Maximilian Volke

Maximilian Volke (Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, 23 May 1915 – Mirandola, Italy, 5 September 1944) was a Luftwaffe Oberfeldwebel (flight sergeant) and 36-victory fighter ace of the Jagdgeschwader 77.

Volke was a veteran of the campaigns in Russia and Africa. On 5 September 1944, he was shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 441456—factory number) near Mirandola-Cividale. Volke was 29 years and was decorated with the German Cross in Gold, received as Feldwebel in the II./JG 77 on 12 July 1943.

Ofw. Volke's remains and parts of his aircraft were located and dug out of a farmer's field in Mirandola, just north of Modena by an Italian amateur war history research team (the Romagna Air Finders) in July 2007, nearly 63 years after he was shot down.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 36 aerial victory claims. This figure includes 27 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and nine over the Western Allies, including three four-engine bomber.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 83763". 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 77 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 1 26 June 1941 14:25 SB-3 – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –On the Eastern Front — 17 March – 30 April 1942 2 19 March 1942 12:45 DB-3 3 23 April 1942 13:14 Pe-2 – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –On the Eastern Front — 1 May – 7 November 1942 4 13 May 1942 15:24 LaGG-3 16 6 August 1942 18:10 Douglas DB-7 (Boston) PQ 83763 south-southwest of Yelets 5 15 May 1942 15:00 Il-2 17 7 August 1942 11:12 LaGG-3 PQ 92471 southeast of Voronezh 6 16 July 1942 18:02 Yak-1 18 11 August 1942 11:37 LaGG-3 PQ 92364 east of Voronezh 7 17 July 1942 18:34 Il-2 19 11 August 1942 11:38 LaGG-3 PQ 92353 east of Voronezh 8 19 July 1942 06:22 Pe-2 20 12 August 1942 07:15 Douglas DB-7 (Boston) PQ 92424 east of Voronezh 9 19 July 1942 06:23 Pe-2 21 12 August 1942 07:20 Pe-2 PQ 92324 north of Voronezh 10 19 July 1942 06:36 Il-2 22 13 August 1942 10:50 Il-2 PQ 83811 south of Yelets 11 23 July 1942 04:06 Pe-2 23 13 August 1942 18:14 LaGG-3 PQ 83871, Semljansk northwest of Voronezh 12 25 July 1942? 05:06 Hurricane 24 21 August 1942 11:06 Yak-1 PQ 92783 west-northwest of Sloboda 13 28 July 1942 07:40 Hurricane PQ 82231 north-northwest of Voronezh 25 26 August 1942 05:55 Pe-2 PQ 82274 west-northwest of Voronezh 14 28 July 1942 15:15? Douglas DB-7 (Boston) PQ 92353 east of Voronezh 26 13 September 1942 10:22 Hurricane PQ 92594 north-northwest of Sloboda 15 28 July 1942 15:20 Douglas DB-7 (Boston) PQ 92354, Voronezh east of Voronezh 27 13 September 1942 10:27 Yak-1 PQ 92653 north-northeast of Sloboda – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –Mediterranean Theater, North Africa — 1 January – May 1943 28 7 March 1943 12:35 Spitfire southeast of Medenine 31 12 March 1943 14:26 P-38 northwest of Kairouan 29 10 March 1943 16:37 P-40 PQ 03 Ost 94652, southwest of Gabès 32 13 March 1943 17:52 P-39 southeast of La Fauconnerie 30 10 March 1943 16:45 P-40 PQ 03 Ost 94663, southwest of Gabès south-southwest of Gabès 33 7 April 1943 09:00 Spitfire southeast of Skhira – 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –Mediterranean Theater, Italy — May – 31 December 1943 34 4 July 1943 11:30 B-17 east of Syracuse 36 16 July 1943 13:28 B-24 southwest of Santeramo in Colle south-southwest of Palazzo San Gervasio 35 8 July 1943 12:40 B-17 southwest of Capo Scaramia

Awards Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 5 June 1943 as Feldwebel and pilot German Cross in Gold on 10 July 1944 as Feldwebel in the II./Jagdgeschwader 77