Herbert Kutscha

Herbert Kutscha (24 April 1917 – 19 September 2003 ) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was one of few Luftwaffe pilots to survive the whole war, serving from 1939 until 1945. During his career he was credited with 47 aerial victories in more than 900 missions.

Career

Kutscha was born on 24 April 1917 in Ratibor, present-day Racibórz in southern Poland, at the time in the Province of Silesia of the Kingdom of Prussia. He began his military career as an '' Unteroffizier'' within 5. ''Staffel'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). He claimed his first victory during the " Phoney War" by shooting down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Vickers Wellington bomber on 14 December 1939. The bombers from No. 99 Squadron were on a mission to attack the ''Kriegsmarine'' cruisers ''Nürnberg'' and ''Leipzig'' which were returning to port after they were hit by torpedoes fired from the Royal Navy submarine the day before. This was followed by a Lockheed Hudson on 24 February 1940. In March 1940, Kutscha was transferred to 5./ ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 1. With this unit he took part in the campaign in the West. This unit was changed to 8./ZG 1 on 26 June 1940. With this unit he participated in Battle of Britain. The unit was finally transformed on 24 April 1941 to ''Schnellkampfgeschwader'' 210. With this unit Kutscha entered the war on the Eastern Front and received the German Cross in Gold () on 14 February 1942 and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 24 September 1942.

With ''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 "Udet"

In 1943, the Luftwaffe planned to expand the authorized strength of every ''Jagdgeschwader'' from three to four ''Gruppen''. On 1 June 1943, ''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) was among the first units expanded. At Neubiberg Airfield near Munich, VI. ''Gruppe'' of JG 3, under the command of ''Hauptmann'' Franz Beyer, was created by spawning elements of I., II. and III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 3. The three ''Staffeln'' of VI. ''Gruppe'' were headed by ''Oberleutnant'' Franz Daspelgruber, as commander of 10. ''Staffel'', ''Oberleutnant'' Gustav Frielinghaus, commanding 11. ''Staffel'', and Kutscha, who was given command of 12. ''Staffel''. The ''Gruppe'' was equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 and was sent to southern Italy to fight in the Mediterranean front. In early July 1943, all elements of VI. ''Gruppe'' were based at Lecce Airfield until they were transferred to Sicily on 11 July.

Defense of the Reich

On 24 September, VI. ''Gruppe'' was ordered back to Germany, where the unit was initially based at Neubiberg Airfield again. The increasing success of the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive had forced the '' Oberkommando der Luftwaffe'' (OKL—High Command of the Air Force) to relocate its forces. In total, five ''Gruppen'' were withdrawn from other theaters of operations and redeployed to Defense of the Reich in August and September 1943. At Neubiberg, the ''Gruppe'' received a new complement of Bf 109 G-6 aircraft while the pilots were trained in formation flying and tactics in fighting the combat box, a tactical formation used by heavy bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). On 18 December, the ''Gruppe'' was ordered to Grimbergen. Before this order was executed, on 19 December, the Fifteenth Air Force attacked railroading targets at Innsbruck and the Messerschmitt factories at Augsburg. Defending against this attack, Kutscha claimed the destruction of a B-24 bomber.

On 24 February 1944, during Big Week, Kutscha was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 411048—factory number) by a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in aerial combat near Quakenbrück. The following day, ''Hauptmann'' Eberhard von Boremski succeeded Kutscha as command of 12. ''Staffel''. In July 1944, he returned to the front in Normandy and succeeded ''Leutnant'' Franz Ruhl as ''Staffelkapitän'' of 4. ''Staffel'' of JG 3, a squadron of II. ''Gruppe''. Ruhl was hospitalized due to physical and mental exhaustion. On 20 July, Kutscha became ''Gruppenkommandeur'' (group commander) of II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 3, succeeding ''Hauptmann'' Hans-Ekkehard Bob in this command position. Command of 4. ''Staffel'' returned to Ruhl after his return from the hospital. On 25 November 1944, II. ''Gruppe'' was detached from JG 3. The ''Gruppe'' was converted to fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 "Stormbird" jet fighter and became the I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing), the first operational jet fighter wing.

With ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 and 11

Kutscha did not convert to the Me 262, he was transferred to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) and appointed '' Staffelkapitän'' of the 15. ''Staffel'' of JG 27 on 14 December 1944. He replaced ''Hauptmann'' Ernst Laube who was transferred. On 17 December 1944, ''Hauptmann'' Fritz Keller, the ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 27, was shot down and wounded in combat. In consequence, Kutscha was transferred and tasked with the leadership of II. ''Gruppe''. On 25 December 1944, during the Ardennes offensive, Kutscha claimed two North American P-51 Mustang fighters shot down west of the Nürburgring. The mission was to provide ground support for German troops fighting around St. Vith. Kutscha led his fighters from Hopsten to the Schnee Eifel area where they were intercepted by USAAF fighters returning from a fighter escort mission near Adenau and the Nürburgring. In this encounter, German fighters claimed four aerial victories for the loss of eight Bf 109s. Kutscha was shot down and slightly wounded west of Bad Neuenahr in his Bf 109 G-10 (''Werknummer'' 490664). His victor may have been Captain Bertrum Edwin Ellingson from the 356th Fighter Group.

On 23 February 1945, he was appointed ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of the III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing), succeeding ''Oberleutnant'' Paul-Heinrich Dähne, who was transferred.

Kutscha flew more than 900 missions. He was credited with 47 victories in air combat—44 of which were on the Western Front (at least six were four-engine bombers)—plus at least 44 aircraft destroyed on the ground. He successfully targeted dozens of different objectives, including 41 tanks, 15 locomotives, 11 artillery positions, and 157 vehicles. Kutscha died 19 September 2003 in Kempten at the age of 86.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Kutscha was credited with 47 aerial victories claimed in over 900 combat missions. This figure includes 18 claims on the Eastern Front, and 29 on the Western Front, including six four-engine bombers. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and state that he claimed at least 39 aerial victories, potentially 45 claims. He claimed approximately 18 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and 21 on the Western Front which includes six four-engine bombers.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 14 Ost 51331". 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 Class
** 1st Class
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant "500"
* Wound Badge in Black (25 December 1944)
* Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 3 November 1941 as '' Oberfeldwebel'' and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 14 February 1942 as ''Oberfeldwebel'' in the 5./''Kampfgeschwader'' 210 (S)
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 September 1942 as '' Leutnant'' of the Reserves and pilot in the II./''Schnellkampfgeschwader'' 210

Notes

References

Citations

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kutscha, Herbert
1917 births
2003 deaths
Luftwaffe pilots
Military personnel from the Province of Silesia
People from Racibórz
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross