Class (24 August 1943) Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold (27 July 1943) Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 20 March 1944 as Leutnant and pilot German Cross in Gold on 20 March 1944 as Leutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 52 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 October 1944 as Leutnant and Staffelführer in the I./Jagdgeschwader 52