Franz Schwaiger (1 February 1918 – 24 April 1944) was a
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
and recipient of the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership - for the fighter pilots, it was a quantifiable measure of skill and success.
Military career
Schwaiger was born on 1 February 1918 in
Ulm
Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city.
Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...
in the
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806.
Geogr ...
within the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. Following flight training as a fighter pilot in the summer of 1941, he was posted, as an ''
Unteroffizier
() is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.
Austria
, also , is the collective name to ...
'', to 6. ''Staffel'' of
''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). This squadron was part of II./JG 3 under the command of
Gordon Gollob
Gordon Gollob (16 June 1912 – 7 September 1987) was an Austrian fighter pilot during World War II. A fighter ace, he was credited with 150 enemy aircraft shot down in over 340 combat missions. Gollob claimed the majority of his victories ...
and fighting with
Army Group South
Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II.
It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...
. Schwaiger quickly earned his first air victory, on 16.08.1941, but by the end of the year had reached a total of eight victories at which time his unit was rotated back to the Reich for rest and re-equipping.
[Luftwaffe Air Units: Single–Engined Fighters website.]
A short secondment for his ''Gruppe'' to the Mediterranean Theatre, from January to April 1942, yielded no further success for Franz, but upon their return to the Eastern Front in May he started scoring steadily. Again covering Army Group South and the advance across Ukraine toward Stalingrad, he scored his 20th victory on 31 July. The next week he was transferred to 2./JG 3, in the same sector. He scored his 30th victory on 17 August, and his 40th on 29 September, between which he had been transferred again, this time to 3./JG 3. Promoted to ''
Feldwebel
'' '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupied Serbia ...
'' in early October, he scored his 50th victory on the 9th before being awarded the Knight's Cross, for 53 victories, on 29 October.
At the start of 1943 as the disaster at Stalingrad unfolded, and with 56 victories, Franz was sent for officer-training. Commissioned as a ''Leutnant'', he returned to I./JG 3 as their highest-scoring pilot. In the intervening months the ''Gruppe'' had been recalled to Germany for
Defence of the Reich
The Defence of the Reich () is the name given to the military strategy, strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II against the Allied Strategic bombing ...
duties against the increasingly intensive bombing raids of the
8th
Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight.
Eighth may refer to:
* One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole
* Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet)
* Octave, an interval b ...
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
(USAAF). This was a completely different type of aerial warfare - at high altitude and against the slow but very heavily armed box-formations of American bombers. Based around the industrial Ruhr heartland and Holland for the next year, he slowly added to his score.
Squadron leader and death
On 28 February 1944, I. ''Gruppe'' moved to
Burg bei Magdeburg
Burg (; also known as Burg bei Magdeburg to distinguish from other places with the same name) is a town of about 22,400 inhabitants on the Elbe–Havel Canal in northeastern Germany, northeast of Magdeburg. It is the capital of the Jerichower L ...
where the
1. ''Jagd-Division'' (1st Fighter Division) was concentrating fighter forces. In March, Schwaiger was appointed ''
Staffelkapitän
''Staffelkapitän'' is a command appointment, rather than a military rank, in the air force units of German-speaking countries.
The rank normally held by a ''Staffelkapitän'' has changed over time. In the present-day German ''Luftwaffe'' – p ...
'' (squadron leader) of 1. ''Staffel'' of JG 3 following the death of its former commander ''Leutnant'' Hans Frese on 8 March. On 24 April, the USAAF
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...
sent 745 heavy bombers, escorted by 867 fighter aircraft, against the German aircraft industry. At 12:15, I. ''Gruppe'' took off and joined up with other elements of JG 3. At approximately 13:15, the Luftwaffe fighters intercepted a bomber formation north of
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
. The Luftwaffe fighters flew several attacks against the bomber formation. Following this engagement, Schwaiger made a successful
forced landing
A forced landing is a landing by an aircraft made under factors outside the pilot's control, such as the failure of engines, systems, components, or weather which makes continued flight impossible. However, the term also means a landing that has ...
in his
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
G-5 (''Werknummer'' 110186—factory number) near
Neuburg an der Donau
Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany.
Divisions
The municipality has 16 divisions:
* Altmannstetten
* Bergen, N ...
but was then killed by
strafing
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...
fighters after he had left his aircraft. Command of 1. ''Staffel'' remained vacant until 10 May when ''Hauptmann'' Ernst Laube was appointed its ''Staffelkapitän''.
Summary of career
Aerial victory claims
According to US historian
David T. Zabecki, Schwaiger was credited with 67 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the
German Federal Archives
The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (, lit. "Federal Archive") are the national archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952.
They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture ...
and found records for 56 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure of confirmed claims includes 55 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and one on the Western Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 4931". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15
minutes
Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a statement of the activit ...
of
latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
by 30 minutes of
longitude
Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...
, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.
Awards
*
Flugzeugführerabzeichen
*
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational flights flown. It was instituted by '' Reichsmarschall'' ...
*
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...
(1939) 2nd and 1st Class
*
German Cross
The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...
in Gold on 29 October 1942 as ''
Unteroffizier
() is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.
Austria
, also , is the collective name to ...
'' in the 3./''Jagdgeschwader'' 3
*
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
on 23 October 1942 as ''
Unteroffizier
() is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.
Austria
, also , is the collective name to ...
'' and pilot in the 6./''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 "Udet"
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwaiger, Franz
1918 births
1944 deaths
Military personnel from Ulm
People from the Kingdom of Württemberg
Luftwaffe pilots
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II
Aviators killed by being shot down