Kurt Bühligen

In early November 1942, the Western Allies launched Operation Torch, the Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa. On 17 November, II. Gruppe of JG 2 was withdrawn from the English Channel Front and ordered to San Pietro Clarenza, Sicily. At the time, the Gruppe was equipped with the Fw 190 A-3, some Fw 190 A-2s, and received the A-4 variant in early December. This made II. Gruppe of JG 2 the only Fw 190 equipped fighter unit in the Mediterranean Theater. The Gruppe flew its first missions on 19 November, securing German air and sea transportation to Tunis. That day, elements of II. Gruppe began relocating to Bizerte Airfield.[16] Bühlingen claimed his first aerial victory in this theater of operations on 3 December over a Spitfire south of Tebourba[17]

II. Gruppe area of operations in Tunisia.

On 5 December, his acting Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) Oberleutnant Adolf Dickfeld submitted Bühligen for preferential promotion to Oberleutnant. The nomination was reviewed by the commanding general of the II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps) General der Flieger (General of the Aviators) Bruno Loerzer, headquartered at Taormina, Sicily and by Feldmarschall (Field Marshal) Albert Kesselring, at the time Oberbefehlshaber Süd (Commander in Chief in the South). Both Loerzer and Kesselring approved the nomination leading to Bühligen's promotion on 1 February 1943.[11][18] On 26 December, eighteen Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), escorted by eight Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters, attacked the harbor of Bizerte destroying approximately 100 fuel barrels and damaged one cargo ship. II. Gruppe intercepted the USAAF formation on their return from the target area, claiming three P-38 fighters shot down, including two by Bühligen.[19]

In January 1943, the bulk of II. Gruppe of JG 2 was based at an airfield at Sidi Ahmed near Bizerte. On 4 January, 4. Staffel intercepted a formation of Douglas A-20 Havoc "Boston" bombers, escorted by Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, on bombing mission to Fondouk, approximately 140 kilometers (87 miles) south-east of Bizerte. The bombers were already under attack by Bf 109s from I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53rd—53rd Fighter Wing) when 4. Staffel encountered the bombers west of Fondouk. In this encounter, Bühlingen shot down a P-40 and a Boston which he misidentified as a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber.[20] On 7 January, II. Gruppe moved to Kairouan Airfield.[21] The next day, II. Gruppe flew numerous missions and claimed twelve aerial victories, including three P-38s shot down by Bühligen, for the loss of two Fw 190s.[22] One of the P-38s claimed by Bühligen was a 49th Fighter Squadron aircraft strafing tanks near Kairouan.[23] On 14 January, he was credited with the destruction of another P-38. A flight of B-17s bombers, escorted by P-38s, had attacked the harbor of Sousse.[22]

On 30 January, five Fw 190s from 4. Staffel were scrambled at 07:30 to intercept a flight of six Spitfires spotted northwest of Kairouan. Shortly after takeoff, 4. Staffel intercepted the Spitfires and claimed three Spitfires shot down, including two by Bühligen, without loss.[24] On 2 February, Bühligen became an "ace-in-a-day", claiming three P-40s, a Spitfire and a Bell P-39 Airacobra in combat near Kairouan.[25] Only one Spitfire was shot down on this day and Bühligen, according to the claims list, was the only German to report one destroyed. No. 225 Squadron RAF lost Flying Officer S.H.A Short killed near Kasserine.[26] Ten P-40s of the 33rd Fighter Group were lost—eight from the 59th Fighter Squadron and two from the 60th Fighter Squadron.[26] Five American pilots were killed in action and one captured. German pilots claimed 13 Allied fighters; 11 were recorded lost in aerial combat.[26]

II. Gruppe flew its last combat missions in North Africa on 11 and 12 March 1943. At the time, the Gruppe had ten Fw 190s remaining, seven of which still serviceable.[27] Bühligen claimed three aerial victories on 12 March, two P-38s and a B-17 near La Sebala Airfield. [28] On 18 March, the aircraft were handed over to III. Gruppe of Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (SKG 10—10th Fast Bomber Wing). The pilots and ground personal were flown to Sicily on 22 March.[27]

II. Gruppe was then ordered to Beaumont-le-Roger, where they arrived on 27 March 1943 and equipped with the Bf 109 G. Until mid-May, the Gruppe trained on this fighter aircraft.[29] During this training period, Bühlingen was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 May.[11] The first operational missions following the relocation to France were flown on 13 May.[30] On 15 May, II. Gruppe defended against an attack on the airfield Poix-Nord at Poix-de-Picardie. During this engagement, Bühligen claimed a North American P-51 Mustang shot down 30 kilometers (19 miles) north-northwest of Berck. Two days later, he claimed a Hawker Typhoon shot down north of Caen.[31][32] Bühligen received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 25 June 1943.[11]

Messerschmitt Bf 109 of JG 2, September 1943

On 1 July 1943, Bühligen was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of JG 2. He replaced Hauptmann Erich Rudorffer in this capacity who had been transferred to IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). That day, most of the air elements of II. Gruppe relocated to Évreux-Fauville Air Base.[33] On 4 July, Bühligen led II. Gruppe against an attack by the United States Strategic Air Forces (USAAF) VIII Bomber Command, later renamed to Eighth Air Force, on Nantes and Le Mans. The Gruppe claimed three B-17s and five escort fighters shot down for the loss of a Bf 109 shot down and six further damaged.[34] Bühlingen was credited with the destruction of a Spitfire and a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in this engagement.[31] On 14 July, Bühligen led II. Gruppe in defense of an USAAF attack on the airfields at Villacoublay and Le Bourget. That day, II. Gruppe claimed three B-17s, one P-47 and four Spitfires, including one by Bühlingen, destryoed for the loss of two Bf 109s and one further Bf 109 damaged.[35]

In early September 1943, Allied air operations under the deception Operation Starkey were very active. On 6 September, II. Gruppe defended against USAAF heavy bombers attacking Stuttgart.[36] That day, II. Gruppe claimed eight aerial victories, including four by Bühlingen, for the loss of three Bf 109s lost.[37]

Bühligen was promoted to Major (Major) on 1 January 1944 and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 2 March 1944. He was the 413th member of the German armed forces to be so honored and at the time he was listed with 96 aerial victories.[11] The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler at the Berghof, Hitler's residence in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps, on 4 April 1944. Among others, also present at the award ceremony were Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Jabs, Major Bernhard Jope and Major Hansgeorg Bätcher.[38]

On 27 April 1944, Major Kurt Ubben Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 2 was killed in action. In consequence, Bühligen became the last Geschwaderkommodore of JG 2.[39] On 7 June 1944, Bühligen shot down two Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in the vicinity of Caen, taking his total to 100 aerial victories.[40] He was the 75th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.[41] Following his 104th aerial victory, Bühligen received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on 14 August 1944. He was the 88th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. On 1 October, Bühligen was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)[42]

On 5 December 1944, Bühlingen was briefed on the operational objectives of Operation Bodenplatte, an air superiority operation in support of the Battle of the Bulge launched on 1 January 1945. The meeting took place at the headquarters of II. Jagdkorps (2nd Fighter Corps) at Flammersfeld.[43] JG 2's main objective was Sint-Truiden Airfield where it sustained heavy losses in the attack.[44] Bühligen himself did not fly during Operation Bodenplatte.[45]

As Geschwaderkommodore, Bühligen was ordered to Berlin on 22 January 1945 and attended the meeting with Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring which was later dubbed the Fighter Pilots' Mutiny. This was an attempt to reinstate Generalleutnant Adolf Galland as General der Jagdflieger who had been dismissed for outspokenness regarding the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Luftwaffe high command), and had been replaced by Oberst Gordon Gollob. The meeting was held at the Haus der Flieger in Berlin and was attended by a number of high-ranking fighter pilot leaders which included Bühligen, Günther Lützow, Hannes Trautloft, Hermann Graf, Gerhard Michalski, Helmut Bennemann, Erich Leie and Herbert Ihlefeld, and their antagonist Göring supported by his staff Bernd von Brauchitsch and Karl Koller. The fighter pilots, with Lützow taking the lead as spokesman, criticized Göring and made him personally responsible for the decisions taken which effectively had led to the lost air war over Europe.[46]

During the final days of World War II in Europe, Bühligen led JG 2 in operations against the Soviet advance on the Eastern Front. On 18 April, the remnants of JG 2 move to Cham. Two days later, JG 2 relocates to Berlin Tempelhof Airport via Plzeň where they refuel and move on to Leck Airfield. From Leck, JG 2 flies missions in support of the German forces fighting in the Battle of Berlin. At the time, Leck is under constant attack by the RAF. On 23 April, some elements of I. and II. Gruppe which were still based at Cham surrender to US forces. A few pilots manage to fly to Pocking before they move on to the area of Erding-Holzkirchen-Prien. With 12 aircraft remaining, Bühligen disbands JG 2 on 30 April while parts of JG 2 were dispersed in Leck and Föching near Straubing. The last elements of JG 2 surrender to British forces on 8 May at Leck.[47] An engine failure caused Bühligen to be taken prisoner by the Soviets, being finally released in 1950.

He shot down some 112 enemy aircraft in over 700 operations, becoming the fourth-highest Luftwaffe scorer against the Western Allies. All his victories were claimed over the Western Front and North Africa and included 47 Spitfires and 46 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) victims; 13 P-38, 9 P-47, 7 US operated Spitfires and 14 four-engine bombers. He was never shot down but had to make emergency landings on 3 occasions. His final command was Geschwaderkommodore of the JG 2 fighter wing.

Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for more than 99 aerial victory claims, plus nine further unconfirmed claims. All of his victories were claimed on the Western Front and include 13 four-engined bombers.[48]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 05 Ost 1157". 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.[49]

• Wound Badge in Silver[62]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (24 July 1941)[63]
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
  • in Gold (31 July 1941)[7]
  • in Gold with Pennant "700"[62]
• Combined Pilots-Observation Badge[62]
• German Cross in Gold on 25 June 1943 as Leutnant in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 2[64]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd class (10 September 1940)[7][65]
  • 1st class (29 October 1940)[7][65]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 4 September 1941 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the II./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[66][Note 12][Note 13]
  • 413th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Major (war officer) and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[67][69][70]
  • 88th Swords on 14 August 1944 as Major (war officer) and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[67][71][72]