Ludwig Franzisket

Ludwig Franzisket (born 26 June 1917 in Düsseldorf – died 23 November 1988 in Münster) was a German World War II Luftwaffe fighter ace. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.[1] He scored all of his 43 victories against the Western Allies in over 500 combat missions whilst flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. After the war, he became a professor and director of the Westfälisches Museum für Naturkunde.

Prof. Dr. Ludwig Franzisket
Ludwig Franzisket
Born	26 June 1917 Düsseldorf
Died	23 November 1988 (aged 71) Münster
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	193?–1945
Rank	Major (major)
Unit	Jagdgeschwader 26 Jagdgeschwader 1
Commands held	Jagdgeschwader 27
Battles/wars	See battles World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Battle of Britain North African Campaign Defense of the Reich
Other work	director of the Westfälisches Museum für Naturkunde

Early life and military career

Franzisket was born on 26 June 1917 in Düsseldorf, at the time in the Rhine Province, the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia. He initially served with Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) prior to the out break of war, and then transferred 1./Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) on the 1 August 1939.

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. On 11 May 1940, Franzisket claimed his first two victories, ending the French campaign with nine aerial victories. On 9 July, 1./JG 1 was redesignated and became 7./JG 27.

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 of Jagdgeschwader 27 with two MG 151/20 under its wings. This aircraft was flown by Gruppenkommandeur Major Ludwig Franzisket in early 1944.[2]

On 1 October 1940 Franzisket was appointed Adjutant of I./Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). Franzisket had achieved 14 victories at the time of the units relocation to North Africa. A notable success in this period occurred on 14 June 1941 when Franzisket intercepted and shot down South African ace Captain Kenneth Driver. The air battle was fought singularly, in a one-versus-one situation. Both men fired at each other, but only the German scored hits. Franzisket got too close and struck Driver's tail with a wing tip ,damaging it. Franzisket remained ignorant of the collision, as did Driver, who was preparing to bail out, until after they met. Franzisket showed Driver around the damaged Bf 109. Driver showed Franzisket a picture and lock of hair belonging to his girlfriend who had come to visit him in Cairo. The German promised to have a message dropped via container over his airfield informing her that Driver lived.[3] Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Franzisket was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 20 July for 22 victories in 204 missions.

Franzisket was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1. Staffel JG 27 on 5 December 1941.[4] With his score at 39, Frankisket was shot down on 29 October 1942 by Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfires. As he bailed out of Messerschmitt Bf 109 (Werknummer 10616—factory number) he struck the vertical stabilizer, a fate suffered by his close friend and fellow ace Hans-Joachim Marseille just four weeks before, breaking his leg. Marseille had not been as fortunate to survive the accident and was killed. Franzisket was tasked with recovery of Marseille's body from the desert.

Franzisket summed up his view of the air war over North Africa after the war:

In the air we were superior to the British fighter aircraft [Hurricanes] particularly in 1941. The Curtiss Tomahawks and Kittyhawks were much better aircraft, but the Bf 109F had the better performance at high altitude. Over and above, our tactics seemed to be better than the British, but on the other hand, the ever-growing superiority in numbers of the RAF was the reason why JG 27 was from the summer, 1942 onwards, more and more decimated and weakened. Negative points were the enormous technical difficulties and the lack of supply. An important but not decisive psychological factor was the news of the immense super-victories of the German pilots in Russia. But we all had the feeling that these victories were gained much more easily than ours. I never envied the German Jagdgeschwadern on the Channel front; I have a very unpleasant memory of my own tour of several months over England, and therefore had the highest respect for the results of the pilots on the Western front."[5]

After recovering Franzisket led 1./Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Süd—a supplementary training unit—from 1 July 1943 and was then appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I./JG 27 based in Germany, defending against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).

In May 1944, the Allies initiated the Oil Campaign of World War II, targeting various facilities supplying Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products. On 12 May, the Eighth Air Force sent an attack force of 886 heavy bombers, protected by 980 escort fighters, against the German refineries in central Germany at Leuna, Merseburg, Böhlen and Zeitz.[6] That day, Franzisket's Bf 109 G-6/U4 (Werknummer 441097) was shot down and severely wounded in combat with the bombers, forcing him to bail out near Frankfurt.[7] Subsequently he surrendered command of I. Gruppe to Hauptmann Ernst Börngen.[8] On 15 December 1944 Franzisket joined the Geschwaderstab of JG 27, and then was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 27 on 30 December 1944.

Franzisket surrendered with the remnants of his unit to American Forces at Salzburg, Austria on 8 May 1945. His younger brother Max, born 22 August 1918 in Düsseldorf, was a Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing) and was killed in action on 19 July 1943 on the Eastern Front.[9]

Academic career

After World War II Ludwig Franzisket went to the University of Münster and attained a Doctor of Philosophy (German: Doktor abbreviated Dr.) in Biology. He later became a Professor and director of the Westfälisches Museum für Naturkunde. He died aged 71 on 23 November 1988 in Münster.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces: Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 39 aerial victory claims, plus four further unconfirmed claims. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Western Front and include three four-engined bombers.[10]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Franzisket did not receive credit.   This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Matthews and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1?[Note 1] – Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940
1	11 May 1940	06:53	Gladiator	vicinity of Maastricht[12]	?[Note 2]	23 May 1940	14:20	Hurricane	Douai
2?[Note 3]	11 May 1940	19:55	M.S.406	Riemst[12]	6	23 May 1940	14:20?[Note 4]	Hurricane	Douai[13]
3	17 May 1940	13:05	Potez 63	Laon[12]	7	5 June 1940	10:45?[Note 5]	LeO 451	Nesle[13]
4	19 May 1940	13:50	Mureaux	Amiens[13]	8	5 June 1940	10:50	LeO 451	Nesle[13]
5	23 May 1940	14:12	Hurricane	Douai[13]	?[Note 2]	5 June 1940	10:50	LeO 451	Nesle
?[Note 2]	23 May 1940	14:15	Hurricane	Douai	9	5 June 1940	21:22	M.S.406	Roye[13]
– 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 27 –[11] Action at the Channel and over England — 26 June – 10 November 1940
10?[Note 1]	11 July 1940	09:03	Hurricane	south of Portland[14]	13	25 August 1940	18:55	Hurricane	Portland[15]
11	8 August 1940	13:25	Hurricane	south of the Isle of Wight[14]	14?[Note 6]	8 September 1940	13:42	Blenheim	Calais[15]
12	16 August 1940	14:20	Hurricane	Portsmouth[15]
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 –[11] Sicily, Balkans and North Africa — 4 December 1940 – 31 May 1941
15	23 April 1941	10:40	Hurricane	Tobruk[16]	16	23 April 1941	11:05	Hurricane	Tobruk[16]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 27 –[11] Sicily, Balkans and North Africa — 1 June – 17 November 1941
17	14 June 1941	05:05	Hurricane	south of Ain el Gazala[16]	21	30 June 1941	16:35	P-40	north of Marsa Luccech[17]
18	14 June 1941	05:06	Martin 167	southeast of Ain el Gazala[16]	22	19 July 1941	18:15	P-40	north of Ras Asaz[17]
19	15 June 1941	16:30	Hurricane	southeast of Gambut[16]	23	9 September 1941	17:15	Hurricane	30 km (19 mi) east of Sidi Barrani[18]
20	26 June 1941	13:45	P-40	Ain el Gazala[17]	24	12 October 1941	08:08	P-40	Bir Sheferzen[18]
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 27 –[11] In North Africa — 5 December 1941 – 31 October 1942
25	17 December 1941	11:12	P-40	Martuba[19]	32?[Note 3]	9 June 1942	07:50	P-40	southwest of Hagfa el Beda[20]
26	17 December 1941	11:20	P-40	southeast of Timimi[19]	33	12 June 1942	18:50	Hurricane	Al Adm[20]
27	23 December 1941	12:24	Maryland	northeast Ajdabiya[19]	34	26 June 1942	12:12	P-40	southwest of Mersa Matruh[21]
28	21 March 1942	07:55	P-40	north of Ain el Gazala[22]	35?[Note 3]	27 June 1942	08:55	Martin 167	southwest of RAF El Daba[21]
29	27 March 1942	16:55	P-40	south of Ain el Gazala[22]	36	27 June 1942	18:25	Hurricane	southwest of Fouka[21]
30	11 April 1942	10:55	P-40	20 km (12 mi) northeast of Bir Habex[22]	37	5 July 1942	13:50	Spitfire	20 km (12 mi) south of El Alamein[21]
31	22 May 1942	07:41	P-40	20 km (12 mi) east of Derna[22]	38	17 July 1942	13:12	Hurricane	southwest of El Alamein[23]
— [Note 7]	22 May 1942	07:51	P-40	south of Timimi[24]	39?[Note 3]	12 October 1942	—	Spitfire	La Valetta, Malta[25]
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 –[11] Defense of the Reich — 29 July – 31 December 1943
40	14 October 1943	14:50	B-17	10 km (6.2 mi) east of Schweinfurt[26]	42	14 October 1943	14:55?[Note 8]	B-17	15 km (9.3 mi) west-southwest of Rothenburg[26]
41	14 October 1943	14:55	B-17	20 km (12 mi) southeast of Schweinfurt[26]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 20 October 1940[27]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and adjudant of the I./JG 27[28][Note 9]
• German Cross in Gold on 12 January 1943 as Hauptmann in the I./JG 27[30]

Works

• The Atrophy of Hermatypic Reef Corals Maintained in Darkness and their Subsequent Regeneration in Light.
• Die Geschichte des Lebens. Verl. Natur u. Heimat, 1966.
• Die Geschichte des Westfälischen Landesmuseums für Naturkunde. Landesmuseum f. Naturkunde, 1967.

Notes

1. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed while flying with 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1.[11]
2. This claim is not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.[13]
3. According to Matthews and Foreman, this claim is unconfirmed .[11]
4. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 14:15.[11]
5. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 10:43.[11]
6. This claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman.[11]
7. This unconfirmed claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman.[11]
8. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 15:02.[11]
9. According to Scherzer on 23 July 1941.[29]

References

Citations

1. Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.
2. Prien, Rodeike & Stemmer 1998, p. 437.
3. Shores & Ring 1969, pp. 43-44.
4. Prien, Rodeike & Stemmer 1998, p. 535.
5. Shores, Massimello & Guest 2012, p. 15.
6. Prien, Rodeike & Stemmer 1998, p. 403.
7. Prien, Rodeike & Stemmer 1998, pp. 404, 550.
8. Prien, Rodeike & Stemmer 1998, p. 406.
9. Ziefle 2013, p. 117.
10. Matthews & Foreman 2014, pp. 334–335.
11. Matthews & Foreman 2014, p. 335.
12. Prien et al. 2000, p. 77.
13. Prien et al. 2000, p. 78.
14. Prien et al. 2002, p. 420.
15. Prien et al. 2002, p. 421.
16. Prien et al. 2003, p. 370.
17. Prien et al. 2003, p. 371.
18. Prien et al. 2003, p. 372.
19. Prien et al. 2004, p. 177.
20. Prien et al. 2004, p. 181.
21. Prien et al. 2004, p. 182.
22. Prien et al. 2004, p. 179.
23. Prien et al. 2004, p. 183.
24. Prien et al. 2004, p. 180.
25. Prien et al. 2004, p. 185.
26. Prien et al. 2009, p. 171.
27. Obermaier 1989, p. 113.
28. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 185.
29. Scherzer 2007, p. 317.
30. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 121.

Bibliography

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