Hans-Joachim Walter Rudolf Siegfried Marseille (December 13, 1919 - September 30, 1942) was a German fighter pilot during World War II. Ace flies, he is recorded for air combat during the North African Campaign. All but seven of his 158 victories were claimed against the British Desert Air Force in North Africa. No other pilot claims to be a Western Allied plane as Marseille.
Marseille joined the Luftwaffe, in 1938. At the age of 20 he participated in the Battle of Britain, with no real success. As a result of poor discipline, he was transferred to another unit (JG 27), who moved to North Africa in April 1941.
Under the guidance of his new commander, Marseille quickly expanded his ability as a fighter pilot. He reached the peak of his career on September 1, 1942, during which during three combat attacks he claimed 17 Allied planes. For this he received the Knights Cross from the Iron Cross with the Leaves of Ek, the Sword and the Diamond. A month later, Marseille was killed in a flying accident after his plane damaged the engine. Forced to leave his warrior, Marseille hit a vertical stabilizer and either killed instantly or incapacitated and could not open his parachute. Early life
Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Walter Rudolf Siegfried Marseille was born from Charlotte (the name of the girl: Charlotte Marie Johanna Pauline Gertrud Riemer) and Siberfischer Siegfried Georg Martin Marseille, a family with the ancestors of Huguenot's father, at Berlin-Charlottenburg Berliner Strasse 164 on 13 December 1919 at 11:45 pm. As a child, he was physically weak, and he almost died from a serious case of Influenza. His father Siegfried was an Army officer during World War I, and then left an armed force to join the Berlin police. Siegfried then rejoined the Army in 1933, and was promoted to General in 1935. Promoted again, he reached the rank of Generalmajor on July 1, 1941. He served on the Eastern Front from the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Siegfried Marseille was murdered by partisans near Pietryka, Belarus on 29 January 1944. He was buried in a local cemetery. Hans-Joachim also has a younger sister, Ingeborg "Inge". During his sick leave in Athens in late December 1941, he was summoned to Berlin by telegram from his mother. Upon arriving home, he learned that his sister had been murdered by a jealous lover while living in Vienna. Hans-Joachim never recovered emotionally from this blow.
When Marseille was a child his parents divorced and his mother later married a police officer named Reuter. Marseille was originally assumed to be his stepfather's name at school (a difficult thing to accept), but he returned to his dad's name Marseille in adulthood. He gained a reputation as a rebel from a lack of discipline, a characteristic that struck him early in his Luftwaffe career. Marseille also had a difficult relationship with his biological father who rejected him in Hamburg for some time after the divorce. Eventually he tried reconciliation with his father, who later introduced him to a night life that initially hampered his military career during his early years at Luftwaffe. However, rapproachment with his father did not last long and he did not see it again after that.
Marseille attended the 12th Volksschule Berlin (1926-1930), and from the age of 10, Prinz Heinrich Gymnasium in Berlin-Schöneberg (1930-1938). He is considered a lazy student at first, and constantly plays pranks and gets into trouble. Toward the end of his school years he began taking his education more seriously and qualified as one of the youngest (at 17 years, six months) to reach his Abitur, graduating in early 1938. Marseille later expressed his desire to become a "fly" officer. "
Sign in to Luftwaffe
Although not athletic in physical, Marseille received a good report for a term with Reichsarbeitsdienst ("State Employment Service") Abtlg. 1/177 at Osterholz-Scharmbeck near Bremen between 4 April and 24 September 1938.
He joined the Luftwaffe on November 7, 1938, as Fahnenjunker (officer candidate) and received his basic military training in Quedlinburg in the Harz region. On 1 March 1939 Marseille was transferred to the Luftkriegsschule 4 (LKS 4 - school of air war) near FÃÆ'¼rstenfeldbruck. Among his classmates was Werner Schröer. SchrÃÆ'¶er reports that Marseille often violates military discipline. As a result, Marseille was ordered to stay at the base while his classmates were on holiday weekend. Quite often Marseille ignored this and left SchrÃÆ'¶er a note: "Go! Please do my job." On one occasion, while performing a slow circuit, Marseille broke away and fought an imaginary battle. He was rebuked by his commander, Hauptmann Mueller-Rohrmoser, and took off his flying assignments and promotions to Gefreiter postponed. Soon after, during a cross-country flight, he landed on a quiet stretch of Autobahn (between Magdeburg and Braunschweig) and ran behind a tree to free himself. Some farmers came to ask if he needed help, but by the time they arrived, Marseille was on its way, and they were blown back by its slipstream. Angry, the farmers reported the matter and Marseille was again suspended from flying.
Marseille completed his training at Jagdfliegerschule 5 (Fighter Pilot School # 5, then under the command of Eduard Ritter von Schleich) at Wien-Schwechat where he posted on November 1, 1939. One of his instructors was Austro-Hungarian World War I ace Julius Arigi. Marseille graduated from Jagdfliegerschule 5 with an exceptional evaluation on July 18, 1940 and was assigned to Merseburg's "ErgÃÆ'¤nzungsjagdgruppe , stationed at the airport in Merseburg-West. The Marseille unit was assigned to air defense tasks over the Leuna plant from the outbreak of war until the fall of France.
On August 10, 1940 he was assigned to I-Jagd/Lehrgeschwader 2 , based in Calais-Marck, to begin operations on the UK and once again received an exceptional evaluation this time by Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur , Herbert Ihlefeld.
Video Hans-Joachim Marseille
World War II
Battle of Britain
In his first dogfight over England on 24 August 1940, Marseille engaged in a four-minute battle with skilled opponents while flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 W.Nr. 3579. He defeated his opponent by pulling into the tight chandelier, to gain altitude advantage before diving and firing. British brawlers were beaten on machines, stepped on their feet and dived into the English Channel; this is Marseille's first win. Marseille was then involved from above by more Allied fighters. By pushing his plane into a steep gutter and pulling a few feet above the water, Marseille escaped from his opponent's machine gun fire: "jumping over the waves, I made a clean break.No one followed me and I returned to Leeuwarden [sic-Marseille-based near Calais, not Leeuwarden]. "The action was not praised by the unit. Marseille was reprimanded when it appeared he had left his wingman, and staffel to involve the opponent alone. Thus, Marseille has violated the basic rules of air combat. Marseille was unhappy with this victory and it was hard to accept the fact of aerial battles.
In his second sortie on September 2, 1940 he scored his second victory, LG2 defeating Sheerness in battle with Spitfires of 74 Sqn. In one of these matches Marseille was hit by an enemy fire and returned to the French coast where he landed in Calais-Marck. After the belly landed W.Nr. 3579 was discovered by Bergebattalion and transported to the Erla plant in Antwerp for repair, after which it was issued for JG77. W.Nr. 3579 still fly today and is currently in Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar near Bromley, England. On 15 September 1940, Marseille had claimed their fourth win. Marseille became an ace on Sept. 18 after claiming the fifth plane was shot down. On his return from the bomber-bodyguard mission on September 23, 1940, Werk Nummer (W.Nr) 5094, his machine failed 10 miles from Cap Gris Nez after Dover's combat damages. Pilot Officer George Bennions of 41 Squadron might have shot Marseille down. According to another source, W.Nr 5094 was destroyed in this engagement by Robert Stanford Tuck, who chased Bf 109 to that location and his pilot was rescued by Heinkel He 59 naval aircraft. Marseille was the only German pilot known to be rescued by He 59 on the day it and at that location. Tuck's official claim is to Bf 109 destroy Cap Gris Nez at 09:45 - the only pilot to file a claim at that location.
Marseille tried to broadcast his position but was forced to save himself above the sea. He rowed in the water for three hours before being rescued by Heinkel He 59 floating plane based in Schellingwoude. Being so tired and suffering from exposure, she was sent to a field hospital. I. (Jagd)/LG 2 claimed three air victories over the loss of four Bf 109 that day. Marseille is in serious trouble when arriving back at the airfield. He has left his leader Adolf Buhl, who was shot down and killed. He received a loud reprimand and a final warning from Herbert Ihlefeld, where he tore his flight evaluation with a disappointed-looking Marseille. Other pilots voiced their disagreements about Marseille. Due to his alienation with other pilots, his arrogant and unrepentant nature, Ihlefeld will eventually sack Marseille from LG 2.
Other accounts reminded how Marseille once ignored orders to turn from the fight when losing two to one, but seeing the Allied plane closing down its wing leader, Marseille broke formation and fired the attacking plane down. Expecting congratulations when he landed, his commander criticized his actions, accepting three days of confinement for failing to execute orders. A few days later, Marseille is passed for promotion and is now the only FÃÆ'¤hnrich in Geschwader . This is an insult to him, suspecting that his ability is being suppressed so that the squadron's leaders can take all the glory in the air.
Shortly thereafter, in early October 1940, after claiming seven air victories which all flew with I. (Jagd)/LG 2 Marseille was moved to 4./Jagdgeschwader 52 , fly with the likes of Johannes Steinhoff and Gerhard Barkhorn. He wrote four aircraft as a result of operations during this period. Steinhoff, then called back:
"Marseille is very handsome, he is a very talented pilot, but he is unreliable, he has girlfriends everywhere, and they keep him so busy that sometimes he is so tired that he has to be punished. to do his job is the main reason I fired him, but he has an irresistible charm. "
As punishment for "insubordination" - rumored to be his passion for American jazz, feminization and an open "playboy" lifestyle - and an inability to fly as a winger, Steinhoff moved Marseille to Jagdgeschwader 27 on 24 December 1940. When he joined his new unit, it was difficult to predict his remarkable career. Eduard Neumann's new group Eduard Neumann then remembered, "His hair is too long and he's carrying a list of disciplinary punishments during your arm, he's very tempestuous, temperamental and disorganized, and thirty years later he'll be called a playboy. "Nevertheless, Neumann quickly recognized Marseille's potential as a pilot. He stated in an interview: "Marseille can only be one of two, either discipline problems or a great fighter pilot." Jagdgeschwader 27 was immediately transferred to North Africa.
Arrival in North Africa
The Marseille unit saw action during the Yugoslav invasion, deployed to Zagreb on 10 April 1941, before moving to Africa. On April 20 on his flight from Tripoli to his front runway, Bf 109 of Marseille suffered an engine failure and he had to make a forced landing in a desert far from goal. The squadron left the scene after they confirmed that he had come down safely. Marseille continued his journey, first boarding an Italian truck, then, finding this too slow; he tried his luck on the airstrip in vain. Eventually he goes to the General who is in charge of the supply depot on the main route ahead, and assures him that he should be available for the next day's operation. The character of Marseille appealed to the General and he placed his own Opel Opel, complete with driver. "You can pay me back with fifty wins, Marseille!" are his farewell words. Nevertheless he managed to catch up with his squadron and arrived on 21 April.
He scored two more wins on 23 and 28 April, the first in the North African Campaign. However, on April 23, Marseille himself was shot down during his third sudden attack of the day by Sous-Lieutenant James Denis a French Free pilot with No. 1. 73 RAF squadrons (8.5 wins), flying Hawker Hurricane. Marseille Bf 109 received nearly 30 hits in the cockpit area, and three or four destroyed the canopy. As Marseille leaned forward, the round missed him by inch. Marseille managed to crash his fighter plane. A month later, the record showed that James Denis shot down Marseille again on 21 May 1941. Marseille involved Denis, but exceeded his target. The battle raged again, where Denis once again beat Marseille.
Neumann ( Geschwaderkommodore on June 10, 1942) encouraged Marseille to train itself to improve its abilities. By this time, he had crashed or damaged four other spacecraft Bf 109E , including the tropical aircraft he used on April 23, 1941. Marseille's murder rate was low, and he went from June to August without victory.. She became increasingly frustrated after the damage forced her to land on two occasions: once on June 14, 1941 and again after she was hit by a ground fire over Tobruk and forced to land blind.
His tactics of diving into opposing formations often find him under fire from all directions, so his faulty airplane is repaired; consequently, Eduard Neumann lost his temper. Marseille insisted, and created a self-taught physical, physical and tactical self-training program that resulted not only in exceptional situational awareness, shooting expertise and confident control of the aircraft, but also in unique attack tactics that favored shooting high angle deflection. attack and shoot in front of the target from the side, instead of the common method of chasing the plane and shooting it directly from behind. Marseille often practiced these tactics on the way back from missions with his colleagues. Marseille is known as a deflection firing expert.
When Marseille began to claim the Allied plane on a regular basis, sometimes he regulated the welfare of the pilots who fell personally, driving to a remote crash site to rescue the falling Allied commander. On 13 September 1941, Marseille shot down Pat Byers from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). 451 Squadron. Marseille flew to Byers airfield and dropped a note informing Australians about his condition and care. He returned a few days later to the first note seconds with the news of Byers' death. Marseille repeated this surprise attack after being warned by Neumann that GÃÆ'¶ring banned more such flights. After the war, 27-year-old JG 27 Marseille commander Werner SchrÃÆ'¶er claimed that Marseille pursued this movement as a "penance" for a group that "likes to shoot down planes" but does not kill a man; "We tried to separate the two, Marseille allowed us to escape, our penance, I think."
Finally on September 24, 1941, his practice became fruitful, with his first multiple winning sortie, claiming four Squadron Storms no. 1, South African Air Force (SAAF). By mid-December, he had achieved 25 victories and was awarded the German Cross in Gold. His staffer was rotated to Germany in November/December 1941 to convert to Bf 109F-4/trop, the variant described as Expert (expert) "increases." This victory represents his 19-23 victory.
"African Star"
Marseille is always trying to improve its ability. He works to strengthen the muscles of his legs and stomach, to help him tolerate the extreme power of the air combat. Marseille also drank milk with abnormal amounts and sunglasses are shunned, to improve his eyesight.
To counter the attacks of German fighter planes, Allied pilots fly the "Lufbery circle" (where each tail of the plane is covered by a friendly aircraft at the rear). The tactic is effective and dangerous when a pilot attacking this formation can find himself constantly in the scene of the opposing pilots. Marseille often swooped in high speed into the middle of this defensive formation from top or bottom, executing tight bends and firing a two-second deflection shot to destroy enemy planes. Marseille's success began to become apparent in early 1942. He claimed a 37-40 victory on 8 February 1942 and a 41-44 victory four days later which earned him the Knights Cross from the Iron Cross in the same month for 46 victories.
Marseille struck in unfavorable conditions, but his shooting skills enabled him to approach fast enough to avoid counter-fire from two planes flying on either side of the target. Marseille's excellent vision allowed him to see his opponent before he was seen, allowing him to take proper action and maneuver into position for attack.
In battle, Marseille's unorthodox methods make it operate in a small leader/wingman unit, which he believes is the safest and most effective way of fighting in high visibility conditions in the North African sky. Marseille "works" alone in battle keeping his wingman at a safe distance so he will not crash or shoot him by mistake.
In air combat, especially when attacking Allied planes in Lufbery circles, Marseille will often dramatically reduce the throttle and even lower the flap to reduce speed and shorten turn radius, rather than standard procedures using full throttle. Emil Clade says that no other pilot can do this effectively, preferring to dive on a single opponent at speed in order to escape if things go wrong. Clade said Marseille's tactics:
Marseille developed its own special tactics, which differed significantly from most other pilot methods. (When attacking Lufbery's circle) he must fly very slowly. He even took him to the point where he had to operate his landing flap in order not to fall, because, of course, he had to fly his turn more tightly from the upper defense circle. He and his warrior are one unit, and he is the commander of the plane unlike others.
Friedrich KÃÆ'¶rner (36 wins) also recognizes this as something unique: "Shooting in the bend (shooting deflection) is the most difficult thing a pilot can do, the enemy flying in a defensive circle, meaning they are already in the curve and the attacking fighter must fly into this circle of defense By pulling his plane to the right, his turning radius should be smaller, but if he does that, his target disappears in many cases under his wings.So he can not see it anymore and has to proceed just by instinct. "
His success as a fighter pilot also led to more promotion and responsibility as an officer. May 1, 1942 saw her receive an awesome initial promotion to Oberleutnant followed by appointment for StaffelkapitÃÆ'¤n from June 3, 1942 , thereby replacing the Oberleutnant Gerhard Homuth who took command of I./JG 27 .
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 battles as they should. I saw myself in the midst of a British flock, firing from every position and never getting caught. Our plane is the basic element, Stahlschmidt, which must be mastered. You should be able to shoot from any position. From the left or right turn, from the scroll, on your back, anytime. Only in this way can you develop your own specific tactics. The attack tactics, that the enemy can not anticipate during a battle - a series of movements and actions that can not be predicted, never the same, always comes from the situation at hand. Only then can you plunge into the enemy horde and blow it up from within.
Marseille suffered a narrow escape on May 13, 1942, when its Bf 109 was damaged in aerial battles with 12 Curtiss Kittyhawks (Mk I) from No. 3 RAAF Squadron, southeast of Gazala and above Bay of Bomba ("Gazala Bay"). With the winger, Marseille bounced Kittyhawks. After he subdued one of Australia's pilots, Air Force Graham Pace at AL172 , Bf 109 of Marseille took a shot at an oil tank and a propeller, possibly from Geoff Chinchen, who reportedly damaged one of Messerschmitt's. Marseille still managed to shoot down another Kittyhawk (Sergeant Colin McDiarmid; AK855 ), before treating his overheated aircraft back to the base. Improvement Bf 109 Marseille took two days. Air victory was listed as number 57-58.
A few weeks later, on May 30, Marseille performed another mission of forgiveness after witnessing its 65th win - Graham's George Buckland's No. 4 Officer. 250 RAF Squadrons - attacked his fighter's tail plane and fell to his death when the parachute was not open.. After landing he went to the crash site. The P-40s had landed above the Allied line but they found a dead pilot in the German territory. Marseille marked his grave, collected his documents and verified his identity, then flew to the Buckland airport to send a letter of regret. Buckland died two days before her 21st birthday.
His attack method of breaking the formation, which he perfected, resulted in a high proportion of murders, and quickly, a double victory per attack. On 3 June 1942, Marseille attacked single-handedly the formation of 16 Curtiss P-40 fighter planes and shot down six SAAF No. 5 Squadron aircraft, five of them in six minutes, including three aces: Robin Pare (six wins), Cecil Golding (6.5 wins) and Andre Botha (five wins). This success increased his score even further, recording his 70-75 victory. Marseille was awarded the Knight Cross of the Iron Cross with Leaves of Ek on June 6, 1942. Rainer PÃÆ'¶ttgen, nicknamed Fliegendes ZÃÆ'¤hlwerk ("Flying Machine"), said of this fight:
All enemies were shot down by Marseille in a turning battle. As soon as he shoots, he just needs to glance at enemy planes. The pattern [of his shot] starts in front, machine nose, and consistently ends up in the cockpit. How he can do this even he can not explain it. With every air combat he will retreat as far as possible; this allows him to fly more tightly. His ammunition spending in this air combat was 360 rounds (60 per plane was shot down)
Schröer, however, puts Marseille's method into context:
He is the most amazing and intelligent combat pilot I have ever seen. He is also very lucky on various occasions. He thinks no one jumps into a losing battle ten to one, often alone, with us trying to catch him. He broke every rule of combat combat. He abandoned all the rules.
On 17 June 1942, Marseille claimed the 100th air victory. He is the 11th pilot Luftwaffe to reach the century mark. Marseille then returned to Germany for two months away and the following day was given the Cross of the Iron Cross Knights with the Leaves of Ek and the Sword. On August 6, he began his journey back to North Africa accompanied by his fiancée  © e Hanne-Lies KÃÆ'¼pper. On August 13, he met Benito Mussolini in Rome and was given the highest Italian military award for courage, Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare . While in Italy Marseille disappeared for some time pushing the German authorities to compile the missing persons report, filed by Gestapo head in Rome, Herbert Kappler. He was finally found. According to rumors he fled with an Italian girl and was eventually persuaded to return to his unit. Unusual, nothing was ever said about the incident and no reaction was made to Marseille over this affair.
Leaving his fiancée in Rome, Marseille returned to combat duty on 23 August. September 1, 1942 is Marseille's most successful day, claiming to destroy 17 Allied planes (No. 105-121), and September will see him claiming 54 wins, his most productive month. Aircraft 17 claimed to include eight in 10 minutes; as a result of this achievement, he presented with Volkswagen KÃÆ'¼belwagen by the squadron Regia Aeronautica , in which his Italian colleagues had painted "Otto" (Italian: Otto = eight). It is the largest plane of Western Allied air forces that was shot down by a single pilot in a single day. Only one pilot, Emil "Bully" Lang, on November 4, 1943, would have better this score, against the Soviet Air Force on the Eastern Front.
On 3 September 1942 Marseille claimed six wins (nos 127-132) but was hit by a shot from British-Canadian ace James Francis Edwards. Der Adler , biweekly propaganda magazine published by Luftwaffe , also reported his actions in volume 14 of 1942. Marseille became famous through the propaganda that treats fighter pilots as superstars. He regularly signs postcards with his drawings. Apart from Der Alder , the exploits are published in Die Berliner , Illustrierte , Zeitung and Die Wehrmacht i>
Three days later Edwards probably killed GÃÆ'¼nter Steinhausen, a friend of Marseille. The next day, September 7, 1942, another close friend of Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt was posted missing in action. This personal loss greatly weighed Marseille's mind along with his family tragedy. Noted he barely spoke and became more moody in the last weeks of his life. The combat strain also induces sleepwalking that is consistent at night and other symptoms that can be interpreted as post-traumatic stress disorder. Marseille never remembered this incident.
Marseille continued to score some victories throughout September, including seven on Sept 15 (nos. 145-151). Between 16 and 25 September, Marseille failed to improve his score because of his fractured arms, surviving on troop landing shortly after the 15 September mission. As a result, he was forbidden to fly by Eduard Neumann. But on the same day, Marseille borrowed Macchi C.202 '96 -10 'from Italian Asti Tenente Emanuele Annoni, from 96a Squadriglia, 9Ã, Â ° Gruppo , 4 Â ° Stormo , based in Fuka, for test flights. But the one-time flight ended with the landing of the wheels, when the German ace accidentally turned off the engine, because the throttle controls on the Italian plane were opposite to those on German planes.
Marseille almost surpassed the score of his friend Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt from 59 wins in just five weeks. However, the extraordinary material superiority of the Allies meant the tension placed on German pilots who outnumbered the now severe. At the moment, the strength of German combat units is 112 servicemen that can be serviced against British troops consisting of about 800 machines. Marseille became physically exhausted by the frenetic pace of war. After his final battle on 26 September, Marseille was reportedly on the brink of collapse after a 15-minute fight with the Spitfires formation, where he scored his seventh win of the day.
A special note is a claim of 158 Marseille. After landing on the afternoon of September 26, 1942, he was physically exhausted. Some accounts offend Squadron members who were clearly surprised by Marseille's physical state. Marseille, according to its own post-war account, has been involved by Spitfire pilots in fierce battles starting at high altitudes and descending to low levels. Marseille tells how he and his opponent tried to get into the other tail. Both succeed and shoot but each time the chase manages to turn the table on his attacker. Finally, with only 15 minutes remaining fuel, he climbed into the sun. The RAF fighters followed and were caught in a keen gaze. Marseille made a tight turn and bolster, firing a shot from 100 meters. Spitfire burns and releases wings. It fell to the ground with the pilot still inside. Marseille wrote, "It was the toughest enemy I ever had, it was incredible turns... I thought it would be my last fight". Unfortunately the pilot and his unit remain unidentified.
Marseille flew the Bf 109 E-7 and the Bf 109F-4/Z.
Death
Two missions on 26 September 1942 were flown in Bf 109 G-2/trop, one of which Marseille had shot down seven Allied planes. The first six of these machines are to replace Gruppe s Bf 109 Fs. All has been allocated to Marseille 3 Staffel . Marseille had previously ignored orders to use the new aircraft due to high engine failure rates, but on orders of Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, Marseille was forced to comply. One of these machines, WK-Nr. 14256 (Engine: Daimler-Benz DB 605 A-1, W.Nr.77 411), will be Marseille's last flying plane.
Over the next three days, Marseille's
On September 30, 1942, Marseille Hauptmann led his Staffel on a Stuka escort mission which included group withdrawal and exempt the escort, III. Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53), which has been deployed to support JG 27 in Africa. Marseille flights were transported to Allied aircraft in the vicinity but the opponents retreated and did not take the battle. Marseille inspired the title and altitude of the formation to Neumann who directed III./JG 27 to get involved. Marseille heard leader 8./JG 27 Werner SchrÃÆ'¶er claimed Spitfire by radio at 10:30. On returning to the base, the new cockpit of Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2/trop was filled with smoke; blinded and half-suffocated, he was guided back to the German line by his wings, Jost Schlang and Lt Rainer PÃÆ'¶ttgen. After reaching the friendly line, "Yellow 14" has lost its strength and drifted lower and lower. PÃÆ'¶ttgen exclaimed after about 10 minutes that they had reached White Mosque Sidi Abdel Rahman, and thus were in the line of friendship. At this point, Marseille considers his plane no longer flyable and decides to save it, his last words to his colleagues are "I must get out now, I can not take it anymore".
Eduard Neumann personally directed the mission from the command post:
I was at the command post and listening to radio communications between the pilots. I realized immediately something serious had happened; I knew they were still on the flight and that they were trying to get Marseille over the border into our territory and that the plane was emitting a lot of smoke.
His Staffel , who had flown into a tight formation around him, peeled off to give him the space needed for maneuvering. Marseille rolled his plane onto his back, a standard procedure to save, but because of smoke and a bit of disorientation, he failed to notice that the plane had entered a steep bend at an angle of 70-80 degrees and now travels to a much faster speed (about 640 km/h (400 mph )). He works out of the cockpit and into the hasty air just to be taken backward by the slipstream, the left side of his chest hits the vertical stabilizer of his fighters, either killing him instantly or making him unconscious to the point where he can not spread his parachute. He fell almost vertically, crashing into a desert on the 7-kilometer (4.3Ã, mi) floor south of Sidi Abdel Rahman. As it happens, the gaping 40cm (16inch) hole has been made in his parachute and the canopy has spilled, but after recovering the body, the handle of the parachute release is still "safe", revealing Marseille is not even trying to Open. While examining the body, Oberarzt Dr Bick, the regimental physician for the 115th Panzergrenadier-Regiment , noted the Marseille watch had stopped promptly at 11:42 am. Dr. Bick was the first person to reach the crash site, which was placed only at the back of the mine's defense, as well as witnessing Marseille's fatal fall. In his autopsy report, Dr. Bick states:
"The pilot was lying on his stomach as if he were asleep, his arms hidden beneath his body.When I approached, I saw a pool of blood released from the side of his crushed skull, brain problems exposed.I changed the pilot's dead man onto his back and unzipped his flight jacket, saw Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Marseille never really received Diamonds in person) and I knew right away who this was. The payment book also told me. "
Oberleutnant Ludwig Franzisket collects corpses from the desert. Hans-Joachim Marseille was in a state of sick at Staffel's ward, his colleagues came to pay their respects throughout the day. As a tribute, they recorded "Rhumba Azul" which he likes to listen to; it is played over and over until the closing day. Marseille's funeral took place on October 1, 1942 at the Heroes' Tomb in Derna with Albert Kesselring and Eduard Neumann delivering a speech.
The investigation into the accident was in a hurry. The commission report ( Aktenzeichen 52, Br.B.Nr. 270/42 ) concluded that the accident was caused by damage to the differential gear, causing an oil leak. Then some teeth break the wheels that spur and ignite the oil. Sabotage or human error is ruled out. Aircraft, W. Nr. 14256, was transported to the unit via Bari, Italy. The mission that ended with its destruction was his first mission.
JG 27 was moved from Africa for about a month due to the impact of Marseille's death on morale. The death of two other German aces, GÃÆ'¼nter Steinhausen and friend of Marseille Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, just three weeks earlier reduced the spirit to the lowest point of all time. A biographer argues that this consequence is triggered by a failure in the Marseille commando style, although that is not entirely within his control. The more successful Marseille, the more staffel it depends on it to bring a larger share of the air victory claimed by the unit. So his death, when it comes, is something that apparently was not prepared by JG 27.
Hans Ring historians and Christopher Shores also point to the fact that Marseille's promotion is based on a level of personal success over other reasons, and other pilots can not score victories in the air, let alone become their own Expert. They fly in favor because "the maestro shows them how it's done", and often "refrains from attacking enemy aircraft to build higher scores". As a result there is no other Experten to get into Marseille shoes if he is killed. Eduard Neumann explains:
"These [very few goals scoring] defects were overcome by the moral effects throughout Geschwader from the success of a pilot like Marseille, and most of the Marseille pilot staff acted in secondary roles as escorting to" masters. "
Marseille's impact on Allied fighter pilots and their enthusiasm is unclear. Andrew Thomas quotes Bert Houle Pilot Officer of No. 213 RAF Squadron; "He is a highly skilled pilot and a deadly shot, it is a feeling of helplessness to keep bouncing, and to do little about it." Robert Tate, on the other hand, is a skeptical Allied pilot who will become familiar, asking, "How well Marseille are known to DAF personnel in the Desert?" Nothing so good, although there is little indication that some Allied pilots might have heard of Marseille, ready to get to the Allied Squadron.The stories are incredible abounding about how pilots know each other and hope to duel each other in the sky. This is more than likely not the case. "
Maps Hans-Joachim Marseille
In popular propaganda and culture
Marseille appeared four times at Deutsche Wochenschau. The first time was on Wednesday 17 February 1942 when Oberst Galland, General der Jagdflieger, visited the airport in the desert. The second time was on Wednesday 1 July 1942 when Marseille traveled to Rastenburg to receive the Knights Cross from the Iron Cross with the Leaves of Ek and the Sword of Adolf Hitler. The third time on Wednesday 9 September 1942 announced 17 Marseille air victories from September 1, 1942 and that he had been awarded Diamonds to his Knight's Cross. His last appearance began on Wednesday 30 September 1942 showing Hauptmann Marseille visiting Erwin Rommel.
In 1957, a German film, Der Stern von Africa ( African Star ) directed by Alfred Weidenmann, was made starring in Joachim Hansen as Hans-Joachim Marseille. The film is a fictional account of the Marseille war time service.
His grave contains one word of gravestone: Invincibility . It was understood that after the war, the remnants of Hans-Joachim Marseille were brought from Derna and interclaimed in the memorial park in Tobruk; where his mother visited his grave in 1954. His body is now in a small clay coffin (sarcophagus) with numbers 4133 . On 24 October 1975, Barak Bundesluftwaffe at Uetersen-Appen was renamed Barracks Marseille. The Reuter-Marseille family memorial can be found at the tomb in Berlin, Alt-SchÃÆ'¶neberg. The second horse tail for the last Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4/trop ( Werknummer 8673) now carries 158 triumphs displayed at the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr in Berlin Gatow. Originally given to his family as a gift by Hermann GÃÆ'¶ring and donated to the museum. Twenty-five years after Marseille's death, veteran World War II fighter pilots gathered to honor Marseille at the "International Fighter Pilots Meeting" on 7-8 October 1967 at FÃÆ'¼rstenfeldbruck. Attending this meeting were fighter pilots from six different countries, including Erich Hartmann, Robert Stanford Tuck, Adolf Galland, GÃÆ'¼nther Rall and Mike Martin, who were shot down by Marseille on June 3, 1942. The guests of honor at this meeting were Marseille's mother, Frau Charlotte Reuter-Marseille and her former fiancee e Hanne-Lies. The 16th Reunion Deutsches Afrikakorps took place on September 1-2, 1984 in Stuttgart. German Bundesregierung was invited as the Corporal's honorary guest, Mathew P. Letuku from South Africa. Matthew, aka Mathias to everyone in JG 27 , was a South African black soldier captured by German forces on the morning of June 21, 1941 at Tobruk fortress. Mathias originally worked as a volunteer driver with 3. Staffel then befriended Marseille and became a housekeeper in Africa.
src: c8.alamy.com
Victory claims and important actions
FÃÆ'¤hnrich Hans-Joachim Marseille was transferred to his first combat duty with I. (Jagd)/Lehrgeschwader 2 at the time stationed in Calais-Marck on Sunday 10 August 1940. Two days later he arrived at this unit on 12 August 1940.
He is assigned to 1. Staffel of Gruppe . StaffelkapitÃÆ'¤n is Oberleutnant Adolf Buhl. One of SchwarmfÃÆ'¼hrer is Oberfeldwebel Helmut Goedert, to whom Marseille is assigned as wingman. Marseille had flown its first combat mission the following day, Wednesday, August 13, 1940 and claimed its first air victory on August 24, 1940. For more than two years he would have collected 157 other air wins. His 158 wins in the air were claimed at 382 combat missions.
Ã, This and this? (Ace of spades) shows the days in which Marseille shot down five or more planes in a single day.
This indicates that the air combat report is missing from the Federal Archives of Germany.
Ã, This shows that the Australian historian Russell Brown has expressed doubts about the truth of Marseille's claims.
The Federal Archives of Germany still keeps records for 109 Marseille air victories. Another biographer from Marseille, Walter WÃÆ'¼bbe, has attempted to link these records with Allied units, squadrons and when possible even to individual pilots, to verify as many claims as possible.
Dispute over claims
Some serious differences between Allied squadron records and German claims have caused some Allied historians and veterans to question the accuracy of Marseille's official victory, apart from the overall JG 27 victory. Attention is often centered on 26 claims made by JG 27 on September 1, 1942, of which 17 are claimed by Marseille alone. Another biographer, Franz Kurowski, claims that 24 of 26 victories have been verified through Allied records after the war. A USAF historian, Major Robert Tate stated: "[f] or many years, many British historians and militants refuse to admit that they have lost any aircraft that day in North Africa.However, careful record reviews show that England [and South Africa] lost more than 17 aircraft on that day, and in the area operated by Marseille. "Tate also revealed 20 RAF single-engined fighter aircraft and a twin-engined fighter aircraft destroyed and several others badly damaged, and P-40 USAAF shot down. However, overall Tate reveals that the total number of assassinations of Marseille is almost 65-70 percent, indicating that as many as 50 of his claims may not actually kill. Tate also compared the rate of validation of Marseilles with the top six P-40 pilots. While only Canadian James Francis Edwards records show 100 percent verification of other As cards such as Clive Caldwell (50% to 60%), Billy Drake (70% to 80%), John Lloyd Waddy (70% to 80% strengthening) and Andrew Barr (60% to 70% strengthen) are in the same order as Marseille claims. Christopher Shores and Hans Ring also support Tate's conclusion. The British historian, Stephen Bungay, gave the figure of 20 Allied losses on that day.
However, claims for September 15, 1942 are in serious doubt, following the first detailed examination of the Allied squadron's individual records by Australian historian Russell Brown. In addition, Brown noted three occasions where Marseille could not drop as many of the claimed aircraft as possible.
Stephan Bungay has shown low military values ​​to shoot down DAF fighters, rather than bombers who in mid-1942 had a devastating effect on Axis ground units and convoy routes. Referring to September 1, 1942, Bungay pointed out that even if Marseille shot down 15 of the 17 he claimed that day, "the rest of the 100 or more German fighter pilots among them only got five.London [sic] did not lose bombers at all.. During this period, DAF only lost a few bombers, but all fell to anti-aircraft defense and evidence indicates that Rommel was forced to survive due to losses posed by the bomber.
Decorations
One time in the early 1990s, one of Marseille's biographer Robert Tate visited the former Marseille-Kaserne base and the Museum to see and photograph the Marseille medal. When he arrived, Tate was told that Knights Cross, Leaves of Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds had been stolen.
Marseille and Nazism
The German Military History Research Office (MGFA) published a brief evaluation of Marseille in early 2013 stating that "occasional attempts in popular literature to show brave and honest characters" Dishonest Marseille point to an ideological to a misleading National Socialism ". The MGFA concludes that since there is no Marseille academic biography, "it is unknown that Hans-Joachim Marseille, through its overall action or through an extraordinary deed, is praised in the service for freedom and justice [as defined in the current guidelines for military tradition]".
Some biographies of Hans-Joachim Marseille have written about contempt for authority and for the National Socialist movement in general. Some biographers describe it as "openly anti-Nazi." When Marseille first met Hitler in 1942 he did not form a positive impression. Upon returning to Africa, Eduard Neumman recalled, "After his first visit with Hitler, Marseille came back and said he thought 'the Reverend is a rather strange man.'" On the visit, Marseille also said some unattractive things about Hitler and the Nazi Party. Several senior officers, including Adolf Galland and Nicolaus von Below, heard his remarks during one of the awards ceremonies. Von Below asked Marseille if he would join the Nazi Party and within earshot of others, Marseille replied, "that if he sees a party worth joining, he will consider it, but there must be many attractive women in it." The speech was clearly disappointing that Hitler was left "bewildered" by his behavior.
Marseille showed his lack of respect for the Nazi elite during his visit to Germany in June-August 1942. Marseille was a talented pianist and was invited to play at the home of Willy Messerschmitt, an industrialist and designer of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. Guests at the party included Adolf Hitler, party chairman Martin Borman, Hitler's deputy and Supreme Commander Luftwaffe Hermann GÃÆ'¶ring, head of SS, Heinrich Himmler and Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. After being impressed by Ludwig van Beethoven's FÃÆ'¼r Elise appearance, Marseille went on to play the American Jazz, which is considered to be degenerating in the Nazi ideology. Hitler stood up, raised his hand, and said, "I think we've heard enough" before leaving the room immediately. Magda Goebbels finds the joke funny and Artur Axmann remembers how "his blood froze" when he heard the "Ragtime" music was played in front of FÃÆ'¼hrer.
Later that month Marseille was invited to another party, despite the previous action. OberwuppenfÃÆ'¼hrer Karl Wolff, of the ReichsfÃÆ'¼hrer-SS Personal Staff, asserted that during his visit Marseille heard a conversation that mentioned crimes against Jews and others. He has stated:
Globocnik and I talked about Reinhard's Operations, which were fully valid after the Heydrich murders, as well as the construction of Sobibor and Treblinka. I know I asked him about HÃÆ'¶ss, who also stood there and summoned by Himmler about logistics or something about the new camp (Auschwitz). Then Globocnik mentions to me and the Kaltenbrunner that Lidice has been cleansed, and all Jews and the Czechs have been dealt with. I noticed that this young pilot, which I later learned was Marseille, certainly heard it, and I debated whether I should go and say something to him. I decided not to do it.
When Marseille returns to his unit, he asks his friends, Franzisket, Clade and Schröer, whether they have heard what happened to the Jews and if anything is happening that they do not know. Franszisket recalled that he had heard the Jews relocated to the territory acquired in the East but no more. Marseille recounts how he had tried to ask questions about Jews who had disappeared from his ward, including the family doctor who had given birth at birth. Regardless of her hero's status, when she tries to bring the subject into conversation with those who approach her, her question either meets with awkward silence, or people change the subject or even turn away. Franzisket noticed the change in the attitude of Marseille towards the struggle of his nation. He never talks about it with his comrades anymore.
Marseille's friendship with his adopted assistant was also used to show his anti-Nazi character. In 1942 Marseille befriended a South African Army prisoner, Corporal Mathew Letulu, nicknamed Mathias . Marseille took him as a personal helper rather than allowing him to be sent to a prison camp of war in Europe. Over time, Marseille and Mathias became inseparable. Marseille was concerned how Mathias would be treated by another unit of the Wehrmacht and once commented, "Where I am going, Mathias is gone." Marseille's promises were made by his senior commander, Neumann, that if anything happened to him [Marseille] Mathias had to stay with the unit. Mathias remained with JG 27 until the end of the war and attended a post-war reunion until his death in 1984.
The biographer Robert Tate goes a step further in his examination. During his research he contacted Professor Rafael Scheck, Head of History at Colby College. Scheck publishes Hitler's Victims in Africa: Massacre of German Soldiers of the Black Troy in 1940 and is recognized as a racial theorist and in Nazi Germany. Without knowing Marseille, Scheck identified his friendship with Matthias in direct opposition to the Nazi mandate. Sheck doubts the "acquisition" of Marseille from Matthais and his role as Marseille's "batman", done out of disrespect. Sheck said, "I know from the camp commander in the Mathausen concentration camp, who holds a black man as his personal butler is not respectful, I do not think that aspect is relevant to Marseille." When asked about Marseille's behavior, Sheck said, "I do not feel strange because I am used to seeing many nuances among Germans from the Third Reich, but his behavior may surprise many other researchers." Tate also noted Marseille's tendency for Cuban rumba by Ernesto Lecuona, jazz and swings which he believed were another way to counter the Nazi ideals.
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Source of the article : Wikipedia
This indicates that the air combat report is missing from the Federal Archives of Germany.
Ã, This shows that the Australian historian Russell Brown has expressed doubts about the truth of Marseille's claims.
Globocnik and I talked about Reinhard's Operations, which were fully valid after the Heydrich murders, as well as the construction of Sobibor and Treblinka. I know I asked him about HÃÆ'¶ss, who also stood there and summoned by Himmler about logistics or something about the new camp (Auschwitz). Then Globocnik mentions to me and the Kaltenbrunner that Lidice has been cleansed, and all Jews and the Czechs have been dealt with. I noticed that this young pilot, which I later learned was Marseille, certainly heard it, and I debated whether I should go and say something to him. I decided not to do it.
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