Hans Götz (2 June 1919 – 4 August 1943) was a former

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 ...

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

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 ...

. Hans Götz was credited with 82 victories in 600 combat missions. He claimed three victories over the Western Front.

Career

Götz was born on 2 June 1922 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, the capital of the Free People's State of Württemberg of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

. On 22 February 1943, Götz was appointed '' Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 2. ''Staffel'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). He succeeded ''Oberleutnant'' Siegfried Graf Matuschka who was transferred. When on 6 July ''Major''

Reinhard Seiler Reinhard Seiler (30 August 1909 – 6 October 1989) was a Spanish Civil War and World War II Luftwaffe Major and ace, commander of Jagdgeschwader 104 and a winner of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany; for the f ...

was wounded in combat, Götz was temporarily given the position of ''

Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major or ''Oberstleutnant'' (Lieutenant Colonel), and commands ...

'' (group commander) of I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 54 until the new commander ''Hauptmann'' Gerhard Homuth took command on 1 August. The following day, Homuth was killed in action and Götz again assumed command of the ''Gruppe''. Only two days later, on 4 August, Götz was killed in action following combat with Ilyushin Il-2

ground attack In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement ...

aircraft. His

Focke Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' ("Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, th ...

A-5 (''Werknummer'' 1119—factory number) crashed and exploded northeast of

Karachev Karachev (russian: Карачев) is an ancient town and the administrative center of Karachevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: History First chronicled in 1146, it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principalities in t ...

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian

David T. Zabecki David T. Zabecki (born 1947) is an American military historian, author and editor. Zabecki served in the U.S. Army both in the Vietnam War and in United States Army Europe in Germany attaining the rank of major general. Zabecki holds PhDs in eng ...

, Götz was credited with 82 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (german: Bundesarchiv) are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture and t ...

and found documentation for 82 aerial victory claims. This number includes 79 claims on the Eastern Front and three over the Western Allies. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 29323". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15

minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting (abbreviation MoM), protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a state ...

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

by 30 minutes of

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.

Awards

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

on 10 November 1941 as '' Leutnant'' and pilot * German Cross in Gold on 2 July 1942 as ''

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

'' in the I./''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 *

on 23 December 1942 as ''Oberleutnant'' and pilot in the 2./''Jagdgeschwader'' 54

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz, Hans 1919 births 1943 deaths Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II German World War II flying aces Luftwaffe pilots Military personnel from Stuttgart People from the Free People's State of Württemberg Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Aviators killed by being shot down