Hans Fuß

Hans Fuß (19 September 1920 – 10 November 1942) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Hans Fuss was credited with 71 victories in over 300 missions. All his victories were recorded over the Eastern Front.

Hans Fuß
Born	19 September 1920 Altenhof, Germany
Died	10 November 1942 (aged 22) Berlin
Buried	Invalid's Cemetery
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1939–42
Rank	Leutnant (second lieutenant)
Unit	JG 3
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Fuß was born on 19 September 1920 in Altenhof near Meseritz in West Prussia, present-day Stary Dwór in western Poland. Following flight training,[Note 1] he was posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3–3rd Fighter Wing) in early 1941.[2] This squadron was subordinated to the II. Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 3 and was headed by Hauptmann Gordon Gollob at the start of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.[3]

Eastern Front

II. Gruppe had been ordered to the Eastern Front in preparation for Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. While based at Pilsen, Hauptmann Kurt Brändle took over command of the Gruppe after the former commander Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Krahl had been killed in action over Malta.[4] The Gruppe was then deployed on the left wing of Army Group South where it was based at Chuhuiv near the Donets on 19 May.[5] There, Fuß served with the Gruppenstab as an adjutant to Brändle.[2]

Squadron leader

Grave of Hans Fuss on the Invalids' Cemetery

On 1 August, Fuß was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 6. Staffel of JG 3 after its former commander Oberleutnant Hans-Jürgen Waldhelm had been transferred.[6] On 7 August, the German 6th Army attacked Soviet forces at Kalach, encircling elements of the Soviet 62nd Army west of the Don. During this battle, II. Gruppe supported the advance, claiming 23 aerial victories, including six by Fuß, making him an "ace-in-a-day".[7]

On 14 September 1942, Fuß claimed a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter shot down, his last aerial victory claim. During this battle, his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13758—factory number) took a hit in the fuel tank causing his engine to seize. During the forced landing at Dedyurevo, an airfield approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) northeast of Smolensk, his aircraft crashed and Fuß was severely injured.[8] Fuß died of gangrene following the amputation of one of his legs at a Luftwaffe hospital in Berlin on 10 November 1942.[2]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier and Spick, Fuß was credited with 71 aerial victories, of which claimed on the Eastern Front in over 300 combat mission.[2][9] Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 69 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.[10]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 4072". 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.[11]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Fuß 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 ? (exclamation mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Matthews, and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 4. Steffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –[10] Operation Barbarossa – 22 June – 1 November 1941
1	22 June 1941	06:50	I-153	west of Lemberg[12]	14	13 September 1941	17:29	V-11 (Il-2)[13]
2	22 June 1941	07:00	I-16	west of Lemberg[12]	15	17 September 1941	15:40	I-17 (MiG-1)[13]
3	23 June 1941	09:50	SB-2[12]		16	19 September 1941	14:05	I-16[13]
4	23 June 1941	09:55	SB-2	south of Volodymyr-Volynskyi[12]	17	19 September 1941	17:30	V-11 (Il-2)[13]
5	25 June 1941	09:00	DB-3	west of Lutsk[12]	18	24 September 1941	13:37	I-17 (MiG-1)[13]
6	25 June 1941	09:20	I-16	8 km (5.0 mi) northwest of Berestechko[14]	19	17 October 1941	09:15	I-16[15]
7	30 June 1941	14:45	I-16	north of Ternopil[14]	20	17 October 1941	09:15	I-16[15]
8	9 July 1941	16:10	DB-3	northwest of Gudnow[16]	21	17 October 1941	10:10	I-153	25 km (16 mi) east of Perekop[15]
9	9 July 1941	16:13	DB-3	northwest of Gudnow[16]	22	17 October 1941	10:30	Il-2[15]
10	12 July 1941	17:50	DB-3[17]		23	19 October 1941	12:40	Pe-2[15]
11	30 August 1941	14:25	V-11 (Il-2)[18]		24	22 October 1941	07:20	Pe-2[15]
12	7 September 1941	13:20	V-11 (Il-2)	1 km (0.62 mi) northeast of Potoki[18]	25	23 October 1941	16:25	I-61 (MiG-3)[15]
13	13 September 1941	17:22	V-11 (Il-2)[13]
– Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[19] Eastern Front – 26 April – 31 July 1942
26	23 May 1942	07:27	I-61 (MiG-3)[20]		44	1 July 1942	16:27	Boston[21]
27	23 May 1942	07:28	I-61 (MiG-3)[20]		45	1 July 1942	18:52	Il-2[21]
28	26 May 1942	09:35	I-61 (MiG-3)	3 km (1.9 mi) east of Mospanowo[20]	46	4 July 1942	10:25	MiG-1	northeast of Kastornoye[21]
29?[Note 2]	26 May 1942	17:10	unknown[22]		47	4 July 1942	19:21	Pe-2[21]
30	27 May 1942	18:22	MiG-1[20]		48	6 July 1942	18:02	Pe-2[23]
31	29 May 1942	15:55	MiG-1[20]		49	6 July 1942	18:05	Pe-2[23]
32	29 May 1942	15:58	MiG-1[20]		50	6 July 1942	18:25	Hurricane[23]
33	29 May 1942	16:04	Pe-2[20]		51	7 July 1942	17:14	Pe-2[23]
34	12 June 1942	10:56	Su-2[20]		52	7 July 1942	17:18	Pe-2[23]
35	13 June 1942	10:19	Il-2[20]		53	8 July 1942	19:22	Pe-2[23]
36	13 June 1942	10:32	MiG-1[20]		54	8 July 1942	19:26	Pe-2[23]
37	22 June 1942	17:55	Hurricane	north of Kupiansk[24]	55	8 July 1942	19:30	Pe-2[23]
38	23 June 1942	18:10	LaGG-3[24]		56	10 July 1942	09:53	Hurricane[25]
39	23 June 1942	18:17	LaGG-3[24]		57	17 July 1942	10:11	Il-2[25]
40	24 June 1942	11:27	LaGG-3[24]		58	17 July 1942	17:51	Il-2[25]
41	30 June 1942	10:35	P-39[21]		59	20 July 1942	15:50	Il-2[25]
42	30 June 1942	10:40	Boston[21]		60	23 July 1942	13:05	Yak-1[26]
43	30 June 1942	10:48	Boston[21]
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[19] Operation Barbarossa – 1 August – 14 September 1942
61♠	7 August 1942	10:20	Il-2	northwest of Plotowitoje[27]	67	9 August 1942	10:05	MiG-1	north of Kalach[27]
62♠	7 August 1942	10:24	Il-2	east of Frolow[27]	68	17 August 1942	10:56	LaGG-3	PQ 4072[28]
63♠	7 August 1942	13:50	LaGG-3	northwest of Plotowitoje[27]	69	21 August 1942	17:47	Il-2	PQ 49611[28]
64♠	7 August 1942	13:57	LaGG-3	north of Plotowitoje[27]	70	21 August 1942	17:48	Il-2	PQ 49612[28]
65♠	7 August 1942	13:58	MiG-1	north of Plotowitoje[27]	71?[Note 3]	14 September 1942	—	Yak-1[29]
66♠	7 August 1942	14:00	MiG-1	north of Plotowitoje[27]

Awards

• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 23 March 1942 as Leutnant and pilot[30][Note 4]
• German Cross in Gold on 10 July 1942 as Leutnant in the II./Jagdgeschwader 3[31]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 August 1942 as Leutnant and pilot in the II./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"[32][33]

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. This claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman,[19] nor by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock in The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 9/II—From the 1942 Summer Campaign to the Defeat at Stalingrad—1 May 1942 to 3 February 1943.[20]
3. This claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman.[19]
4. According to Obermaier on 22 March 1942.[2]

References

Citations

1. Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 17.
2. Obermaier 1989, p. 116.
3. Prien et al. 2003, pp. 88, 105.
4. Prien & Stemmer 2003, p. 134.
5. Prien & Stemmer 2003, p. 135.
6. Prien & Stemmer 2003, pp. 140, 329.
7. Prien & Stemmer 2003, pp. 140–141.
8. Prien & Stemmer 2003, p. 143.
9. Spick 1996, p. 238.
10. Matthews & Foreman 2014, pp. 354–355.
11. Planquadrat.
12. Prien et al. 2003, p. 107.
13. Prien et al. 2003, p. 115.
14. Prien et al. 2003, p. 108.
15. Prien et al. 2003, p. 116.
16. Prien et al. 2003, p. 110.
17. Prien et al. 2003, p. 111.
18. Prien et al. 2003, p. 114.
19. Matthews & Foreman 2014, p. 355.
20. Prien et al. 2006, p. 144.
21. Prien et al. 2006, p. 146.
22. Prien & Stemmer 2003, p. 378.
23. Prien et al. 2006, p. 147.
24. Prien et al. 2006, p. 145.
25. Prien et al. 2006, p. 148.
26. Prien et al. 2006, p. 149.
27. Prien et al. 2006, p. 151.
28. Prien et al. 2006, p. 152.
29. Prien et al. 2006, p. 153.
30. Patzwall 2008, p. 81.
31. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 127.
32. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 189.
33. Scherzer 2007, p. 324.

Bibliography

• Bergström, Christer. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
• Bergström, Christer; Antipov, Vlad; Sundin, Claes (2003). Graf & Grislawski – A Pair of Aces. Hamilton MT: Eagle Editions. ISBN 978-0-9721060-4-7.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Matthews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2014). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 1 A–F. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-18-9.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3.
• Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard (2003). Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" in WWII: II./JG 3 in Action with the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History. ISBN 978-0-7643-1774-3.
• Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2003). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/I—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/I—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-69-4.
• Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2006). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/II—Vom Sommerfeldzug 1942 bis zur Niederlage von Stalingrad—1.5.1942 bis 3.2.1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 9/II—From the 1942 Summer Campaign to the Defeat at Stalingrad—1 May 1942 to 3 February 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-77-9.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
• Weal, John (2007). More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-177-9.
• Weal, John (2013). Aces of Jagdgeschwader 3 'Udet'. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78096-300-6.