Misplaced Pages

Hubert Straßl
Born	(1918-05-24)24 May 1918 Linz, Austria
Died	8 July 1943(1943-07-08) (aged 25) Ponyri, Russia
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1939–43
Rank	Oberfeldwebel (staff sergeant)
Unit	JG 51
Battles / wars	World War II Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kursk
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hubert Straßl (24 May 1918 – 8 July 1943) was an Austrian-born German fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe and fought during World War II. He was credited with 67 aerial victories—that is, 67 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in 221 combat missions. He was "ace-in-a-day" four times, shooting down five or more aircraft on a single day. On 8 July 1943, during the Battle of Kursk, Straßl was killed in aerial combat with Soviet fighters near Ponyri.

Career

Straßl was born on 24 May 1918 at Linz, Austria. Following completion of flight and fighter pilot training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) in late 1941.

On 5 July 1943, he became a triple-ace in a day when he shot down 15 enemy aircraft in four missions south of Orel in Russia during the Battle of Kursk. Over the course of the three days, Straßl shot down 30 enemy aircraft. He was forced to bail out of his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 (Werknummer 2351—factory number) following combat with a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 south of Ponyri on 8 July. His parachute failed to fully deploy and he fell to his death. On 12 November 1943, Straßl was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Straßl was credited with 67 aerial victories. Spick also lists Straßl with 67 enemy aircraft shot down, claimed in 221 combat missions, all of which on the Eastern Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 67 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 47722". 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 km). 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.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (22 July 1943)
• German Cross in Gold on 16 August 1943 as Feldwebel in the 8./Jagdgeschwader 51
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 12 November 1943 (posthumously) as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 8./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"

Notes

1. His name, in German, is spelled with a "sharp S"; see ß.
2. Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations.
3. ^ The "m.H." refers to an Ilyushin Il-2 with rear gunner (mit Heckschütze).
4. According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 12:25.

References

Citations

1. Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 17.
2. ^ Obermaier 1989, p. 211.
3. Harvey 2011, p. 153.
4. Prien et al. 2012, p. 75.
5. Stühring 2014, p. 235.
6. Page 2020, p. 19.
7. Weal 2006, pp. 93, 105.
8. Zabecki 2014, p. 1617.
9. Spick 1996, p. 237.
10. Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1280–1282.
11. Planquadrat.
12. Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1280–1281.
13. Prien et al. 2006, p. 330.
14. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 332.
15. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 331.
16. Prien et al. 2006, p. 333.
17. Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1281.
18. ^ Prien et al. 2012, p. 61.
19. ^ Prien et al. 2012, p. 62.
20. Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1281–1282.
21. ^ Prien et al. 2012, p. 63.
22. ^ Prien et al. 2012, p. 64.
23. Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1282.
24. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 463.
25. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 414.
26. Scherzer 2007, p. 729.

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 ; Antipov, Vlad; Sundin, Claes (2003). Graf & Grislawski – A Pair of Aces. Hamilton MT: Eagle Editions. ISBN 978-0-9721060-4-7.
• Bergström, Christer . "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) . 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.
• Harvey, James (2011). Sharks of the Air: Willy Messerschmitt and How He Built the World's First Operational Jet Fighter. Havertown, Pa: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-61200-023-7.
• Mathews, 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.
• Page, Neil (2020). Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1943–45. Philadelphia, PA: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-61200-879-0.
• 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 (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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
• Stühring, Henning (2014). Von Stalingrad bis Kursk: Als der Osten brannte, Teil II [From Stalingrad to Kursk: When the East was Burning, Part II] (in German). epubli GmbH. ISBN 978-3-8442-7609-1.
• Weal, John (2006). Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders". Aviation Elite Units. Vol. 22. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-045-1.
• Weal, John (2007). More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 76. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-177-9.
• Zabecki, David T., ed. (2014). Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-59884-981-3.

External links

"Hubert Strassl". Aces of the Luftwaffe. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

• Austria
• Aviation
• Biography

• 1918 births
• 1943 deaths
• Military personnel from Linz
• German World War II flying aces
• Luftwaffe pilots
• Recipients of the Gold German Cross
• Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
• Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II
• Aviators killed by being shot down