Hans Philipp
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| Hans Philipp | |
|---|---|
| 13 March 1917 — 8 October 1943 (aged 26) | |
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| Place of birth | Meißen, Saxony |
| Place of death | near Neuenhaus |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch | Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1936-1943 |
| Rank | Oberst |
| Unit | JG 76, JG 54, JG 1 |
| Commands held | 4./JG 54, I./JG 54, JG 1 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
Colonel Hans Philipp (born 13 March 1917 in Meißen, Saxony, killed in action 8 October 1943 near Neuenhaus in the Netherlands) was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1936 until he was killed in action 8 October 1943 by a P-47 Thunderbolt-pilot. It is believed that he was shot down by Robert S. Johnson.[1] Philipp managed to bail out but his parachute never opened.
As part of I./JG 76 (later to renumber as II./JG 54) Philipp first flew operations over Poland and scored his first victory. Serving later during the Battles of France and Britain, Hans Philipp was Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 54 by the end of 1940.
On November 4 1940 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz for twenty victories.
During the Balkans campaign in April 1941, JG 54 engaged the Bf 109's of Jugoslovensko Kraljevsko Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo (JKRV) in a massive air battle. Hans Philipp claimed two of the JKRV 109s.
Operation Barbarossa saw Philipp's score begin to escalate. On August 24, 1941, Philipp became the 33rd member recipient of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. Philipp appointed as Kommandeur I./JG 54.
In March 1942, he became the first member of JG 54 to be awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross and on March 31, 1942 Philipp became the fourth Luftwaffe fighter pilot to achieve 100 victories.
In April 1943 Philipp was transferred to Defense of the Reich duties as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 1, flying high altitude interception operations over North Sea and Northern Germany. On October 8, 1943, the 8th Air Force dispatched 156 bombers to attack Bremen and Vegesack. The force was escorted by 250 P-47 Thunderbolts. Phillip's flight were intercepted by P-47's of the 56th Fighter Group and Phillip was killed.
Hans Philipp claimed 206 enemy aircraft shot down, 178 on the Eastern front, 29 against the Western Allies.
[edit] Awards
- Wound Badge in Black
- Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe
- German Cross in Gold (18 June 1942)
- Iron Cross 2. and 1. class
- Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross (22 October 1940)
- 33. Oak Leaves (24 August 1941)
- 8. Swords (12 March 1942)
- Mentioned five times in the Wehrmachtbericht
[edit] References
- Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Hans Philipp. Retrieved on 5 April 2007.
- The Jagdgeschwader 54 HomePage. Hans Philipp. Retrieved on 5 April 2007.
- Berger, Florian, Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by Oberstleutnant Dr. Erich Mix |
Commander of Jagdgeschwader 1 Oesau April 1, 1943-October 8, 1943 |
Succeeded by Major Hermann Graf |
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