Johannes Bunzek

Johannes Bunzek (22 May 1922 – 11 December 1943) was a German Luftwaffe ace credited with 75 victories, all on the Eastern Front. Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Bunzek was killed on 11 December 1943 over Nikopol, Ukraine. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944.

Early life and career Bunzek was born on 22 May 1922 in Groß-Strehlitz, present-day Strzelce Opolskie in southern Poland, at the time in the Province of Upper Silesia of the Weimar Republic. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe and completed his training with Luftkriegsschule 4 (LKS 4—4th Air War School) at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base in July 1942. On 1 December 1942, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant). Bunzek was then posted to 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in late 1942. At the time, 7. Staffel was commanded by Hauptmann Adalbert Sommer who was replaced by Oberleutnant Walter Krupinski on 15 March 1943. The Staffel was part of III. Gruppe of JG 52 under command of Major Hubertus von Bonin.

World War II World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Germany had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. In late 1942, III. Gruppe was based at an airfield named Soldatskaja, located approximately halfway between Mozdok and Pyatigorsk on the Eastern Front. The Gruppe stayed at this airfield until 1 January 1943. During this period, the pilots occasionally also operated from airfields at Mozdok (15, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 23 October) and from Digora (5 to 17 November 1942), supporting Army Group A in the Battle of the Caucasus. On 1 April 1943, III. Gruppe was moved to the combat area of the Kuban bridgehead where it was based at an airfield at Taman. Operating from Taman until 2 July, III. Gruppe also flew missions from Kerch on 12 May, from Sarabuz and Saky on 14 May, Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement Kirovske on 23 May, and Yevpatoria on 25/26 June. Here, Bunzek claimed his first aerial victory over a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter on 28 May.

In preparation for Operation Citadel, III. Gruppe was relocated to the central sector of the eastern Front. The Gruppe first moved to Zaporizhzhia and then to Ugrim on 3 July. There, under the command of Luftflotte 4, they supported Army Group South fighting on the southern flank of the salient. On 5 July, the first day of the Battle of Kursk, Hauptmann Günther Rall replaced von Bonin as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe. That day, Bunzek claimed two LaGG-3 fighters shot down. The next day, he was credited with another LaGG-3 and an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft shot down. For seven aerial victories claimed, Bunzek was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 14 July 1943. On 2 August, III. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Warwarowka, located south of Belgorod, where they stayed for three days. That day, Bunzek was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class . On 5 August, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Kharkov-Rogan airfield, southeast of Kharkov. Flying from this airfield, Bunzek claimed three aerial victories, all LaGG-3s, until III. Gruppe was ordered to Kharkov-Waitschenko, southeast of Kharkov-Rogan, on 11 August.

On 20 August, the Gruppe moved to Kuteinykove near Stalino, present-day Donetsk, where Bunzek became an "ace-in-a-day" the following day. Here on 21 August, Bunzek claimed four LaGG-3 fighters and a single Il-2 ground-attack aircraft shot down, taking his total to 23 aerial victories. The next day, he claimed three further aerial victories which included two LaGG-3s and an Il-2. On 9 September, III. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Dnipropetrovsk, present-day Dnipro, where they stayed until 24 September. Here, Bunzek increased his total to 48 aerial victories claimed. On 24 September, III. Gruppe moved to an airfield located just west of Zaporizhzhia. There, the Gruppe fought over the area between the lower Dnieper and the Crimea during the Battle of the Dnieper until 15 October. Here on 18 September, Obleser claimed his 50th aerial victory on 27 September. In this timeframe, Bunzek claimed 28 further aerial victories, taking his total to 75.

On 1 November, III. Gruppe was moved to Apostolove fighting in the combat area between Nikopol and Zaporizhzhia. Adverse whether conditions rendered the airfield unusable and the Gruppe temporarily used an airfield near Kirovograd from 12 to 20 November. Bunzek received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 8 November and the German Cross in Gold on 14 November. On 11 December, Bunzek was killed in action in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 20644—factory number) following combat with Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and LaGG-3 fighters during the Battle of the Dnieper. He was initially reported as missing in action west of Nikopol. According to Barbas, this combat took place near Apostolove while fighting over the bridgehead established by Soviet forces at Nikopol. Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock place this southwest of Verblyuzhka which is approximately northwest of Apostolove. Bunzek was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944. His 78 aerial victories claimed made Bunzek the fifth most successful fighter pilot of III. Gruppe at the time of his death.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Bunzek was credited with 75 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 75 aerial victories in an unknown number of combat missions, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front. Weal states that in addition to his 75 aerial victories, he also had 30 further unconfirmed claims. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 78 aerial victory claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 34 Ost 76791". 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 – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front – 4 February – 11 December 1943 1 28 May 1943 06:40 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 76791east of Trojzkaja 41 18 September 1943 16:10 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 68141 2 5 July 1943 04:10 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61453 northeast of Belgorod 42 19 September 1943 10:15 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58662 northeast of Bolschoj Tokmak 3 5 July 1943 18:08 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61633 north of Vovchansk 43 20 September 1943 08:10 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58142northwest of Zaporizhzhia 4 6 July 1943 10:23 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61354 west of Tomarovka 44 20 September 1943 08:14 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58144, northeast of Zaporizhzhianorthwest of Zaporizhzhia 5 6 July 1943 10:40 Il-2 m.H. PQ 35 Ost 61284 north-northeast of Belgorod 45 20 September 1943 08:20 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58153northeast of Zaporizhzhia 6 7 July 1943 08:50 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61241 south of Prokhorovka 46 21 September 1943 16:11 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58144 east of Zaporizhzhia 7 12 July 1943 13:45 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61212 southwest of Prokhorovka 47 21 September 1943 16:12 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58271 east of Zaporizhzhia 8 31 July 1943 10:00 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 54661west of Bolkhov 48 24 September 1943 11:14 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58891 east-southeast of Zaporizhzhia 9 3 August 1943 06:20 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61412 north of Belgorod 49 26 September 1943 07:19 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58272 east of Zaporizhzhia 10 7 August 1943 08:50 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61472 south of Belgorod 50 27 September 1943 05:55 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58552southeast of Vasilyevka 11 7 August 1943 12:05 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 61383vicinity of Orlovka 51? 27 September 1943 14:21 LaGG-3 PQ 58192 east-southeast of Zaporizhzhia 12 8 August 1943 12:55 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 60244 east-southeast of Kharkov 52 28 September 1943 06:05 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 48464 south-southwest of Zaporizhzhia 13 12 August 1943 16:00 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 51822 southwest of Zolochiv 53 29 September 1943 14:11 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58674 northwest of Bolschoj Tokmak 14 17 August 1943 05:21 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 70791, Tichocki southeast of Izium 54 29 September 1943 14:33 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58594 west of Bolschoj Tokmak 15 19 August 1943 12:56 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88293, southwest of Kuibyschewo east of Jalisawehino 55 30 September 1943 05:55 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 58681 north of Bolschoj Tokmak 16 19 August 1943 13:10 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88391 56 30 September 1943 16:30 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 58432 west of Bolschoj Tokmak 17 19 August 1943 17:15 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88754 west-southwest of Taganrog 57 1 October 1943 06:05 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 48432 southwest of Zaporizhzhia 18 20 August 1943 06:07 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 88263 east of Marinowka 58 3 October 1943 10:17 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58673 northwest of Bolschoj Tokmak 19♠ 21 August 1943 05:34 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88283, southwest of Kuibyschewo south of Jalisawehino 59 3 October 1943 15:08 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58133 northeast of Zaporizhzhia 20♠ 21 August 1943 07:16 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88254, Kalinowkavicinity of Dmitrijewka 60 3 October 1943 15:13 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58152northeast of Zaporizhzhia 21♠ 21 August 1943 07:25 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88411 southwest of Jalisawehino 61 7 October 1943 06:23? LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 49174 east-northeast of Mironowka 22♠ 21 August 1943 13:10 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 88274 west-southwest of Jalisawehino 62 7 October 1943 15:33 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 49363 west-northwest of Dnipropetrovsk 23♠ 21 August 1943 17:32 LaGG-3 PQ 88233 west-southwest of Rovenki 63 9 October 1943 08:55 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 49333 west-northwest of Dnipropetrovsk 24 22 August 1943 08:16 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88293, southwest of Kuibyschewo east of Jalisawehino 64 9 October 1943 15:35 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 58564, northeast of Michailowkavicinity of Kalinowka 25 22 August 1943 10:50 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88283, southwest of Kuibyschewo south of Jalisawehino 65 10 October 1943 08:10 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58154northeast of Zaporizhzhia 26 22 August 1943 17:59 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 88421 south of Jalisawehino 66 10 October 1943 08:43 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58124 north-northeast of Zaporizhzhia 27 23 August 1943 06:16 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 88263 67 11 October 1943 10:08 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58123 north-northeast of Zaporizhzhia 28 26 August 1943 11:11 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 88281 southwest of Jalisawehino 68 11 October 1943 10:12 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58124 north-northeast of Zaporizhzhia 29 27 August 1943 12:10 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 88281 southwest of Jalisawehino 69 11 October 1943 12:45 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58154northeast of Zaporizhzhia 30 27 August 1943 17:35 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 88194 east of Kuteinykove 70 11 October 1943 15:17 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58141, northeast of Zaporizhzhianorthwest of Zaporizhzhia 31 27 August 1943 17:37 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 88194 east of Kuteinykove 71 12 October 1943 06:50 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58152northeast of Zaporizhzhia 32 28 August 1943 11:00 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88612 northwest of Taganrog 72 12 October 1943 06:51 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 58154northeast of Zaporizhzhia 33 28 August 1943 12:35 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 88354 south-southwest of Kuteinykove 73 13 October 1943 10:48 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 57183 southwest of Melitopol 34 5 September 1943 12:22 Boston PQ 34 Ost 79883 northwest of Stalino 74 13 October 1943 10:50 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 57193 south of Melitopol 35 5 September 1943 15:08 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 79684 west of Gorlowka 75 14 October 1943 15:25 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 58125 north-northeast of Zaporizhzhia 36 14 September 1943 09:00 Boston PQ 34 Ost 79574Black Sea, west-southwest of Gelendzhik 76 15 October 1943 10:15 Boston PQ 34 Ost 49821 south-southwest of Werchnedjeprowak 37 14 September 1943 15:16 Boston PQ 34 Ost 79712 south of Grischino 77 30 November 1943 11:45 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 49781 north-northwest of Nikopol 38 15 September 1943 12:17 Yak-9? PQ 34 Ost 68642 78 7 December 1943 12:37 LaGG PQ 34 Ost 29634, south of Petro-Nikolayevka 39 18 September 1943 13:30 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 69341 ? 11 December 1943 Il-2 southwest of Verblyuzhka 40 18 September 1943 16:05 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 68893 ? 11 December 1943 La-5 southwest of Verblyuzhka

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (14 July 1943) 1st Class (2 August 1943) Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 8 November 1943 as Leutnant and pilot German Cross in Gold 14 November 1943 as Leutnant in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 52 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944 as Leutnant and pilot in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 52