Emil Bitsch

Emil Bitsch (14 June 1916 – 15 March 1944) was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II. He was one of the most successful pilots on the Eastern Front; being credited with 108 aerial victories. He claimed 104 over the Eastern Front and four four-engine bombers over the Western Front.^[1] He may have been the pilot that shot down Soviet female ace Yekaterina Budanova. Bitsch was killed in action against United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters on 15 March 1944.

Career

Bitsch was born on 14 June 1916 in Bad Griesbach in the Grand Duchy of Baden within the German Empire.^[2]

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces

Operating from an airfield at Lutsk, Bitsch claimed his first victory on 2 July over an Ilyushin Il-2.^[4] He had a total of five victories by the end of the year. He claimed two Russian Yak-4 twin-engine fighters which were shot down on 24 June 1942 to claim his 9th and 10th victories. In July, he claimed 15 victories, including his 20th 'kill' which he shot down on 13 July. Bitsch recorded 18 victories in August, including his 30th victim shot down on 16 August; his score had risen to 40 on 28 August.^[2] On 6 November, III. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment. The first elements of the Gruppe arrived by train in Mannheim on 8 December, the transfer was completed a week later. There, the personnel was sent on home leave.^[5] The Gruppe received a full complement of 41 Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft and on 6 January 1942 was ordered to relocated to Sicily. On 13 January, 7. Staffel and elements of 8. and 9. Staffel boarded a train to Bari in southern Italy while the rest of III. Gruppe headed for Sciacca, Sicily. The relocation progressed until 26 January when new orders were received, ordering the Gruppe to return to Germany. At Jesau near Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad in Russia, III. Gruppe began preparations for redeployment to the Eastern Front again.^[6]

On 4 September 1942,

Defense of the Reich and death

III. Gruppe arrived in Münster-Handorf on 3 August where it was placed under the command of

Defense of the Reich (Reichsverteidigung) missions and was subordinated to Fighter Leader for the Holland area (Jafü Holland).^[16] Bitsch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 29 August after 104 victories claimed on the Eastern Front.^[17] On 25 August, III. Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Bad Wörishofen in southern Germany.^[18] On 1 October, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) attacked German aircraft production, approaching from the south, targeting the Wiener Neustadt Flugzeugwerke (WNF) in Wiener Neustadt and other targets at Friedrichshafen. At 12:30, III. Gruppe was scrambled. Approximately one hour later, the Gruppe intercepted the flight of 50 to 60 Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers and 25 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. In aerial combat which in parts was fought in Swiss airspace, III. Gruppe, without loss, claimed four aerial victories and three Herausschüsse (separation shots–a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from its combat box and which the Luftwaffe counted as an aerial victory).^[19] In this engagement, Bitsch claimed the destruction of a B-17 which was shot down at 13:44.^[20]

On 14 October, the USAAF

Insbruck as well as Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing sites at Augsburg. III. Gruppe intercepted the bombers near Insbruck and claimed eight aerial victories, among them, a B-17 shot down by Bitsch.^[22]

Because the weather conditions at Bad Wörishofen rendered the airfield unserviceable, III. Gruppe was ordered to relocate to

352d Fighter Group in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 161139) 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) west of Schijndel.^[26][17] Bitsch was succeeded by Oberleutnant Raimund Koch as commander of 8. Staffel.^[27]

Post-war

Bitsch is buried at the German war cemetery at Ysselsteyn (in the Netherlands). The crash site was rediscovered in 1994 by Thijs Hellings, a researcher of the World War II airwar from Schijndel. With help from the landowner, remains of the plane were recovered including the radio, armored glass, the compass and many other small items.^[28]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Bitsch was credited with 108 aerial victories.^[29] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 106 aerial victory claims. This figure includes 105 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and one four-engined bomber on the Western Front.^[30]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 34 Ost 7546". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[31]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ♠ ( ace-in-a-day ", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.   This along with the * (asterisk) indicates an Herausschuss (separation shot)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from his combat box which was counted as an aerial victory.   This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –[17] Operation Barbarossa – 22 June – 5 December 1941
1	2 July 1941	12:28	V-11 (Il-2)[32]		4	3 October 1941	14:42	V-11 (Il-2)[33]
2	10 July 1941	14:45	I-16	2 km (1.2 mi) south of Sabelotschje[32]	5	5 October 1941	14:38	SB-3[33]
3	20 September 1941	17:06	Pe-2[34]		6	5 November 1941	11:55	I-61 (MiG-3)[35]
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[36] Eastern Front – 10 February 1942 – 14 April 1942
7	26 February 1942	14:33	I-301 (LaGG-3)	south of Staraya Russa[37]	9	19 March 1942	08:57	I-61 (MiG-3)	30 km (19 mi) south of Staraya Russa[38]
8	15 March 1942	12:58	Pe-2	40 km (25 mi) south of Demyansk[38]
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[36] Eastern Front – 19 May – 13 August 1942
10	24 June 1942	18:12	Yak-4	northeast of Shchigry[39]	21	13 July 1942	09:58	R-10[40]
11	24 June 1942	18:17	Yak-4	northeast of Stary Tschenoissinowo[39]	22	26 July 1942	16:15	LaGG-3[41]
12	2 July 1942	07:00	MiG-3[42]		23	26 July 1942	16:18	LaGG-3[41]
13	2 July 1942	12:10	Boston[42]		24	28 July 1942	13:13	LaGG-3[41]
14	2 July 1942	12:13	Boston[42]		25	31 July 1942	11:05	Pe-2	southeast of Kalach[41]
15	3 July 1942	19:25	Il-2[42]		26	31 July 1942	11:42	Il-2	west of Kletskaya[41]
16	3 July 1942	19:26	Il-2[42]		27	7 August 1942	17:40	Pe-2	southwest of Stalingrad[43]
17	4 July 1942	17:16	Boston[42]		28	7 August 1942	17:41	Pe-2	40 km (25 mi) southwest of Stalingrad[43]
18	4 July 1942	17:17	Boston[42]		29	12 August 1942	18:00	LaGG-3	southeast of Kalach
19	5 July 1942	06:20	Yak-4[40]		30	13 August 1942	09:35	MiG-3	north of Pasow[43]
20	5 July 1942	06:22	Yak-4[40]
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[36] Eastern Front – 16 August 1942 – 3 February 1943
31	16 August 1942	09:35	MiG-3	5 km (3.1 mi) south of Jagowo[43]	40	28 August 1942	17:00	LaGG-3	northeast of Stalingrad[44]
32	19 August 1942	17:50	Il-2	southeast of Katschalinskaya[43]	41	28 August 1942	17:20	Il-2	east of Stalingrad[44]
33	19 August 1942	17:55	R-5	southeast of Katschalinskaya[43]	42	29 August 1942	06:05	LaGG-3	northwest of Dubovka[44]
34	20 August 1942	16:22	Pe-2	south-southwest of Rajgorod[43]	43	30 August 1942	16:50	Il-2	west of Sarepta[44]
35	20 August 1942	16:26	Pe-2	west of Lake Svetlija[43]	44	31 August 1942	10:45	Il-2	east of Sarepta[44]
36	21 August 1942	17:40	LaGG-3	east of Stalingrad[45]	45	2 September 1942	17:10	Pe-2	21 km (13 mi) northeast of Stalingrad[44]
37	25 August 1942	05:30	R-5	Stalingrad[45]	46	2 September 1942	17:11	Pe-2	20 km (12 mi) northeast of Stalingrad[44]
38	27 August 1942	05:25	I-16	Akhtuba[45]	47	4 September 1942	06:55	Il-2	2 km (1.2 mi) west of Stalingrad[46]
39	27 August 1942	15:20	LaGG-3	north-northwest of Akhtuba[45]
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[36] Eastern Front – 4 February – March 1943
48	9 March 1943	11:35	Yak-1	Petrovsky[47]	?[Note 2]	16 March 1943	15:15	La-5?[48][Note 3]
49	9 March 1943	11:37	Yak-1	southwest of Petrovsky[47]
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[49] Eastern Front – March – April 1943
50	19 March 1943	10:38	Il-2	3 km (1.9 mi) south of Stary[50]	55	23 April 1943	09:15	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 7546, Kabardinka[50]
51	20 March 1943	08:45	LaGG-3	10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Rostov-on-Don[50]	56	27 April 1943	04:45	Il-2	PQ 34 Ost 8812, southeast of Makiivka[51]
52	23 March 1943	15:46	Il-2	12 km (7.5 mi) east of Chuhuiv[50]	57	27 April 1943	04:50	LaGG-3	PQ 34 Ost 8823, southeast of Makiivka[51]
53	25 March 1943	13:50	LaGG-3	20 km (12 mi) south of Rostov-on-Don[50]	58	27 April 1943	04:52	LaGG-3	PQ 34 Ost 8979, east of Makiivka[51]
54	20 April 1943	08:35	LaGG-3[50]		59	29 April 1943	09:20	R-5	PQ 34 Ost 9868, south of Massalskoje[51]
?[Note 4]	20 April 1943	11:05	Il-2	2 km (1.2 mi) south of Novorossiysk
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[52] Eastern Front – 4 February – 1 August 1943
60?[Note 5]	2 May 1943	06:05	LaGG-3	east of Starobilsk[51]	83	8 July 1943	05:57	Pe-2	PQ 35 Ost 6123, southeast of Prokhorovka[53]
61	6 May 1943	18:10	Il-2	southeast of Slavyansk[51]	84	8 July 1943	13:02	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 6127, north of Belgorod[53]
62	6 May 1943	18:13	Il-2	east of Krasnyi Lyman[51]	85	8 July 1943	13:12	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 6124, north of Belgorod[53]
63	9 May 1943	06:55	LaGG-3	Bataysk[51]	86	11 July 1943	13:35	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 6124, southeast of Werchopenje[54]
64	9 May 1943	16:10	Pe-2	northeast of Krasnyi Lyman[51]	87	11 July 1943	13:35	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 6124, southeast of Werchopenje[54]
65	12 May 1943	05:05	Il-2	southwest of Izium[51]	88	13 July 1943	05:39	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 6287, west of Prokhorovka[54]
66	14 May 1943	17:35	Il-2	east of Pribodnoje[51]	89	13 July 1943	05:41	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 6288, west of Prokhorovka[54]
67	24 May 1943	07:14	I-16	west of Bataysk[51]	90	15 July 1943	18:10	Pe-2	PQ 35 Ost 7072, Izium[54]
68	24 May 1943	07:17	I-16	west of Bataysk[51]	91	16 July 1943	04:57	La-5	east of Izium[54]
69	10 June 1943	08:45	La-5	north of Starobilsk-Ost[55]	92	16 July 1943	18:25	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 89142[54]
70	11 June 1943	11:01	La-5	east of Pokrowskoje[55]	93	17 July 1943	10:25	Il-2	8 km (5.0 mi) south of Izium[54]
71	13 June 1943	04:05	LaGG-3	southeast of Starobilsk[55]	94	19 July 1943	05:35	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 7087, southeast of Izium[54]
72	13 June 1943	04:15	LaGG-3	east of Starobilsk[55]	95	19 July 1943	05:42	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 7085, southeast of Izium[54]
73	15 June 1943	17:34	LaGG-3	north of Starobilsk[55]	96	19 July 1943	05:45	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 7068, northeast of Izium[54]
74	2 July 1943	09:40	LaGG-3	PQ 34 Ost 7922, southeast of Sslawjansk[56]	97	19 July 1943	12:10	Yak-1	PQ 35 Ost 9814[54]
75♠	5 July 1943	03:21?[Note 6]	Il-2	east of Belgorod[56]	98	20 July 1943	04:15	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 7075, Izium[54]
76♠	5 July 1943	03:25	Il-2	east of Belgorod[56]	99	20 July 1943	04:20	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 7072, Izium[54]
77♠	5 July 1943	07:42	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 61184, west of Volchansk[56]	100	21 July 1943	14:14	Il-2	PQ 34 Ost 7913, northwest of Sslawjank[54]
78♠	5 July 1943	07:51	Il-2	northwest of Prokhorovka[56]	101	31 July 1943	05:35	LaGG-3	PQ 34 Ost 8826[57]
79♠	5 July 1943	12:35	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 6133, southeast of Prokhorovka[56]	102	31 July 1943	05:55	LaGG-3	PQ 34 Ost 8823[57]
80♠	5 July 1943	16:40	Il-5	PQ 35 Ost 6149, southeast of Belgorod[56]	103	1 August 1943	10:30	Il-2	PQ 34 Ost 8822[57]
81	7 July 1943	04:15	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 6162, southeast of Belgorod[53]	104	1 August 1943	10:32	Il-2	PQ 34 Ost 8825[57]
82	7 July 1943	17:15	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 6127, east of Jakowlewo[53]
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[52] Defense of the Reich – 8 August 1943 – 15 March 1944
?[Note 5][Note 7]	1 October 1943	13:44	B-17[20]		107	19 December 1943	12:28	B-17[20]	PQ 04 Ost S/KC[59]
105?[Note 5]	14 October 1943	14:45	B-17[20]	southeast of Schweinfurt[59]	108?[Note 5]	23 February 1944	—	B-24[60]
106?[Note 5][Note 8]	14 October 1943	14:55	B-17*	north of Arnstein[59]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[61]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 31 August 1942 as Leutnant and pilot^[62]
• German Cross in Gold on 19 October 1942 as a Leutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 3^[63]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 August 1943 as an Oberleutnant (war officer) and Staffelkapitän of the 8./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"^[64][65]

Notes

1. ^ On 1 December 1941, JG 3 was given the honorary name "Udet" following the suicide of World War I fighter pilot and Luftwaffe Generalleutnant Ernst Udet.
2. ^ This claim is listed by Mathews and Foreman as Bitsch's 50th aerial victory.^[36] It is also listed by Prien and Stemmer in their 1996 history of III. Gruppe of JG 3 "Udet" as his 50th claim.^[48] However, this claim is not listed in the 2008 edition of "The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 10/II—Defense of the Reich—1 January to 31 December 1943" by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.^[47]
3. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as a Yakovlev Yak-4.^[36]
4. ^ This claim is listed by Mathews and Foreman as Bitsch's 56th aerial victory.^[36] However, this claim is not listed in the 2008 edition of "The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 10/II—Defense of the Reich—1 January to 31 December 1943" by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.^[51]
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} This claim is not listed by Mathews and Foreman.^[58]
6. ^ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 07:47.^[52]
7. ^ This claim is also not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.^[59]
8. ^ This claim is also not listed by Prien and Stemmer.^[20]

References

Citations

1. ^ Spick 1996, p. 232.
2. ^ ^{a b} Obermaier 1989, p. 89.
3. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 105.
4. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, pp. 111, 478.
5. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 122.
6. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, pp. 150, 152.
7. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 452.
8. ^ ^{a b} Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 442.
9. ^ Weal 2007, p. 68.
10. ^ Bergström 2007, p. 31.
11. ^ Robison 2016, p. 118.
12. ^ Weal 2013, p. 50.
13. ^ Weal 2007, p. 69.
14. ^ Obermaier 1989, p. 243.
15. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 214.
16. ^ ^{a b} Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 265.
17. ^ ^{a b c} Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 107.
18. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 271.
19. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, pp. 274–275.
20. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 501.
21. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, pp. 276–277.
22. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, pp. 279, 501.
23. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 282.
24. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, pp. 284, 502.
25. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 292.
26. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, pp. 292, 459.
27. ^ Prien, Stemmer & Bock 2018, p. 337.
28. ^ Milanetti 2013, pp. 253–254.
29. ^ Zabecki 2019, p. 330.
30. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2014, pp. 107–109.
31. ^ Planquadrat.
32. ^ ^{a b} Prien et al. 2003, p. 140.
33. ^ ^{a b} Prien et al. 2003, p. 148.
34. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 147.
35. ^ Prien et al. 2003, p. 149.
36. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 108.
37. ^ Prien et al. 2005, p. 33.
38. ^ ^{a b} Prien et al. 2005, p. 35.
39. ^ ^{a b} Prien et al. 2006, p. 215.
40. ^ ^{a b c} Prien et al. 2006, p. 217.
41. ^ ^{a b c d e} Prien et al. 2006, p. 219.
42. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Prien et al. 2006, p. 216.
43. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Prien et al. 2006, p. 220.
44. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Prien et al. 2006, p. 222.
45. ^ ^{a b c d} Prien et al. 2006, p. 221.
46. ^ Prien et al. 2006, p. 223.
47. ^ ^{a b c} Prien et al. 2012, p. 127.
48. ^ ^{a b} Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 496.
49. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 216.
50. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Prien et al. 2012, p. 128.
51. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Prien et al. 2012, p. 129.
52. ^ ^{a b c} Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 109.
53. ^ ^{a b c d e} Prien et al. 2012, p. 132.
54. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Prien et al. 2012, p. 133.
55. ^ ^{a b c d e} Prien et al. 2012, p. 130.
56. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Prien et al. 2012, p. 131.
57. ^ ^{a b c d} Prien et al. 2012, p. 134.
58. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2014, pp. 501–502.
59. ^ ^{a b c d} Prien et al. 2008, p. 329.
60. ^ Prien & Stemmer 1996, p. 502.
61. ^ Dixon 2023, p. 31.
62. ^ Patzwall 2008, p. 52.
63. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 44.
64. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 223.
65. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 134.

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  ISBN 978-88-9332-637-7
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• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag.
  ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2
  .
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books.
  ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1
  .
• Weal, John (2007). More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 76. Oxford, UK:
  ISBN 978-1-84603-177-9
  .
• Weal, John (2013). Aces of Jagdgeschwader 3 'Udet'. Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 116. Oxford, UK:
  ISBN 978-1-78096-300-6
  .
• ISBN 978-1-44-086918-1
  .