| Franz Schieß | |
|---|---|
Franz Schieß |
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| Nickname | "Nawratil" |
| Born | 21 February 1921 St Polten, Austria |
| Died | 2 September 1943 (aged 22)[1] Gulf of Naples, near Cancello, Italy |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch | Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | Heer: 1938-1940, Luftwaffe: 1940 - 1943 |
| Rank | Hauptmann |
| Unit | JG 53 |
| Commands held | 8./JG 53 |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | German Cross in Gold (23 January 1943)Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (21 June 1943 |
Franz Schieß (21 February 1921 - 2 September 1943) was a German fighter ace. He scored 67 victories in 657 missions, (14 on the Eastern Front, and 53 against the Western Allies) whilst flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
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During the Polish campaign, he saw service in the Army before transferring to the Luftwaffe and undergoing fighter pilot training in 1940. Schieß was posted to the Geschwaderstab(Headquarters) of JG 53, based on the Channel front in March 1941, as Adjutant. In this time he established a close friendship with Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn.[2]
On 22 June 1941, Schieß scored his first victories on the opening day of Operation Barbarossa, destroying a I-153 biplane fighter and an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. The members of his Staffel called him "Nawratil", by his radio call sign name.
After achieving 14 kills on the Eastern front JG 53 was withdrawn and, following rest and refitting in Germany, then deployed to the Mediterranean. Operating from Sicily, Schieß flew sorties over Malta scoring 11 victories. In February 1942, he transferred from the Stab flight to 8./JG 53. In November, the unit transferred to Tunisia, where Schieß continued his success, gaining a further 13 victories, including a B-17 four-engined bomber on 29 January 1943 (36th v.)
Leutnant Schieß was awarded the German Cross in Gold on January 23, 1943 as a member of Stab/JG 53?.[3] On 16 February 1943, Schieß was appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 53 and reached 50 kills on 21 May over Sicily. He was regarded as one of the most enthusiastic and aggressive pilots in the Mediterranean theatre, and even when his unit was evacuated back to Sicily, he still flew over to Tunisia each day and flew combat missions before returning to Sicily each night.[4] He went on to score 29 kills as leader of 8./JG 53.[5] Schieß was awarded the Knight's Cross on 21 June for 55 victories and going on leave for 2 months. Returning in August, Schieß shot down 12 enemy aircraft in 11 days of which seven were P-38 twin-engine fighters. Together with Jürgen Harder of III./JG 53, Schieß was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann on September 1, 1943.[6]
He is credited with 67 aerial victories in 657 missions. Among those were 17 P-38 Lightnings, making him the highest scoring "Lightning Killer" of the war.
On 2 September 1943 Schieß led a scramble against a USAAF B-25 bomber formation attacking marshalling yards at Cancello, Naples. His unit engaged the fighter escort of P-38 Lightnings. The final battles took place around the island of Ischia; at around 1:45PM, the pilots heard Franz Schieß radio: "At them again, everyone get ready!" At the time, the formation was 30 to 40 km southwest of Ischia when Hauptmann Schieß's wingman was forced away by two Lightnings and lost sight of his Staffelkapitän.[6] Ten of the P-38s were shot down, but Schieß's Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 160 022—factory number) "Black 1 + I", crashed into the Mediterranean 30–50 km SSW of Ischia.[7] Although it was not witnessed, he probably was shot down by a P-38.[8]
On September 27 Günther von Maltzahn wrote to Schieß's parents expressing the close friendship they shared:[9]
"I ask that you and your husband accept my and my Geschwader's most sincere and heartfelt sympathy on the unspeakably hard stroke of fate which befell your son Franz. I can sympathize with how hard it must be to come to terms with thought that you will never see your son Franz again in this life. One could not have wished for a better officer. Not only did there exist a comradeship and a mutual trust between Kommodore and adjutant that was tested in far more than 100 air battles, but in him I lost my best friend, on whom I could depend no matter what the situation."
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