Herbert Rollwage

Herbert Rollwage (24 September 1916 – 4 January 1980) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. Depending on source, he is credited between 71 and 102 aerial victories achieved in 664 combat missions. This figure includes 11 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and at least 61 victories over the Western Allies, including up to 44 four-engine heavy bombers.

Career Rollwage was born on 24 September 1916 in Gielde, at the time in the Province of Hanover within the German Empire, present-day part of the Schladen-Werla municipality. He was the son of a shunter who joined the military service of the Luftwaffe as an Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer) candidate in 1936. Following flight training, Rollwage was posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) in 1941 holding the rank of Feldwebel (platoon sergeant).

Operation Barbarossa On 8 June 1941, the bulk of JG 53's air elements moved via Jever, in northern Germany, to Mannheim-Sandhofen. There the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul prior to moving east. The II. Gruppe was transferred to Neusiedel in East Prussia, present-day Malomožaiskojė in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia, between 12 and 14 June. On 22 June, the Geschwader crossed into Soviet airspace in support of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union which opened the Eastern Front. That day, Rollwage claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Soviet Tupolev SB-2 bomber. On 5 July 1941, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class followed by the Iron Cross 1st Class on 16 September.

On 5 October, Rollwage claimed his last aerial victory on the Eastern Front, his eleventh in total, when he shot down a Polikarpov I-16 fighter. That day, his unit flew its final missions in the area of Shlisselburg. The Gruppe then relocated to the Western Front where it arrived at Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands on 12 October. On 2 December 1941, II. Gruppe moved to the Mediterranean theater and where then based at Comiso airfield during the siege of Malta.

Mediterranean theater Rollwage was credited with his first aerial victory in the Mediterranean theater on 4 January 1942, claiming Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Hurricane fighter shot down. On 14 April, he claimed his 13th and 14th aerial victories when he shot down two Bristol Beaufort bombers south of Qrendi. Two Supermarine Spitfire fighters claimed on 10 May near Valletta took his total to 18 aerial victories. Three days later, he claimed another Spitfire shot down near Luqa. On 14 July, Rollwage participated in mission which escorted 15 Junkers Ju 88 bombers from Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54—54th Bomber Wing) to the RAF Luqa airfield. On this mission, he claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down.

On 8 August 1942, Rollwage flew his 300th combat mission and claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down. His opponent may have been the Canadian fighter pilot George Beurling who managed to land his damaged aircraft. For his achievements to date, Rollwage was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 10 August followed by the German Cross in Gold two days later. Following the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch, II. Gruppe relocated to Tunis on 9 November. On 30 December, a number of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters escorted twelve Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers on their bombing mission to Gabès. 5. Staffel intercepted the formation and Rollwage claimed one of the P-38 fighters shot down, his 35th aerial victory. His opponent may have been Virgil Smith of the 14th Fighter Group, who was killed in the crash landing.

On 8 July 1943, the USAAF attacked Ramacca with 24 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Elements of II. Gruppe intercepted the bombers. During this aerial battle, Rollwage claimed a B-17 bomber shot down approximately southwest of Capo Scaramia. The next day, the USAAF attacked the Luftwaffe airfield at Trapani with a formation of Martin B-26 Marauder bombers escorted by Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters. The formation was intercepted at 10:53. In this encounter, Luftwaffe pilots claimed seven aerial victories including a P-40 shot down by Rollwage northwest of Cape San Vito. On 10 July during the Allied invasion of Sicily, Rollwage claimed two aerial victories, a P-38 fighter and a Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly observation aircraft. The YO-51 was likely misidentified and could have been a Vought OS2U Kingfisher observation floatplane launched form and piloted by Lieutenant McGuiness. Following this encounter, he was shot down and wounded in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 18242—factory number) near San Pietro.

Defense of the Reich In mid-October 1943, II. Gruppe of JG 53 was withdrawn Italy and ordered to relocate to Wien-Seyring near Vienna for combat in defense of the Reich. In Wien-Seyring, the Gruppe received a full complement of factory new Bf 109 G-6 aircraft. Here, Rollwage returned to his unit in November after a period of convalescence following his injuries sustained on 10 July. On 7 January 1944, the USAAF targeted Vienna. The heavy bombers were escorted by P-38 fighters. II. Gruppe was scrambled at 10:41 and engaged the escorting P-38 fighters. In this 40 minute aerial battle, Luftwaffe pilots claimed 15 P-38s shot down, including two by Rollwage, taking his total to 49 aerial victories claimed. On 25 February during Operation Argument, also known as Big Week, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attacked the ball bearing factories at Steyr. Defending against this attack, Rollwage shot down a B-17 bomber near Gmunden.

On 5 April, Rollwage was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 53 aerial victories. He received the award from Generalleutnant Joseph Schmid, commanding 1. Jagdkorps. Rollwage was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 May 1944. On 27 May, the USAAF 3rd Bombardment Division sent 102 B-17 bombers to Strasbourg and further 98 B-17 bombers to the marshalling yard at Karlsruhe. Defending against attack, Rollwage claimed a B-17 bomber and an escorting North American P-51 Mustang fighter shot down. On 15 August, Rollwage was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel of JG 53. He succeeded Oberleutnant Karl Paashaus who was transferred.

In December 1944, Rollwage was transferred to II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 106 (JG 106—106th Fighter Wing), a fighter pilot training unit, where he served as an instructor. On 21 January 1945, Rollwagen, who was en route to the Führerbunker in Berlin to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves by Adolf Hitler, visited II. Gruppe of JG 53 then based at Rutesheim. The Gruppenkommandeur (group commander), Major Julius Meimberg, advised Rollwage to be at his best behavior when meeting with Hitler. Apparently, Rollwage had a problem with military discipline. The Oak Leaves were awarded to him on 24 January, the 713th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. Rollwage claimed his last documented aerial victory on 5 April. At the time both II. Gruppe of JG 106 and II. Gruppe of JG 53 were both based at Rißtissen, located approximately southwest of Ulm. That day, Rollwage shot down a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter.

Later life Following World War II, Rollwage served in the newly established German Air Force of West Germany with the rank of Hauptmann (captain) until his retirement in 1968. He died on 4 January 1980 in his hometown Gielde.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to Spick, Rollwage was credited with 102 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. Toliver and Constable also list him with 102 aerial victories, 11 on the Eastern Front, 20 in the Mediterranean theater and 71 on the Western Front, including 44 heavy bombers. Obermaier states that exact number of aerial victories remains unknown, likely to be in the range of 80 to 85, claimed in 664 combat missions. Scutts lists him with 71 aerial victories, including 12 on the Eastern Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 66 aerial victory claims, plus six further unconfirmed claims. This number includes ten claims on the Eastern Front and 56 over the Western Allies, including ten four-engined bombers. Stockert speculates that the figure of 102 aerial victories stated by some authors is likely liked to the confusion between aerial victories claimed and the Luftwaffe point system associated to shooting down a heavy bomber. In 1943, the Luftwaffe had introduced a point system which accounted for the difficulties in shooting down a heavy bomber. Although a single heavy bomber shot down or damaged still counted as one aerial victory, the pilot was however credited with three points. These accumulated points earned a fighter pilot awards, medals and promotions.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 15 Ost S/JA". 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. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 4 October 1941 1 22 June 1941 05:57 SB-2 north of Raseiniai 6 27 August 1941 13:49 unspecified flying boat northwest of Szaltzo 2 11 July 1941 05:45 SB-3 east of Slavkovichi 7 27 August 1941 17:14 unspecified passenger aircraft? north of Ivanskoye 16 July 1941 SB-2 8? 30 August 1941 05:09 I-16 southwest of Solugubovka 3 21 July 1941 21:03 SB-3 northeast of Dno 9 16 September 1941 10:31 Li-2 northeast of Babino 4 25 August 1941 16:40 I-18 (MiG-1) south of Njetschanje 10 30 September 1941 13:08 I-180 (Yak-7) east of Taksowo 5 27 August 1941 13:48 unspecified flying boat northwest of Szaltzo 11 5 October 1941 06:32 I-16 northwest of Shlisselburg – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Mediterranean Theater — 25 November 1941 – 31 December 1942 12 4 January 1942 10:31 Hurricane northwest of Maltas Point 24 8 July 1942 11:32 Spitfire south of Birżebbuġa 13 14 April 1942 17:05 Beaufort south of Qrendi 25 9 July 1942 19:25 Spitfire southwest of Dingli 14 14 April 1942 17:07 Beaufort south of Qrendi 26 14 July 1942 10:25 Spitfire west of Żonqor Point 15 24 April 1942 07:43 Spitfire west of Ta' Vnezja 27 28 July 1942 08:54 Spitfire northwest of Żonqor Point 16 9 May 1942 11:05 Spitfire southeast of Luqa 28 29 July 1942 10:11 Spitfire east of Malta 17 10 May 1942 11:05 Spitfire south of La Valletta 29 8 August 1942 10:02 Spitfire north of La Valletta 18 10 May 1942 19:04 Spitfire south of La Valetta 30 22 October 1942 16:28 Spitfire east of Malta 19 13 May 1942 13:02 Spitfire northwest of Luqa 31 26 October 1942 12:14 Spitfire northeast of La Valletta 20 1 July 1942 14:04 Spitfire St. Paul's Bay 32 12 December 1942 15:11 P-38 northeast of Limaguess 21 6 July 1942 07:37 Spitfire southeast of Gozo 33 15 December 1942 08:41 P-38 southeast of Skhira 22 6 July 1942 19:41 Spitfire northeast of La Valletta 34 17 December 1942 09:53 P-38 southeast of Gafsa 23 7 July 1942 06:47 Spitfire northeast of Żonqor Point 35 30 December 1942 11:16 P-38 northwest of Gabès – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Mediterranean Theater — 1 January – 10 July 1943 36 23 February 1943 13:05 Beaufort west of Trapani 42 4 July 1943 11:14 Spitfire east of Catania 37 24 February 1943 12:10 Spitfire west of El Aroussa 43 4 July 1943 14:18 B-26 south of Gela 38 22 May 1943 18:35 Spitfire south of Gela 44 8 July 1943 12:28 B-17 southwest of Ragusa 39 9 June 1943 12:58 B-24 northwest of La Valletta 45 9 July 1943 11:02 P-40 northwest of Cape San Vito 40 13 June 1943 12:05 Spitfire north of Mineo 46 10 July 1943 10:37 P-38 southwest of Gela 41 20 June 1943 10:47 Spitfire south of Cap Passero 47 10 July 1943 10:39 YO-51 south of Gela – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Defense of the Reich — 1 January – 6 June 1944 48 7 January 1944 12:29 P-38 east-southeast of Graz 56 11 April 1944 11:56 B-17* PQ 15 Ost S/JA, Goslar 49 7 January 1944 12:32 P-38 southwest of Graz 57 13 April 1944 13:58 B-17 southeast of Aschaffenburg 50? 22 February 1944 13:20 B-24* Altötting 58 19 April 1944 10:35 B-17 PQ 05 Ost S/LU-5/6south of Münden, east of Kassel 51? 24 February 1944 13:05 B-17 north of Gmunden 59 12 May 1944 15:29 B-17 southeast of Koblenz 52 23 March 1944 10:31 B-17* PQ 15 Ost S/HA-3, southwest of Braunschweig 60 27 May 1944 12:21 P-51 PQ 04 Ost S/CO/CN, south of Lunéville270° from Rambervillers 53? 2 April 1944 11:28 B-17 north of Zeltweg 61 27 May 1944 12:30 B-17 PQ 04 Ost S/BQ-9, Offenburg 54? 8 April 1944 13:55 B-24 north-northwest of Fallersleben 62 29 May 1944 12:05 B-17 PQ 15 Ost S/JE/JFDessau 55 11 April 1944 11:08 B-17 PQ 15 Ost S/GC, HaldenslebenHalberstadt-Quedlinburg – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Invasion Front in France — 6 June – 31 December 1944 63 8 June 1944 10:43 B-26 northeast of Cherbourgoff Barfleur 67 28 September 1944 17:28? P-47 west of Haguenaunorth of Sarrebourg 64 17 June 1944 16:15 P-47 northeast of Carentan 68 28 September 1944 17:38 P-47 PQ 04 Ost N/AP-7, southeast of NancySt Nichlas southwest of Nancy 65 22 August 1944 19:33 P-38 northwest of Saint-Quentin south of Péronne 69 20 October 1944 10:48 P-47 PQ 04 Ost N/CP-2, Schirmecksouthwest of Strasbourg 66 23 August 1944 09:31 P-47 southwest of Mantes-la-Jolie 70 25 November 1944 12:45 Piper L-4 PQ 04 Ost N/AQ-7, north of MommenheimHaguenau – II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 –Defense of the Reich — March – May 1945 71 5 April 1945 06:30 P-47

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (5 July 1941) 1st Class (16 September 1941) Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 10 August 1942 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot German Cross in Gold on 12 December 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 53 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 6 April 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 53 713th Oak Leaves on 24 January 1945 as Leutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 5./Jagdgeschwader 53