Fritz Gromotka (2 June 1915 – 2 November 1979) was a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

and recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Fritz Gromotka was credited with 29 aerial victories, 27 on the Western Front and 2 on the Eastern Front.

Career

Gromotka was born on 2 June 1915 in Kronschkow in the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

. In November 1940, he was posted to 6./

JG 27 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the North African Campaign predominantly alone in the period from April 1941 to Septemb ...

, and during the Balkans Campaign of March–April 1941 claimed three victories over Greece, including two RAF

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

bombers of No. 211 Squadron on 13 April 1941. ''Unteroffizier'' Gromotka participated in the

invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

in June 1941, claiming two

DB-3 The Ilyushin DB-3, where "DB" stands for ''Dalniy Bombardirovschik'' (Russian: Дальний бомбардировщик) meaning "long-range bomber", was a Soviet bomber aircraft of World War II. It was a twin-engined, low-wing monoplane that f ...

twin-engine bombers shot down on 25 June 1941 near Wilna. While returning from this mission, he ran out of fuel and forced-landed his

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

E-8 near

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. He returned to his unit on 28 June. Gromotka was posted to North Africa with II./JG 27 in September 1941. He was shot down in combat on 21 May 1942, but was unhurt after crash-landing. By June 1942 he had claimed a further four victories over the Desert Air Force. In July 1942 Gromotka served as instructor at '' Jagdfliegerschule 4''. He returned to JG 27 in December 1942, with 9 staffel based in the Mediterranean theatre. From September to December 1943, Gromotka claimed another nine victories. He claimed a USAAF four-engine

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

bomber on 5 October near

Eratini Eratini ( el, Ερατεινή) is a village in the southern part of Phocis, Greece. It was the municipal seat of the municipality of Tolofon. Eratini is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, 14 km west of Galaxidi, 19 km south of Lidoriki, 23 km southw ...

. In March 1944 III./JG 27 departed the Mediterranean for ''Reichsverteidigung'' duties and deployment in June to the Normandy Invasion front. Gromotka was commissioned to Leutnant and was awarded the

on 28 January 1945 for 29 victories. On 1 February 1945, Gromotka was appointed'' Staffelkapitän'' of 9./JG 27, a position he held until the end of the war. Fritz Gromotka was credited with 29 victories in 438 missions, including 9 four-engine bombers. During his combat career Gromotka had had to bale out five times. Gromotka died on 2 November 1979 at Remscheid.

Awards

* Aviator badge *

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe (german: Frontflugspange) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational flights flown. It was instituted by ...

Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe The ''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'' (Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe) was a Luftwaffe award established on 27 February 1940 by ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Göring, the ''Reich'' Minister of Aviation and Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was of ...

(19 January 1944) *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class * German Cross in Gold on 25 May 1944 as '' Oberfeldwebel'' in the 9./Jagdgeschwader 27 *

on 28 January 1945 as '' Leutnant'' and '' Staffelkapitän'' of the 9./Jagdgeschwader 27Fellgiebel 2000, p. 170.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gromotka, Fritz 1915 births 1979 deaths People from Kępno County People from the Province of Posen Luftwaffe pilots German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross