Herbert Broennle

Herbert Brönnle (25 December 1920 – 4 July 1943) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Broennle was killed on 4 July 1943 when he was shot down north of Lake Lentini in Italy. He was credited with 58 victories in 387 missions.

Early life and career Brönnle was born on 25 December 1920 in Pasing, a district of Munich, in the Free State of Bavaria, then part of the Weimar Republic. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe and in 1939 received flight training. In September 1940, Brönnle was posted to 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). At the time, his Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Rudolf Unger and subordinated to 2. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 54 headed by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin. On 23 September, the Gruppe had been withdrawn from Campagne-lès-Guines near the English Channel in France and ordered to Jever Airfield where the Gruppe was replenished. At Jever, the Gruppe flew fighter patrols over the German Bight.

World War II World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. In April 1941, 2. Staffel moved to Wangerooge Airfield located on the East Frisian Island of Wangerooge. Here on 27 May, Brönnle was injured when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 (Werknummer 2797—factory number) suffered engine failure resulting in an emergency landing at Wangerooge. On 14 June, the Gruppe was withdrawn and began preparations for the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

War against the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941. In the fortnight prior, JG 54 had been moved to an airfield in Lindenthal near Rautenberg, East Prussia, present-day Uslowoje in Kaliningrad Oblast. Tasked with supporting Army Group North in its advance through the Baltic states towards Leningrad, the unit began combat operations shortly afterwards. The next day, Brönnle claimed his first aerial victory when pilots of I. Gruppe of JG 54 claimed 14 Tupolev SB-2 bombers shot down, including one by Brönnle. On 29 July, I. Gruppe moved to a makeshift airfield named Malaja Owsischtschi located near Lake Ozero Samro east of Lake Peipus where they remained until 24 August. Here, the Gruppe supported German forces in the attack on Leningrad. Here on 17 August, Brönnle made a forced landing near Tschertskowad when his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 5444) suffered engine failure. His crash-site was behind Soviet lines. Avoiding capture by diving into a river, Brönnle returned to German held territory the following day.

On 2 February 1942, Brönnle may have shot down from the Soviet 41 IAP Fighter Regiment. Brönnle was the only pilot of JG 54 to claim an aerial victory that day. On 14 May, Brönnle engaged in aerial combat with SB-2 bombers near Peterhof. In this encounter, his Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 7474) was damaged, resulting in an emergency landing at Krasnogvardeysk, present-day Gatchina, and injuring Brönnle. While hospitalized, Brönnle was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 15 June.

Following his convalescence, Brönnle returned to his unit in October 1942 and was promoted to Oberfeldwebel, a non-commissioned officer's rank. In mid-December 1942, I. Gruppe began converting to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 radial engine powered fighter. The conversion training took place at Heiligenbeil, present-day Mamonovo, before returning to Krasnogvardeysk.

On 14 March 1943, Brönnle, together with Oberleutnant Günter Fink, were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after 57 and 46 aerial victories respectively. Brönnle then briefly served as an instructor with Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Süd, a supplementary training unit, before transferring to Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing).

Squadron leader and death On 10 May 1943, JG 53 was stationed at various airfields in Sicily, the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) and II. Gruppe were based at Comiso Airfield, I. Gruppe was assigned to Catania Airfield and III. Gruppe at Sciacca. On 26 May, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) sent 45 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the 2nd and 301st Bombardment Group on a mission to bomb Comiso Airfield. Defending against this attack, Brönnle claimed one of the B-17s shot down southwest of Gela. The B-17F "42-29594" of 96th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bombardment Group was shot up with one member of the crew killed in action but managed to return.

On 22 June 1943, Brönnle was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of JG 53, replacing Oberleutnant Dietrich Kasten in this capacity. The Staffel was subordinated to I. Gruppe of JG 53 led by Major Friedrich-Karl Müller and was based in Vibo Valentia, Italy at the time. Less than two weeks later, on 4 July, Brönnle was shot down and killed in action in his Bf 109 G-6/R1 (Werknummer 18430) by Supermarine Spitfire fighters north of Lago di Lentini. He was briefly succeeded by Oberleutnant Heinz-Günther Hennig as commander of 2. Staffel before Oberleutnant Kasten returned and took command again on 22 July. According to Dixon, his victor may have been the New Zealand fighter pilot Evan Mackie who claimed a Bf 109 shot down that day. In the account given by Shores, Massimello, Guest and Olynyk, Brönnle was experiencing engine trouble and was retreating from combat when he came under attack from four to eight Spitfire fighters of the Royal Air Force No. 43 Squadron. In this account, Brönnle was shot down by Flight Lieutenant Graham James Cox.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to Obermaier, Brönnle was credited with 58 victories claimed in 387 combat missions, with 57 victories over the Eastern Front and one four-engined heavy bomber over the Western Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 58 aerial victory claims, of which 57 were claimed on the Eastern Front and one four-engined heavy bomber on the Western Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 10184". 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 – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 1 23 June 1941 10:16 SB-2 11 16 August 1941 15:15 I-153 2 6 July 1941 18:35 SB-2 12 19 August 1941 14:35 DB-3 3 6 July 1941 18:38 SB-2 13 24 August 1941 11:05 DB-3 4 6 July 1941 18:45 SB-2 14 8 September 1941 16:25 I-153 5 10 July 1941 19:12 SB-3 15 8 September 1941 16:26 R-5 east of Schinskoje Selo 6 17 July 1941 18:20 I-18 (MiG-1) 16 10 September 1941 18:00 I-18 (MiG-1) 7 19 July 1941 18:31 I-16 17 11 September 1941 15:18 I-18 (MiG-1) 8 31 July 1941 16:48 I-18 (MiG-1) 18 12 September 1941 06:00 I-153 9 10 August 1941 17:20 SB-3 19 21 September 1941 16:59 I-18 (MiG-1) 10 12 August 1941 17:40 SB-2 20 23 September 1941 10:53 I-18 (MiG-1) – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 30 April 1942 21 2 February 1942 15:30 I-18 (MiG-1) 26 16 March 1942 16:55 I-16 22 3 February 1942 12:40? I-18 (MiG-1) 27 20 March 1942 17:05 P-40 23 5 February 1942 08:50 I-18 (MiG-1) southeast of Malaya Vishera 28 28 March 1942 13:40 I-15 24 5 February 1942 09:12 Pe-2 29 12 April 1942 15:15 Yak-1 25 27 February 1942 08:45 I-18 (MiG-1) 30 18 April 1942 12:30 Yak-1 – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 1 May 1942 – 3 February 1943 31 14 May 1942 15:17 SB-2 41 14 January 1943 11:10 La-5 PQ 10161southeast of Shlisselburg 32 14 May 1942 15:18 SB-2 42 14 January 1943 11:20 Hurricane PQ 10184southeast of Shlisselburg 33 22 October 1942 13:56 I-15 PQ 1161 43? 14 January 1943 14:37 Il-2 PQ 00292 ? 23 October 1942 12:05 Pe-2 north of Techerwino 44 15 January 1943 09:00 La-5 PQ 10163southeast of Shlisselburg 34 11 November 1942 08:29 P-40 PQ 10211 west of Volkhov 45 15 January 1943 14:15 P-40 PQ 00291 west of Mga 35 7 January 1943 14:04 LaGG-3 PQ 10213 west of Volkhov 46 15 January 1943 14:25 La-5 PQ 10142south of Shlisselburg 36 12 January 1943 11:15 Il-2 PQ 10151southeast of Shlisselburg 47 22 January 1943 12:55 Il-2 PQ 10174vicinity of Mga 37 12 January 1943 11:18 Il-2 PQ 10162southeast of Shlisselburg 48 22 January 1943 13:00 Il-2 PQ 10153southeast of Shlisselburg 38 12 January 1943 11:32 Il-2 PQ 00264 southwest of Shlisselburg 49 23 January 1943 11:00 Yak-1 PQ 10142south of Shlisselburg 39 13 January 1943 09:15 Il-2 PQ 10154southeast of Shlisselburg 50 24 January 1943 11:45 LaGG-3 PQ 00234 west of Shlisselburg 40 13 January 1943 13:20 Il-2 PQ 00443 southeast of Slutsk 51 27 January 1943 14:15 Il-2 PQ 00291 west of Mga – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 4 February – March 1943 52 5 March 1943 14:57? LaGG-3 PQ 36 Ost 28312 west-northwest of Demyansk 55 17 March 1943 16:15 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 18333 south of Staraya Russa 53 5 March 1943 14:58? LaGG-3 PQ 36 Ost 28323 northwest of Demyansk 56 17 March 1943 16:16? LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 18334 south of Staraya Russa 54 15 March 1943 08:45 Il-2 PQ 36 Ost 10184east of Mga 57 21 March 1943 11:50 P-39 PQ 36 Ost 00273 northeast of Pushkin – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Sicily — May 1943 58 26 May 1943 12:30 B-17 southwest of Gela southwest of Gozo – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Sicily — July 1943 ? 2 July 1943 B-24

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 7 October 1941 as Unteroffizier in a Jagdgeschwader German Cross in Gold on 15 June 1942 as Feldwebel in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 54