Fritz Tegtmeier

Fritz Tegtmeier (30 July 1917 – 8 April 1999) was a World War II Luftwaffe 146 aerial victories Flying ace and recipient of the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[1] The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.[2]

Fritz Tegtmeier
Fritz Tegtmeier
Born(1917-07-30)30 July 1917
Sundern, Westphalia
Died8 April 1999(1999-04-08) (aged 81)
Greven
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
RankOberleutnant (first lieutenant)
UnitJG 54, EJGr Ost, JG 7
Battles/wars
See battles

World War II

AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Military career

Fritz Tegtmeier was posted to the 2. Staffel (2nd Squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in October 1940. He was severely injured on 17 November 1940 when his aircraft crashed due to engine fire. He returned to his Staffel in the spring of 1941 and claimed his first aerial victory on 22 June 1941, the first day of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front.[3] Tegtmeier with seven aerial victories claimed, was again severely injured on 10 September 1941 in a midair collision with a Messerschmitt Bf 110 near Gatschina. He bailed out with his parachute and was put in convalescence for many months. He returned to active duty in April 1942 and was assigned to the 1./JG 54. By the end of 1942 he had claimed 29 aerial victories. He claimed aerial victories number 36 and 37 on 23 January 1943. On 3 May 1943 he claimed numbers 51–53 and was posted to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost as fighter pilot instructor. He returned to front line duty, this time with the 3./JG 54, in September 1943. In November 1943 he achieved his 75th aerial victory. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 28 March 1944 following his 99th aerial victory.[4] Tegtmeier was promoted to Leutnant on 20 April 1944. He claimed his 100th and 101st aerial victory on 3 May 1944. He was the 71st Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.[5] In October 1944 he was made Staffelkapitän of the 3./JG 54. By the end of 1944 his score of aerial victories stood at 139 claims. When he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing) for flight training on the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in March 1945 his score stood at 146 aerial victories. Fritz Tegtmeier had been nominated for the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub).[6]

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 146 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.[7]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 01852". 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.[8]

Awards

Notes
  1. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed on 3 June 1941.[9]
  2. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 12:15.[17]
  3. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 14:25.[9]
  4. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 14:32.[17]
  5. This claim is not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.[30]
  6. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed as a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1.[17]
  7. This claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman.[17]
  8. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 15:57.[17]
  9. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 11:51.[17]
  10. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 14:10.[17]
  11. According to Scherzer on 26 March 1944 as pilot in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 54.[42]

References

Citations
  1. Spick 1996, p. 229.
  2. Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.
  3. Weal 2001, p. 43.
  4. Weal 2001, p. 108.
  5. Obermaier 1989, p. 244.
  6. Obermaier 1989, p. 214.
  7. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1307–1310.
  8. Planquadrat.
  9. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1307.
  10. Prien et al. 2003, p. 199.
  11. Prien et al. 2003, p. 201.
  12. Prien et al. 2003, p. 202.
  13. Prien et al. 2003, p. 200.
  14. Prien et al. 2003, p. 204.
  15. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1307–1308.
  16. Prien et al. 2006, p. 86.
  17. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1308.
  18. Prien et al. 2006, p. 95.
  19. Prien et al. 2006, p. 88.
  20. Prien et al. 2006, p. 96.
  21. Prien et al. 2006, p. 89.
  22. Prien et al. 2006, p. 90.
  23. Prien et al. 2006, p. 98.
  24. Prien et al. 2006, p. 91.
  25. Prien et al. 2006, p. 93.
  26. Prien et al. 2006, p. 99.
  27. Prien et al. 2012, p. 169.
  28. Prien et al. 2012, p. 170.
  29. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1308–1309.
  30. Prien et al. 2012, p. 171.
  31. Prien et al. 2012, p. 185.
  32. Prien et al. 2012, p. 173.
  33. Prien et al. 2012, p. 186.
  34. Prien et al. 2012, p. 184.
  35. Prien et al. 2012, p. 187.
  36. Prien et al. 2012, p. 188.
  37. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1309.
  38. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1309–1310.
  39. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1310.
  40. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 470.
  41. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 419.
  42. Scherzer 2007, p. 738.

Bibliography
  • Bergström, Christer. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  • 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 (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-21-9.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 (2006). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/III—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/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.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2012). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 12/III—Einsatz im Osten—4.2. bis 31.12.1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 12/III—Action in the East—4 February to 31 December 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Buchverlag Rogge. ISBN 978-3-942943-07-9.
  • 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Weal, John (2001). Jagdgeschwader 54 'Grünherz'. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-286-9.
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