Anton Resch

Anton Resch (26 November 1921 – 16 July 1975) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Resch was credited with 91 victories, becoming an " ace-in-a-day" on three separate occasions.

Early life and career

Resch was born 26 November 1921 in Stolberg, at the time in the Rhine Province the westernmost province of the Free State of Prussia, which at the time was in the British occupied territory of the Rhineland. In mid-1943, Resch who had previously served as transport aviator, was posted to 3. '' Staffel'' (3rd squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). This ''Staffel'' was part of I. '' Gruppe'' (1st group) of JG 52 headed by ''Hauptmann'' Helmut Bennemann and then by ''Major'' Johannes Wiese.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Germany had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. On 11 October 1943, I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 52 moved to an airfield at Nove Zaporizhzhya located approximately west of Zaporizhzhia on the western bank of the Dnieper of the Eastern Front. The ''Gruppe'' supported the 1st Panzer Army fighting in the Battle of the Dnieper on the Eastern Front. Resch claimed his first aerial victory on 21 October over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. That day the ''Gruppe'' operated over the left wing of the 1st Panzer Army up to Dnipropetrovsk and on the right wing to Bolschoj Tokmak. While based at Nove Zaporizhzhya, Resch claimed four further aerial victories, making him a flying ace. On 23 October, he claimed two Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters, the next day an Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and a Douglas A-20 Havoc, also referred to as a Boston, on 27 October.

On 27 January 1944, Resch and his wingman ''Leutnant'' Franz Schall flew a combat air patrol in the area of Kerch. On this mission, they engaged in aerial combat with six Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters and Resch was shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 20581—factory number). Severely wounded, he did not return until May 1944. At the time of his return to combat, I. ''Gruppe'' at the time was based at Leipzig, present-day Serpneve. Resch claimed two P-39s from 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (16 GvIAP—Gvardeyskiy Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk) on 31 May. On 22 June, Soviet forces launched Operation Bagration, attacking Army Group Centre in Byelorussia, with the objective of encircling and destroying its main component armies. On 24 June, the ''Gruppe'' transferred to Galați and again to Peloniczna. The ''Gruppe'' reached Grabowiec in eastern Poland on 27 July and Kraków on 1 August. On 12 August they were again relocated and moved to Mzurowa.

The ''Gruppe'' reached Grabowiec in eastern Poland on 27 July and Kraków on 1 August. On 12 August they were again relocated and moved to Mzurowa. Here on 26 August, Resch became an " ace-in-a-day" for the second time when he claimed seven aerial victories, taking his total to 44. On 31 August, he again claimed seven aerial victories, his third "ace-in-a-day" achievement. On 10 September 1944, he was again wounded when he was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 166490) by anti-aircraft artillery west of Altsohl, present-day Zvolen. At the time, Resch was credited with 63 aerial victories, making him the fourth most successful active fighter pilot of I. ''Gruppe''.

With the headquarters unit of JG 52

In late 1944, Resch and ''Oberleutnant'' Heinrich Füllgrabe were transferred to the ''Geschwaderstab'' (headquarters unit) of JG 52. The request was made by ''Oberst'' Hermann Graf who had been appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) of JG 52 in September 1944. At the time, the ''Geschwaderstab'' was based at Krakau, present-day Kraków. Here on 1 January 1945, Resch was awarded the German Cross in Gold (). On 6 February 1945, the ''Geschwaderstab'' moved to an airfield at Weidengut, present-day Wierzbie. Here Resch claimed four aircraft of unknown type taking his total to 72. On 7 April, Resch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () for 91 aerial victories.

On 1 May, the ''Geschwaderstab'' deployed to Deutsch Brod, present-day Havlíčkův Brod, approximately halfway between Brno and Prague, where they were united with I. and III. ''Gruppe''. Resch and other soldiers of JG 52 surrendered to the 90th US Infantry Division near Písek on 8 May 1945 and became a prisoner of war (POW). The soldiers were initially interned at a POW camp at Strakonice. On 16 May, Resch and most of the JG 52 personnel were handed over by the American forces to the Soviet Union.

Later life

Resch was released from Soviet captivity in the mid-1950s. Returning to West Germany, Resch died on 16 July 1975 at the age of in his hometown Stolberg.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Resch was credited with 91 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 91 aerial victories claimed in 210 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and also state that he was credited with 91 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 34 Ost 58739". The Luftwaffe grid map () 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 . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* German Cross in Gold on 1 January 1945 as ''Leutnant'' in the 3./''Jagdgeschwader'' 52
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 7 April 1945 as ''Oberleutnant'' and ''Staffelkapitän'' of the 3./''Jagdgeschwader'' 52

Notes

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Resch, Anton
1921 births
1975 deaths
Luftwaffe pilots
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
People from Stolberg (Rhineland)
Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia