| Max Bucholz | |
| Birth Date: | 3 November 1912 |
| Birth Place: | Zerbst, Duchy of Anhalt |
| Death Place: | Warnemünde |
| Branch: | (1931–35) (1935–39) (1939–45) |
| Serviceyears: | 1931–45 |
| Rank: | Major |
| Unit: | JG 3, JG 5, JG 106, JG 102 |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Awards: | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Max Bucholz (3 November 1912 – 19 July 1996) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Bucholz was credited with between 28 and 30 victories, including an ace in a day.
Bucholz was born on 3 November 1912 in Zerbst, at the time in the Duchy of Anhalt within the German Empire. He joined the Reichsmarine on 1 April 1931.[1] There, he received his military basic training in the 2. Kompanie (2nd company) in the II. Abteilung (2nd department) of the Schiffsstammdivision (standing ship division) of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund. On 16 May 1939, Bucholz was transferred to the Luftwaffe.
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Bucholz had been posted to the 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). At the start of the war, the Staffel was based at Brandis and commanded by Oberleutnant Werner Andres which was subordinated to I. Gruppe (1st group) headed by Major Otto-Heinrich von Houwald. Houwald was replaced by Hauptmann Günther Lützow on 3 November.
On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht began its offensive Operation Case Yellow (Fall Gelb), the invasion of France and the neutral Low Countries. I. Gruppe of JG 3 participated in the offensive as a subordinated unit of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). During the Battle of France, JG 77 was under control of I. Fliegerkorps (1st Air Corps), which formed the right wing of Luftflotte 3 (3rd Air Fleet) in Belgium and the Netherlands.
On 17 May, Bucholz claimed his first aerial victory and became an "ace-in-a-day". That day, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command sent 12 Bristol Blenheim bombers from No. 82 Squadron against German ground forces advancing through the Gembloux Gap. With the exception of one Blenheim, all the bombers were shot down, including four by Bucholz. Later that afternoon, he shot down a Hawker Hurricane and a Curtiss P-36 Hawk near Saint-Quentin, taking his total to six aerial victories.
On 15 September, flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1 (Werknummer 1563—factory number) during the Battle of Britain, he made a forced landing in the English Channel. His injuries required hospitalization in Boulogne.
In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Dub on 18 June 1941. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the V. Fliegerkorps (5th Air Corps), under command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), with the objective of capturing the Ukraine and its capital Kiev.
On 15 July 1941, Bucholz was appointed Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel of JG 3. He succeeded Oberleutnant Helmut Meckel who had fallen ill. The Staffel was part of I. Gruppe of JG 3 then under the command of Hauptmann Hans von Hahn.
In September 1941, with the exception of 3. Staffel which followed in November, I. Gruppe of JG 3 was transferred from the Eastern Front to Germany for rest and re-supply. In November 1941, it was transferred to the northern Netherlands and on 15 January 1942 re-designated II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) in Katwijk. In consequence, 1. Staffel of JG 3 became the 4. Staffel of JG 1, 2. Staffel of JG 3 became the 5. Staffel of JG 1, and 3. Staffel of JG 3 became the 6. Staffel of JG 1.
Bucholz claimed last aerial victory during Operation Donnerkeil. The objective of this operation was to give the German battleships and and the heavy cruiser fighter protection in the breakout from Brest to Germany. The Channel Dash operation (11–13 February 1942) by the Kriegsmarine was codenamed Operation Cerberus by the Germans. In support of this, the Luftwaffe, formulated an air superiority plan dubbed Operation Donnerkeil for the protection of the three German capital ships. Flying from Haamstede on 12 February, Bucholz was credited with shooting down a Blenheim bomber. In May 1942, II. Gruppe was reequipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A series, a radial engine powered fighter aircraft, at Woensdrecht Air Field.
According to Obermaier, Bucholz was credited with 28 aerial victories claimed in approximately 170 combat missions. This figure includes 18 claims on the Eastern Front and ten over the Western Allies. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and also found records for 28 aerial victory claims, including 18 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and ten on the Western Front.
| Chronicle of aerial victories | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | |
| – 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 – Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940 | ||||||||||
| 1♠ | 17 May 1940 | 08:20~ | Blenheim | west of Saint-Quentin | 4♠ | 17 May 1940 | 08:20~ | Blenheim | west of Saint-Quentin | |
| 2♠ | 17 May 1940 | 08:20~ | Blenheim | west of Saint-Quentin | 5♠ | 17 May 1940 | 12:30 | Curtiss? | south of Saint-Quentin | |
| 3♠ | 17 May 1940 | 08:20~ | Blenheim | west of Saint-Quentin | 6♠ | 17 May 1940 | 19:15 | Curtiss | north of Cambrai | |
| – 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 – Battle of Britain and on the English Channel — 26 June 1940 – 9 June 1941 | ||||||||||
| 7 | 2 September 1940 | Hurricane | Maidstone | 9 | 7 September 1940 | M.S.406 | Rochester | |||
| 8 | 7 September 1940 | M.S.406 | Rochester | |||||||
| – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 16 September 1941 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 26 June 1941 | 09:45 | SB-2 | northwest of Brody | 19 | 10 July 1941 | 15:15 | SB-2? | 4km (02miles) south of Barbolok | |
| 11 | 29 June 1941 | 12:20 | I-153 | north-northwest of Kremenets | 20 | 11 July 1941 | 13:20 | DB-3? | 15km (09miles) southwest of Berdychiv | |
| 12 | 29 June 1941 | 12:22 | I-153 | west of Kremenets | 21 | 12 July 1941 | 14:50 | I-17 (MiG-1) | 15km (09miles) east of Zhytomyr | |
| 13 | 29 June 1941 | 12:26 | I-153 | southwest of Kremenets | 22 | 12 July 1941 | 14:55 | I-17 (MiG-1) | 15km (09miles) east of Zhytomyr | |
| 14 | 29 June 1941 | 18:05 | I-153 | 10km (10miles) north of Zaslawye | 23♠ | 13 July 1941 | 16:15 | I-153 | 20km (10miles) east of Berdychiv | |
| 15 | 2 July 1941 | 10:00 | DI-6 | 30km (20miles) southeast of Astravyets | 24♠ | 13 July 1941 | 16:17 | I-153 | east of Berdychiv | |
| 16 | 5 July 1941 | 11:50 | Pe-2 | northwest of Gudnow | 25♠ | 13 July 1941 | 16:20 | I-16 | south of Oschadowska | |
| 17 | 6 July 1941 | 15:40 | DB-3? | south of Polonne | 26♠ | 13 July 1941 | 16:23 | SB-2 | north of Pykiv | |
| 18 | 10 July 1941 | 15:10 | I-17 (MiG-1) | 10km (10miles) south of Kurin | 27♠ | 13 July 1941 | 16:25 | SB-2 | Pykiv | |
| – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1 – On the Western Front — 1 January – 31 December 1942 | ||||||||||
| 28 | 12 February 1942 | 16:45 | Blenheim | 90km (60miles) west of Texel | ||||||
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.