Erich Mix (27 June 1898 in Labuhnken (now Trzcińsk, Poland) in

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kin ...

(now

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; csb, Starogarda; formerly german: Preußisch Stargard) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. It is ...

) – 9 April 1971 in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

) was a German

flying 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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a politician, a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

, and later a member of the Free Democratic Party. Mix fought as an infantryman in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

before he trained as a fighter pilot and posted to Jagdstaffel 54, where, as an ''Unteroffizer'' from June 1918 until the end of the war, he scored three aerial victories (and one unconfirmed balloon) of ''Jasta'' 54's total of 22 victories, for which he was awarded both classes of the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

. After the war, he studied law at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

and made a career as a leading administrative official. In 1934, he became Mayor of

Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography S ...

(now Sovetsk, Russia) in 1934-37, later of

in 1937-45 and 1954-60. In his first term as mayor of Wiesbaden, most of the Jewish community of Wiesbaden, some 2,700 people in 1933, were murdered and their synagogues were burned, under Mix's leadership. (However, he was again elected mayor in 1954, and he is buried in the honorary section of the Wiesbaden graveyard.) In 1935, he started flying again, training as an observer and then as a fighter pilot in 1937. Serving as technical officer with I./

JG 53 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated in Western Europe and in the Mediterranean. ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" ''(Ace of Spades)'' Geschwader - was one of th ...

at the outbreak of World War II, Mix claimed three French Morane fighters over Saargemünd (now

Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of ...

, France) on 21 September 1939, and four more on 22 November 1939 over

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is ...

. Appointed to command III./

JG 2 Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen" was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 2 operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat, single-engine interceptor aircraft. Named after the famed World War I flying ...

in March 1940, he claimed three more Moranes on 21 May 1940, although Mix was shot down and forced to land in a field near Roye on 21 May in Bf 109E-3 W.Nr.1526. After being hospitalized, Mix returned to III./JG 2 on 19 June. He left France with his unit and relocated to Frankfurt/Rhein-Main on 1 July. On 27 July, the unit returned to Évreux-West until 4 August. Mix claimed a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

on 4 September. Mix remained ''

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 Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is ...

'' of III./JG 2 until 24 September 1940, when he became one of the older commanders dismissed by a frustrated Goering in favour of the younger, up-and-coming aces of 1940; in Mix's case, Hpt.

Otto Bertram Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

.John Weal, 'JG 2 Richthofen', page 64 Mix's final claim was a

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

over

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

(Den Haag) in July 1941, while commanding JG 1. He later served as ''Jafü Bretagne'' ( Fighter Leader, Brittany) from April 1943 onwards. During

, he claimed eight (potentially 13) aerial victories.

References

Bibliography

* * Prien, Jochen (1997). ''Jagdgeschwader 53 A History of the "Pik As" Geschwader March 1937 - May 1942''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mix, Erich 1898 births 1971 deaths People from Starogard County German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Prussian Army personnel Free Democratic Party (Germany) politicians Mayors of Wiesbaden University of Greifswald alumni People from West Prussia Luftstreitkräfte personnel German World War I pilots SS-Standartenführer