Hans Götz Explained

Hans Götz
Birth Date:	2 June 1919
Birth Place:	Stuttgart, Germany
Serviceyears:	1939–1943
Rank:	Hauptmann (captain)
Battles:	World War II Eastern Front Western Front

Hans Götz (2 June 1919 – 4 August 1943) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Hans Götz was credited with 82 victories in 600 combat missions. He claimed three victories over the Western Front.

Career

Götz was born on 2 June 1922 in Stuttgart, the capital of the Free People's State of Württemberg of the Weimar Republic.

On 22 February 1943, Götz was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). He succeeded Oberleutnant Siegfried Graf Matuschka who was transferred. When on 6 July Major Reinhard Seiler was wounded in combat, Götz was temporarily given the position of Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of JG 54 until the new commander Hauptmann Gerhard Homuth took command on 1 August. The following day, Homuth was killed in action and Götz again assumed command of the Gruppe. Only two days later, on 4 August, Götz was killed in action following combat with Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft. His Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 (Werknummer 1119—factory number) crashed and exploded northeast of Karachev.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Götz was credited with 82 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 82 aerial victory claims. This number includes 79 claims on the Eastern Front and three over the Western Allies.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 29323". 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
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – At the Channel and over England — 26 June – 23 September 1940
1	15 August 1940	15:15	Hurricane	10km (10miles) off Maidstone over sea	3	9 September 1940	19:05	Spitfire
2	9 September 1940	19:00	Spitfire
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941
4	25 June 1941	11:43	I-18 (MiG-1)		11	24 September 1941	10:13	I-153
5	25 June 1941	11:48	I-18 (MiG-1)		12	26 September 1941	05:55	I-18 (MiG-1)
6	7 July 1941	16:00	SB-3		13	26 September 1941	06:50	I-18 (MiG-1)
7	20 July 1941	10:25	SB-3		14	29 September 1941	15:22	SB-3
8	10 August 1941	04:45	Pe-2		15	25 October 1941	11:03	I-26 (Yak-1)
9	13 August 1941	17:40	I-18 (MiG-1)		16	29 October 1941	11:02	I-26 (Yak-1)
10	23 September 1941	11:05	I-18 (MiG-1)
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 30 April 1942
17	13 December 1941	13:50	I-16		22	15 March 1942	16:35	P-40
18	17 December 1941	13:25	I-16?		23	16 March 1942	10:40	Pe-2	8km (05miles) southeast of Nirischi
19	1 January 1942	12:03	I-18 (MiG-1)		24	18 March 1942	13:27	P-40
20	21 February 1942	14:14	I-18 (MiG-1)		25	27 April 1942	08:31	U-2	PQ 29323 20km (10miles) southeast of Malaya Vishera
21	14 March 1942	16:16	I-16
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 1 May – September 1942
26	10 May 1942	09:45	Yak-1	east of Leningrad	36	24 August 1942	16:04	LaGG-3	PQ 4748 10km (10miles) west of Staritsa
27	30 May 1942	18:03	I-16		37	25 August 1942	04:38	Il-2	PQ 47554 15km (09miles) northwest of Rzhev
28	30 May 1942	18:35	P-40		38	25 August 1942	04:42	Il-2	PQ 47651 20km (10miles) southwest of Staritsa
29	30 May 1942	18:38	P-40		39	26 August 1942	15:29	U-2	PQ 47483 10km (10miles) west of Staritsa
30	3 June 1942	14:34	U-2		40	26 August 1942	15:44	LaGG-3	PQ 47153 30km (20miles) east-southeast of Torzhok
31	15 June 1942	15:25	LaGG-3		41	27 August 1942	11:44	Yak-1	PQ 46231 30km (20miles) southeast of Zubtsov
32	23 June 1942	09:38	Il-2		42	27 August 1942	11:55	Yak-1	PQ 56142 45km (28miles) north-northeast of Gagarin
33	23 June 1942	09:41	Il-2		43	29 August 1942	16:12?	Il-2	PQ 10182 east of Mga
34	22 August 1942	15:28	Hurricane	PQ 47872 15km (09miles) south of Zubtsov	44	2 September 1942	13:00	Il-2	PQ 10141 east of Shlisselburg
35	23 August 1942	14:50	Yak-1	PQ 54261 15km (09miles) west-northwest of Belyov
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — November 1942
45	5 November 1942	09:44	I-153	PQ 11754 over Lake Ladoga	47	9 November 1942	14:13	I-153	PQ 11742 20km (10miles) north of Shlisselburg
46	7 November 1942	12:25	MiG-3	PQ 11791 over Lake Ladoga	48	11 November 1942	14:25	P-40	PQ 11763 over Lake Ladoga
– 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — January – 3 February 1943
49	13 January 1943	07:59	La-5	PQ 10174 southeast of Shlisselburg	53	23 January 1943	11:10	Yak-1	PQ 1014
50	14 January 1943	11:10	La-5	PQ 10163 southeast of Shlisselburg	54	24 January 1943	10:15	Il-2	PQ 1015
51	14 January 1943	11:12	La-5	PQ 10164 southeast of Shlisselburg	55	24 January 1943	14:52	Il-2	PQ 00421 Pushkin-Mga
52	15 January 1943	08:44	Su-2 (Seversky)	PQ 10192 east of Mga	56	27 January 1943	08:37	Il-2	PQ 00292 10km (10miles) west of Mga
– 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 4 February – 4 August 1943
57	11 February 1943	09:33	Il-2	PQ 36 Ost 00482 10km (10miles) west of Tosno	70	6 July 1943	14:35	Yak-1?	PQ 35 Ost 63671 15km (09miles) south of Maloarkhangelsk
58	11 February 1943	09:40	Il-2	PQ 36 Ost 00413 10km (10miles) east of Pushkin	71	7 July 1943	13:30	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 6357
59	15 February 1943	07:30	Il-2	PQ 36 Ost 10563 10km (10miles) east of Lyuban	72	8 July 1943	13:36	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 63551 15km (09miles) west-southwest of Maloarkhangelsk
60	22 February 1943	15:45	LaGG-3	PQ 36 Ost 00432 10km (10miles) southwest of Mga	73	9 July 1943	12:00	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 63811 25km (16miles) south of Maloarkhangelsk
61	23 February 1943	14:54	Pe-2	PQ 36 Ost 00251 15km (09miles) west-southwest of Shlisselburg	74	10 July 1943	08:11	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 63538 15km (09miles) west-southwest of Maloarkhangelsk
62	28 February 1943	06:20	U-2	PQ 35 Ost 29164 15km (09miles) east of Malaya Vishera	75	12 July 1943	07:39	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 64385 15km (09miles) southeast of Bolkhov
63	7 March 1943	12:48	Il-2	PQ 26 Ost 90252 20km (10miles) southeasr of Lomonosov	76	16 July 1943	13:31	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 54539 40km (30miles) west of Bolkhov
64	15 March 1943	09:50	P-39	PQ 35 Ost 29831 45km (28miles) north of Demyansk	77	17 July 1943	08:49	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 54645 25km (16miles) west-southwest of Bolkhov
65	1 April 1943	13:35	Il-2	PQ 36 Ost 10151 southeast of Shlisselburg	78	31 July 1943	09:10	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 54672 30km (20miles) southwest of Bolkhov
66	5 July 1943	03:51	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 63683 20km (10miles) near Maloarkhangelsk	79	1 August 1943	17:37	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 64563 10km (10miles) south of Bolkhov
67	5 July 1943	07:10	P-39	PQ 35 Ost 63729 35km (22miles) southwest of Maloarkhangelsk	80	2 August 1943	04:41	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 54821 25km (16miles) southwest of Bolkhov
68	5 July 1943	15:55	Boston	PQ 35 Ost 63633 35km (22miles) east-northeast of Maloarkhangelsk	81	2 August 1943	14:37	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 53479 25km (16miles) southwest of Dmitrovsk
69	6 July 1943	07:35	Yak-1?	PQ 35 Ost 63577 25km (16miles) west-southwest of Maloarkhangelsk	82	2 August 1943	19:20	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 53631 40km (30miles) west-northwest of Maloarkhangelsk

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 10 November 1941 as Leutnant and pilot
• German Cross in Gold on 2 July 1942 as Oberleutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 December 1942 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the 2./Jagdgeschwader 54

References

Bibliography

• Web site: Bergström . Christer .

  sv:Christer Bergström

  . Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat . Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website . 15 December 2022 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20181222042030/http://www.bergstrombooks.elknet.pl/bc-rs/planquadrat.htm . 22 December 2018 . dead.
• Book: Dixon , Jeremy . 2023 . Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe: Knight's Cross Holders 1939–1942 . . 978-1-52677-864-2.
• Book: Fellgiebel , Walther-Peer .

  de:Walther-Peer Fellgiebel

  . 2000 . 1986 . Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile . The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches . de . Friedberg, Germany . Podzun-Pallas . 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Book: Mathews . Andrew Johannes . Foreman . John . 2015 . Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 2 G–L . Walton on Thames . Red Kite . 978-1-906592-19-6.
• Book: Obermaier , Ernst . 1989 . Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 . The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945 . de . Mainz, Germany . Verlag Dieter Hoffmann . 978-3-87341-065-7.
• Book: Patzwall . Klaus D. . Scherzer . Veit . 2001 . Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II . The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2 . de . Norderstedt, Germany . Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall . 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Book: Patzwall , Klaus D. . 2008 . Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg . The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War . de . Norderstedt, Germany . Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall . 978-3-931533-08-3.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2002 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 4/II—Einsatz am Kanal und über England—26.6.1940 bis 21.6.1941 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 4/II—Action at the Channel and over England—26 June 1940 to 21 June 1941 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-64-9.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2003 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/II—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/II—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-70-0.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2005 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/I—Winterkampf im Osten—6.12.1941 bis 30.4.1942 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 9/I—Winter War in the East—6 December 1941 to 30 April 1942 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-76-2.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2006 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/III—Vom Sommerfeldzug 1942 bis zur Niederlage von Stalingrad—1 May 1942 bis 3 February 1943 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 9/III—From the 1942 Summer Campaign to the Defeat at Stalingrad—1 May 1942 to 3 February 1943 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-78-6.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2012 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 12/III—Einsatz im Osten—4.2. bis 31.12.1943 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 12/III—Action in the East—4 February to 31 December 1943 . de . Eutin, Germany . Buchverlag Rogge . 978-3-942943-07-9.
• Book: Scherzer , Veit . 2007 . Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives . The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives . de . Jena, Germany . Scherzers Militaer-Verlag . 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Book: Zabecki . David T. . David T. Zabecki . Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History . Santa Barbara, California . . 2014 . 978-1-59884-981-3.

External links

• Web site: Aces of the Luftwaffe . Hans Götz . 19 February 2008.