Hans Fuß

Hans Fuß (19 September 1920 – 10 November 1942) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Hans Fuss was credited with 71 victories in over 300 missions. All his victories were recorded over the Eastern Front.

Career Fuß was born on 19 September 1920 in Altenhof near Meseritz in West Prussia, present-day Stary Dwór in western Poland. Following flight training, he was posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3–3rd Fighter Wing) in early 1941.

War against the Soviet Union In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe headed further east on 18 June. Following a stopover at Kraków, the unit was moved to Hostynne. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 under the command of Major (Major) Günther Lützow was subordinated to the 5th Air Corps, under the command of General der Flieger (General of the Aviators) Robert Ritter von Greim, itself part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under the command of Generaloberst (Colonel General) Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South, with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev. At 17:00 on 21 June 1941, the 5th Air Corps, based at Lipsko, briefed the various unit commanders of the upcoming attack. That evening, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe Lothar Keller informed his subordinates of the attack. The next day, the first day of Operation Barbarossa, Fuß claimed his first aerial victory.

Eastern Front II. Gruppe had been ordered to the Eastern Front in preparation for Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. While based at Pilsen, Hauptmann Kurt Brändle took over command of the Gruppe after the former commander Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Krahl had been killed in action over Malta. The Gruppe was then deployed on the left wing of Army Group South where it was based at Chuhuiv near the Donets on 19 May. There, Fuß served with the Gruppenstab as an adjutant to Brändle.

Squadron leader

On 1 August, Fuß was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 6. Staffel of JG 3 after its former commander Oberleutnant Hans-Jürgen Waldhelm had been transferred. On 7 August, the German 6th Army attacked Soviet forces at Kalach, encircling elements of the Soviet 62nd Army west of the Don. During this battle, II. Gruppe supported the advance, claiming 23 aerial victories, including six by Fuß, making him an "ace-in-a-day".

On 14 September 1942, Fuß claimed a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter shot down, his last aerial victory claim. During this battle, he engaged with Lydia Litvyak and his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13758—factory number) took a hit in the fuel tank causing his engine to seize. During the forced landing at Dedyurevo, an airfield approximately northeast of Smolensk, his aircraft crashed and Fuß was severely injured. Fuß died of gangrene following the amputation of one of his legs at a Luftwaffe hospital in Berlin on 10 November 1942.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Fuß was credited with 71 aerial victories. Obermaier and Spick also list Fuß with 71 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front, in over 300 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 69 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 4072". 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 – 4. Steffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –Operation Barbarossa – 22 June – 1 November 1941 1 22 June 1941 06:50 I-153 west of Lemberg 14 13 September 1941 17:29 V-11 (Il-2) 2 22 June 1941 07:00 I-16 west of Lemberg 15 17 September 1941 15:40 I-17 (MiG-1) 3 23 June 1941 09:50 SB-2 16 19 September 1941 14:05 I-16 4 23 June 1941 09:55 SB-2 south of Volodymyr-Volynskyi 17 19 September 1941 17:30 V-11 (Il-2) 5 25 June 1941 09:00 DB-3 west of Lutsk 18 24 September 1941 13:37 I-17 (MiG-1) 6 25 June 1941 09:20 I-16 northwest of Berestechko 19 17 October 1941 09:15 I-16 7 30 June 1941 14:45 I-16 north of Ternopil 20 17 October 1941 09:15 I-16 8 9 July 1941 16:10 DB-3 northwest of Gudnow 21 17 October 1941 10:10 I-153 east of Perekop 9 9 July 1941 16:13 DB-3 northwest of Gudnow 22 17 October 1941 10:30 Il-2 10 12 July 1941 17:50 DB-3 23 19 October 1941 12:40 Pe-2 11 30 August 1941 14:25 V-11 (Il-2) 24 22 October 1941 07:20 Pe-2 12 7 September 1941 13:20 V-11 (Il-2) northeast of Potoki 25 23 October 1941 16:25 I-61 (MiG-3) 13 13 September 1941 17:22 V-11 (Il-2) – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –Eastern Front – 26 April – 31 July 1942 26 23 May 1942 07:27 I-61 (MiG-3) 44 1 July 1942 16:27 Boston 27 23 May 1942 07:28 I-61 (MiG-3) 45 1 July 1942 18:52 Il-2 28 26 May 1942 09:35 I-61 (MiG-3) east of Mospanowo 46 4 July 1942 10:25 MiG-1 northeast of Kastornoye 29? 26 May 1942 17:10 unknown 47 4 July 1942 19:21 Pe-2 30 27 May 1942 18:22 MiG-1 48 6 July 1942 18:02 Pe-2 31 29 May 1942 15:55 MiG-1 49 6 July 1942 18:05 Pe-2 32 29 May 1942 15:58 MiG-1 50 6 July 1942 18:25 Hurricane 33 29 May 1942 16:04 Pe-2 51 7 July 1942 17:14 Pe-2 34 12 June 1942 10:56 Su-2 52 7 July 1942 17:18 Pe-2 35 13 June 1942 10:19 Il-2 53 8 July 1942 19:22 Pe-2 36 13 June 1942 10:32 MiG-1 54 8 July 1942 19:26 Pe-2 37 22 June 1942 17:55 Hurricane north of Kupiansk 55 8 July 1942 19:30 Pe-2 38 23 June 1942 18:10 LaGG-3 56 10 July 1942 09:53 Hurricane 39 23 June 1942 18:17 LaGG-3 57 17 July 1942 10:11 Il-2 40 24 June 1942 11:27 LaGG-3 58 17 July 1942 17:51 Il-2 41 30 June 1942 10:35 P-39 59 20 July 1942 15:50 Il-2 42 30 June 1942 10:40 Boston 60 23 July 1942 13:05 Yak-1 43 30 June 1942 10:48 Boston – 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –Eastern Front – 1 August – 14 September 1942 61♠ 7 August 1942 10:20 Il-2 northwest of Plotowitoje 67 9 August 1942 10:05 MiG-1 north of Kalach 62♠ 7 August 1942 10:24 Il-2 east of Frolow 68 17 August 1942 10:56 LaGG-3 PQ 4072 63♠ 7 August 1942 13:50 LaGG-3 northwest of Plotowitoje 69 21 August 1942 17:47 Il-2 PQ 49611 64♠ 7 August 1942 13:57 LaGG-3 north of Plotowitoje 70 21 August 1942 17:48 Il-2 PQ 49612 65♠ 7 August 1942 13:58 MiG-1 north of Plotowitoje 71? 14 September 1942 Yak-1 66♠ 7 August 1942 14:00 MiG-1 north of Plotowitoje

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 23 March 1942 as Leutnant and pilot German Cross in Gold on 10 July 1942 as Leutnant in the II./Jagdgeschwader 3 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 August 1942 as Leutnant and pilot in the II./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"