Gerhard Michalski

Gerhard Michalski (25 June 1917 – 22 February 1946) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and wing commander during World War II. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 73 aerial victories in 652 missions, of which 59 victories were achieved over the Western Front including 13 four-engine bombers, and 14 over the Eastern Front. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Early life and career

Michalski was born on 25 June 1917 in Augsdorf in the Province of Saxony of the German Empire. In 1936, he volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe and was promoted to ''Leutnant'' in 1938. Michalski received the Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 28 September 1939.

World War II

Michalski joined 6. '' Staffel'' (6th squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) in 1940. He claimed his first victory on 31 March 1940 during the "Phoney War", when he downed a French Morane Saulnier MS 406 fighter over the French border near Püttlingen. Flying through the Battle of Britain, he claimed eight further aerial victories. In October 1940, Michalski was appointed Adjutant in II./JG 53.

JG 53 flew its last mission on the Channel Front on 4 June 1941. Four days later, II. ''Gruppe'' was ordered to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield.

Operation Barbarossa

In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul at Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield. On 12 June, II. ''Gruppe'' relocated to Sobolewo. On 21 June, the commanding officers were ordered to Suwałki where they were briefed by ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Albert Kesselring.

With JG 53 participating in the invasion of Russia from June 1941 onward, Michalski claimed 13 further victories by the end of August 1941 for a total of 22.

On 5 October 1941, II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 53 was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and ordered to Insterburg, present-day Chernyakhovsk. The ''Gruppe'' was then sent to Leeuwarden Airfield in the Netherlands where they arrived on 12. October. Prior to the relocation, Michalski was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 4. ''Staffel'' of JG 53, replacing ''Oberleutnant'' Kurt Liedtke in this capacity.

Mediterranean theater

In November 1941, II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 53 were relocated to Sicily for operations against Malta. Michalski was to become the most successful German fighter pilot in the Siege of Malta, claiming 26 victories against the island's defenders. Michalski was appointed ''Gruppenkommandeur'' (group commander) of II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 53 in August 1942. He succeeded ''Hauptmann'' Walter Spies who was transferred. Command of 4. ''Staffel'' was then passed to ''Oberleutnant'' Wilhelm Hobirk for two months before it was assigned to ''Leutnant'' Fritz Dinger in October. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () for 41 victories in September. On 1 October, Michalski was promoted to ''Hauptmann'' (captain).

On 15 October, Michalski was shot down in his Bf 109 G-2 (''Werknummer'' 10484—factory number). He bailed out over sea, climbed into his life raft before he was picked up by a Dornier Do 24 flying boat of ''Seenotstaffel'' 6, the 6th Squadron of the German air-sea rescue service. His victors were No. 126 Squadron Supermarine Spitfire fighters, flown by F/L. Jones and F/Sgt Varey, who shot him down off Marsaxlokk Bay.

In November 1942, II./JG 53 were sent to Tunisia. On 27 November, Michalski claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down south of Majaz al Bab. That day, the RAF lost two Spitfires in aerial combat, one from No. 72 Squadron and another from No. 152 Squadron, plus another Spitfire damaged in combat. While Luftwaffe pilots claimed ten Spitfires shot down.

Following the fall of Tunisia, II./JG 53 relocated to bases in Sicily in May 1943. By June 1943, the ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) of JG 53, ''Oberst'' Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, had fallen ill and could no longer lead JG 53 during combat missions. In consequence, Michalski was tasked with leading the air elements of JG 53. On 13 June, Michalski claimed a Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down near Syracuse. His opponent may have been Wing Commander John Ellis who bailed out and was taken prisoner of war.

On 18 June 1943, II. ''Gruppe'' engaged in combat with eight Spitfire fighters over southeast Sicily. In this encounter, Michalski was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 16362) near Donnafugata Castle. Forced to bail out, he was injured and taken to hospital in Ragusa. His victor was Flying Officer George Noel Keith Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), flying a Spitfire of No. 72 Squadron. He bailed out wounded in the leg and with a broken ankle, landing in the sea, from where he was rescued by the German air-sea rescue service. Hospitalised, he returned to JG 53 in August 1943.

On 1 October, Michalski was promoted to ''Major'' (major). In November 1943, II./JG 53 was relocated to airfields in Austria, operating on ''Reichsverteidigung'' (Defense of the Reich) duties. Michalski claimed his 60th victory on 2 November.

Wing commander

On 24 April 1944, Michalski was made ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of the newly formed '' Jagdgeschwader z.b.V.'' (JG z.b.V.—fighter wing for special deployment), a special purpose unit which was tasked with defending the southern German airspace under control of 7. ''Jagd-Division'' (7th Fighter Division). Initially, the unit was based at Kassel and equipped with the Bf 109 G-6. On 29 April, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force headed for Berlin. Michalski led the ''Stab'' and II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) on the intercept mission. Near Schandelah, present-day part of Cremlingen, he shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. On 1 May, the Eighth Air Force attacked German railroad infrastructure in southern Germany. Defending against this attack, Michalski was shot down by USAAF escorting fighters in his Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 440232) near Saarbrücken. Due to his injuries, he was taken off duty. The position of ''Geschwaderkommodore'' was left vacant until on 21 May ''Major'' Walther Dahl was given command of JG z.b.V.

Following his recovery, Michalski was transferred to the ''Verbandsführerschule'' of the ''General der Jagdflieger'' on 20 May 1944. On 21 July, he joined the ''Stabsstaffel'', I./ ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11.

On 15 June, JG z.b.V. had been renamed and became ''Jagdgeschwader'' 4 (JG 4—4th Fighter Wing) and Dahl was replaced by ''Major'' Gerhard Schöpfel as commander of JG 4. When on 6 August Schöpfel was wounded in combat, Michalski was transferred and became ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of JG 4. Following the Allied aerial landings in Operation Market Garden on 17 September, Michalski was instructed to immediately transfer the ''Geschwaderstab'' to Dortmund Airfield. Here, he came under control of 3. ''Jagd-Division'' (3rd Fighter Division). Michalski was then tasked with the formation of a , a detachment consisting of I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 3, III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 4, III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 53, II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 and III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 300. From 18 to 25 September, Michalski led this detachment also dubbed . Michalski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 25 November for 72 victories. On 1 January 1945, Michalski was promoted to ''Oberstleutnant'' (lieutenant colonel).

As ''Geschwaderkommodore'', Michalski was ordered to Berlin on 22 January 1945 and attended the meeting with ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Göring which was later dubbed the Fighter Pilots' Mutiny. This was an attempt to reinstate ''Generalleutnant'' Adolf Galland as ''General der Jagdflieger'' who had been dismissed for outspokenness regarding the ''Oberkommando der Luftwaffe'' (''Luftwaffe'' high command), and had been replaced by ''Oberst'' Gordon Gollob. The meeting was held at the ''Haus der Flieger'' in Berlin and was attended by a number of high-ranking fighter pilot leaders which included Michalski, Günther Lützow, Hannes Trautloft, Hermann Graf, Erich Leie, Helmut Bennemann, Kurt Bühligen and Herbert Ihlefeld, and their antagonist Göring supported by his staff Bernd von Brauchitsch and Karl Koller. The fighter pilots, with Lützow taking the lead as spokesman, criticized Göring and made him personally responsible for the decisions taken which effectively had led to the lost air war over Europe.

Later life

Michalski was involved in a motor vehicle accident on 22 February 1946 and died in a hospital at the age of in Kaltenkirchen. His brother Werner was killed in action as a ''Leutnant'' on 10 April 1942 serving with ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 "Schlageter".

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Michalski was credited with 73 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 73 aerial victories in 652 missions, of which 59 victories were achieved over the Western Front including 13 four-engine bombers and 29 Spitfire fighters. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 68 aerial victory claims, plus three further unconfirmed claims. This number includes 14 on the Eastern Front and 54 on the Western Front, including 11 four-engined bombers.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 03 Ost 9848". 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 Class (28 September 1939)
** 1st Class (3 September 1940)
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross on 4 September 1942 as ''Oberleutnant'' and ''Staffelkapitän'' of the 4./''Jagdgeschwader'' 53
** 667th Oak Leaves on 25 November 1944 as ''Major'' and ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 4

Notes

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Michalski, Gerhard
1917 births
1946 deaths
Luftwaffe pilots
German World War II flying aces
Military personnel from the Province of Saxony
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Road incident deaths in Germany
Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt
People from Mansfeld-Südharz