Gustav Denk

Gustav Denk (24 January 1915 – 13 February 1943) was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 67 aerial victories—that is, 67 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in over 500 combat missions. One aerial victories were claimed over the Western Front, the other victories were claimed over the Eastern Front.

Denk was born in Soest, and following fighter pilot training was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in 1939. He claimed his first aerial victory on 13 July 1940 during the Battle of Britain. In 1941, his unit was transferred east where it participated in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In January 1943, Denk was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 5. '' Staffel'' (5th squadron) of JG 52. On 13 February 1943, he was killed in action, shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft artillery near Chernigov. Posthumously, Denk was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943.

Career

Denk was born on 24 January 1915 in Soest in the Province of Westphalia of the German Empire. In late 1939, he was posted to II. '' Gruppe'' (2nd group) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), at the time headed by ''Hauptmann'' Hans-Günther von Kornatzki. On 27 June 1940, II. ''Gruppe'' moved to an airfield at Nordholz located approximately south of Cuxhaven. Here on 13 July during the Battle of Britain, Denk claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Royal Air Force Bristol Blenheim bomber.

Operation Barbarossa

In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 52, without a period of replenishment in Germany, was ordered to airfields close to the German-Soviet demarcation line. While the '' Gruppenstab'' (group headquarters unit) and 4. ''Staffel'' were based at Suwałki in northeastern Poland, 5. and 6. ''Staffel'' were transferred to a forward airfield at Sobolewo. For the invasion, II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 52 was subordinated to the ''Geschwaderstab'' (headquarters unit) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). The ''Geschwader'' was part of the VIII. ''Fliegerkorps'' commanded by ''Generaloberst'' Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen which supported the northern wing of Army Group Centre.

II. ''Gruppe'' was ordered to relocate to Soltsy, west of Lake Ilmen, on 5 August in support of the 16th Army and Army Group North. Here, the ''Gruppe'' supported the fighting south of Lake Ilmen, and the German attacks on Shlisselburg, Leningrad and the Soviet fleet at Kronstadt. On 24 August, II. ''Gruppe'' was ordered to an airfield at Spasskaya Polist on the river Polist, south of Chudovo and north of Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, supporting the 18th Army in its advance towards the Neva and Lake Ladoga. Here Denk claimed his second aerial victory and first on the Eastern Front on 25 August when he shot down an I-18 fighter, an alternative Luftwaffe name for a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1.

Since German forces had reached the proximity of Leningrad, II. ''Gruppe'' was ordered to Lyuban on 1 September, approximately to Leningrad and located on the road to Moscow. The ''Gruppe'' stayed at Lyuban until 30 September, flying missions to Shlisselburg, Leningrad and Mga. Here Denk claimed a Polikarpov I-16 fighter on 7 September and a Polikarpov I-153 fighter on 21 September.

Eastern Front

In late January 1942, II. ''Gruppe'' was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to Jesau near Königsberg for a period of recuperation and replenishment, arriving on 24 January 1942. In Jesau, the ''Gruppe'' received many factory-new Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft. On 14 April, II. ''Gruppe'' received orders to move to Pilsen, present-day Plzeň in the Czech Republic, for relocation to the Eastern Front. The ''Gruppe'' had also received a new commander, ''Hauptmann'' Erich Woitke had been transferred and was replaced by ''Hauptmann'' Johannes Steinhoff. The ''Gruppe'' then moved to Wien-Schwechat on 24 April before flying to Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement Kirovske in the Crimea. There, II. ''Gruppe'' participated in Operation ''Trappenjagd'', a German counterattack during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, launched on 8 May.

The ''Gruppe'' then moved to Maykop located in the North Caucasus on 21 September where, with the exception of 24 to 29 October, they were based until 26 November. Here, Denk claimed two aerial victories over Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighters near Tuapse on 25 September, taking his total to 21 aerial victories. On 19 November, Soviet forces launched Operation Uranus which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad. To support the German forces fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad forced the Luftwaffe to relocate its forces and ordered II. ''Gruppe'' to move from Maykop to Morozovsk, located approximately west of Stalingrad, on 26 November. By end of November 1942, Denk's number of aerial victories had increased to 36, making him the fifth most successful fighter pilot of II. ''Gruppe''.

On 23 December, Denk received the German Cross in Gold (). On 30 December, the ''Gruppe'' was ordered to an airfield at Gigant, retreating from the advancing Soviet forces. There, the unit flew ground missions against the Soviet infantry as well as fighter escort missions for Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. On 22 January 1943, II. ''Gruppe'' had to retreat further and moved to an airfield at Rostov-on-Don. Operating from Rostov, Denk claimed a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber on 26 January, a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber on 27 January, two LaGG-3 fighters on 31 January, a Lavochkin La-5 fighter on 1 February, and another La-5 and a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter the following day.

Squadron leader and death

In January 1943, Denk officially succeeded ''Oberleutnant'' Siegfried Simsch as ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 5. ''Staffel'' of JG 52. Simsch had been wounded in combat on 3 November 1942. The ''Staffel'' had then been temporarily led by ''Oberfeldwebel'' Willi Nemitz. On 7 February, the ''Gruppe'' moved to Kuteinikowo near Stalino, present-day Donetsk, where Denk claimed a Yak-1 that day. On 10 February, he succeeded ''Hauptmann'' Rudolf Resch as ''Staffelkapitän'' of 6. ''Staffel'' of JG 52. That day, the ''Gruppe'' was moved to the combat area of the Kuban bridgehead where it was initially based at an airfield at Slavyansk-na-Kubani. The next day on 11 February, he claimed two Yak-1 fighters. On 12 February, Denk became an ace-in-a-day, claiming four I-153 fighters and a R-5 reconnaissance bomber.

On 13 February, Denk claimed his 67th and last aerial victory when he shot down a Douglas A-20 Havoc, also known as "Boston". He was then killed in action when he was shot down in his Bf 109 G-2 (''Werknummer'' 14554—factory number) by anti-aircraft artillery over the Soviet airfield at Chernigov. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 14 March 1943. Denk was succeeded by Nemitz as commander of 6. ''Staffel''.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Denk was credited with 67 aerial victories. Spick also lists Denk with 67 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 67 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. All but two of his confirmed victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 95722". 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 in size.

Awards

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 2 November 1942 as ''Leutnant'' and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 23 December 1942 as ''Leutnant'' in the II./''Jagdgeschwader'' 52
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943 as '' Oberleutnant'' and pilot in the II./''Jagdgeschwader'' 52

Notes

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Citations

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Denk, Gustav
1915 births
1943 deaths
People from Soest, Germany
Luftwaffe pilots
German World War II flying aces
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
Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia