Friedrich Wachowiak

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Friedrich Wachowiak
Born(1920-02-13)13 February 1920
Dortmund, Weimar Republic
Died16 July 1944(1944-07-16) (aged 24)
Caen, German-occupied France
Buried
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchBalkenkreuz (Iron Cross) Luftwaffe
Years of service1939–44
RankLeutnant (second lieutenant)
UnitJG 52, JG 3
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Friedrich Wachowiak (13 February 1920 – 16 July 1944) was a former German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Wachowiak served with Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) and Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). In 1943 and early 1944, he served as a fighter pilot instructor and came back to the front in May 1944. On 16 July 1944, he was killed in action fighting against the western Allies over Normandy.

Career

Wachowiak was born on 13 February 1920 in Somborn, present-day part of Dortmund, at the time in the Province of Westphalia of the Weimar Republic. Trained as fighter pilot,[Note 1] Wachowiak was posted to 8. Staffel (8th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 29 July 1940 holding the rank of Obergefreiter.[2] At the time, 8. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Günther Rall. The Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 52 temporarily headed by Hauptmann Wilhelm Ensslin after its former commander Major Wolf-Heinrich von Houwald was killed in action on 24 July.[3]

The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) Wilhelm Speidel.[4][5] III. Gruppe of JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941.[6] Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel.[4][7] The Gruppe was placed under the command of Major Gotthard Handrick who had previously served on the staff of Luftwaffenmission Rumänien.[8] 8. Staffel arrived at Pipera Airfield on 15 October where they stayed until 18 November when they moved to Leipzig-Mockau Airfield. Three days later, 8. Staffel moved to Parndorf in Austria.[9] On 30 November, the Staffel began relocating back to Pipera Airfield where they arrived on 2 December, staying there until 27 May 1941.[10]

War against the Soviet Union

On 21 June 1941, III. Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești.[11] The invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June. The next day, the Gruppe moved to Mamaia, the northern district of Constanța on the Black Sea coast.[12] There, Wachowiak claimed his first two aerial victories on 24 June. He was credited with shooting down two Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bombers in the morning near Constanța. Two days later, he claimed another DB-3 bomber in the same combat area.[13]

The Gruppe moved to Belaya Tserkov on 1 August and also used an airfield at Yampil from 6 to 8 August.[14] There, Wachowiak claimed two Polikarpov I-16 fighter on 4 August near Kiev.[13] Five days later, he was credited with a Tupolev SB-2 bomber. On 17 August, Wachowiak shot down a Polikarpov I-15 fighter.[15] On 27 August, III. Gruppe had reached an airfield named Stschastliwaja located approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) east-southeast of Oleksandriia where they stayed until 12 September.[16]

Wachowiak was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) 5 April 1942 following his 46th aerial victory.[17][18]

Instructor, Western Front and death

His grave at the Champigny-Saint-André German war cemetery

In 1943 and early 1944, Wachowiak served as a fighter pilot instructor.[19] While serving with II. Gruppe of Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 1 (EJG 1—1st Supplementary Fighter Wing), a Luftwaffe replacement training unit, he trained Croatian fighter pilots of the Croatian Air Force Legion at Saint-Jean-d'Angély.[20] Some of these pilots later served with 15. Staffel of JG 52.[19]

In May 1944, Wachowiak was posted to 7. Staffel of JG 52.[2] At the time, III. Gruppe was based at Cape Chersonez located at the Sevastopol Bay. He claimed first aerial victory following his tour as a fighter pilot instructor on 6 May over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. The following day, he was credited with the destruction of a Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter.[21] The Gruppe then relocated a few times before moving to an airfield at Roman on 18 May.[22] There, Wachowiak claimed his last documented aerial victory when he shot down a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber on 29 May.[23]

The Staffel, under the commanded by Oberleutnant Eberhard Fischler Graf von Treuberg, was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and transferred west to fight in Defense of the Reich. The Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) led by Major Karl-Heinz Langer. There, the Staffel was later redesignated and became the 12. Staffel of JG 3.[24][25] The transfer order had been issued on 29 May. The pilots and ground staff were taken by train to Salzwedel. The Staffel was then ordered to Chartres Airfield.[26]

Wachowiak was killed in action on 16 July 1944 on the Normandy invasion front. He was among the first pilots killed following the relocation to the Western Front. Of the original sixteen pilots transferred, only two pilots survived the war.[26] Wachowiak was shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 165507—factory number) during aerial combat with a Supermarine Spitfire near Écouché.[27] According to Mathews and Foreman, Wachowiak may have been shot down by Spitfire fighters from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) No. 403 Squadron.[19]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Wachowiak was credited with 140 aerial victories.[28] Schreier lists him with 130 aerial victories.[17] According to Obermaier, the exact number of aerial victories Wachowiak was credited with is not exactly known. Obermaier states that he claimed at least 86 aerial victories on the Eastern Front. His mother testified that he had claimed approximately 120 aerial victories, while his comrades claim that he shot down about 140 aircraft.[2] Spick also states that Wachowiak was credited with at least 86 aerial victories, all of which claimed over the Eastern Front in an unknown number of combat missions.[29] According to Rall, who was Wachowiak's commanding officer and regular wingman, Wachowiak had approximately 100 aerial victories by August 1942.[30] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 89 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.[31]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 44423". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.[32]

Chronicle of aerial victories

  This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Wachowiak an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.
  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Barbas, Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.

Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[19]
Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941
1 24 June 1941 07:15 DB-3 Constanța[33] 14 15 October 1941 07:35 I-26 (Yak-1)[34]
2 24 June 1941 07:30 DB-3 Constanța[33] 15 24 October 1941 12:44 I-15[35]
3 26 June 1941 05:20 DB-3 Constanța[33] 16 24 October 1941 16:19 I-16[35]
4 4 August 1941 05:55 I-16[36] 17 31 October 1941 11:27 I-153[37]
5 4 August 1941 06:10 I-16 Kiev[36] 18 9 November 1941 13:53 I-26 (Yak-1)[37]
6 9 August 1941 05:42 SB-2[38] 19 9 November 1941 13:55 Su-2 (Seversky)[37]
7 17 August 1941 13:30 I-15[38] 20 9 November 1941 14:02 V-11 (Il-2)[37]
8 30 August 1941 15:17 DB-3 east of Dnepropetrovsk[39] 21 22 November 1941 13:45 I-61 (MiG-3)[40]
9 6 September 1941 12:58 R-10 (Seversky) north of Kremenchuk[39] 22 28 November 1941 10:28 I-61 (MiG-3) northwest of Rostov[40]
10 25 September 1941 07:30 I-26 (Yak-1)[39] 23 28 November 1941 10:30 I-61 (MiG-3) northwest of Rostov[40]
11 26 September 1941 12:30 I-16[39] 24 29 November 1941 07:25 I-61 (MiG-3)[40]
12 27 September 1941 10:50 DB-3 3 km (1.9 mi) east of Skorochadowo[41] 25 5 December 1941 10:08 I-16[40]
13 28 September 1941 07:55 SB-2 east-southeast of Poltava[41]
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[42]
Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 28 April 1942
26 6 December 1941 08:30 I-16[43] 37 22 February 1942 15:40 I-26 (Yak-1)[44]
27 7 December 1941 13:51 I-16[43] 38 22 February 1942 15:44 V-11 (Il-2)[44]
28 7 December 1941 13:55 I-16[43] 39 1 March 1942 11:42 I-26 (Yak-1)[44]
29 9 December 1941 12:31 I-15[43] 40 1 March 1942 11:45 I-26 (Yak-1)[44]
30 9 December 1941 12:33 I-15[43] 41 9 March 1942 12:35 I-61 (MiG-3)[44]
31 9 December 1941 12:35 I-15[43] 42 9 March 1942 12:40 I-61 (MiG-3)[44]
32 11 December 1941 13:35 SB-2[43] 43 17 March 1942 14:28 I-61 (MiG-3)[44]
33 11 December 1941 13:38 SB-2[43] 44 18 March 1942 12:28 SB-2[44]
34 15 January 1942 09:35 I-153[45] 45 18 March 1942 16:38 I-153[44]
35 15 January 1942 09:40 I-153[45] 46 7 April 1942 13:10 I-61 (MiG-3)[46]
36 22 February 1942 15:38 Pe-2[44]
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[47]
Eastern Front — 29 April – November 1942
47 29 April 1942 16:50 I-61 (MiG-3)[48] 67 26 August 1942 17:02 MiG-1 PQ 44423[49]
48 30 April 1942 14:30 I-61 (MiG-3)[48] 68 26 August 1942 17:04?[Note 2] MiG-1 PQ 44472[49]
south of Mozdok
49 1 May 1942 05:05 I-61 (MiG-3) 3 km (1.9 mi) east of Sety (Saly)[50] 69 28 August 1942 14:00 MiG-1 PQ 44451[51]
vicinity of Mozdok
50 2 May 1942 08:55 U-2[50] 70 29 August 1942 17:00 I-16 PQ 44363[51]
north of Nizhnii Kurp
51 2 May 1942 12:43 I-26 (Yak-1)[50] 71 5 September 1942 06:22 LaGG-3 PQ 49454[52]
vicinity of Wosnessnokaja
52 8 May 1942 11:12 I-153[50] 72 7 September 1942 08:43 LaGG-3 PQ 44454, south of Mozdok[53]
53 8 May 1942 13:20 I-153[50] 73 7 September 1942 08:47 Pe-2 PQ 44454, south of Mozdok[53]
54 13 May 1942 09:08 MiG-1[54] 74 8 September 1942 06:37?[Note 3] LaGG-3 PQ 44477[53]
55 13 May 1942 09:12 MiG-1[54] 75 14 September 1942 11:32 MiG-1 PQ 44513[55]
56 13 May 1942 13:15 MiG-1[54] 76 17 September 1942 14:28 Su-2 (Seversky) PQ 54322[56]
57 13 May 1942 13:18 MiG-1[54] 77 21 September 1942 16:25 MiG-3 PQ 44554[56]
58♠ 14 May 1942 08:10 MiG-1[57] 78 21 September 1942 16:28 MiG-3 PQ 44524[56]
59♠ 14 May 1942 08:16 MiG-1[57] 79 26 September 1942 14:42 MiG-1 PQ 44472[58]
south of Mozdok
60♠ 14 May 1942 09:37 MiG-1[57] 80 26 September 1942 14:46 MiG-1 PQ 44323[58]
vicinity of Malgobek
61♠ 14 May 1942 09:44 MiG-1[57] 81 6 November 1942 11:22 LaGG-3 PQ 44871[59]
62♠ 14 May 1942 12:07 MiG-1[57] 82 7 November 1942 11:03 Il-2 PQ 44843[59]
63 22 June 1942 05:10 LaGG-3[60] 83 7 November 1942 14:03 Il-2 PQ 44813[59]
64 23 June 1942 14:48 MiG-1[60] 84 7 November 1942 14:08 Il-2 PQ 44752, south of Salugardan[59]
65 25 August 1942 15:30 I-153 PQ 44273[49] 85 27 November 1942 11:15 Il-2 PQ 44762[61]
66 25 August 1942 15:35 I-153 PQ 44244[49] 86 29 November 1942 13:34 MiG-3 4 km (2.5 mi) northeast of Ardonskaya[61]
– 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[62]
Eastern Front — May 1944
87 6 May 1944 09:04?[Note 4] Il-2 m.H.[Note 5] PQ 35442[23]
vicinity of Sevastopol
89 29 May 1944 08:58 Pe-2 PQ 68724[23]
30 km (19 mi) north-northwest of Piatra Neamț
88 7 May 1944 07:25?[Note 6] Yak-9 PQ 35611[23]
Black Sea, 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Sevastopol

Awards

Notes

  1. ^ Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations.[1]
  2. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 17:06.[47]
  3. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 06:35.[47]
  4. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 09:40.[47]
  5. ^ The "m.H." refers to an Ilyushin Il-2 with rear gunner (mit Heckschütze).
  6. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 08:35.[47]
  7. ^ According to Scherzer as pilot in the 8./Jagdgeschwader 52.[66]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 17.
  2. ^ a b c Obermaier 1989, p. 219.
  3. ^ Prien et al. 2002, p. 168.
  4. ^ a b Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, pp. 23–31.
  5. ^ Weal 2004, p. 54.
  6. ^ Weal 2004, p. 55.
  7. ^ Weal 2004, p. 56.
  8. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 23.
  9. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 24.
  10. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 25.
  11. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 53.
  12. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 60.
  13. ^ a b Barbas 2010, p. 327.
  14. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 62.
  15. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 328.
  16. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 63.
  17. ^ a b Schreier 1990, p. 175.
  18. ^ Weal 2004, p. 71.
  19. ^ a b c d Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1362.
  20. ^ Savić & Ciglić 2002.
  21. ^ Barbas 2010, pp. 184, 376.
  22. ^ Barbas 2010, p. 186.
  23. ^ a b c d Barbas 2010, p. 376.
  24. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 442–443.
  25. ^ Schreier 1990, p. 135.
  26. ^ a b Barbas 2010, p. 187.
  27. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 464.
  28. ^ Zabecki 2019, p. 329.
  29. ^ Spick 1996, p. 235.
  30. ^ Rall 2007, p. 114.
  31. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1362–1364.
  32. ^ Planquadrat.
  33. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2003, p. 68.
  34. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 74.
  35. ^ a b Prien et al. 2003, p. 75.
  36. ^ a b Prien et al. 2003, p. 69.
  37. ^ a b c d Prien et al. 2003, p. 76.
  38. ^ a b Prien et al. 2003, p. 70.
  39. ^ a b c d Prien et al. 2003, p. 71.
  40. ^ a b c d e Prien et al. 2003, p. 77.
  41. ^ a b Prien et al. 2003, p. 72.
  42. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1362–1363.
  43. ^ a b c d e f g h Prien et al. 2005, p. 153.
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Prien et al. 2005, p. 157.
  45. ^ a b Prien et al. 2005, p. 154.
  46. ^ Prien et al. 2005, p. 158.
  47. ^ a b c d e Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1363.
  48. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 542.
  49. ^ a b c d Prien et al. 2006, p. 554.
  50. ^ a b c d e Prien et al. 2006, p. 544.
  51. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 555.
  52. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 556.
  53. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 557.
  54. ^ a b c d Prien et al. 2006, p. 545.
  55. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 558.
  56. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 559.
  57. ^ a b c d e Prien et al. 2006, p. 546.
  58. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 560.
  59. ^ a b c d Prien et al. 2006, p. 563.
  60. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 549.
  61. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 564.
  62. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1363–1364.
  63. ^ Patzwall 2008, p. 209.
  64. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 491.
  65. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 433.
  66. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 763.

Bibliography

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External links