Alfred Grislawski

Alfred Grislawski (2 November 191919 September 2003) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. He was credited with 133 victories claimed in over 800 combat missions. He recorded 24 victories over the Western Front, including 18 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) four–engine bombers. Of his 109 claims recorded over the Eastern Front, 16 were Il-2 Sturmoviks.

Early life and career

Grislawski was born 2 November 1919 at Wanne-Eickel in the Ruhrgebiet, the son of Gustav Grislawski, a coal miner and member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and his wife Henriette. He was the second of four children, with an older brother, Walter, a younger sister, Herta, and the youngest brother Horst. His first years of his life were characterized by hardship and starvation caused by the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic in aftermaths of World War I. On leaving school in July 1934, Grislawski left his family home and worked on a farm in Pomerania. He applied to join the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) but was rejected and offered to join the infantry of the Army which he declined. Grislawski was then given the option of a career in naval aviation which he accepted.

From April to late October, Grislawki completed his compulsory Reich Labour Service (). On 1 November 1937, he joined the military service of the Luftwaffe with 2. ''Kompanie'' (2nd compnany) of ''Fliegerersatzabteilung 16'' (16th Flier Replacement Unit) at Schleswig. He was trained as a fighter pilot at the ''Jagdfliegerschule'', the fighter pilot school at Stolp-Reitz. At Stolp-Reitz, he befriended Helmut Bennemann, also from Wanne-Eickel, and Heinrich Füllgrabe. On 25 April 1940, Grislawski made his maiden flight on the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Following 51 flights on the Bf 109, he received Pilot's Badge in early June. He was then posted to 2. '' Staffel'' (2nd squadron) of ''Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg'', a supplementary training unit based at Merseburg. While based at Merseburg, he met his future wife Ilse Hartmeyer in the nearby town Leuna. In July 1940, Grislawski was posted to III. '' Gruppe'' (3rd group) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of III. ''Gruppe''.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. At the time of Grislawski's posting to III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 52, the unit had just moved to Zerbst following a brief deployment to English Channel. The ''Gruppe'' was initially commanded by ''Hauptmann'' Alexander von Winterfeldt before command passed to ''Major'' Gotthard Handrick in October. The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the ''Luftwaffenmission Rumänien'' (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of ''Generalleutnant'' (equivalent to major general) Wilhelm Speidel. On 1 October 1940, Grislawski was promoted to ''Unteroffizier'' (non-commissioned officer) and assigned to 9. ''Staffel''. At the time, 9. ''Staffel'' was commanded by ''Oberleutnant'' Franz Hörnig. III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Grislawski arrived at Pipera Airfield on 15 October where 9. ''Staffel'' stayed until 27 May 1941.

War against the Soviet Union

Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III. ''Gruppe'' was back in Bucharest by mid-June. There, the unit was again subordinated to the ''Luftwaffenmission Rumänien'' and reequipped with the new, more powerful Bf 109F-4 model. On 21 June, the ''Gruppe'' was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești.

In August 1941, III./JG 52 was ordered to the Eastern Front and based in Ukraine. Grislawski gained his first victory on 1 September 1941, when he shot down a Soviet I-16. By the end of 1941, Grislawski had a victory total 11. At the end of December, III./JG 52 relocated to the Kharkiv area. In April, 9./JG 52 were ordered to the Crimea in support of the Kerch offensive. Grislawski recorded his 20th claim on 30 April, when he shot down a Soviet I-15bis fighter-bomber. Grislawski was particularly successful during May 1942 claiming 22 victories, and in July Grislawski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'') for 43 victories, and sent on leave on 24 July.

In August 1942 ''Oberfeldwebel'' Grislawski was assigned to 7./JG 52 based in the Caucasus. In September, he claimed 16 victories over the Terek bridgehead. On 5 November he shot down four Ilyushin Il-2s but was shot down in Bf 109 G-2 and belly-landing with a few bruises. On 18 January 1943, Grislawski's ''Rotte'' was intercepted by Soviet I-16 fighters and Grislawski's Bf 109 was hit, setting on fire. He nursed his aircraft over German lines before baling out, sustaining facial burns. Grislaski was one of the four pilots in the famed Karaya Quartet.

On 26 January Grislawski received promotion to ''Leutnant''. He recorded his 92nd victory on 3 February 1943. On 27 April 1943 he recorded his 100th victory. He was the 36th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. In June 1943 he was wounded by blast from a German land mine near Taman. On his recovery Grislawski transferred to Jagdgruppe Süd (JGr Süd). In August 1943 elements of JGr Süd were redesignated Jagdgeschwader 50 (JG 50), under the command of Major Hermann Graf and charged with intercepting the high-flying Royal Air Force de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. Based at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim he shot down his first two United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) four-engine bombers on 17 August. In early October Grislawski was promoted to the rank of ''Hauptmann'' and given temporary command of JGr. 50.

In defense of the Reich

On 6 November 1943, Grislawski was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 1. ''Staffel'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) based at Deelen. He claimed one victory and was then shot down by USAAF bombers over Baske on 24 January 1944 and wounded, bailing out of his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-7 "White 1" (''Werknummer'' 430 167—factory number). Following his convalescence, he was posted as ''Staffelkapitän'' to 8. ''Staffel'' of JG 1 on 13 March 1944, thus succeeding Oberleutnant Heinrich Overhagen who had been killed in a flying accident. Operating the new Bf 109 G-6/AS especially equipped for high-altitude operations, the unit was tasked with combating the potent USAAF fighter escorts.

Grislawski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 11 April, the 446th soldier to receive this distinction. The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler at the Berghof, Hitler's residence in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps, on 5 May 1944. Grislawski then led 8./JG 1 to France to combat the Allied landings in Normandy. After less than a week the unit was relocated to Germany having been decimated in operations against the beachhead.

In July Grislawski was back to France as acting ''Gruppenkommandeur'' (group commander) of III./JG 1. On 27 July, Grislawski was shot down by Spitfires, baling out safely. At the end of July 1944 Grislawski was transferred to ''Staffelkapitän'' of 11./Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing). He claimed two B-17 four-engine bombers shot down on 12 September. On 26 September 1944, Grislawski was credited with a P-38 twin-engine fighter shot down as his 133rd and last claim. His Bf 109 G-14 was hit in the engine by a P-51 flown by Col. Hubert Zemke and caught fire.
Grislawski bailed out, fearing that he would be shot in his parachute, he deployed his parachute at low altitude and hit the ground very hard. He was taken to a hospital at Haltern where he was diagnosed, indicating that his second and third vertebrae were cracked. Two days later, he was moved to a hospital at Gelsenkirchen- Buer, and then for further treatment to Gotha. While Grislawski was in Gotha, his wife Ilse gave birth to their first child, born on 24 October 1944. In early-1945, Grislawski was taken to Badgastein in the Austrian Alps for convalescence. Following the German surrender in May 1945, he was taken in US custody and taken to a POW camp in Salzburg where he was interrogated and released later that month.

Later life

After his release, Grislawski travelled to Leuna, which at the time was still occupied by the First United States Army, to rejoin his wife and child. When it became apparent that Leuna would fall under Soviet jurisdiction as part of the Soviet occupation zone, Grislawski fearing further prosecution decided to travel to his hometown of Wanne-Eickel which was then part of the British occupation zone. There, the family was reunited again in 1946.
He declined to join the Bundesluftwaffe because of his wartime injuries. Grislawski died on 19 September 2003.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Grislawski was credited with 132 aerial victories. Spick lists him with 133 aerial victories. Obermaier also lists Grislawski with 133 aerial victories claimed in 795 combat missions, including 175 close air support missions. He claimed 109 victories over the Eastern Front. Of his 24 victories claimed over the Western Front eighteen were four-engined bombers.

Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 127 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 108 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 19 on the Western Front, including 14 four-engined bombers

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 47654". The Luftwaffe grid map () 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 . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.

Awards

*Iron Cross (1939)
**2nd Class (9 September 1941)
**1st Class (29 October 1941)
* Honorary Cup of the Luftwaffe on 1 July 1942 as ''Feldwebel'' and pilot
*Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Fighter Pilots
** in Gold (5 December 1941)
** in Gold with Pennant (15 May 1943)
*Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross on 1 July 1942 as ''Feldwebel'' and pilot in the 9./''Jagdgeschwader'' 52
** 446th Oak Leaves on 11 April 1944 as ''Hauptmann'' (war officer) and ''Staffelkapitän'' of 1./''Jagdgeschwader'' 1

Dates of rank

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grislawski, Alfred
1919 births
2003 deaths
German World War II flying aces
Luftwaffe pilots
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States
Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia
People from Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia