Günther Lutzow ( German Günther Lützow ; September 4, 1912 - April 24, 1945 ) - German pilot-ace of fighter aviation Luftwaffe , member of the Civil War in Spain and World War II . He flew about 300 sorties , having won 5 victories in the air during the Spanish Civil War and 105 during the Second World War (most of them on the Eastern Front ) [1] . Oberst Luftwaffe (1943). Chevalier of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and Swords (1941).
| Gunter Lutzow | |||||||
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| him Günther Lützow | |||||||
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| Date of Birth | |||||||
| Place of Birth | |||||||
| Date of death | |||||||
| Place of death | near Donauwörth , Third Reich | ||||||
| Affiliation |  Germany Germany | ||||||
| Type of army |  Reichswehr (1931—1935)  Luftwaffe (1935-1945) | ||||||
| Years of service | 1931-1945 | ||||||
| Rank |  Oberst | ||||||
| Part | J / 88 , JG 3 , JG 51 , JV 44 | ||||||
| Battles / Wars | Spanish Civil War
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| Awards and prizes |
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Content
Biography
Günter Lutzow was born on September 4, 1912 in the capital of the province of Schleswig-Holstein , Kiel, into the family of naval officer Kayserlichmarine Friedrich Lutzoff .
In 1931, Luttsov volunteered for military service in the land forces of the Weimar Republic . At the same time he entered the training courses for pilots, which were held at the school of civil pilots in the German Schlesheim and Lipetsk flight school in the Soviet Union . Upon completion of the training program, he returned to serve in Germany and in the rank of lieutenant was enlisted in the infantry regiment. After the official creation of the Luftwaffe, in 1934 he was sent to serve in the fighter group I./JG132 " Richthofen ".
In 1937, Lutzov, having the rank of chief lieutenant, as a volunteer joined the Condor Legion and fought in Spain on the side of the Franco . He was commander of the 2nd Squadron of the 88th Fighter Group of the German Air Force. While flying to Bf.109 from March 19 to September 6, 1937, he personally shot down five enemy aircraft (all fighters), for which on June 6, 1939 he was awarded the Golden Spanish Cross with swords and diamonds .
After returning to Germany, Lutzov served for some time as an instructor at the 1st Fighter Aviation School (Jagdfliegerschule 1) in Vernoykhen .
In the course of the outbreak of the Second World War , on November 3, 1939, he was appointed commander of the fighter squadron I. / JG3 with the rank of Hauptman . The first battles he conducted during the French campaign , where he scored the first victories during the war, shooting down on May 14, 1940, two French Hauk H-75s in the Dinan region. In total, during the French campaign, he won 9 victories.
Having shot down the English " Spitfire " on August 16, 1940, Lutzov won the tenth victory. On August 21, already in the rank of major, he was appointed commander of JG3, at the head of which he participated in the Battle for Britain , during which, until December 1940, he scored another 8 victories over British fighters. September 18, 1940 Lutzov was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 15 enemy aircraft shot down during the Second World War.
In the spring of 1941, Stab./JG3 was assigned to Mannheim- Sandhofen in Germany for rest and recovery. Here the unit received new fighters Bf.109F-2, before returning to the front over the English Channel on May 4, 1941.
In June 1941, during Operation Barbarossa , Lutzov headed JG3 [2] . Over the Soviet Union, his successes began to grow rapidly. Already on July 17, he won his 40th victory. July 20, 1941, he was the 27th man in the Wehrmacht and was awarded the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for 42 victories.
On August 9, the 50th victory was won, on September 17, the 72nd victory. On September 23, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire behind the front lines, but was able to return unharmed to the unit.
In October, Luttsov won 29 victories, including shooting down 5 Soviet twin-engined bombers on October 8. On October 11, 1941, for 90 victories won, the young officer was awarded the Fourth Man in the Reich with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak leaves and Swords. On the morning of October 24, Luttsov shot down two I-16s , becoming the second Luftwaffe pilot, after Werner Mölders , to achieve a similar result. [ what? ] (100?) During the Second World War. In the evening, having shot down another I-16, Lutzov won the 101st victory, after which he received an order to stop the combat sorties.
At the same time, from September to November 1941, Luttsov acted as the commander of Jagdgeschwader 51 , replacing Friedrich Beck, who suffered in an air battle, in this position. On November 4, Lutzow brought Stab./JG3 back to Germany relocating to Wiesbaden -Erbenheim, for rest and retrofitting.
In May 1942 , JG3, led by Luttsov, returned to the Eastern Front , launching operations in the Kharkiv region. This was followed by actions in the Crimea and on the way to Stalingrad. Here on May 21, 1942, Lutzov won his 102nd victory. The last, 103rd, victory on the Eastern Front was won by Lutzov on July 29, 1942, knocking down LaGG-3 northeast of the city of Kalach-on-Don [2] .
On August 11, 1942, the Oberst Lieutenant (Lieutenant Colonel) Luttsov was appointed inspector of daytime fighter aviation, commanded by Adolf Galland .
In July 1943, Lutzov was appointed to command all the fighter units in the Italian theater of operations , united in Jagdabschnittsführer Italien, formed in Naples. In September, this headquarters was absorbed by Jagdfliegerführer Oberitalien.
From September 15, 1943 to March 23, 1944 , the Oberst (Colonel) Lutzov led the first Luftwaffe Fighter Division (1.Jagddivision) [3] , combining day and night fighter aviation in northwestern Germany, Holland and Belgium. From September 1944, he was the commander of 4.Flieger-Schuldivision, based in Strasbourg , and responsible for the training of new fighter pilots.
In January 1945 he took an active part in the so-called "rebel fighters", speaking with open criticism of the Reichsmarshal Marshing Goering . At the end of March, at the invitation of Major General Galland, he moved to the fighter unit of the JV 44 as a pilot.
On April 24, 1945, during a regular raid by American bombers on German cities, he participated in an air battle on a Me 262 fighter jet, shooting down a B-26 Marauder bomber near Schrobenhausen [4] . However, that day its Me-262 never returned to the airfield, presumably it crashed. Gunter Lutzov is considered missing [5] .
Notes
- ↑ Ernst Obermeier . Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe. Jagdflieger 1939-1945. - Mainz: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann 1966. - S. 39. - ISBN 3-87341-065-6
- ↑ 1 2 Gunther Lutzow (Neopr . Zefirov M.V.
- ↑ Braatz 2005, S. 379.
- Gh Hugh Morgan, John Weal: German Jet Aces of World War II . Osprey Publishing, 1998, S. 75.
- ↑ Braatz 2005, S. 365 ff. - Augsburger Allgemeine 28. April 2015
Literature
- Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6 .
- Caldwell, Donald; Muller, Richard (2007). The Luftwaffe Over Germany: Defense of the Reich. London: Greenhill books. ISBN 978-1-85367-712-0 .
- Forsyth, Robert (2011). Aces of the Legion Condor. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-347-8 .
Links
- Lützow, Günther . on lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. (him)
- Petr Kacha. Günther "Franzl" Lützow (English) . Aces of the Luftwaffe. The appeal date is January 14, 2016.
- Günther Lützow (1912–1945)
- Günter "Franzl" Lützow
- Lützow, Günther "Franzl" - Oberst Lützow Awards (eng.)