Günter Steinhausen

Günther Steinhausen (15 September 1917 – 6 September 1942) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II. As a fighter ace, Steinhausen claimed 40 aerial victories over the Western Allies during the North African campaign.

Born in Lobkevitz on the isle of Rügen, Steinhausen was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) in the spring of 1941. This unit was ordered to North Africa in April 1941. He claimed his first aerial victory on 17 June. Steinhausen claimed his 40th and last aerial victory on 6 September 1942. Later that day, he was shot down, initially posted as missing in action, assumed killed in action. Posthumously, Steinhausen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to ''Leutnant'' (second lieutenant).

Career

Steinhausen was born 15 September 1917 at Lobkevitz, present-day part of Breege, on the island of Rügen. After flight training, Steinhausen was posted, as an ''Unteroffizier'', to 1. '' Staffel'' (1st squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) in the spring of 1941. The squadron was commanded by ''Hauptmann'' Karl-Wolfgang Redlich and subordinated to I. '' Gruppe'' (1st group) of JG 27 headed by ''Hauptmann'' Eduard Neumann.

North Africa

On 3 December 1940, I. ''Gruppe'' was withdrawn from the English Channel and relocated to Döberitz located approximately west of Staaken. There, the pilots were sent on home leave, returning in January 1941. In February, the ''Gruppe'' began preparations for Operation Marita, the German invasion of Greece while the ground elements of the ''Gruppe'' began their relocation to Tripoli in North Africa, arriving there on 18 March. There, the ground crew began preparations for the air elements to arrive at the designated airfield at Ayn al-Ġazāla. In parallel, the air elements of I. ''Gruppe'' relocated to Munich-Riem Airfield in early March. There, the ''Gruppe'' received refurbished Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7 fighter aircraft. The aircraft had been equipped with a sand-filter on the front of the supercharger intake which made the aircraft more suitable for deployment in North Africa. On 4 April, the ''Gruppe'' was ordered to move to Graz Airfield for Operation Marita. German forces launched the attack on 6 April. The orders for I. ''Gruppe'' that day were to attack and destroy the Yugoslavian air defenses in the area of Laibach, present-day Ljubljana in Slovenia. Following Operation Marita, the air elements briefly returned to Munich-Riem before they transferred to North Africa, arriving in Ayn al-Ġazāla between 18 and 22 April 1941. On 19 April, 1. ''Staffel'' flew its first combat mission in North Africa.

Steinhausen claimed his first aerial victory on 9 June, shooting down a Hawker Hurricane north of Tobruk. His opponents probably belonged to the Royal Air Force (RAF) No. 73 Squadron. On 15 June, British forces launched Operation Battleaxe, an offensive to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica. On 17 June, the offensive ended with reaching its objectives. The next day, the RAF attacked the road from Fort Capuzzo to Al Adm and Tobruk. A flight from 1. ''Staffel'' bounced these aircraft and Steinhausen claimed his second aerial victory when he shot down a Brewster F2A Buffalo near Buq Buq. For this, Steinhausen was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (). On 2 August, he claimed two Hurricane fighters shot down northwest of Mersa Matruh. On 26 August 1941, Steinhausen claimed his fifth aerial victory, making him a flying ace. The aircraft claimed, a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter: probably a Tomahawk IIb ''AK374'' of No. 250 Squadron flown by British ace Sergeant Maurice Hards (7 victories) who force-landed wounded near Mersa Matruh.

In August, as the remaining ''Gruppen'' of ''Jagdgeschwader 27'' transferred in to North Africa from Russia as reinforcements. In late October, I. ''Gruppe'' was reequipped with the Bf 109 F-4/trop. To retain operation status, 1. and 3. ''Staffel'' left North Africa on 22 October while 2. ''Staffel'' stayed. In Italy they handed over their Bf 109 E variants and continued the journey back home by train. The pilots were sent on a short home-leave before returning to Ayn al-Ġazāla on 10 November. On 5 December, 1. ''Staffel'' was placed under the command of ''Oberleutnant'' Ludwig Franzisket when Redlich was transferred.

After the British Operation Crusader in November and December had relieved Tobruk and driven the Axis back, in January Rommel had sufficient fuel supplies to launch his next counter-attack, and he took Benghazi on 29 January, as the aircrew retraced their steps to airfields they had abandoned only a month or so previously. On 28 March, Steinhausen claimed his 10th aerial victory, a P-40 fighter shot down south of Timimi. His opponent may have been Pilot Officer J.A. Crosbie from No. 94 Squadron who was shot down in his Kittyhawk I ''AK858''. On 11 April, I. ''Gruppe'' engaged in aerial combat with P-40 fighters from No. 4 Squadron of the South African Air Force (SAAF) on fighter escort mission for Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers from I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 3 (StG 3—3rd Dive Bomber Wing). During this mission, Steinhausen claimed one of the P-40 fighters shot down north of Bir Habex.

On 22 May, I. ''Gruppe'' relocated to an airfield at Timini. That day, Steinhausen claimed a P-46, a variant of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, shot down south of Martuba. On 26 May, ''Generaloberst'' Erwin Rommel launched Operation Theseus, also referred to as the Battle of Gazala and the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Two days later, I. ''Gruppe'' predominantly flew fighter escort missions for Ju 87 dive bombers to the combat area near Al Adm. On an early morning mission east of Gambut, Steinhausen claimed a Hurricane fighter shot down. On 31 May, Steinhausen claimed two P-40 shot on an early morning mission north of Bir Hakeim. His opponents may have been from the SAAF No. 4 Squadron. On 16 June, I. ''Gruppe'' flew combat air patrols in area of Gambut and Al Adm, the ''Gruppe'' flew eight missions during the course of which Steinhausen claimed four aerial victories, one Hurricane and three P-40 fighters, taking his total to 20 aerial victories claimed. On 27 June, I. ''Gruppe'' moved to an airfield named Bir el Astas, located approximately west of Mersa Matruh. That day, Steinhausen claimed four aerial victories, a Martin Maryland bomber near El Dabaa and three Hurricane fighters southwest of Fukah. The next day, he again claimed four aerial victories, four Hurricanes south of Fukah, taking his total to 30 aerial victories claimed.

Battle of El Alamein and death

On 1 July, Axis forces launched an attack on Allied (British Empire and Commonwealth) positions at El Alamein and Deir-el-Shein in what would become the First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942). In support of this offensive, I. ''Gruppe'' moved to an airfield named Mumin Busak, located near El Dabaa, at on the evening of 2 July. The next day, I. ''Gruppe'' flew multiple combat missions. On one of these missions, Steinhausen claimed a P-40 fighter shot down east-southeast of El Alamein. On 4 July, he claimed a Hurricane fighter south-southeast of El Alamein and a P-46 fighter near Borg El Arab on 5 July. On 9 July, Steinhausen shot down a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Consolidated B-24 Liberator, (''"Eager Beaver"''), and only the second four-engine bomber claimed by JG 27. One of six bombers of the Halverson Detachment ( "HALPRO") that had been sent to attack an Axis supply convoy, it was his 34th aerial victory. On 20 July, I. ''Gruppe'' moved to a makeshift airfield named Quotaifiya, located approximately east of Fukah.

On 26/27 July, the Allied Eighth Army launched Operation Manhood in the northern sector in a final attempt to break the Axis forces which failed to reach its objective, effectively ending the first Battle of El Alamein. The front had stabilized at the Alamein line and both sides paused to build up supplies for their next offensives. In recognition for his aerial victories claimed, Steinhausen was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe () on 10 August, and the German Cross in Gold () on 21 August. On 22 August, Steinhausen claimed a Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down south of El Hammam and a Hurricane south of El Alamein. On 31 August, activity picked up again in the Battle of Alam el Halfa south of El Alamein, and Rommel launched his assault on the fortified Alamein line at the beginning of September. On 1 September, I. ''Gruppe'' flew four combat missions and claimed 22 aerial victories, including 17 by Hans-Joachim Marseille alone. That day, Steinhausen claimed one Hurricane fighter destroyed near Alam el Halfa. On 3 September, the Allied Eighth Army launched Operation Beresford, the counterattack in the area of Alam el Halfa. In defense of this attack, Steinhausen claimed two Hurricane fighters shot down.

On 6 September, on an early-morning patrol, Steinhausen shot down a Hurricane of SAAF No. 7 Squadron or the RAF No. 274 Squadron near El Alamein for his 40th and last aerial victory. However, he was then himself shot down in his Bf 109 F-4 "White 5" (''Werknummer'' 13272—factory number) southeast of El Alamein. His body was never recovered. One analyst asserts that James Francis Edwards was his victor since his combat report tallies with the action, though he only claimed a "damaged" Bf 109. Another objects, since the time differences do not match. Christopher Shores and his co-authors noted Steinhausen was killed in the morning at 08:00 local time. Francis made a claim between 17:30 and 18:50 in an evening sortie. They assert the more certain candidates are Sergeant W J Malone and Flight Lieutenant R L Mannix from No. 127 Squadron RAF. Both made claim at approximately 08:25 to 09:35. posthumously, Steinhausen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 3 November 1942, and promoted to ''Leutnant'' (second lieutenant).

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Ring and Girbig, Steinhausen was credited with 40 aerial victories including one four-engined heavy bomber. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces: Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 32 aerial victory claims, plus eight further unconfirmed claims. All of his aerial victories were claimed over the Western Allies and includes one four-engined heavy bomber.

Awards

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'') on 10 August 1942 as ''Feldwebel'' and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 21 August 1942 as ''Feldwebel'' in the I./''Jagdgeschwader'' 27
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 November 1942 as ''Feldwebel'' and pilot in the 1./''Jagdgeschwader'' 27

Notes

References

Citations

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinhausen, Gunther
1917 births
1942 deaths
Luftwaffe pilots
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II
Aviators killed by being shot down
Missing in action of World War II
Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action
Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
People from Vorpommern-Rügen