Hubert StraßlHis name, in German, is spelled with a "sharp S"; see ß. (24 May 1918 – 8 July 1943) was an Austrian-born German

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

in the

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 ...

and fought 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 ...

. He was credited with 67 aerial victories—that is, 67 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in 221 combat missions. He was " ace-in-a-day" four times, shooting down five or more aircraft on a single day. On 8 July 1943, during the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

, Straßl was killed in aerial combat with Soviet fighters near

Ponyri Ponyri () is the name of several inhabited localities in Kursk Oblast, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in ...

Career

Straßl was born on 24 May 1918 at

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Following completion of flight and fighter pilot training, he was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) in late 1941. On 5 July 1943, he became a triple-ace in a day when he shot down 15 enemy aircraft in four missions south of

Orel Orel (meaning ''eagle'' in some Slavic languages; also a common first name in Israel meaning ''Light of God'' in Hebrew) may refer to: People *Orel Hershiser (born 1958), American baseball pitcher * Orel Mangala (born 1998), Belgian footballer ...

in Russia during the

. Over the course of the three days, Straßl shot down 30 enemy aircraft. He was forced to bail out of his

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...

A-4 (''Werknummer'' 2351—factory number) following combat with a

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1 and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the So ...

south of

on 8 July. His parachute failed to fully deploy and he fell to his death. On 12 November 1943, Straßl was awarded a posthumous

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 ...

().

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Straßl was credited with 67 aerial victories. Spick also lists Straßl with 67 enemy aircraft shot down, claimed in 221 combat missions, all of which on the Eastern Front. 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 67 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 47722". 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 ...

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

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 *

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'' ...

in Gold *

Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe The ''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'' (Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe) was a Luftwaffe award established on 27 February 1940 by ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Göring, the ''Reich'' Minister of Aviation and Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was ...

(22 July 1943) *

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 16 August 1943 as ''

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 the 8./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 *

on 12 November 1943 (posthumously) as ''

Oberfeldwebel (; OFw or OF) is the fourth highest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. History The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old ...

'' and pilot in the 8./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 "Mölders"

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strassl, Hubert 1918 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Linz German World War II flying aces Luftwaffe pilots 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