Hans-Dieter Frank

Hans-Dieter Frank (8 July 1919 – 28 September 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 55 aerial victories claimed in approximately 150 combat missions making him the seventeenth most successful night fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare. All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in Defense of the Reich missions against the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Bomber Command.

Born in Kiel, Frank grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Following graduation from school, he joined the military service in 1937 and was trained as a pilot. Frank then served with Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing), flying a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter during the Invasion of Poland and Battle of France. In mid-1941, he transferred to Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing) where he became a night fighter pilot and claimed his first aerial victory on the night of 10/11 April 1941. Frank was appointed squadron leader of 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of NJG 1 in August 1942. Following his 33rd aerial victory, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 June 1943. On 1 July 1943, he was appointed group commander of I. Gruppe of NJG 1. Frank and his crew were killed in action in a mid-air collision with another German night fighter on the night of 27/28 September 1943. He was posthumously bestowed with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and promoted to Major (major).

Early life and career Frank was born on 8 July 1919 in Kiel, which was then part of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein during the Weimar Republic. He was the son of a sales agent. After graduation from school and receipt of his Abitur (university entry qualification), Frank joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 as a Fahnenjunker (cadet). Following flight training, he was posted to Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing).

World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Now a Leutnant (second lieutenant) with I. Gruppe (1st group) of ZG 1, Frank flew his first combat missions over Poland and during the Battle of France. On 22 June 1940, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing) was created from I. Gruppe of ZG 1 and placed under the command of Hauptmann Wolfgang Falck. In consequence, Frank became a member of the night-fighter force.

Night fighter career A map of part of the Kammhuber Line. The 'belt' and night fighter 'boxes' are shown. Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942. On 25 August 1941, Frank became an ace after downing his 5th victim, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, Z6505, MH-F, No. 51 Squadron RAF. Sergeant J. C. W. King and his crew were captured. He was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel of NJG 1 on 8 August 1942. On 27 November 1942, Frank was awarded the German Cross in Gold .

Frank was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 June 1943, the nomination had been submitted for 33 aerial victories claimed. The presentation was made by Generalmajor Kammhuber. On the night of 21/22 June, RAF Bomber Command sent 705 aircraft on a mission to bomb Krefeld, losing 44 aircraft in the attack. That night, Frank claimed six victories in the early hours, making him an "ace-in-a-day". One of the bombers he shot down was Handley Page Halifax HR848, which was one of 19 No. 35 Squadron RAF aircraft detailed to attack Krefeld on the night of the 21/22 June. Flight Sergeant R. J. Quigley and two of his crew were captured and the remaining four perished. Another was HR735 operated by No. 158 Squadron RAF. Pilot Officer C. H. Robinson DFC RNZAF and his six crew were killed. A third, BB375, flown by German-Canadian Sergeant C. C. Reichert RCAF, No. 408 Squadron RAF, crashed with all but one crewman killed. Further victories included an Avro Lancaster bomber from No. 100 Squadron RAF near Dinther, and two Halifax bombers from 408 (Goose) Squadron near Zeist and Lopik.

On 24/25 June Sergeant Robert Whitfield's Halifax JD258, VR-K borrowed from No. 419 Bomber Squadron RCAF, but operated by a No. 428 Squadron RAF crew, became Frank's 41st aerial victory. All of the crew died. The aircraft was on a mission to bomb Elberfeld, a municipal of Wuppertal. Frank's last victory in June 1943 occurred on day twenty-nine when he shot down his 44th victim; Lancaster bomber ED362, HW-E, flown by Pilot Officer J. P. Pascoe RCAF, No. 100 Squadron RAF. Pascoe and all but one of his crew were killed (Sergeant R. G Storr was taken prisoner). That night, RAF Bomber Command was targeting Cologne.

Group commander

On 1 July 1943, Frank was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of NJG 1, succeeding Major Werner Streib. Operating from Venlo Airfield, Frank claimed his first aerial victory as Gruppenkommandeur on the night of 9/10 July when he attacked Lancaster bomber W4763 from No. 61 Squadron RAF which crashed near Overdinkel in the Netherlands. Four nights later, he shot down a Halifax bomber from No. 401 Squadron RCAF and another Halifax bomber from No. XXXV (Madras Presidency) Squadron. Frank claimed his first aerial victories flying the Heinkel He 219 night fighter of the night of 25/26 July when claimed two aerial victories, a Lancaster bomber from No. 50 Squadron RAF and a Wellington bomber from 429 (Bomber) Squadron RCAF. When on the night 30/31 August 660 bombers targeted both Mönchengladbach and Rheydt, Frank was credited with the destruction of three bombers. His aerial victories included a Short Stirling bomber over Mönchengladbach, the Vickers Wellington bomber JA118 from the Royal Canadian Air Force No. 432 Squadron RCAF, and a Lancaster bomber which crashed near Brüggen.

Frank and his radio operator Oberfeldwebel Erich Gotter were killed following a mid-air collision with another German night fighter northwest of Celle in the night of 28/29 September 1943. Their He 219 A-0 (Werknummer 190055—factory number) "G9+CB" had collided with a Bf 110 G-4 of the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of NJG 1 during the landing approach. Frank had escaped the aircraft using the ejection seat but forgot to release his radio-cable. He landed safely but was strangled by the radio-cable. The three man crew of the Bf 110 G-4, pilot Hauptmann Günther Friedrich, radio operator Oberleutnant Werner Gerber and flight engineer Obergefreiter Kurt Weißke, were also killed in the accident. This collision was likely caused by an attack made on his fighter by RAF night fighter ace Bob Braham. On 2 March 1944, Frank was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , the 417th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored. Posthumously, he was also promoted to Major (major). He was succeeded by Hauptmann Manfred Meurer as commander of I. Gruppe of NJG 1.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Frank was credited with 55 aerial victories. Obermaier lists him with 55 nocturnal aerial victories claimed in 328 combat missions. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 54 nocturnal victory claims Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Frank with 51 claims.

Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Serial No./Squadron No. – I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 1 10 April 1941 23:32 Hampden southwest of Neeroeteren Hampden X3066/No. 144 Squadron RAF 2 12 June 1941 02:13 Whitley vicinity of Eindhoven 3 17 August 1941 02:15 Wellington northwest of Roermond 4 17 August 1941 02:40 Whitley north of Venlo Whitley Z6794/No. 10 Squadron RAF 5 25 August 1941 01:15 Whitley east of Weert Whitley Z6505/No. 51 Squadron RAF – 2. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 6 27 December 1941 21:25 Whitley 7 13 April 1942 01:53 Wellington north of Maarheeze Wellington Z1213/No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron 8! 31 May 1942 01:30 Wellington west of Maarheeze 9 26 July 1942 02:14 Halifax north of Venlo Halifax W1211/No. 158 Squadron RAF 10 6 August 1942 00:17 Halifax northwest of Posterholt Halifax W1180/No. 78 Squadron RAF 11 27 August 1942 23:25 Wellington north of Helmond Wellington Z1613/No. 156 Squadron RAF 12 1 October 1942 21:34 Stirling northwest of Venlo 13 1 October 1942 22:30 Wellington Volkel Air Base 14 15 October 1942 22:05 Wellington southwest of Arnhem Wellington BK270/No. 419 Bomber Squadron RCAF 15 15 October 1942 22:31 Stirling northeast of 's-Hertogenbosch Lancaster W4195/No. 106 Squadron RAF 16 15 October 1942 22:56 Stirling west of Breda Stirling R9146/No. 214 Squadron RAF 17 17 January 1943 22:24 Lancaster west of IJmuiden 18 2 February 1943 22:01 Stirling east-southeast of Rotterdamn Stirling R9264/No. 7 Squadron RAF 19 3 April 1943 22:45 Halifax southeast of Rhenen, Arnhem Halifax JB866/408 (Goose) Squadron 20 3 April 1943 23:02 Lancaster north of Kleve 21 3 April 1943 23:25 Stirling southwest of Den Haag Halifax W7937/No. 78 Squadron RAF 22 9 April 1943 23:46 Lancaster Lancaster ED502/No. 9 Squadron RAF 23 27 April 1943 03:15 Wellington west of Brakel Wellington HE168/No. 196 Squadron RAF 24 27 April 1943 03:37 Wellington west of Dougen Wellington HE693/No. 420 Squadron RCAF 25 5 May 1943 01:47 Stirling west of Zandvoort Stirling BK782/No. 15 Squadron RAF 26 5 May 1943 02:16 Wellington south of Amsterdam Wellington HE727/No. 428 Squadron RCAF 27 5 May 1943 02:38 Wellington Werkendam Wellington HE244/No. 166 Squadron RAF 28 13 May 1943 02:21 Wellington northwest of Ereda Wellington HE423/429 (Bomber) Squadron RCAF 29 13 May 1943 03:39 Stirling Rotterdam Stirling EF357/No. 149 Squadron RAF 30 14 May 1943 02:02 Wellington Hilversum 31 14 May 1943 02:53 Wellington northwest of Hilversum Wellington HE697/No. 426 (Thunderbirds) Squadron RCAF 32 15 June 1943 00:59 Lancaster southeast of 's-Hertogenbosch Lancaster ED980/No. 619 Squadron RAF 33 15 June 1943 01:13 Lancaster south of Hien Lancaster ED434/No. 49 Squadron RAF 34 15 June 1943 02:20 Lancaster vicinity of Amsterdam Lancaster DV160/No. 460 Squadron RAAF 35♠ 22 June 1943 01:23 Lancaster northeast of Hien Lancaster ED556/No. 100 Squadron RAF 36♠ 22 June 1943 01:37 Halifax east of Kaalhoven Halifax HR735/No. 158 Squadron RAF 37♠ 22 June 1943 01:48 Halifax west of Vechel 38♠ 22 June 1943 02:09 Halifax northwest of Boxtel Halifax JD205/No. 77 Squadron RAF 39♠ 22 June 1943 02:24 Halifax southwest of Zeist Halifax DT772/408 (Goose) Squadron 40♠ 22 June 1943 02:30 Halifax north of Yaarsfeld Halifax BB375/408 (Goose) Squadron 41 25 June 1943 01:05 Halifax Acht Halifax JD258/No. 419 Bomber Squadron RCAF 42 26 June 1943 02:17 Wellington west-northwest of Gouda Wellington HE412/No. 196 Squadron RAF 43 26 June 1943 02:37 Wellington east-northeast of Gouda Wellington HF589/No. 166 Squadron RAF 44 29 June 1943 02:47 Lancaster southeast of Rotterdam Lancaster ED362/No. 100 Squadron RAF – I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 45 10 July 1943 01:22 Lancaster east-northeast of Enschede Lancaster W4763/No. 61 Squadron RAF 46 14 July 1943 01:26 Halifax south of Helmond Halifax HR905/No. 401 Squadron RCAF 47 14 July 1943 01:39 Halifax north of Leuith Halifax HR819/No. XXXV (Madras Presidency) Squadron 48 26 July 1943 00:56 Lancaster southeast of Nijmegen Lancaster ED753/No. 50 Squadron RAF 49 26 July 1943 01:30 Wellington south of Culemborg Wellington HE803/429 (Bomber) Squadron RCAF 50 23 August 1943 23:40 Lancaster southeast of Emmen Lancaster ED550/No. 207 Squadron RAF 51 31 August 1943 03:18 Stirling Mönchengladbach Stirling EF438/No. 149 Squadron RAF 52 31 August 1943 03:30 Wellington Siggerath Wellington JA118/No. 432 Squadron RCAF 53 31 August 1943 03:35 Lancaster Brüggen Lancaster JA936/No. 9 Squadron RAF 54 6 September 1943 00:15 Lancaster northeast of Pirmasens Lancaster JB133/No. 619 Squadron RAF

Awards Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 19 October 1942 as Oberleutnant and pilot German Cross in Gold on 27 November 1942 as Oberleutnant in the 2./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 20 June 1943 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 2./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 417th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1