Hartmann Grasser

Hartmann Grasser (23 August 1914 – 2 June 1986) was a World War II German fighter ace. He was credited with shooting down 103 Allied aircraft while flying 700 missions on the Western Front, Eastern Front, and in North Africa. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Early life and career Grasser was born on 23 August 1914 in Graz, Steiermark, Austria. After he received his Abitur, he started studying medicine and became a member of the Austrian Nazis. Following the failed coup attempt in the July Putsch, Grasser fled to Germany. On 1 April 1936, Grasser then joined the Luftwaffe with the rank of Fahnenjunker (cadet). Following flight training, he was posted to I. Gruppe (1st group) of Zerstörergeschwader 52 (ZG 52—52nd Destroyer Wing) where he served with 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of ZG 52.

World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. At the time ZG 52 was commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Lessmann and was based at Biblis where it was tasked with protecting Germany's western border in the Saar region during the "Phoney War". On 16 September, Grasser shot down a tethered balloon. The following day, he was awarded the Iron Cross second Class . A week later, on 24 September 1939, his Messerschmitt Bf 109 109 D-1 was damaged in combat with a French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, resulting in a forced landing at Bingen. That day, I. Gruppe of ZG 52 was also renamed and became the Jagdgruppe 152 (JGr. 152—152nd Fighter Group). On 6 January 1940, JGr. 152 was ordered to Graz where it was reequipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter and was renamed, again becoming the I. Gruppe of ZG 52. This unit was then renamed and became the II. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing). In consequence, Grasser became a pilot of 6. Staffel. Flying with this squadron, he participated in the Battle of France and Battle of England and claimed six aerial victories. During these campaigns, Grasser was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 June 1940 and received the Iron Cross first Class on 7 July.

With Jagdgeschwader 51 In October 1940, Grasser was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). There, he was assigned to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) headed by Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders. Prior to his posting to JG 51, Grasser had been destined to become a night fighter pilot which was not what he wanted to do. Additionally, he helped in the formation of the Z-Staffel (Z—Zerstörer or destroyer) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) which later became part of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing). Grasser also served as a test pilot, flying the Bf 109 T, the aircraft carrier variant, which were to be produced at Fieseler in Kassel. His acquaintance, Oberleutnant Hans Kolbow, introduced him to Mölders who arranged the transfer to JG 51 instead.

Grasser claimed his first aerial victory flying with JG 51 on 1 December 1940 when he shot down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Hurricane fighter near Ashford.

On the Eastern Front In June 1941, JG 51 and the majority of the Luftwaffe were transferred to the Eastern Front in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. On 16 July 1941, Kolbow, the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel was killed in action. He was replaced by Leutnant Hans-Joachim Steffens who was also killed in action shortly after. On 1 August, command of 5. Staffel was then handed to Grasser. The Staffel was a squadron of II. Gruppe, at the time commanded by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin. On 11 October, the Gruppe was briefly detached from the Geschwaderstab of JG 51 and ordered east to Oryol. There, the Gruppe was subordinated to Gefechtsverband Schönborn (Detachment Schönborn), named after the commander of Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77—77th Diver Bomber Wing), Major Clemens Graf von Schönborn-Wiesentheid. On 24 January 1942, Grasser attacked and shot down an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. However, his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 9704—factory number) was also hit by the aerial gunner of the DB-3 bomber resulting in a forced landing in no man's land. Grasser, who was wounded in the encounter, was rescued by the German infantry.

In May 1942, II. Gruppe was based at Bryansk but periodically also operated from airfields at Oryol and Dugino. On 2 July, the 9th Army launched Operation Seydlitz as part of the Battles of Rzhev. Defending against this operation, the Soviet Air Forces (VVS—Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily) attacked the Luftwaffe airfield at Bryansk on 5 July. II. Gruppe of JG 51 was scrambled and claimed 46 Soviet aircraft shot down for the loss of two Bf 109s damaged. That day, Grasser claimed eight aerial victories, making him an "ace-in-a-day".

North Africa II. Gruppe had been withdrawn from the Eastern Front in early October 1942 and sent to Jesau in East Prussia, present day Yushny, Bagrationovsky District, for conversion to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Conversion training began on 7 October and on 4 November, the unit received the order to convert back to the Bf 109 and to transfer to the Mediterranean theatre. Via various stopovers, II. Gruppe moved to Sidi Ahmed airfield, arriving on 14 November. There, the unit was subordinated to Fliegerführer Tunis (Flying Leader Tunis). On 28 March 1943, Grasser bailed out of his Bf 109 G-4 trop (Werknummer 15040) near Djemmal south of Sousse. On 18 April, II. Gruppe received orders to exchange their newer Bf 109 G-4 and G-6 aircraft with older Bf 109 G-2 trop aircraft of JG 77 and retreat from Africa to Bari, Italy.

On 6 June, Grasser was transferred to the staff of commanding general of the 4. Jagd-Division (4th Fighter Division). Command of II. Gruppe was then given to Oberleutnant Karl Rammelt who had led 4. Staffel. On 31 August, Grasser was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . He was the 288th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in Rastenburg on 22 September 1943. Three other Luftwaffe officers were presented with awards that day by Hitler, Hauptmann Günther Rall and Hauptmann Walter Nowotny were awarded the Swords to their Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, and Hauptmann Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein also received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. Grasser was promoted to Major on 1 December 1943.

On 28 April 1944, Grasser succeeded Hauptmann Friedrich Eberle as commander of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) which was based at Quedlinburg and fighting in Defense of the Reich. On 3 June, Grasser transferred command of III. Gruppe to Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Weber who had previously commanded 7. Staffel of JG 1 on the Eastern Front. On 15 October, Grasser took command of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 110 (JG 110—110th Fighter Wing).

Later life In May 1945, Grasser was taken prisoner of war by the United States Army. In 1946, he was transferred to the Soviet Union and was released in 1949. Following his return to Germany, he relocated to India where he became a civilian flight instructor. In 1950, he moved to Syria to work as a military advisor to the Syrian Air Force in Damascus. After his return to Germany, he settled with his wife and two sons in Cologne. There, he owned and operated a sheet metal factory. Grasser died on 2 June 1986 in Cologne and was interred in his hometown Graz.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Grasser was credited with 103 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for more than 96 aerial victory claims, plus six further unconfirmed claims. This figure includes 83 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and over 13 on the Western Front, including one four-engined bomber.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 47524". 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! Claim# Date Time Type Location Claim! Claim# Date Time Type Location – 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 152 –"Phoney War" — 1 September 1939 – 9 May 1940 1 16 September 1939 tethered balloon 1 24 September 1939 Curtiss near Hornbach According to Mathews and Foreman, aerial victories 2 to 5 are not documented in the German Federal Archives. – Stab of Jagdgeschwader 51 –At the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 26 July 1941 7 6 1 December 1940 15:16 Hurricane Ashford 16 April 1941 18:42 Spitfire Berck-sur-Mer – Stab of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 8 7 22 June 1941 12:37 SB-2 15 13 1 July 1941 14:50 DB-3 9 8 25 June 1941 12:32 SB-2 16 14 7 July 1941 19:30 V-11 (Il-2) 10 9 29 June 1941 18:30 V-11 (Il-2) 17 15 10 July 1941 07:50 R-Z? 11 10 29 June 1941 19:55 I-16 18 16 11 July 1941 09:55 DB-3 12 11 30 June 1941 11:45 DB-3 19 12 July 1941 18:50 DB-3 13 30 June 1941 15:45 DB-3 20 17 13 July 1941 19:25 DB-3 14 12 30 June 1941 15:50 DB-3 – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Operation Barbarossa — 26 July – 5 December 1941 21 18 26 July 1941 16:52 Boston 31 28 2 October 1941 10:55 I-18 (MiG-1) 22 19 26 July 1941 19:20 R-5 32 29 5 October 1941 14:27 DB-3 northeast of Sevsk 23 20 29 July 1941 18:30? SB-3 33 30 5 October 1941 14:30 DB-3 northeast of Sevsk 24 21 29 July 1941 18:36 SB-3 34 31 7 October 1941 14:10 Pe-2 25 22 9 August 1941 13:50 Pe-2 8 October 1941 Pe-2 26 23 26 August 1941 18:16 Boston east of Kaluga 35 32 22 October 1941 14:59 I-61 (MiG-3) 27 24 30 August 1941 17:42 I-18 (MiG-3) 36 33 24 October 1941 14:10 SB-2 28 25 30 August 1941 17:45 Pe-2 37 34 5 November 1941 09:32 DB-3 29 26 2 September 1941 07:06 R-5 southeast of Sechtschinskaja 38 35 16 November 1941 09:53? DB-3 30 27 7 September 1941 17:20 I-61? east of Karlewez 39 36 2 December 1941 11:10 Pe-2 – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 24 January 1942 40 37 6 December 1941 14:10 I-61 (MiG-3) east of Kashira 44 41 11 January 1942 14:05 Pe-2 41 38 14 December 1941 09:20 Pe-2 45 42 19 January 1942 12:20 DB-3 42 39 4 January 1942 12:15 Pe-2 46 43 24 January 1942 12:45 DB-3 43 40 4 January 1942 12:50 Pe-2 – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Eastern Front — March – 30 April 1942 47 44 31 March 1942 12:10 LaGG-3 49 46 7 April 1942 10:50 LaGG-3 east of Kschen 48 45 31 March 1942 15:12 LaGG-3 – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Eastern Front — 1 May – 7 October 1942 50 47 21 May 1942 06:55 R-Z? 71 68 10 August 1942 17:10 Pe-2 PQ 47524 south-southwest of Rzhev 51 48 23 June 1942 11:40 I-153 72 69 13 August 1942 18:03 Yak-1 PQ 54294 west of Belyov 52 49 25 June 1942 11:29 I-16 73 70 20 August 1942 11:55 MiG-3 PQ 64142 northwest of Belyov 53 50 26 June 1942 11:15 Yak-1 74 71 21 August 1942 11:35 LaGG-3 PQ 55884, west of Kozelsk 54 3 July 1942 05:10 I-153 75 72 22 August 1942 16:00 Pe-2 PQ 54434 southwest of Belyov 55♠ 51♠ 5 July 1942 04:46 Yak-1 76 73 23 August 1942 06:40 Il-2 PQ 54412 northeast of Dudorovskiy 56♠ 52♠ 5 July 1942 04:55 Pe-2 77 74 23 August 1942 07:00 Il-2 PQ 55883vicinity of Kozelsk 53♠ 5 July 1942 05:10 I-153 78 75 23 August 1942 17:33 Il-2 PQ 54422 west-southwest of Belyov 57♠ 54♠ 5 July 1942 09:33 Il-2 79 76 25 August 1942 06:32 Pe-2 PQ 64173 southwest of Belyov 58♠ 55♠ 5 July 1942 09:40 Il-2 80 77 27 August 1942 17:55 Yak-1 PQ 64793 northwest of Zalegoshch 5 July 1942 LaGG-3 81 78 28 August 1942 14:00 Il-2 north-northwest of Bolkhov 59♠ 56♠ 5 July 1942 13:50 Yak-1 north of Bolkhov 82 79 29 August 1942 11:35 LaGG-3 PQ 54224vicinity of Kozelsk 60♠ 57♠ 5 July 1942 14:27 Il-2 83 80 3 September 1942 13:30 LaGG-3 northeast of Sychyovka 61♠ 58♠ 5 July 1942 19:30 Il-2 84 81 4 September 1942 11:52 I-153 PQ 73151, east-southeast of Novosilvicinity of Verkhovye 62 59 9 July 1942 05:15 I-153 85 82 10 September 1942 10:22 LaGG-3 PQ 47824 east of Zubtsov 63 60 9 July 1942 05:16 I-153 86 83 10 September 1942 15:05 MiG-3 PQ 44132 south-southeast of Kirov 64 61 18 July 1942 11:35 Yak-1 87 84 14 September 1942 17:00 Il-2 PQ 47593vicinity of Rzhev 65 62 2 August 1942 15:12 Il-2 PQ 47582 west of Rzhev 88 85 14 September 1942 17:22 Il-2 PQ 47591vicinity of Rzhev 66 63 2 August 1942 18:05 Pe-2 PQ 47572 west of Rzhev 89 86 26 September 1942 09:25 R-5 PQ 47483 west of Staritsa 67 64 4 August 1942 06:35 MiG-3 PQ 47552 south-southwest of Rzhev 90 87 26 September 1942 09:26 R-5 PQ 47483 west of Staritsa 68 65 4 August 1942 06:40 MiG-3 PQ 47551 south-southwest of Rzhev 91 88 27 September 1942 07:55 LaGG-3 PQ 47542 northwest of Rzhev 69 66 4 August 1942 12:05 LaGG-3 PQ 47524 south-southwest of Rzhev 92 89 1 October 1942 11:45 Pe-2 northeast of Karmanowo 70 67 5 August 1942 17:00 Il-2 PQ 56164 north-northeast of Gagarin 4 October 1942 unknown – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Mediterranean Theater — 5 November – 31 December 1942 93 17 November 1942 12:12 Spitfire west of Bizerte 97 93 2 December 1942 09:53 P-38 west of Tebourba 94 90 27 November 1942 09:19 Spitfire south of Béja 98 94 4 December 1942 10:30 P-38 north of Majaz al Bab 95 91 28 November 1942 09:15? Lysander west of Majaz al Bab 99 95 5 December 1942 10:45 Spitfire west of Tebourba 96 92 2 December 1942 09:40? P-38 south of Tebourba – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –North Africa — 1 January – 6 June 1943 100 96 2 January 1943 12:25? Lancaster? southeast of Majaz al Bab 102 99 22 March 1943 14:10 Spitfire south of Gabès south of Mareth 97 2 January 1943 12:27 P-38 southwest of Majaz al Bab 103 100 26 March 1943 12:28 P-38 north of Maknassy north of Mansoura 101 98 21 March 1943 13:07 Spitfire southeast of Gabès

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (17 September 1939) 1st Class (7 July 1940) German Cross in Gold on 19 September 1942 as Hauptmann in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 4 September 1941 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51 288th Oak Leaves on 31 August 1943 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"

Promotions 1 January 1938: Leutnant (second lieutenant) 1 June 1940: Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) 1 August 1942: Hauptmann (captain) 1 December 1943: Major (major)