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Hans Röhrig

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Hans Röhrig
Born(1919-11-04)4 November 1919
Memmingen Bavaria, Germany
Died13 July 1943(1943-07-13) (aged 23)
near Siracusa, Sicily
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchBalkenkreuz (Iron Cross) Luftwaffe
Years of service1939–1943
RankHauptmann
UnitErpr.Gr. 210, JG 53
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hans Röhrig (4 November 1919 – 13 July 1943) was a former German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Hans Röhrig was credited with 75 victories. He recorded 56 victories over the Eastern Front and 19 victories recorded over the Western Front.

Career

Hans Röhrig was first assigned to Erprobungsgruppe 210. He flew many fighter-bomber missions over England during the Battle of Britain and according to one source, recorded five aerial victories during this time but those victories remain unconfirmed. On 1 May 1941, Röhrig was transferred to JG 53 stationed on the Eastern Front.

On 4 July 1941, Röhrig sustained minor injuries during a takeoff accident when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 6726—factory number) flipped over at at Hostynne.[1]

He recorded his first victory on 25 July, when he shot down a Russian DB-3 twin-engine bomber. Röhrig relocated with 3./JG 53 to the Mediterranean theatre at the end of 1941. From bases in Sicily, he flew missions over Malta but was unable to add any further victory during this time.

In May 1942, I./JG 53 relocated back to the Eastern Front. On 30 June 1942, Röhrig engaged in aerial combat with Soviet fighters east of Kshensky. In this engagement, his Bf 109 F-4 trop (Werknummer 10234—factory number) took a hit in the cabin, injuring Röhrig.[2] On 6 August, Röhrig was shot down in his Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13480) and sustained minor injuries.[3] His victor may have been the Soviet ace Starshiy Leytenant Mikhail Baranov (183 IAP, 269 IAD) flying a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter.[4][Note 1] At that time, Röhrig had eight victories to his credit. Röhrig claimed his 10th victory on 20 August. In September, Röhrig was particularly successful recording 39 victories during the month. On September 1942, Röhrig had reached 56 victories.

On 28 September 1942, I. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and ordered to Munich-Riem where they would be reequipped with the Bf 109 G-2 trop for redeployment in the Mediterranean theater.[5]

Leutnant Röhrig was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 2 October 1942. During October, the unit operated over Malta to participate into bomber escort missions.

Squadron leader

In November 1942, Röhrig was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 9. Staffel of JG 53. He replaced Oberleutnant Franz Götz who had been appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 53, a Gruppe to which 9. Staffel was subordinated.[6]

He successfully led the unit during the campaigns in Tunisia and Sicily. He recorded his last victories, two USAAF P-38 twin-engine fighters, over Sicily on 11 July 1943. He shot down another two USAAF P-38 on the same day. On 13 July 1943, Röhrig led 9./JG 53 escorting Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft to drop paratroops on the Catania plains. He failed to return from the mission, being shot down and killed by RAF Spitfire fighters which intercepted the escort mission. Röhrig was posthumously promoted to Hauptmann.

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 74 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 58 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and another 16 over the Western Allies, including one four-engined bomber.[7]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 4927". 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 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.[8]

Chronicle of aerial victories

{{legend|#fbec5d;|This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Röhrig an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a

  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[9]
Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 7 August 1941
1 25 July 1941 18:50 DB-3[10] 3 3 August 1941 14:45 I-16[11]
2 30 July 1941 13:40 I-153 northeast of Bila Tserkva[11] 4 3 August 1941 14:50 V-11 (Il-2) east of Pervomaisk[11]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[12]
Eastern Front — 28 May – 27 September 1942
5 5 June 1942 12:40 I-61 (MiG-3)[13] 32 11 September 1942 16:07 Pe-2 PQ 4927[14]
15 km (9.3 mi) east of Stalingrad
6 30 June 1942 10:40 Boston 8 km (5.0 mi) east of Kschen[15] 33 12 September 1942 06:02?[Note 2] La-5 PQ 4941[14]
15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Stalingrad
7 31 July 1942 13:58 Il-2 PQ 3915[17]
25 km (16 mi) northwest of Kalach 		34 12 September 1942 16:50 La-5 PQ 4941[14]
15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Stalingrad
8 31 July 1942 14:10 Il-2 PQ 3919[17]
vicinity of Kalach 		35 12 September 1942 16:57 La-5 PQ 4929[14]
40 km (25 mi) east of Stalingrad
9 5 August 1942 11:24 MiG-1 PQ 38161[18]
20 km (12 mi) east-northeast of Kotelnikovo 		36 13 September 1942 09:35 P-40 PQ 49164[14]
vicinity of Grebenka
10 6 August 1942 06:15 MiG-3 PQ 39891[18]
vicinity of Aksal 		37 13 September 1942 15:46 LaGG-3 PQ 4941[14]
15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Stalingrad
11 13 August 1942 10:12 LaGG-3 east of Stalingrad[19] 38 14 September 1942 16:07?[Note 3] LaGG-3 PQ 49471[20]
10 km (6.2 mi) east of Stalingrad
12 20 August 1942 16:04 I-180 (Yak-7) PQ 49592[21]
50 km (31 mi) south of Stalingrad 		39 14 September 1942 16:48?[Note 4] LaGG-3 PQ 49472[20]
10 km (6.2 mi) east of Stalingrad
13 20 August 1942 16:07 I-180 (Yak-7) PQ 49532[21]
30 km (19 mi) south of Stalingrad 		40 18 September 1942 10:55 Il-2 PQ 4057[22]
20 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Stalingrad
14 21 August 1942 14:40 LaGG-3 PQ 4941[23]
15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Stalingrad 		41 18 September 1942 15:20 Yak-1 PQ 4913[22]
10 km (6.2 mi) north of Grebenka
15 22 August 1942 12:30 Pe-2 PQ 5913[23]
50 km (31 mi) east-northeast of Stalingrad 		42 18 September 1942 15:29 Yak-1 PQ 4053[22]
65 km (40 mi) north of Grebenka
16 23 August 1942 12:20 MiG-1 PQ 4927[23]
15 km (9.3 mi) east of Stalingrad 		43 19 September 1942 09:27 Yak-1 PQ 49132[22]
10 km (6.2 mi) north of Grebenka
17 24 August 1942 12:10 LaGG-3 PQ 4927[24]
15 km (9.3 mi) east of Stalingrad 		44 19 September 1942 09:32?[Note 5] Yak-1 PQ 49132[22]
10 km (6.2 mi) north of Grebenka
18 28 August 1942 08:12?[Note 6] P-40 PQ 4943[24]
40 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Stalingrad 		45 19 September 1942 09:33?[Note 7] Yak-1 PQ 49122[22]
15 km (9.3 mi) north of Gumrak
19 29 August 1942 09:17 MiG-1 PQ 3946[24]
20 km (12 mi) southwest of Bassargino 		46 19 September 1942 13:55 Yak-1 PQ 49432[25]
35 km (22 mi) east of Stalingrad
20 2 September 1942 14:55 Il-2 PQ 4918[26]
vicinity of Bassargino 		47♠ 20 September 1942 09:15 Yak-1 PQ 4913[25]
10 km (6.2 mi) north of Grebenka
21 4 September 1942 13:45 Il-2 PQ 4954[26] 48♠ 20 September 1942 11:55 P-40 PQ 4943[25]
40 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Stalingrad
22 4 September 1942 13:50 Il-2 PQ 4956[26] 49♠ 20 September 1942 12:15 LaGG-3 PQ 4929[25]
40 km (25 mi) east of Stalingrad
23 8 September 1942 11:55 Il-2 PQ 5933[27]
80 km (50 mi) east of Stalingrad 		50♠ 20 September 1942 14:03?[Note 8] Yak-1 PQ 4945[25]
30 km (19 mi) southeast of Stalingrad
24 8 September 1942 16:40 Yak-1 PQ 4075[27] 51♠ 20 September 1942 14:12?[Note 9] Yak-1 PQ 4943[25]
40 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Stalingrad
25 8 September 1942 17:10?[Note 10] U-2 PQ 5063[27]
75 km (47 mi) north of Pitomnik Airfield 		52 22 September 1942 16:27 Yak-1 PQ 4922[25]
25 km (16 mi) east-northeast of Stalingrad
26 9 September 1942 10:50 Il-2 PQ 4055[27]
55 km (34 mi) north of Gumrak 		53 23 September 1942 09:18 Yak-1 PQ 4078[25]
20 km (12 mi) north of Gumrak
27 9 September 1942 10:53 Il-2 PQ 4055[27]
55 km (34 mi) north of Gumrak 		54 23 September 1942 09:21?[Note 11] Yak-1 PQ 4075[25]
30 km (19 mi) north of Gumrak
28 9 September 1942 17:45 Il-2 PQ 4043[27]
40 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Stalingrad 		55 23 September 1942 16:26 Yak-1 PQ 4078[25]
30 km (19 mi) north of Gumrak
29 10 September 1942 08:34 Yak-1 PQ 4928[27]
25 km (16 mi) east of Stalingrad 		56 24 September 1942 16:35 Yak-1 PQ 4079[25]
15 km (9.3 mi) north of Grebenka
30 10 September 1942 15:45 I-180 (Yak-7) PQ 4945[27]
30 km (19 mi) southeast of Stalingrad 		57 25 September 1942 13:52?[Note 12] Yak-1 PQ 49263[25]
35 km (22 mi) east of Stalingrad
31 11 September 1942 05:30 LaGG-3 PQ 4991[14]
15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Stalingrad 		58 25 September 1942 14:02 Yak-1 PQ 49264[25]
35 km (22 mi) east of Stalingrad
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[16]
Mediterranean Theater — 1 October – 31 December 1942
59 12 October 1942?[Note 13] 11:07 Spitfire[28] Malta 60 12 October 1942?[Note 14] 11:08 Spitfire[28] Malta

Awards

Notes

  1. ^ IAP—Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk (Fighter Aviation Regiment—Истребительный Авиационный Полк)
  2. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 06:07.[16]
  3. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 10:57.[16]
  4. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 16:46.[16]
  5. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 09:30.[16]
  6. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 08:10.[16]
  7. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 09:32.[16]
  8. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 14:40.[16]
  9. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 14:52.[16]
  10. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 17:16.[16]
  11. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 09:20.[16]
  12. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 13:58.[16]
  13. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed on 14 October 1942.[16]
  14. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed on 18 October 1942.[16]
  15. ^ According to Scherzer as pilot in the III./Jagdgeschwader 53.[32]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 114.
  2. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 40.
  3. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 41.
  4. ^ Bergström et al. 2006, pp. 61–62.
  5. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 15.
  6. ^ Prien et al. 2004, p. 213.
  7. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1048–1050.
  8. ^ Planquadrat.
  9. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1048.
  10. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 110.
  11. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2003, p. 111.
  12. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1048–1049.
  13. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 21.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Prien et al. 2006, p. 35.
  15. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 23.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1049.
  17. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 25.
  18. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 26.
  19. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 28.
  20. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 36.
  21. ^ a b Prien et al. 2006, p. 29.
  22. ^ a b c d e f Prien et al. 2006, p. 37.
  23. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 30.
  24. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 31.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Prien et al. 2006, p. 38.
  26. ^ a b c Prien et al. 2006, p. 32.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h Prien et al. 2006, p. 33.
  28. ^ a b Prien et al. 2004, p. 81.
  29. ^ Dixon 2023, p. 270.
  30. ^ Patzwall 2008, p. 172.
  31. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 361, 501.
  32. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 634.

Bibliography

  • Bergström, Christer [in Swedish]; Dikov, Andrey; Antipov, Vlad; Sundin, Claes (2006). Black Cross / Red Star Air War Over the Eastern Front, Volume 3, Everything for Stalingrad. Hamilton MT: Eagle Editions. ISBN 978-0-9761034-4-8.
  • Bergström, Christer [in Swedish]. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  • Dixon, Jeremy (2023). Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe: Knight's Cross Holders 1939–1942. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-52677-864-2.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (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.
  • Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims – Volume 3 M–R. Walton-on-Thames, UK: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-20-2.
  • 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.
  • 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 (1998). Jagdgeschwader 53 A History of the "Pik As" Geschwader May 1942 – January 1944. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-0292-3.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2003). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/II—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/II—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-70-0.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2004). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 8/II—Einsatz im Mittelmeerraum—November 1941 bis Dezember 1942 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 8/II—Action in the Mediterranean Theater—November 1941 to December 1942] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-74-8.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2006). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/III—Vom Sommerfeldzug 1942 bis zur Niederlage von Stalingrad—1 May 1942 bis 3 February 1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 9/III—From the 1942 Summer Campaign to the Defeat at Stalingrad—1 May 1942 to 3 February 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-78-6.
  • 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.
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