Wilhelm Moritz (Luftwaffe officer)

Wilhelm Moritz (29 June 1913 – 2010) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. During his career Wilhelm Moritz was credited with 44 victories in 500+ missions.

Wilhelm Moritz
Born(1913-06-29)29 June 1913
Altona
Died2010 (aged 96 or 97)
Ontario, Canada
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchArmy (1933–35)
Luftwaffe (1935–45)
Years of service1933–45
RankMajor (major)
UnitZG 1, JG 77, JG 1, JG 51,
JG 3, JG 4
Commands held11./JG 1, 12./JG 51, IV./JG 3
II./JG 4
Battles/wars
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Moritz was born on 29 June 1913 in Altona, a borough of Hamburg in the German Empire.[1]

In mid-1940, Moritz was posted to the II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) which at the time was based in Norway and commanded by Hauptmann Karl Hentschel.[1][2] There, he was assigned to the 4. Staffel (4th squadron) headed by Hauptmann Helmut Henz which was based at Trondheim-Værnes. Moritz claimed his first aerial victory on 6 July 1940 when he shot down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Bristol Blenheim bomber west of Stavanger[3] He shot down another RAF Blenheim bomber on 19 August followed by a Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber on 26 October.[4] In November 1940, Moritz succeeded Hauptmann Theodor Cammann as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 6. Staffel of JG 77.[2] On 10 November, II. Gruppe was withdrawn from Norway and began relocation to France.[5] In France, the Gruppe was based at Brest-Süd Airfield, also known as Brest Guipavas Airfield, where they patrolled the French Atlantic coast.[6] In January 1941, Moritz was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule 4, the fighter pilot school at Fürth Airfield.[7]

In March 1942, IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1–1st Fighter Wing) was re-designated and became the III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing). In consequence, Hauptmann Fritz Losigkeit was charged with the creation of a new IV. Gruppe which was initially based at Werneuchen near Berlin.[8] Oberleutnant Friedrich Eberle headed 10. Staffel which had already served as 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe Losigkeit. The Einsatzstaffel of Jagdfliegerschule 4 under Moritz formed 11. Staffel on 3 April. Oberleutnant Franz Eisenach initially led 12. Staffel created from some pilots of the former IV. Gruppe. Command of 12. Staffel then passed on to Oberleutnant Heinz Stöcker.[9] On 10 Sptember, Moritz was transferred to the Gruppenstab (headquarters unit) of IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). He was replaced by Oberleutnant Rainer Framm as commander of 11. Staffel of JG 1.[10]

Eastern Front

At the time of his posting to JG 51, IV. Gruppe was based at Novodugino, north of Vyazma on the Eastern Front, and fighting in the Battle of Rzhev.[11] The commander of the Gruppe was Hauptmann Johann Knauth.[12] In October, Moritz was given command of 12. Staffel of JG 51. He succeeded Oberleutnant Egon Falkensamer who was transferred.[13]

Defense of the Reich

On 15 April 1944, Generalmajor Adolf Galland, at the time the General der Jagdflieger (General of Fighters), visited IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) at the airfield in Salzwedel. At the time, Moritz served with Gruppenstab of IV. Gruppe. Galland announced that the IV. Gruppe would be converted to a Sturmgruppe (assault group), the first of such units, as a means to combat the bomber formations of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Similar to the experimental Sturmstaffel 1 (1st Assault Squadron) of JG 3, the Gruppe was equipped with the heavily armored variant of the Focke Wulf Fw 190 A series. Every pilot of the Gruppe was asked to sign a contract, declaring that they would commit themselves to pressing attacks on the bombers to point-blank range, and that aerial ramming should be considered. Three days later, Moritz was officially appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the IV. Sturmgruppe of JG 3. He replaced Hauptmann Heinz Lang, who had temporarily led the Gruppe after its former commander, Major Friedrich-Karl Müller was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) on 11 April.[14][15]

Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R8 of IV.(Sturm)/JG 3 "Udet", flown by Hauptmann Moritz

Moritz claimed his first aerial victory in Defense of the Reich on 22 April when 803 bombers of the USAAF Eighth Air Force targeted various German transportation targets in western Germany, in particular the railroad classification yard in Hamm. IV. Gruppe was scrambled at 18:20 in Salzwedel and engaged Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers from the 2nd Air Division at 19:40 in a 20 minute aerial during which Moritz shot down one of the B-24 bombers.[16] On 29 April, 679 USAAF bombers, escorted by 814 fighters, headed von Berlin to bomb the capital.[17] IV. Gruppe flew two missions to defend against this attack.[18] On the second mission, the Gruppe intercepted the bombers on their return from the target area at 13:20 in the vicinity of Gardelegen. In this encounter, Moritz claimed an Herausschuss (separation shot)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from his combat box which was counted as an aerial victory—over a B-24 bomber.[19]

On 7 July 1944, a force of 1,129 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators of the USAAF Eighth Air Force set out from England to bomb aircraft factories in the Leipzig area and the synthetic oil plants at Boehlen, Leuna-Merseburg and Lützkendorf. This formation was intercepted by a German Gefechtsverband (combat formation) consisting of IV. Sturmgruppe of JG 3, led by Hauptmann Moritz, escorted by two Gruppen of Bf 109s from Jagdgeschwader 300 (JG 300—300th Fighter Wing) led by Major Walther Dahl. Dahl and Moritz drove the attack to point-blank range behind the Liberators of the 492d Bombardment Group before opening fire. 492d Bombardment Group was temporarily without fighter cover. Within about a minute the entire squadron of twelve B-24s had been annihilated. The Germans claimed 28 USAAF 2nd Air Division B-24s that day and were credited with at least 21. The majority to the Sturmgruppe attack.[20] This event, also known as the Luftschlacht bei Oschersleben (aerial battle at Oschersleben), earned both Dahl and Moritz a reference in the Wehrmachtbericht, an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht, on 8 July 1944.[21]

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 41 aerial victory claims, plus three further unconfirmed claims. This figure includes 28 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 13 over the Western Allies, including nine four-engined bombers.[22]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 07671". 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.[23]

Awards

Notes

  1. This unconfirmed claim is not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.[28]
  2. According to Matthews and Foreman claimed as a Polikarpov R-5.[24]
  3. The "m.H." refers to an Ilyushin Il-2 with rear gunner (mit Heckschütze).
  4. According to Matthews and Foreman this claim is unconfirmed.[40]
  5. This claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman.[40]
  6. This claim is not listed by Prien.[45]
  7. According to Scherzer as Gruppenkommandeur of the IV.(Sturm)/Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet".[49]

References

Citations

  1. Obermaier 1989, p. 170.
  2. Prien et al. 2000, p. 16.
  3. Prien et al. 2000, pp. 13, 16, 23.
  4. Prien et al. 2000, pp. 24, 26.
  5. Prien et al. 2000, p. 14.
  6. Prien et al. 2002, p. 358.
  7. Prien et al. 2002, p. 361.
  8. Prien & Rodeike 1994, p. 99.
  9. Prien & Rodeike 1994, pp. 99, 105.
  10. Prien & Rodeike 1994, p. 585.
  11. Prien et al. 2006, p. 344.
  12. Prien et al. 2006, p. 350.
  13. Aders & Held 1993, p. 252.
  14. Prien 1996, pp. 100–102.
  15. Forsyth 2011, p. 71.
  16. Prien 1996, p. 107.
  17. Prien 1996, p. 111.
  18. Prien 1996, p. 112.
  19. Prien 1996, p. 113.
  20. Weal 1996, p. 78.
  21. Prien 1996, p. 175.
  22. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 869–870.
  23. Planquadrat.
  24. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 869.
  25. Prien et al. 2000, p. 23.
  26. Prien et al. 2000, p. 26.
  27. Prien et al. 2000, p. 24.
  28. Prien et al. 2006, p. 356.
  29. Prien et al. 2006, p. 357.
  30. Prien et al. 2006, p. 358.
  31. Prien et al. 2012, p. 147.
  32. Prien et al. 2012, p. 151.
  33. Prien et al. 2012, p. 148.
  34. Prien et al. 2012, p. 152.
  35. Prien et al. 2012, p. 149.
  36. Prien et al. 2012, p. 150.
  37. Prien et al. 2012, p. 153.
  38. Prien et al. 2012, p. 154.
  39. Prien et al. 2012, p. 155.
  40. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 870.
  41. Prien 1996, p. 356.
  42. Prien 1996, p. 357.
  43. Prien 1996, p. 358.
  44. Prien 1996, p. 360.
  45. Prien 1996, p. 361.
  46. Patzwall 2008, p. 148.
  47. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 315.
  48. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 258.
  49. Scherzer 2007, p. 551.

Bibliography

  • Aders, Gebhard; Held, Werner (1993). Jagdgeschwader 51 'Mölders' Eine Chronik – Berichte – Erlebnisse – Dokumente [Fighter Wing 51 'Mölders' A Chronicle - Reports - Experiences - Documents] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-01045-1.
  • Bergström, Christer. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  • 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.
  • Forsyth, Robert (2011). Luftwaffe Viermot Aces 1942–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-438-3.
  • Matthews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 3 M–R. Walton on Thames: 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.; 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.
  • 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; Rodeike, Peter (1994). Jagdgeschwader 1 und 11: Einsatz in der Reichsverteidigung von 1939 bis 1945: Teil 1, 1939–1943 [Jagdgeschwader 1 and 11: Operations in the Defense of the Reich from 1939 to 1945] (in German). I 1939–1943. Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-21-2.
  • Prien, Jochen (1996). IV./Jagdgeschwader 3—Chronik einer Jagdgruppe—1943 – 1945 [IV./Jagdgeschwader 3—Chronic of a Fighter Group—1943 – 1945] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-36-6.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2000). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945 Teil 3—Einsatz in Dänemark und Norwegen 9.4. bis 30.11.1940—Der Feldzug im Westen 10.5. bis 25.6.1940 [Fighter Pilot Association of the German Luftwaffe 1934 to 1945 Part 3—Assignments in Denmark and Norway 9 April to 30 November 1940—The campaign in the West 10 May to 25 June 1940] (in German). Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-61-8.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2002). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 4/II—Einsatz am Kanal und über England—26.6.1940 bis 21.6.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 4/II—Action at the Channel and over England—26 June 1940 to 21 June 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-64-9.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2006). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/II—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/II—From the 1942 Summer Campaign to the Defeat at Stalingrad—1 May 1942 to 3 February 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-77-9.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2012). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 12/II—Einsatz im Osten—4.2. bis 31.12.1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 12/II—Action in the East—4 February to 31 December 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Buchverlag Rogge. ISBN 978-3-942943-05-5.
  • 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.
  • Weal, John (1996). Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Western Front. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-595-1.
  • Weal, John (2005). Luftwaffe Sturmgruppen. London, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1841769080.
  • Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
Military offices
Preceded by
Hauptmann Heinz Lang
Commander of IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3
18 April 1944 – 5 December 1944
Succeeded by
Hauptmann Hubert-York Weydenhammer
Preceded by
Major Rudolf Schröder
Commander of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 4
March 1945 – 8 May 1945
Succeeded by
None
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.