Ernst Süß Explained

Ernst Süß
Birth Date:31 August 1912
Birth Place:Possessern, Kingdom of Prussia (now Poland)
Serviceyears:1939–43
Rank:Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)
Commands:9./JG 52, 9./JG 11
Unit:JG 52, JG 50, JG 11
Awards:Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ernst Süß (31 August 1912 – 20 December 1943) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. During his career he was credited with 68 aerial victories.

Career

Süß was born on 31 August 1912 in Possessern, at the time in East Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia within the German Empire, present-day Pozezdrze in northern Poland. As a reserve pilot, he was appointed to join 9./Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) as an Unteroffizier. With this unit he participated in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, without achieving any victory confirmed in this period.

The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) . III. Gruppe of JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Here, Süß joined the trio of Hermann Graf, Alfred Grislawski and Heinrich Füllgrabe. Later, Leopold Steinbatz and Edmund Roßmann joined as well.

War against the Soviet Union

Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III. Gruppe was back in Bucharest by mid-June. There, the unit was again subordinated to the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien and reequipped with the new, more powerful Bf 109F-4 model. On 21 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești. Prior to the invasion, Major Gotthard Handrick was replaced by Major Albert Blumensaat as commander of III. Gruppe. Blumensaat was then replaced by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin on 1 October. At the time, von Bonin was still in convalescence so that Hauptmann Franz Höring, the commander of 9. Staffel, was also made the acting Gruppenkommandeur (group commander).

In the months following the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the 9./JG 52, later dubbed the Karaya Quartet, became one of the most successful units of the Luftwaffe. Süß flew alongside Graf, Grislawski and Füllgrabe. He claimed his first victory on 8 August 1941 and in the next twelve months, fighting in the Caucasus and the Battle of Stalingrad, Süß reached a series of victories against the Soviets, for which he was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (German: Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 4 May 1942, the German Cross in Gold (German: Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 29 June 1942. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) was awarded to him on 4 September 1942 following 50 aerial victories claimed.

On 22 July 1942, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 52, Major Herbert Ihlefeld, was severely injured in a flight accident and had to surrender command during his convalescence. In consequence, Major Gordon Gollob, the commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), temporarily took over command of JG 52 as acting Geschwaderkommodore. On 17 August, Gollob was ordered dispatch one Schwarm, a flight of four aircraft, of every III. Gruppe squadron to the Don-bend. The pilots selected for this mission included Süß, Graf and Füllgrabe.

In the spring of 1943, Süß was transferred to the Ergänzungsgruppe Ost, where he remained a long time as an instructor. With this unit he attained his 64th and last victory on the Eastern front on 31 May 1943.

Defense of the Reich

In response to political humiliation caused by de Havilland Mosquito bombing raids into Germany, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the formation of two specialized high-altitude Luftwaffe units. These units were Jagdgeschwader 25, commanded by Major Herbert Ihlefeld, and Jagdgeschwader 50, commanded by his friend Graf. Graf was permitted to choose his personnel and had his friends Süß, Füllgrabe and Grislawski transferred from III. Gruppe of JG 52.

Süß was made the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) on 7 October 1943 of 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 11. This unit fought in the Defense of the Reich, with which he won his last four victories.

On 20 December 1943, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bombed Bremen. In total 546 bombers, escorted by 491 escort fighters, targeted the port of Bremen. Defending against this attack, Süß shot down a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter but was himself shot down by USAAF fighters near Wardenburg, south of Oldenburg, in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-5 (Werknummer 15 709—factory number). Süß managed to bail out but was shot in his parachute by a USAAF pilot.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Süß was credited with 68 aerial victories. Spick also lists Süß with 68 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number combat missions, 60 of which claimed on the Eastern Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 65 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim, all but one on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 0683". The Luftwaffe grid map (German: Jägermeldenetz) 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 360sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3x in size.

Chronicle of aerial victories
ClaimDateTimeTypeLocationClaimDateTimeTypeLocation
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941
18 August 194118:45I-165km (03miles) south of Kyiv430 October 194109:40I-16
227 September 194114:20DB-358 November 194111:56I-26 (Yak-1)
323 October 194113:40Pe-269 November 194114:32I-16
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 28 April 1942
76 December 194110:58I-161528 February 194211:20V-11 (Il-2)
87 January 194208:15I-16161 March 194211:43I-26 (Yak-1)
916 February 194211:12Su-2 (Seversky)Mal-Yablonovo1726 March 194216:55I-16
1019 February 194208:27I-61 (MiG-3)1827 March 194210:12I-61 (MiG-3)
1119 February 194208:29I-61 (MiG-3)1928 March 194206:20I-26 (Yak-1)
1219 February 194211:40Su-2 (Seversky)206 April 194206:06I-16
1320 February 194208:27I-61 (MiG-3)218 April 194211:20I-61 (MiG-3)
1423 February 194212:03I-26 (Yak-1)
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
Eastern Front — 29 April 1942 – 3 February 1943
2230 April 194216:49I-1534327 June 194207:45MiG-1
238 May 194213:23I-164420 July 194211:40I-16
248 May 194213:28I-61 (MiG-3)4524 July 194205:05LaGG-3
259 May 194212:25MiG-1466 August 194207:00Il-2PQ 0683
269 May 194212:35I-154712 August 194216:56I-16PQ 85721
vicinity of Svobodny
2713 May 194207:43MiG-14815 August 194216:40Yak-1PQ 85335
east of Stawropoliskaja
2813 May 194216:18MiG-14916 August 194216:51I-16PQ 85321
vicinity of Eriwanskaja
2913 May 194216:20MiG-15018 August 194207:05I-153PQ 75852
east of Natukhayevskaya
3014 May 194207:23MiG-15124 August 194217:20Yak-1PQ 59173
3117 May 194203:50MiG-15225 August 194211:45Yak-1PQ 49272
10km (10miles) east of Stalingrad
20 May 1942Su-2 (Seversky)5331 August 194217:06Yak-1PQ 59252
3220 May 194217:33Su-2 (Seversky)5431 August 194217:12Yak-1PQ 59261
3328 May 194214:18LaGG-3553 September 194215:55Yak-1PQ 59121
3429 May 194209:13MiG-1564 September 194212:40Yak-1PQ 49317
vicinity of Stalingrad
352 June 194208:29MiG-1578 September 194215:15Yak-1PQ 49322
vicinity of Stalingrad
362 June 194211:28MiG-1581 November 194215:10LaGG-3PQ 44873
376 June 194204:15I-16591 November 194215:18LaGG-3PQ 44562
389 June 194213:15MiG-1605 November 194213:37La-5PQ 44953
3922 June 194206:40MiG-16127 November 194210:15I-16PQ 44814
4022 June 194206:45MiG-1625 December 194211:04La-5PQ 44732
4127 June 194207:20MiG-1635 December 194213:23BostonPQ 44724
4227 June 194207:40MiG-1
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –
Eastern Front — May 1943
6430 May 194315:48B-25PQ 34 Ost 76892
vicinity of Kiyevskoye
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 11 –
Defense of the Reich — December 1943
6511 December 194312:30P-47off Norddeich

Awards

References

Bibliography