Fritz Losigkeit

Fritz Losigkeit (17 November 1913 – 14 January 1994) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during the Spanish Civil War and wing commander during World War II. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 68 aerial victories in approximately 750 combat missions. This figure includes 13 aerial victories over the Western Allies, the remaining victories were claimed over the Eastern Front.

In June 1943, he was given command of III. '' Gruppe'', ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) which was fighting on the Eastern Front. In April 1944, Losigkeit was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) of JG 51. A year later, he was appointed the last ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Early life and career

Losigkeit was born on 17 November 1913 in Berlin-Tegel and joined the Prussian State Police () in 1934. A year later, he transferred to the ''Reichswehr'' as a ''Fahnenjunker'' (officer candidate) and was eventually selected for flight training. After graduation, he was assigned to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 132 "Richthofen" (JG 132—132nd Fighter Wing) on 1 October 1936. In late January 1938, Losigkeit was invited to an international winter sports event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The event was hosted by the ''Reichssportführer'' Hans von Tschammer und Osten and bobsledder Werner Zahn who was also a pilot. Other Luftwaffe officers attending this event included Günther Lützow, Walter Oesau, Karl-Heinz Greisert, Günter Schultze-Blank and Urban Schlaffer.

During the Spanish Civil War, Losigkeit volunteered for service in the Condor Legion. On 25 March 1938, he was assigned to 3. '' Staffel'' (3rd squadron) of ''Jagdgruppe'' 88, at the time headed by ''Oberleutnant'' Horst Lehrmann and based at Zaragoza Airfield. On 31 May 1938, during the second mission of the day, ''Oberleutnant'' Werner Mölders led a '' Schwarm'' on a ground attack mission. Attacking a truck, Losigkeit was shot down by 20 mm anti-aircraft guns and taken prisoner of war. He spent eight months in captivity in Valencia and Barcelona before returning to Germany in February 1939. For his actions in Spain, he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords () on 14 April 1939. Lossigkeit was assigned to 2. ''Staffel'', a squadron of I. '' Gruppe'' (1st Group), of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) on 1 April. At the time, 2. ''Staffel'' was commanded by ''Hauptmann'' Walter Kienitz while I. ''Gruppe'' was headed by ''Major'' Gotthard Handrick.

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. On 23 September 1939, Losigkeit was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 2. ''Staffel'' of JG 26, replacing Kienitz who was transferred. He claimed his first victory on 28 May 1940 during the Battle of Dunkirk, as part of the Battle of France, over a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire between Dover and Ostend. On 1 June, the fighting over the beachhead at Dunkirk continued. In combat with RAF fighters from No. 19 Squadron, No. 222 Squadron and No. 616 Squadron, Losigkeit shot down a Spitfire near Dunkirk, his last during the Battle of France. The Armistice of 22 June 1940 ended the Battle of France and JG 26 began its relocation back to Germany for a period of rest and replenishment. Two days later, Handrick was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) of JG 26 while command of I. ''Gruppe'' was handed to ''Hauptmann'' Kurt Fischer. On 26 June, the ''Gruppe'' arrived at Bönninghardt.

As the air war turned to England, I. ''Gruppe'' was moved to France again on 15 July and subordinated to ''Luftflotte'' 2 (Air Fleet 2). Losigkeit claimed his first aerial victory during the Battle of Britain on 28 August. On a bomber escort mission, he shot down a Hawker Hurricane from No. 79 Squadron north of Folkestone. Two days later, on a mission attacking 11 Group airfields, he claimed a Spitfire shot down southeast of Littlestone. On 15 September, on a mission to London, Losigkeit claimed his fifth aerial victory of the war and last during the Battle of Britain. Southeast of London, he claimed a No. 92 Squadron Spitfire destroyed.

On 17 June 1941, Losigkeit was replaced by ''Oberleutnant'' Martin Rysavy as ''Staffelkapitän'' of 2. ''Staffel'' of JG 26. Losigkeit had been transferred to take a position with the staff of the military attaché in Japan. Until January 1942 he advised on German air combat tactics with Imperial Japanese Army Air Service pilots flying the Nakajima Ki-44 against several examples of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter shipped to Japan for evaluation. Wanting to rejoin the European war, he made the voyage back to Germany via the German blockade runner ''MSS Elsa Essberger''. In January 1942, ''Elsa Essberger'' and the escorting came under attack by British aircraft flying from Gibraltar, forcing ''Elsa Essberger'' to make for repairs at Ferrol in Spain.

''Jagdgruppe Losigkeit''

Following his return from Japan, Losigkeit joined the staff with the '' General der Jagdflieger'' (Inspector of Fighters), an office held by ''Oberst'' Adolf Galland. Fearing a British invasion of Norway, Adolf Hitler had ordered the ''Oberkommando der Marine'' (OKM—German Navy high command) to return the German battleships and and the heavy cruiser from Brest in Brittany to German bases. The ''Kriegsmarine'' transferred the ships on 11–13 February 1942 in Operation Cerberus, also known as the Channel Dash. Further ''Kriegsmarine'' vessels were ordered to Norway to combat the convoys heading to the Soviet Union. To protect these naval units from aerial attacks, Galland instructed Losigkeit with the creation of a fighter unit on 14 February. This unit, dubbed ''Jagdgruppe Losigkeit'' (Fighter Group Losigkeit), was made up of three ''Staffeln''. 1. ''Staffel'' was created from 8. ''Staffel'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (JG 1–1st Fighter Wing) and commanded by ''Hauptmann'' Rolf Strössner. 2. ''Staffel'' was based on 2. ''Staffel'' of JG 1 and led by ''Hauptmann'' Werner Dolenga. The ''Einsatzstaffel'' of ''Jagdfliegerschule'' 1 under ''Oberleutnant'' Friedrich Eberle formed 3. ''Staffel'' of ''Jagdgruppe Losigkeit''. Losigkeit chose ''Leutnant'' Heinz Knoke from 2. ''Staffel'' of JG 1 as his adjutant.

On 15 February, the unit began relocating north, at first to Esbjerg in Denmark. The following day, 3. ''Staffel'' reached Aalborg. Weather conditions initially affected the transfer. ''Jagdgruppe Losigkeit'' reached the Gardemoen Airfield, approximately north of Oslo, on 20 February and further to Trondheim on 24 February, one day after the ''Kriegsmarine'' vessels. At Trondheim, the unit was subordinated to the ''Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen'', an office held by ''Oberst'' Carl-Alfred Schumacher. On 25 February, ''Jagdgruppe Losigkeit'' provided fighter protection for ''Prinz Eugen'', which had been damaged in the Channel Dash. In March, the unit was ordered back to Germany, arriving in Jever on 20 March where it was disbanded. During its existence, ''Jagdgruppe Losigkeit'' claimed one aerial victory, a Spitfire flown by Flight Lieutenant Sandy Gunn shot down by ''Leutnant'' Dieter Gerhard on 5 March.

With ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1

In March 1942, IV. ''Gruppe'' of JG 1 was re-named III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing). In consequence, Losigkeit was charged with the creation of a new IV. ''Gruppe'' which was initially based at Werneuchen near Berlin. ''Oberleutnant'' Friedrich Eberle headed 10. ''Staffel'' which had already served as 3. ''Staffel'' of ''Jagdgruppe Losigkeit''. The ''Einsatzstaffel'' of ''Jagdfliegerschule'' 4 under ''Oberleutnant'' Wilhelm Moritz formed 11. ''Staffel''. ''Oberleutnant'' Franz Eisenach initially led 12. ''Staffel'' created from some pilots of the former IV. ''Gruppe''. Command of 12. ''Staffel'' then passed on to ''Oberleutnant'' Heinz Stöcker. In late April, Losigkeit reported the combat readiness of IV. ''Gruppe'' which then moved to airfields at Leeuwarden and Düsseldorf on 27 April. IV. ''Gruppe'' was withdrawn from combat operations in July 1942 and re-equipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.

On 1 April 1943, I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 1 became the II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing). In consequence, IV. ''Gruppe'' of JG 1 became the new I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 1. On 17 April, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) VIII Bomber Command attacked the Focke-Wulf factories at Bremen, causing significant damage. During the attack, Losigkeit shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. On 2 May, 25 RAF Spitfires escorted 18 Lockheed Ventura bombers which were intercepted by fighters from I. and II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 1 east of Vlissingen. For the loss of two Fw 190s, pilots of JG 1 claimed nine aerial victories, including a Ventura claimed by Losigkeit.

Eastern Front

On 20 May, Losigkeit was transferred upon his own request. He was given command of I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 26 on the Eastern Front. The former commander of I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 26, ''Major'' Johannes Seifert, had been taken off combat duty after his brother was killed in action. Losigkeit had made his request for transfer because of substantial differences with the ''Jafü'' (''Jagdfliegerführer''—the commander of the fighter forces) of the 3. ''Jagd-Division''. Apparently the commanding officer of the 3. ''Jagd-Division'', ''Generalleutnant'' Werner Junck, had accused the fighter pilots of cowardice in combating the B-17 bombers. On 4 June, he flew his first mission on the Eastern Front, flying a fighter sweep into Soviet airspace from Shatalovka. On 6 June, I. ''Gruppe'' began its return to Germany while Losigkeit remained on the Eastern Front. On 26 June, he took over command of III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 "Mölders" (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) from ''Hauptmann'' Herbert Wehnelt who had briefly led the ''Gruppe'' after ''Hauptmann'' Karl-Heinz Schnell was transferred.

III. ''Gruppe'' was also based Shatalovka, flying combat missions in the vicinity of Mtsensk and Oryol. On 5 July, III. ''Gruppe'' began flying missions in support of Operation Citadel, as part of the Battle of Kursk. The ''Gruppe'' supported the 9th Army, attacking the salient from the north. That day, Losigkeit claimed two Lavochkin La-5 fighters shot down. The following day, in aerial combat near Maloarkhangelsk, he claimed another La-5 destroyed. Later that day, he was credited with shooting down a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter. On 7 July, III. ''Gruppe'' again fought in the vicinity of Maloarkhangelsk where they claimed 17 aerial victories, including a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 by Losigkeit, for the loss of one severely shot up Fw 190 from 8. ''Staffel''. Losigkeit was awarded the German Cross in Gold () on 17 October 1943.

Wing commander

On 1 April 1944, Losigkeit was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of JG 51. He succeeded ''Oberstleutnant'' Karl-Gottfried Nordmann who was transferred. Command of III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 51 was handed to ''Hauptmann'' Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber. The Stab of JG 51 was based at Terespol in the combat area of Army Group Centre. On 21 June, bombers of the Eighth Air Force, formerly VIII Bomber Command, on a shuttle bombing mission of Operation Frantic, attacked oil refineries south of Berlin before heading for the Poltava Air Base. The bombers were intercepted by elements of JG 51 led by Losigkeit. In this encounter, two of the escorting North American P-51 Mustang fighters were shot down. One of the P-51 fighters crashed near the Luftwaffe airfield at Babruysk where III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 51 was based. In its cockpit, a map of the Poltava Air Base was found. The commander of III. ''Gruppe'', Eichel-Streiber, sent the map to the headquarters of ''Luftflotte'' 6 (6th Air Fleet). This intelligence led to an attack by Luftwaffe bombers which destroyed 44 parked B-17 bombers and damaged further 26.

Losigkeit flew to Danzig-Langfuhr, present-day Wrzeszcz, in a Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun in late March 1945 to assist the retreat west. There, he was handed a teleprinter message by ''Oberst'' Herbert Ihlefeld that he was ordered to Ostrau, present-day Ostrava, to take command of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) on 1 April 1945. He succeeded ''Major'' Siegfried Freytag in this capacity who had temporarily assumed this office after ''Oberstleutnant'' Erich Leie was killed in action on 7 March. That day, he took command of JG 77 at Beneschau, present-day Benešov, in the Czech Republic. With the arrival of Losigkeit, Freytag resumed command of II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 77. Command of JG 51 was passed on to ''Major'' Heinz Lange. Losigkeit was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 28 April 1945.

The ''Geschwaderstab'' and II. ''Gruppe'' were based at Skutsch (Skuteč) on 8 May. Losigkeit ordered the destruction of all remaining aircraft before boarding a Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft, filled up with fuel from salvaged aircraft, heading west to avoid capture by the Red Army.

Later life

After the war, Losigkeit was a member of the Gehlen Organization codename "Lohmann". In 1953, Günter Hofé, an old friend of Losigkeit and member of the ) (French Secret Service), contacted Losigkeit which led to Hofé being recruited by the Gehlen Organization. Hofé was involved in a counterespionage activity involving Heinz Felfe. Losigkeit died on 14 January 1994 in Hünxe.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Losigkeit was credited with 68 aerial victories. Obermaier and Spick also list him with 68 aerial victories, including 13 on the Western Front, claimed in approximately 750 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 51 aerial victory claims. This figure includes 44 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and seven over the Western Allies, including one four-engined bomber.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 05 Ost S/83/1/5". 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

* Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords (14 April 1939)
* Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 11 October 1943 as ''Major'' and ''Gruppenkommandeur''
* German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943 as ''Major'' in III./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 April 1945 as ''Major'' and ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 "Mölders"

Notes

References

Citations

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Losigkeit, Fritz
1913 births
1994 deaths
Politicians from Berlin
Condor Legion personnel
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Free Democratic Party (Germany) politicians
Shot-down aviators
Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg
Military personnel from Berlin
People from Reinickendorf