Hans-Joachim Marseille

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Nehrams2020 (talk | contribs) at 02:39, 12 January 2008 (minor corrections over spacing/inline citations). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Hans-Joachim Marseille
File:Hans-joachim marseille.jpg
Hans-Joachim Marseille
Nickname(s)Star of Africa
Jochen to his friends
AllegianceNazi Germany Nazi Germany
Service/branchLuftwaffe
Years of service1938 - 1942
RankHauptmann
UnitJG 52 and JG 27
Commands held3./JG 27
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsRitterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillianten Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare

Hans-Joachim Marseille (13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942; German: /hants joːaxɪm maʀsɛj/) was a Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his bohemian lifestyle. Arguably one of the best fighter pilots of World War II, he was nicknamed the "Star of Africa". Marseille scored all but seven of his official 158 victories against the British Commonwealth's Desert Air Force over North Africa, flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter his entire combat career. No other pilot destroyed as many aircraft on the Western Front as Marseille did.[1]

Marseille, of French Huguenot ancestry, joined the Luftwaffe in 1938. At age 20 he graduated from the Luftwaffe's fighter pilot school joining JG 52 just in time to participate in the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 without notable success. A charming person, he had such busy night life that sometimes he was too tired to be allowed to fly the next morning. As a result, he was transferred to JG 27, which relocated to North Africa in April 1941.

Under the guidance of his new Commander, Eduard Neumann, who recognized the hidden potential in the young pilot, Marseille started to improve his abilities as a fighter pilot. He reached the zenith of fighter pilot career on 1 September 1942, when during the course of three combat missions he shot down 17 enemy aircraft, earning him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.

Only 29 days later on 30 September 1942, Marseille was killed in a flying accident, when due to engine failure he had to abandon his smoke filling aircraft. Bailing out from the aircraft his chest struck the vertical stabilizer of his fighter, either killing him instantly or incapacitating him to the point where he was unable to open his parachute.


Early life

Hans-Joachim "Jochen" [2] Marseille was born to Charlotte and Siegfried Marseille, a family with French-Huguenot ancestry in Berlin-Charlottenburg. His father Siegfried was an Army Officer during World War I, and later left the armed forces to join the Berlin Police force.[3] Siegfried later rejoined the Army in 1933,[4] and was promoted to General in 1935. Promoted again he attained the rank of Generalmajor on 1 July 1941. He served on the Eastern front from the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Siegfried Marseille was killed by partisans near Petrykaw on 29 January 1944. He was buried in the cemetery of Selasje.[5] Hans-Joachim also had a younger sister, Ingeborg "Inge". While on sick leave in Athens at the end of December 1941, he was summoned to Berlin via a telegram from his mother. Upon arriving home he learned his sister had been "slain by a jealous lover";[6] Marseille never recovered emotionally from this blow.

His mother and father divorced when Marseille was still a young child. His mother married again and took the name Reuter, which adversely affected Marseille, although he retook the name Marseille in adulthood. His lack of discipline gained him the reputation of a rebel, a characteristic that would plague him early in his Luftwaffe career.[7]

Marseille attended the Prinz Heinrich Gymnasium in Berlin from the age of ten. He was considered a lazy student at first, and was constantly playing pranks and getting into trouble. Toward the end of his school years he took his education seriously, and graduated with his Abitur in April 1937, one of the youngest to do so at 17 years and six months old.[3] Marseille then expressed his desire to become a "Flying officer."[4]

Military service

Entry into the Luftwaffe

Though unathletic, Marseille completed his Reichsarbeitsdienst labour service (4 April 1938 – 24 September 1938)[8] with a good report. He joined Jagdfliegerschule 5 of the Luftwaffe training school on 7 November 1938 as a Fahnenjunker (officer candidate). Among his classmates was Werner Schröer. Schröer reports that Marseille was often in breach of military discipline. Consequently Marseille was ordered to stay on base while his class mates were on weekend leave. Quite frequently Marseille ignored this and left Schröer a note: "Went out! Please take my chores."[9]

While performing a slow circuit, Marseille broke away and performed an imaginary weaving dogfight. He was reprimanded, taken off flying duties and his promotion to Gefreiter postponed. Soon after, during a cross-country flight, he landed on a quiet stretch of autobahn and ran behind a tree to relieve himself.[10] Some farmers came to assist but by the time they arrived Marseille was on his way, while they were blown back by the slipstream. Infuriated, the farmers made sure the story got out and Marseille was again suspended from flying. His rule breaking left him at the rank of Oberfähnrich in the winter of 1941. Those he graduated with had been promoted to officers in the spring of 1940.

After completing flight training, Marseille's unit was assigned to fighter protection duty over the Leuna plant from the outbreak of war until the fall of France. In July, in Vienna, he was given his final flight training and received an outstanding evaluation.[11][12] On 10 August 1940 he was assigned to Jagd/Lehrgeschwader 2, based in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, to begin operations over Britain and again received an outstanding evaluation this time by his Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur Herbert Ihlefeld.[13]

Battle of Britain

In his first dogfight, Marseille was involved in a four-minute battle with an experienced RAF Hawker Hurricane pilot, before defeating his opponent by pulling up into a tight chandelle to gain an altitude advantage before diving and firing. The Hurricane was struck in the engine, pitching over and diving into the English Channel; this was Marseille's first kill. Marseille was then engaged from above by more Hurricanes. By pushing his aircraft into a steep dive then pulling up metres above the water, Marseille escaped from the machine gun fire of his opponents: "skipping away over the waves, I made a clean break. No one followed me and I returned to Leeuwarden."[14]

On his second sortie, he scored another victory, and by the fifth day had claimed his fourth kill. While returning from a bomber-escort mission, his engine failed; he tried to radio his position but was forced to land in the sea. He paddled around in the water for three hours before being rescued by a Heinkel He 59 float plane based at Schellingwoude. Severely worn out and suffering from exposure, he was sent to a field hospital.[14]

Days later, Marseille was passed over for promotion and was now the sole Fähnrich in the Geschwader. This was a humiliation for him, suspecting that his abilities were being suppressed so the squadron leaders could take all the glory in the air.[15]

Another account recalled how Marseille once ignored an order to turn back from a fight when outnumbered by two to one, but seeing an enemy aircraft closing on his wing leader, Marseille broke formation and shot the attacking aircraft down. Expecting nothing but "a well done Jochen" when he landed, he was thoroughly criticized for his actions, receiving three days of confinement for failing to carry an order.[16]

Shortly afterwards, Marseille was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 52,[17] where he claimed three kills, flying alongside the likes of Johannes Steinhoff and Gerhard Barkhorn. He wrote off four aircraft as a result of operations during this period.[18] As punishment for "insubordination" — rumoured to be his penchant for American jazz music, womanising and an overt "playboy" lifestyle — and inability to fly as a wingman, Steinhoff transferred Marseille to Jagdgeschwader 27 on 24 December 1940.[19] His new Gruppenkommandeur, Eduard Neumann, quickly recognised Marseille's potential as a pilot. Neumann stated in an interview: "Marseille could only be one of two, either a disciplinary problem or a great fighter pilot."[20] Jagdgeschwader 27 was soon relocated to North Africa.

North Africa

Marseille's unit briefly saw action during the invasion of Yugoslavia, but was deployed to Zagreb ("Agram" in German) on 10 April 1941, before arriving in Africa on 21 April. He scored two more kills on April 23 and 28, before being shot down by Sous-Lieutenant Denis, a Free French pilot with No. 73 Squadron RAF, flying a Hurricane. Marseille's plane received almost 30 hits in the cockpit area but he managed to crash-land it. Neumann (a Geschwaderkommodore as of 10 June 1942) encouraged Marseille to self-train to improve his abilities. By this time, he had crashed or damaged another four Bf 109E aircraft, including a tropicalised aircraft he was ferrying on 23 April 1941.[21]

Marseille's kill rate was slow, and he went from June to August without a victory. He was further frustrated after damage forced him to land on two occasions: once on 14 June and again after he was hit by ground fire over Tobruk and was forced to land blind.

His tactic of diving into enemy formations often found him under fire from all directions, resulting in his aircraft being damaged beyond repair, consequently, Eduard Neumann was losing his patience. Marseille persisted, and created a unique self-training program for himself, both physical and tactical, which resulted not just in outstanding situational awareness, marksmanship and confident control of the aircraft, but also in a unique attack tactic that preferred a high angle deflection shooting attack and shooting at the target's front from the side, instead of the common method of chasing an aircraft and shooting at it directly from behind. Marseille often practiced these tactics on the way back from missions with his comrades. Marseille became known as a master at deflection shooting.[22]

Finally on 24 September 1941, his practice came to fruition, with his first multiple victory sortie, claiming four Hurricanes of No. 1 Squadron, South African Air Force (SAAF). By mid December he had reached 25 confirmed victories[23] and was duly awarded the German Cross in Gold. His Staffel was rotated to Germany in November/ December 1941 to convert onto the Bf 109F-4/Trop, the variant that was described as the Experten (experts) "mount."

"Marseille was the unrivaled virtuoso among the fighter pilots of World War 2. His achievements had previously been regarded as impossible and they were never excelled by anyone after his death."[24]

Adolf Galland, General der Jagdflieger

Marseille always strove to improve his abilities. He worked to strengthen his legs and abdominal muscles, to help him tolerate the extreme g forces of air combat. Marseille also drank an abnormal amount of milk and shunned sunglasses, to improve his eyesight.[2]

To counter German fighter attacks, the Allied pilots flew "Lufbery circles" (in which each aircraft's tail was covered by the friendly aircraft behind). The tactic was effective and dangerous as a pilot attacking this formation could find himself constantly in the sights of enemy pilots. Marseille often dived at high speed into the middle of these enemy defensive formations from either above or below, executing a tight turn and firing a two-second deflection shot to destroy an enemy aircraft. He attacked under conditions many considered unfavorable, but his marksmanship allowed him to make an approach fast enough to escape the return fire of the two aircraft flying on either flank of the target. Marseille's excellent eyesight made it possible for him to spot the enemy before he was spotted, allowing him to take the appropriate action and manoeuvre himself into position for an attack.

In combat Marseille's unorthodox methods preferred operating as a small leader/wingman unit, which he believed to be the safest and most effective way of fighting in the high-visibility conditions of the North African skies. Marseille "worked" alone in combat keeping his wingman at a safe distance so he would not collide or fire on him in error.[2]

In a dogfight, in particularly when attacking Allied aircraft in a Lufbery circle, Marseille would often favour dramatically reducing the throttle and even lowering the flaps to reduce speed and shorten his turn radius, rather than the standard procedure of using full throttle throughout.[25]

His success as a fighter pilot also led to promotions and more responsibility as an officer. May 1, 1942 saw him prematurely promoted to Oberleutnant followed by his appointment to Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 27 on 8 June 1942, thus succeeding Oberleutnant Gerhard Homuth who took command of I./JG 27.[26]

In a conversation with his friend Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, Marseille commented on his style, and his idea of air-to-air combat:

I often experience combat as it should be. I see myself in the middle of a British [sic] swarm, firing from every position and never getting caught. Our aircraft are basic elements, Stahlschmidt, which have got to be mastered. You've got to be able to shoot from any position. From left or right turns, out of a roll, on your back, whenever. Only this way can you develop your own particular tactics. Attack tactics, that the enemy simply cannot anticipate during the course of the battle — a series of unpredictable movements and actions, never the same, always stemming from the situation at hand. Only then can you plunge into the middle of an enemy swarm and blow it up from the inside.[27]

File:Marseillhit031.jpg
Marseille receiving the Swords to the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves from Hitler, July 1942.

His attack method to break up formations, which he perfected, resulted in a high lethality ratio, and in rapid, multiple victories per attack. On 3 June 1942, Marseille attacked alone a formation of 16 P-40 fighters and shot down six aircraft of No. 5 Squadron SAAF, five of them in six minutes, including three aces: Robin Pare (six victories), Douglas Golding (6.5 victories) and Andre Botha (five victories). His wingman Rainer Pöttgen, nicknamed Fliegendes Zählwerk the ("Flying Counting Machine"),[28] said of this fight:

All the enemy were shot down by Marseille in a turning dogfight. As soon as he shot, he needed only to glance at the enemy plane. His pattern [of gunfire] began at the front, the engine's nose, and consistently ended in the cockpit. How he was able to do this not even he could explain. With every dogfight he would throttle back as far as possible; this enabled him to fly tighter turns. His expenditure of ammunition in this air battle was 360 rounds (60 per kill).[29]

On 1 September he was even more successful, claiming 17 enemy aircraft shot down on one day, eight of them in ten minutes. This was the most aircraft from Western Allied air forces shot down by a single pilot in one day.[30] Only one pilot, Emil "Bully" Lang on 4 November 1943, would better this score, against the Soviet Air Force on the Eastern Front.[31]

After claiming his 100th kill on 17 June 1942, Marseille returned to Germany for two months leave. On 6 August he began his journey back to North Africa accompanied by his fiancé Hanneliese Küppers. On 13 August he met Benito Mussolini in Rome and was presented with the highest Italian Military award for bravery; the Medaglia d'Oro.[32]

Leaving his fiancé in Rome, Marseille returned to combat duties on 23 August. 1 September 1942 had been Marseille's most successful day, destroying 17 enemy aircraft and September would see him score 54 kills, his most productive month.[33]

File:Marseillrommel032.jpg
Meeting Rommel, 16 September 1942. "The Desert Fox" congratulates Marseille on becoming the youngest Hauptmann in the Luftwaffe

Marseille flew four different Bf 109F-4/Trop aircraft:

  • Werk Nummer (W.Nr) 8693, in which his score rose to 50 on 23 February 1942
  • W.Nr. 10056, with 58 victory bars on the rudder
  • W.Nr. 10137, with the number "70" within an open-topped wreath and 31 victory bars on the rudder, and
  • His final F-4/Trop, W.Nr. 8673 with the early-F Variant rear-fuselage horizontal support bars welded along the lower rear fuselage seam joining the fin/rudder and the stabilizer/elevators to the next forward fuselage section, a black-outlined yellow 14, and, on the rudder, "100" enclosed within a wreath, atop 51 victory bars.
Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4/trop, W.Nr. 8673 - 3./JG 27 - Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseille in September 1942

Death

The two missions of 26 September had been flown in Bf 109G-2/Trops. The first six of these machines were to replace the Gruppe's Bf 109Fs. All had been allocated to Marseille's 3 Staffel. Marseille had previously ignored orders to use these new aircraft because of its high engine failure rate, but on the orders of Generalfeldmarschall Albrecht Kesselring, Marseille reluctantly obeyed. One of these machines, WK-Nr. 14256 (Engine: Daimler-Benz DB 605 A-1, W.Nr. 77 411), was to be the final aircraft Marseille flew.[33][34]

Over the next four days Marseille's Staffel was rested and taken off flying duties. On 28 September Marseille received a telephone call from Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel asking to return with him to Berlin. Hitler was to make a speech at the Berlin Sportpalast on 30 September and Rommel and Marseille were to attend. Marseille rejected this offer, citing that he was needed at the front and had already taken three month vacation that year. Marseille also revealed he wanted to take leave at Christmas, to marry his fiancé Hannelies Küppers.[35]

On 30 September 1942, Hauptmann Marseille was leading his Staffel on a Stuka escort mission,[36][37] during which no contact with enemy fighters was made. While returning to base, his new Bf 109G-2/Trop's cockpit began to fill with smoke; blinded and half asphyxiated, he was guided back to German lines by his wingmen, Jost Schlang and Lt Rainer Pöttgen. Upon reaching friendly lines, "Yellow 14" had lost power and was drifting lower and lower. Pöttgen called out after about ten minutes that they had reached the White Mosque of Sidi Abdel Rahman, and thus had reached friendly lines. At this point, Marseille deemed his aircraft no longer flyable and decided to bail out, his last words to his friends being "I've got to get out now, I can't stand it any longer".[38]

His Staffel, which had been flying a tight formation around him, peeled away to give him the necessary room to manoeuvre. Marseille rolled his aircraft onto its back, the standard procedure for bail out, but due to the smoke and slight disorientation, he failed to notice that the aircraft had entered a shallow dive and was now travelling at a considerably faster speed (about 400 mph). He worked his way out of the cockpit and into the rushing air only to be carried backwards by the slipstream, the left side of his chest striking the vertical stabiliser of his fighter, either killing him instantly or rendering him unconscious to the point that he could not deploy his parachute. He fell almost vertically, hitting the desert floor seven km south of Sidi Abdel Rahman. As it transpired, a gaping 40 cm (16 in) hole had been made in his parachute and the canopy had spilled out, but after recovering the body, the parachute release handle was still on "safe," revealing Marseille had not even attempted to open it. Whilst checking the body, Oberarzt Dr Bick, the regimental doctor for the 115th Panzergrenadierregiment, noted Marseille's wristwatch had stopped at exactly 11:42 am.[39] Dr. Bick had been the first to reach the crash site, having been stationed just to the rear of the forward mine defenses, he had also witnessed Marseille's fatal fall.[39]

In his autopsy report, Dr. Bick stated:

"The pilot lay on his stomach as if asleep. His arms were hidden beneath his body. As I came closer, I saw a pool of blood that had issued from the side of his crushed skull; brain matter was exposed. I turned the dead pilot over onto his back and opened the zipper of his flight jacket, saw the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Marseille never actually received the Diamonds personally) and I knew immediately who this was. The paybook also told me."[29]

Hans-Joachim Marseille lay in state in the Staffel sick bay, his comrades coming to pay their respects throughout the day. As a tribute to their comrade they put on the record the "Rhumba Azul" that he had enjoyed listening to; it played over and over until the close of day. Marseille's funeral took place on 1 October 1942 at the Heroes Cemetery in Derna with Generalfeldmarschall Albrecht Kesselring and Eduard Neumann delivering a eulogy.

Last entry in his flight book by Eduard Neumann: "Flight duration 54 minutes, time of landing "black cross". Took to parachute 7 Km south of Sidi Abdel Rahman. Remarks: Engine damage. Flights 1-482, 388 combat flights and a total of 158 kills: Certified in the field 30th September 1942".[40]

The wreckage of WK-Nr. 14256, 30 September 1942; the vehicle in the background marks the spot where Marseille's body landed.

An enquiry into the crash was hastily set up. The commission’s report (Aktenzeichen 52, Br.B.Nr. 270/42) concluded that the crash was caused by damage to the differential gear, which caused an oil leak. Then a number of teeth broke off the spur wheel and ignited the oil. Sabotage or human error was ruled out.[41]

Many of the other top Luftwaffe fighter aces like Adolf Galland and Erich Hartmann regarded him as the "the best". Günther Rall said of Marseille, "an excellent pilot and brilliant marksman. I think he was the best shot in the Luftwaffe".[42]

Victory claims and notable actions

  • 3 June 1942: credited with six kills in eleven minutes (kills number 70-75) against Mk IIB Tomahawks of No. 5 Squadron, SAAF. Three of his adversaries were the aces Douglas Golding, Robin Pare (killed in this action) and Adrian Jacobus Botha who crash landed his aircraft.[43]
  • 15 June 1942: credited with four kills in five minutes (number 88-91).
  • 16 June 1942: credited with four kills over fighters (numbers 92-95), including the highest-scoring member of a SAAF squadron during the war, Maj. John "Jack" Frost.[44]
  • 17 June 1942: credited with six kills in seven minutes over Gambut (becoming the 11th pilot to score 100 kills).
  • 1 September 1942: credited with 17 kills in three separate sorties over El Taqua, Alam Halfa and Deir el Raghat.
  • 5 September 1942: credited with four kills, despite a cannon malfunction, near Ruweisat and El Taqua.
  • 15 September 1942: credited with seven kills against P-40s in 11 minutes. However, Allied records indicate their total losses on that day were only five P-40s, while German claims were 19 or 20 destroyed.[45][46]
  • 26 September 1942: credited with seven kills near El Daba and South of Hammam (numbers 152-158), including three Spitfires.

Some historians and Allied veterans have questioned the accuracy of the 26 claims made by JG 27 on 1 September 1942 of which 17 where claimed by Marseille alone. Another biographer, Franz Kurowski, claims that the victories were verified through Allied records after the war.[47] However, serious discrepancies between Allied squadron records and German claims have caused author Russell Brown to question the veracity of Marseille's official victories, in addition to those of JG 27 as a whole.[48] The German National Archives still hold records for 109 of Marseille aerial victories.[49] A further biographer of Marseille, Walter Wübbe, has made an attempt to link these records to Allied units, squadrons and when possible even to individual pilots such as Robin Pare, in order to verify the claims as much as possible.[50]

Summary of career

Decorations

 • 1 February 1940: Flugzeugführerabzeichen (Pilots Badge)[51]
 • 9 September 1940: Iron Cross Second Class for two air victories.[51]
 • 17 September 1940: Iron Cross First Class for fourth air victory.[51]
 • 3 November 1941: Honorary Cup of the Luftwaffe.[51]
 • 24 November 1941: German Cross in Gold[52] (the first German Pilot to receive this award in Africa.) for 25 victories. After returning from a combat mission having just claimed his 35th and 36th victory, the Award was presented to Marseille by Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring on 17 December 1941.[23]
 • 22 February 1942: 416th Knight's Cross of the Luftwaffe[53] for reaching 46 kills.[54] By the time the award was officially processed and handed out to him his score stood at 50 kills.[55][56][57] Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring presented the Award to both Marseille and Oberfeldwebel Otto Schulz (4./JG 27). Unfortunately no picture of this presentation exists or has materialized until today.[58] Also awarded near this date was the Italian Silver Medal for bravery (Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare).[51]
 • 1 May 1942: Early promotion to Oberleutnant.
 • 6 June 1942: Becomes the 97th recipient of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross[53] for 75 kills. The Oak Leaves were never presented to Marseille because a few days later he was already honoured with the Swords and Oak Leaves.[59]
 • 18 June 1942: 12th recipient of Swords to the Knight's cross with Oak Leaves[53] for 100 kills (presented by Hitler in FHQ in Rastenburg).
 • August 1942: Awarded Golden Pilot's Cross with Diamonds (presented by Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring).
 • 6 August 1942: Awarded highest Italian decoration for bravery, the Medaglia d'Oro, (presented by Benito Mussolini in Rome on 13 August).
 • 2 September 1942: Becomes only the fourth German serviceman to be awarded the Diamonds to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.[53]
 • 16 September 1942: Early promotion to Hauptmann - Youngest Captain in the Luftwaffe.
 • 7 June 1943: Africa Cuffband (posthumously)[60]
 • 30 November 1962: The Italian Minster of Defence Giulio Andreotti paid the relatives of Marseille (and relatives of Joachim Müncheberg) an honorary one-time pension of 1,500 DM.[61]
 • Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant "300"[62]
 • Combined Pilot/Observer Badge with Diamonds[62]
 • Mentioned six times in the Wehrmachtsbericht[62]

The references in the Wehrmachtsbericht

Thursday, 4 June 1942 Hauptmann Müncheberg errang am 2. Juni seinen 80., Oberleutnant Marseille am 3. Juni in Nordafrika seinen 70. bis 75. Luftsieg.[63] Hauptmann Müncheberg recorded on 2 June, his 80th, Oberleutnant Marseille on June 3rd in North Africa his 70th to 75th aerial victory.
Friday, 12 June 1942 Oberfeldwebel Steinbatz errang an der Ostfront seinen 95. Oberleutnant Marseille in Nordafrika seinen 78. bis 81. Luftsieg.[63] Oberfeldwebel Steinbatz recorded his 95th on the Eastern Front, Oberleutnant Marseille in North Africa his 78th to 81st aerial victory.
Thursday, 18 June 1942 Oberleutnant Marseille schoß in Nordafrika innerhalb vierundzwanzig Stunden zehn feindliche Flugzeuge ab und erhöhte damit die Zahl seiner Luftsiege auf 101.[63] Oberleutnant Marseille in North Africa within twenty-four hours shot down ten enemy aircraft and increased his count of aerial victories to 101.
Friday, 4 September 1942 Oberleutnant Marseille, Staffelkapitän in einem Jagdgeschwader, errang am 2. September an der ägyptischen Front seinen 125. Luftsieg, nachdem er in Luftkämpfen des vorangegangenen Tages 16(17) britische Gegner bezwungen hatte.[63] Oberleutnant Marseille, Staffelkapitän in a fighter wing, recorded on September 2nd on the Egyptian front his 125th aerial victory, after he defeated 16(17)[64] British adversaries the preceding day.
Wednesday, 4 September 1942 An der ägyptischen Front errang Oberleutnant Marseille seinen 145. bis 151. Luftsieg.[63] Oberleutnant Marseille recorded his 145th to 151st aerial victory on the Egyptian front.
Thursday, 1 October 1942 Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseille, Träger der höchsten deutschen Tapferkeitsauszeichnung, fand, unbesiegt vom Feind, auf dem nordafrikanischen Kriegsschauplatz den Fliegertod. Erfüllt von unbändigem Angriffsgeist, hat dieser junge Offizier in Luftkämpfen 158 britische Gegner bezwungen. Die Wehrmacht betrauert den Verlust eines wahrhaft heldenhaften Kämpfers.[63] Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseille, recipient of the highest German medal of bravery, found, undefeated by the enemy, at the North African theatre of war his flier's death. This young officer, fraught with aggressive spirit, had defeated 158 British adversaries. The Wehrmacht mourns at the loss of a truly heroic warrior.

Dates of rank

Hans-Joachim Marseille joined the military service in Wehrmacht on 7 November 1938. His first station was Quedlinburg in the Harz region where he received his military basic training as a Luftwaffe recruit.[65]

7 November 1938: Flieger
13 March 1939: Fahnenjunker
1 May 1939: Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter
1 July 1939: Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier
1 November 1939: Fähnrich
1 March 1941: Oberfähnrich
1 April 1941: Leutnant (16 June 1941 effective as of:)
1 April 1942: Oberleutnant (8 May 1942 effective as of:)
1 September 1942: Hauptmann (19 September 1942 effective as of:)

Absence from the Geschwader

16 January 1941 – 20 February 1941: Vacation at home.[66]
18 June 1941 – 25 August 1941: Vacation at home.[66]
15 October 1941 – 3 December 1941: Conversion from Bf 109 E-7 trop to Bf 109 F-4 trop in München-Riem and Erdingen.
Stop over in Venice, Hotel Goldener Stern (Albergo Stella d'Oro).[67]
26 December 1941 – 6 February 1942: Hospital stay in Athens and short visit of his parents in Berlin.[66]
28 February 1942 – 24 April 1942: Vacation at home. Beginning 9 March two weeks at the Luftwaffen-Hospital in Munich. Engagement to Hannelies. A short stay in Rome on his return from Berlin. Here he was presented the Italian Silver Medal for bravery (Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare) , Italian Pilots Badge and the German-Italian Campaign Badge Africa in Silver.[66]
19 June 1942 – 21 August 1942: Vacation at home. A short stay in Rome on his return from Berlin. Here he was presented the Italian Golden Medal for bravery (Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare).[66]

Memorials

  • A wartime pyramid was constructed by Italian engineers at the site of his fall but over time it decayed. In 1989, Eduard Neumann and other JG 27 survivors in co-operation with the Egyptian government, erected a new pyramid that stands there to this day(30°53'26.80"N and 28°41'42.87"E[68]).
  • In the weeks following Marseille's death morale was low. In an attempt to improve morale Oberleutnant Fritz Dettmann persuaded Eduard Neumann to rename 3./JG 27 the "Marseille Staffel"[69] (seen in photographs as "Staffel Marseille").[70]
  • His grave bears a one-word epitaph, Undefeated. It is understood that after the war, Hans-Joachim Marseille's remains were brought from Derna and reinterred in the memorial gardens at Tobruk; it was there that his mother visited his grave in 1954. His remains are now in a small clay coffin (sarcophagus) bearing the number 4133.[71]
  • In 1957, a German film "Der Stern Von Afrika" (The Star of Africa) was made starring Joachim Hansen as Hans-Joachim Marseille.[72]
  • The very well preserved and maintained "Memorial" of the family Reuter-Marseille can be found on the graveyard in Berlin, Alt-Schöneberg. The left side bears the insignia[74]
Hauptmann Hauptmann
Hans-Joachim Marseille Hans-Joachim Marseille
Inh. d. Eichenlaubs m. Schwertern Recipient of the Oak Leaves with Swords
u. Brillianten zum Ritterkreuz and Diamonds to the Knight’s Cross
Der höchsten Ital. Tapferkeitsmedaille The highest Italian Medal of bravery
in Gold u.a. Auszeichnungen in Gold and other Awards
Geb. 13.12.1919 gef. i. Derna i. Afrika 30.9.1942 Born 13.12.1919 killed in Derna in Africa 30.9.1942
  • 25 years after Marseilles death, fighter pilot veterans of World War II met to honor Marseille. The pilots met at an "International Fighter Pilots Meeting" on October 7 and 8 1967 in Fürstenfeldbruck. Attending this meeting were fighter pilots from six different countries. Among them Erich Hartmann, Robert Stanford Tuck, Adolf Galland, Günther Rall and Mike Martin, who was shot down by Marseille on 3 June 1942. Guest of honor at this meeting were Marseilles mother, Frau Charlotte Reuter-Marseille and his ex-fiancé Hannelies.[76]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Toliver & Constable 1977
  2. ^ a b c Kaplan 2007, p. 172.
  3. ^ a b Kurowski 1994, p. 9.
  4. ^ a b Kurowski 1994, p. 12.
  5. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 89.
  6. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 127.
  7. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 11.
  8. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 99
  9. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 14.
  10. ^ Berger 1999, p. 208
  11. ^ Scutts 1994
  12. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 114
  13. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 126.
  14. ^ a b Kurowski 1994, p. 15.
  15. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 19.
  16. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 17.
  17. ^ For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization
  18. ^ One Bf 109E which he crash-landed has been recovered, restored, and painted in the colours of "White 14", an aircraft with which he was associated.
  19. ^ Copy of WW2.net interview with Steinhoff
  20. ^ Sims 1982, p. 159
  21. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 136.
  22. ^ Spick 1997, p.120-124.
  23. ^ a b Wübbe 2001, p. 22.
  24. ^ Galland 1954, p. 115.
  25. ^ Kaplan 2007, p. 173.
  26. ^ Sims 1982, p. 171.
  27. ^ Dettmann and Kurowski 1964, p. 64.
  28. ^ Sims 1982, p. 156
  29. ^ a b Kurowski 1994, p. 156. Cite error: The named reference "Kurowski" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  30. ^ O'Leary 2000, p. 46.
  31. ^ Feist, Uwe. The Fighting Me 109. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1993. ISBN 1-85409-209-X.
  32. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 183.
  33. ^ a b Weal 2003, p. 86.
  34. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 351, 352. (Commission Report by Oberstleutnant Schmidt-Coste)
  35. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 207-208.
  36. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 208.
  37. ^ Some sources mistakenly refer to this mission as a fighter sweep. This confusion maybe caused by the fact that during the mission Marseille's flight were directed away from the Stukas and toward enemy aircraft, however no contact was made.
  38. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 209.
  39. ^ a b Kurowski 1994, p. 212.
  40. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 213.
  41. ^ Hans-Joachim Marseille – The Star of Africa (Archive of War teleproduction). Egypt/Germany: AV-Medienproduktion, 1990. Note: Narrated by Brian Matthews.
  42. ^ Kaplan 2007, p. 174.
  43. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 35.
  44. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 37
  45. ^ Christopher Shores & Hans Ring (Fighters over the Desert, 1969), cited by Brown 2000, p. 258.
  46. ^ Brown 2000, p. 281-282.
  47. ^ Kurowski, 1994, p. 196-197.
  48. ^ Brown 2000, p. 281-282.
  49. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 45.
  50. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 25-43.
  51. ^ a b c d e Wübbe 2001, p. 48.
  52. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 295.
  53. ^ a b c d Fellgiebel 2000
  54. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 186,187.
  55. ^ Kurowski 1994
  56. ^ Weal 2003, p. 76.
  57. ^ Scutts 1994, p. 28.
  58. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 186.
  59. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 221.
  60. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 378.
  61. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 66.
  62. ^ a b c Berger 1999, p. 208-210.
  63. ^ a b c d e f Wübbe 2001, p. 50.
  64. ^ The Wehrmachtsbericht originally stated 16 victories; the 17th had not been confirmed by the time the communiqué went out.
  65. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 49.
  66. ^ a b c d e Wübbe 2001, p. 47.
  67. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 47; according to Kurowski 1994, p. 220, Marseille began his leave of absence in November not October.
  68. ^ Google Maps. Retrieved: 25 September 2007.
  69. ^ Weal 2003, p. 62
  70. ^ Weal 2003, p. 105.
  71. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 384.
  72. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 385-389.
  73. ^ Kurowski 1994, p. 216.
  74. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 395.
  75. ^ Preserved Axis Aircraft
  76. ^ Wübbe 2001, p. 391.

Bibliography

  • Berger, Florian. Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges (in German). Wien, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 1999. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Brown, Russell. Desert Warriors: Australian P-40 Pilots at War in the Middle East and North Africa, 1941-1943. Maryborough, Queensland, Australia: Banner Books, 2000. ISBN 1-875-59322-5.
  • Dettmann, Fritz and Kurowski, Franz (translator). Mein Freund Marseille. Berlin: Verlag 27 Publishing House, 1964. ISBN 978-3-86755-204-5.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 (in German). Wölfersheim and Wölfersheim-Berstadt, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Galland, Adolf. The First and The Last. Cutchogue, New York: Buccaneer Books, 1954. ISBN 0-89966-728-7.
  • Kaplan, Philip. Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War WWII. Auldgirth, Dumfriesshire, UK: Pen & Sword Aviation. 2007. ISBN 1-84415-460-2.
  • Kurowski, Franz. German Fighter Ace: Hans-Joachim Marseille: Star of Africa. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History, 1994. ISBN 0-88740-517-7.
  • O'Leary, Michael. "Back From Valhalla." Aeroplane, April 2000.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
  • Ring, Hans and Girbig, Werner. Jagdgeschwader 27 Die Dokumentation über den Einsatz an allen Fronten 1939-1945 (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag, 1994. ISBN 3-87943-215-5.
  • Scutts, Jerry. Bf 109 Aces of North Africa and the Mediterranean. London: Osprey Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85532-448-2.
  • Spick, Mike. Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books, 1996. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2.
  • Sims, Edward H. Jagdflieger Die großen Gegner von einst (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1982. ISBN 3-87943-115-9.
  • Toliver, Raymond F. and Constable, Trevor J. Fighter Aces Of The Luftwaffe. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1977. ISBN 0-8168-5790-3.
  • Weal, John. Jagdgeschwader 27 'Afrika'. London: Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-841765-38-4.
  • Wübbe, Walter. Hauptmann Hans Joachim Marseille Ein Jagdfliegerschicksal in Daten, Bildern und Dokumenten (in German). Schnellbach, Germany: Verlag Siegfried Bublies, 2001. ISBN 3-926584-78-5.

External links

Template:KCwithOLandSW


Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hans-Joachim_Marseille&oldid=183766785"