Friedrich Haas

Friedrich Haas (20 January 1924 – 9 April 1945) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace from Dillenburg/Hesse, Germany and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Friedrich Haas was credited with 74 aerial victories all over the Eastern Front (World War II). Haas was shot down and killed in 1945 over Vienna, Austria.

Early life and career

Haas was born on 20 January 1924 in Dillenburg, then in the People's State of Hesse within the Weimar Republic. Following flight training, he was posted to 5. '' Staffel'' (5th squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in late 1943 which was fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II. At the time, the ''Staffel'' was commanded by ''Oberleutnant'' Wilhelm Batz and subordinated to II. '' Gruppe'' (2nd group) of JG 52 headed by ''Hauptmann'' Gerhard Barkhorn.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In November 1943, the Red Army launched the Kerch–Eltigen operation leading to the Crimean offensive in early 1944. On 2 November, II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 52 was moved to Baherove where elements of the ''Gruppe'' remained until 19 March 1944. Here on 6 December 1943, Haas claimed his first aerial victory, a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter shot down near Cape Tusla. While based at Baherove, Haas claimed four further aerial victories, all Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters, one each on 29 December 1944, 3 and 12 January, and 1 February 1944. For these claims, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (). Haas' squadron was often outnumbered and short on fuel at this late stage of the war. On 28 February, 4. and 5. ''Staffel'' was ordered to Grammatikowo located near Sovietskyi for a period of two weeks, returning to Baherove on 13 March. On 19 March, the entire II. ''Gruppe'' relocated to Grammatikowo. Here on 7 April, Haas claimed a Yakovlev Yak-7 fighter shot down.

On 8 April, Soviet forces launched the Crimean offensive, eventually forcing the Germans to evacuate the Crimea. On 14 April, II. ''Gruppe'' moved to an airfield at Cape Chersonesus located at the Sevastopol Bay. By end-May 1944, Haas increased his number of aerial victories claimed to 30, including an " ace-in-a-day" achievement on 7 May. The ''Gruppe'' was retreated to Huși at the Prut River on 27 May and to an airfield at Manzar located south of Tiraspol on 11 June. Here, Haas increased his aerial victories to 35 which put him in fifth place with respect to the most successful active pilots of II. ''Gruppe'' at the time.

On 9 July, II. ''Gruppe'' began relocating to an airfield at Zamość- Mokre then in the General Government southeast of Lublin. The next day on a transfer flight, Haas was forced to make an emergency landing when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 163574—factory number) ran out of fuel near Boryslav in a location west of Stryi and sustained injuries. At the time. the ''Gruppe'' had only seven serviceable aircraft and nine pilots. On 26 July 1944, Haas was awarded the German Cross in Gold ().

Following his convalescence, Haas returned to 5. ''Staffel'', then under the command of ''Hauptmann'' Heinrich Sturm in October. Based at Hungarian airfields at Nagyrábé, Debrecen, Tiszalök and Taktakenéz, Haas claimed four aerial victories in October 1944, reaching 50 by end-1944.

Squadron leader and death

On 1 February 1945, Haas succeeded ''Hauptmann'' Erich Hartmann as ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 4. ''Staffel'' of JG 52. On 1 March, this ''Staffel'' was renamed and became the 5. ''Staffel'' of JG 52. At the same time, the former 5. ''Staffel'' was also renamed and became the 6. ''Staffel''. At the time, II. ''Gruppe'' was based at Veszprém in Hungary.

On 6 April 1945, II. ''Gruppe'' moved to an airfield named "Garonne" located near Fels am Wagram. Operating from this airfield on 9 April, Haas was shot down over Vienna and though he managed to bail out from his Bf 109 G at low altitude, he struck the vertical stabilizer and fell to his death. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () in April. Haas was succeeded by ''Leutnant'' Paul Linxen as commander of 5. ''Staffel''. At the time, Haas was credited with 74 aerial victories, making him the fifth most successful fighter pilot of II. ''Gruppe''. He is buried at the in Wölbling, Austria (Block 2, Row 9, Grave 401).

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Haas was credited with 74 aerial victories. The authors Barbas, Jacobs, Obermaier and Spick also list him with 74 aerial victories claimed in 385 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 50 aerial victory claims recorded on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 66671". 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 26 July 1944 as ''Unteroffizier'' in the 5./''Jagdgeschwader'' 52
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 April 1945 as ''Leutnant'' and ''Staffelführer'' of the 5./''Jagdgeschwader'' 52

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Friedrich
1924 births
1945 deaths
Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II
German World War II flying aces
Luftwaffe pilots
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
World War II prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union
Military personnel from Hesse
Aviators killed by being shot down