Hermann-Friedrich Joppien

Hermann-Friedrich Joppien (19 July 1912 – 25 August 1941) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace who claimed 70 enemy aircraft shot down in roughly 270 combat missions. He claimed 42 victories over the Western Front, of which 23 were Supermarine Spitfires, the remaining victories were recorded over the Eastern Front.

Born in Bochum, Joppien volunteered for military service, at first with the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic and later with the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany. He was posted to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) in 1939 and fought in the Battle of France and Britain on the Western Front. In October 1940 he was given command of I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 51. On account of his 40th aerial victory claimed, he was awarded Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Joppien. Fighting on the Eastern Front, he was killed in action with Soviet fighters on 25 August 1941.

Early life and career Joppien was born on 19 July 1912 in Bochum in the Province of Westphalia, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia. His father was a laborer and when he found new work in 1917, the family moved to Hersfeld. After Joppien completed his schooling, he received a vocational education and learned the trade of a typesetter in a printing firm. In October 1931, Joppien joined the military service with Infanterie-Regiment 15 (15th Infantry Regiment) of the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic in Gießen. There he was promoted to Unteroffizier (corporal) in 1933.

In parallel to his military service at Gießen, Joppien was very much interested and involved in glider construction and glider flight. His transfer to the Luftwaffe was somewhat delayed as Joppien had been tasked with the training of new officer recruits. On 15 October 1935, his transfer to the Luftwaffe was finally authorized. Until Christmas 1935, he had logged 100 solo flights and in June 1936 he became a flight instructor. He was promoted to Unterfeldwebel (junior non-commissioned officer) on 1 October 1936, to Feldwebel (non-commissioned officer) on 1 February 1937, and to Oberfeldwebel (staff sergeant) on 1 July 1937.

He was then selected for officer training and posted to a Kriegsschule (war school). Graduating among the top of his class of 130 students, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 23 December 1938. Initially serving as a pilot and Staffeloffizier (squadron officer) in Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), named after the after World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 June 1939. He then held the position of Technischer Offizier (technical officer) with Stab of Jagdgruppe 176 (176th Fighter Group), which was formed from the II. Gruppe (2nd Group) of Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76—76th Destroyer Wing). In mid 1939, Joppien was posted to the 1. Staffel (1st Squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing).

World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. On 23 November 1939, on the Western Front, Joppien claimed his first victory, an Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 of GC III/7, piloted by Sergent (Sergeant) Guillaume who crash landed at Heillecourt where the aircraft completely burned out. During the encounter, his Messerschmitt Bf 109 was damaged by enemy fire resulting in undercarriage failure on landing. His aircraft overturned, fortunately for Joppien, he escaped unhurt. For this achievement, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 13 December 1939.

Battle of France and Britain The Battle of France, the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, began on 10 May 1940. During this campaign, Joppien was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on 10 June 1940. By 25 June 1940, the date which marked the end of the French campaign, he claimed three further victories, which brought his total to four aerial victories. On 10 June, I. Gruppe was ordered to Jever Airfield and to Leeuwarden Airfield on 21 June. The Gruppe was then ordered to Saint-Inglevert Airfield on 12 July and participated in the Battle of Britain against the Royal Air Force (RAF).

On 5 August 1940, Joppien became Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 1. Staffel of JG 51. He succeeded Hauptmann Douglas Pitcairn who was injured in a takeoff accident that day. He claimed his first aerial victory as a Staffelkapitän on 11 August. That day, the Gruppe encountered RAF Supermarine Spitfire fighters off of Dover. During these battles, after 21 aerial victories claimed, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 September 1940. Two days later, he was promoted to Hauptmann (captain). On 18 October, Joppien was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of JG 51. He succeeded Oberleutnant Richard Leppla who had temporarily led the Gruppe after its former commander, Hauptmann Hans-Heinrich Brustellin had taken been transferred.

He accumulated further victories against the RAF and on account of his 40th victory achieved on 21 April 1941 was honorably mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht propaganda radio report, the first of three such mentions, on 22 April. The next day, he was the 11th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht honored with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves which was presented to him by Adolf Hitler. He claimed his last two aerial victories on the Western Front on 8 May. The claims were over Hawker Hurricane Mk IIs from No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron piloted by Piotr Łaguna and Marian Domagała, both pilots bailed out.

The Gruppe was withdrawn from operations at the English Channel on 25 May 1941 and relocated to Krefeld Airfield for a short period of maintenance and overhaul.

Operation Barbarossa and death 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 22 June 1941. There, on 30 June 1941, he shot down five Soviet bombers near Bobruysk in eastern Belarus, his aerial victories 47–51. This "ace-in-a-day" achievement earned him his second mention in the Wehrmachtbericht on 1 July 1941. On 5 July 1941, he was wounded following his 58th victory claimed and spent several weeks in convalescence.

On 25 August 1941, Joppien and his wingman, Leutnant Erwin Fleig, engaged in combat with Soviet fighters and bombers near Yelnya, Bryansk Oblast, a village in Krasnovichsky Selsoviet of Unechsky District of Bryansk Oblast, southwest of Bryansk. In the subsequent action Joppien was shot down and killed in his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 9670—factory number) "Black" by a Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighter. That day, 190 ShAP (Shturmovoy Aviatsionnyy Polk—Ground-attack Aviation Regiment) and 57 BAP (Bombardirovochnyy Aviatsionyy Polk—bomber aviation regiment) attacked targets near Yelnya. Fleig later gave to protocol that he and Joppien had attacked three Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers, escorted by three I-16 fighter aircraft, at an altitude of . Fleig saw that Joppien had attacked a Pe-2 bomber, which trailing smoke, was going down. Fleig then observed Joppien's Bf 109 making a sharp right turn and crashed into the ground. By this date, Joppien had shot down 70 enemy aircraft claimed in roughly 270 combat missions. The Wehrmachtbericht announced his death on 29 August 1941. Following his death, command of I. Gruppe went to Hauptmann Wilhelm Hachfeld who had previously commanded 2. Staffel.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Joppien was credited with 70 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 59 confirmed aerial victory claims, plus eleven further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 32 aerial victories on the Western Front and 27 on the Eastern Front.

Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location – 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –"Phoney War" — 1 September 1939 – 9 May 1940 1 23 November 1939 15:30 M.S.406 Zweibrücken – 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940 2 23 May 1940 16:28 D.520 Béthune 4 6 June 1940 17:12 LeO 451 Ham 3 5 June 1940 14:42 MB.152? Bréteuil – 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –At the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 21 June 1941 5 29 July 1940 08:25 Spitfire Dover 12 31 August 1940 14:16 Spitfire 6 29 July 1940 08:28 Spitfire Dover 6 September 1940 Spitfire 29 July 1940 Spitfire Dover 9 September 1940 Hurricane 7 11 August 1940 15:13 Spitfire 9 September 1940 Hurricane 8 15 August 1940 16:05 Hurricane 13 11 September 1940 16:50 Spitfire 15 August 1940 Hurricane 14 11 September 1940 17:10 Spitfire? 9 24 August 1940 14:09 Spitfire 15 15 September 1940 12:40 Spitfire 10 29 August 1940 20:09? Spitfire 15 September 1940 Spitfire 11 31 August 1940 14:10 Spitfire 27 September 1940 Hurricane – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –At the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 21 June 1941 29 October 1940 Hurricane 23 3 March 1941 17:02 Spitfire south of Ashford 16 8 November 1940 12:20 Hurricane 24 3 March 1941 17:13 Spitfire Folkestone 11 November 1940 Spitfire 25 12 March 1941 19:27 Spitfire Dungeness 11 November 1940 Spitfire 26 18 March 1941 12:28 Hurricane Lewes south of Lewes 17 14 November 1940 12:25 Spitfire Dungeness? 27 15 April 1941 12:33? Spitfire southeast of Dungeness 18 1 December 1940 11:40 Spitfire vicinity of Hollingbourne 28 16 April 1941 18:30 Hurricane southwest of Dungeness 19 1 December 1940 15:16 Hurricane Ashfordvicinity of Hollingbourne 29 20 April 1941 12:12 Spitfire north of Cap Gris-Nez 20 5 December 1940 15:47 Spitfire north of Rye 30 21 April 1941 20:10 Hurricane northwest of Ashford 21 26 February 1941 18:05 Hurricane southeast of Ashford 31 8 May 1941 18:02 Hurricane Folkestone 22 26 February 1941 18:07 Hurricane southeast of Ashford 32 8 May 1941 18:03 Hurricane northeast of Dungeness – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 25 August 1941 33 25 June 1941 12:32 SB-2 3 July 1941 SB-2 34 25 June 1941 12:35 SB-2 47 5 July 1941 19:40 DB-3 35 25 June 1941 12:36 SB-2 48 24 July 1941 14:55 SB-2 36 29 June 1941 19:48 Skua 49 24 July 1941 14:58 SB-2 south of Propoysk 37♠ 30 June 1941 13:15 bomber vicinity of Bobruysk 50 24 July 1941 14:59 SB-2 south of Propoysk 38♠ 30 June 1941 14:50 SB-2 vicinity of Bobruysk 51 28 July 1941 17:20 I-18 (MiG-1) 39♠ 30 June 1941 16:25 bomber vicinity of Bobruysk 52 28 July 1941 18:40 I-16 40♠ 30 June 1941 16:27 unknown vicinity of Bobruysk 53 15 August 1941 10:04 I-61 (MiG-3) 41♠ 30 June 1941 18:58 SB-2 east of Bobruysk 54 21 August 1941 13:11 I-61 (MiG-3) 42 2 July 1941 12:55 SB-2 55 22 August 1941 11:50 DB-3 43 2 July 1941 15:30 SB-2 56 22 August 1941 11:52 DB-3 44 2 July 1941 15:31 SB-2 57 24 August 1941 09:55 R-3? 45 2 July 1941 15:32 SB-2 58 24 August 1941 16:10 I-18 (MiG-1) 46 3 July 1941 16:47 SB-2 59 25 August 1941 12:19 I-61 (MiG-3) southwest of Bryansk

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (13 December 1939) 1st Class (10 June 1940) Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 16 September 1940 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 1./Jagdgeschwader 51 11th Oak Leaves on 23 April 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of I./Jagdgeschwader 51 Three named references in the Wehrmachtbericht (22 April 1941, 1 July 1941 and 29 August 1941)