Hermann Staiger (6 April 1915 – 22 June 1964) was a Luftwaffe ace 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. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. For the fighter-pilots it was a quantifiable measure of their skill and success. Hermann Staiger was credited with 63 aerial victories during World War II, 49 on the Western Front and 14 on the Eastern Front.

Early life and career

Joining the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1935 to start his flight training, by the start of the war in September 1939 he was a ''Leutnant'' flying with 1./JG 20 (the 1st squadron of the 20th Fighter Wing). This was a wing in name only, being just a single ''Gruppe'' (Fighter Group) that had been set up just prior to the outbreak of war, in July 1939. His '' Staffelkapitän'' (Squadron Leader) was the ''Legion Condor'' veteran Walter Oesau.

World War II

For the Polish campaign his unit was based at Sprottau, to protect the Silesian industrial area from Polish bombers, but after a week of inactivity it returned to Berlin and then onto Bönninghardt on the Dutch border under the command of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51. The attack on France in May 1940 was very quiet for JG 51 and I./JG 20 as they quickly cleared the skies over the Low Countries. It was only at the end of that month, when the units transferred to Ghent, in Belgium, for the battle for the beaches of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Battle of Britain shooting down a further seven aircraft. Now an experienced pilot and promoted to ''Oberleutnant'', he was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' of his 7./JG 51 on 25 August when Oesau was himself promoted to ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of III./JG 51. After the invasion was postponed (indefinitely) JG 51 was withdrawn to winter quarters back in the Reich. It would return to the Channel Front for a time in early 1941 although now nominally on the defensive. Staiger still managed to pick up three further victories before the units were sent to the east for the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union.

Eastern Front

On the opening day of the Operation Barbarossa he shot down three SB-2 bombers. JG 51 was leading the charge eastward racking up a huge number of victories. On 30 June, when JG 51 became the first ''Geschwader'' to claim 1000 victories Staiger shot down a further four bombers in the first great encirclement battle, over Minsk. However the combat wasn't all one-sided, and on 15 July he was himself seriously injured when his BF 109F2 (Werk Nummer 8083 - factory number) was hit by Soviet anti-aircraft fire. While recovering in hospital he was awarded the Knight's Cross on 16 July in recognition of his 25 victories to date. After an extended period of convalescence he served in a number of pilot-training units for the next two years, and was promoted to ''Hauptmann'' (Captain) on 1 February 1943. He briefly returned to his old unit, JG 51, at the end of May 1943 before taking up his new combat command as ''Staffelkapitän'' of 12./JG 26 on 5 July.

Defence of the Reich

Based back on the Channel Front it was fighting a whole new type of war: In the past year the American 8th USAAF had arrived in Britain and started daylight bombing operations against Germany's industry. The heavily armed four-engined B-17 and B-24 bombers (''"Viermots"'') were very hard to shoot down but Staiger quickly learned his combat technique. Over the next month he accounted for five ''Viermots'', becoming one of the first bomber-aces. He would go on to survive and become one of the leading anti-bomber pilots. In one of the biggest ''Luftwaffe'' success over the 8th USAAF, on 17 August 1943, the combined Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission he claimed a B-17 near Mönchengladbach. On 10 October, in heavy raids on Münster, he shot down his seventh B-17, but this time was wounded by the return fire of the defensive 'boxes' of bombers. For his continuing leadership and 34 victories he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 29 October. Further heavy losses caused a pause and re-evaluation of strategy by the Allies, who desperately needed long-range fighter escorts to cover the bomber missions into the Reich. Finally, in December 1943, the balance started to change with the introduction of the P-51B Mustang. As the winter weather cleared, operations picked up again and the Americans launched Operation Argument (

Big Week Big Week or Operation Argument was a sequence of raids by the United States Army Air Forces and RAF Bomber Command from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the Strategic bombing during World War II#US bombing in Europe, European strategic bombin ...

) on 20 February. Over the week Staiger shot down a further three aircraft. March's bombing target was mostly focused on Berlin, and he scored another five ''Viermots''. After his ''Gruppenkommandeur'',

Klaus Mietusch Klaus Mietusch (5 August 1918 – 17 September 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 72 aerial victories achieved in 452 combat missions. This figure includes 15 aerial victorie ...

, was injured on 8 March, he took up temporary command of III./JG 26 for three weeks in his absence, while still remaining as squadron leader of 12./JG 26 at the same time. April was to be Staiger's most successful month, claiming 8 aircraft. On 13 April he shot down a

364th Fighter Group 364th may refer to: *364th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 364th Fighter Group or 131st Bomb Wing, unit of the Missouri Air National Guard, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri * 364th Fighter Sq ...

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

near

Bitburg Bitburg (; french: Bitbourg; lb, Béibreg) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem ...

; the American pilots' remains were found in 1996. Five of these were on the 24th. III./JG 26 had been temporarily transferred to Munich, with very little to do except play cards. That morning however, the alarms sounded and the pilots (including Staiger) with only a few hours' sleep, took to the air nursing fearsome hangovers, sucking in the pure oxygen. Flying a heavily armed Me 109 with a 30mm MK108 cannon firing through the spinner, he managed to down 2 bombers in as many minutes, then another plus two ''Herausschüsse'' (formation separations) within minutes of each other a half-hour later. In May, a series of devastating raids crippled Germany's oil production, severely limiting flight operations. On 15 May he was promoted to command of the Fw 190-equipped I./JG 26, while ''Maj''

Karl Borris Karl Borris (3 January 1916 – 18 August 1981) was a World War II Luftwaffe military aviator and test pilot. As a flying ace, he is credited with 43 victories, all of them over the Western Front, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of ...

was away. In June all the Allied attention turned to France, and the Normandy invasion (

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

). Immediately fifteen ''Gruppen'', including Staiger's I./JG 26, were rushed to the west. But, now fighting low-level combats and often up against 20:1 odds, they stood no chance. On 1 August, with ''Major'' Borris' return, Staiger transferred to take up command of II/JG 1 which had also been struggling through the French campaign. With the Allied breakout at the start of August, II./JG 1 soon retreated east of the Seine, then a week later back to the Reich to rebuild and re-equip. Indicative of the devastation, in its 10-weeks over Normandy, II./JG 1 had lost 106 aircraft (out of a nominal complement of 68) and 27 pilots killed, for 32 confirmed victories. It would not be fit for action for three months, not re-engaging in combat until 26 November 1944. Staiger led by example, shooting down a B-17. Although promoted to ''Major'' on 1 January 1945, Staiger was not involved in the ill-fated New Year's Day attack ( Operation Bodenplatte). He was seconded to III./EJG 2 to get training on the Me262 jet. Staiger was tasked with setting up a new jet ''Gruppe'', and on 12 January 1945 was assigned as ''Kommandeur'' of II./JG 7, authorized by renaming IV/JG 54 on 7 February. But with very limited aircraft (and, more particularly, engines) available for the other ''Gruppen'', let alone his, it struggled to get operational. Its first ten aircraft, along with a pair of two-seater trainers, were delivered a week later to allow training to commence. By then Staiger had passed command of II./JG 7 over to ''Hptm'' Lutz-Wilhelm Burckhardt. It is uncertain what he did for the remainder of the war, although Forsyth comments that he was a senior pilot still with II./JG 7 in April, although he did not score any victories in the Me 262 jet. Hermann Staiger survived the war and was one of the very few 'start-to-finishers' to do so. He is credited with 63 combat victories, of which only 14 were over the Eastern Front. His total of 26 ''Viermot'' victories ranks him 5th equal in success against this formidable aircraft type - and the most successful Me 109-pilot over the Reich ( Werner Schroer's 26 were split over the Mediterranean and Reich theaters). He died, at Freiburg, on 22 June 1964

Awards

* Flugzeugführerabzeichen * Iron Cross (1939) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class *

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 ...

* Sudetenland Medal (20 October 1939) *

on 16 July 1941 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 ...

'' and '' Staffelkapitän'' of the 7./Jagdgeschwader 51 * German Cross in Gold on 27 October 1943 as '' Hauptmann'' in the 12./Jagdgeschwader 26Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 453.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Caldwell, Donald L (1993). ''JG26 – Top Guns of the Luftwaffe''. Ballantine * * Forsyth, Robert (2008). ''Aviation Elite Units #29: Jagdgeschwader 7 'Nowotny’''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. * Forsyth, Robert (2011). '' Luftwaffe Viermot Aces 1942-45''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. . * * * * Smith, J.Richard & Creek, Eddie J (2005). ''Jagdwaffe Vol 5, Sec4: Jet Fighters and Rocket Interceptors 1944 - 1945'' Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing * * Weal, John (1995). ''Focke-Wulf Fw190 Aces of the Russian Front''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. . * Weal, John (1996). ''Focke-Wulf Fw190 Aces of the Western Front''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. . * Weal, John (1999). ''Bf109F/G/K Aces of the Western Front''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. . * Weal, John (2006). ''Bf109 Defence of the Reich Aces''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. . * Weal, John (2006). ''Aviation Elite Units #22: Jagdgeschwader 51 'Mölders’''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Staiger, Hermann 1915 births 1964 deaths People from Schramberg Luftwaffe pilots German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg