Alfred Grislawski
Encyclopedia
Alfred Grislawski was a German
former Luftwaffe
fighter ace
and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
with Oak Leaves during World War II
. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator
credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft
during aerial combat. He was credited with 133 victories claimed in over 800 combat missions. He recorded 24 victories over the Western front, including 18 United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) four–engine bombers. Of his 109 claims recorded over the Eastern front, 16 were Il-2 Sturmoviks.
. He applied to join the Navy but was rejected in preference to a posting in Naval Aviation. Grislawski began his training at Fliegerersatzabteilung 16 at Schleswig
. In July 1940, the graduated Gefreiter Grislawski was posted into III./Jagdgeschwader 52
(JG 52), based at Zerbst
. He was promoted to Unteroffizier
in October. The same month III./JG 52 was ordered to Romania
and as the redesignated I./JG 28 tasked with training Romanian Air Force
personnel. In August 1941, III./JG 52 was ordered to the Eastern Front and based in Ukraine. Grislawski gained his first victory on 1 September 1941, when he shot down a Russian I-16. By the end of 1941, Grislawski had a victory total 11. At the end of December, III./JG 52 relocated to the Kharkiv area. In April, 9./JG 52 were ordered to the Crimea in support of the Kerch offensive. Grislawski recorded his 20th claim on 30 April, when he shot down a Russian I-15bis
fighter-bomber. Grislawski was particularly successful during May 1942 claiming 22 victories, and in July Grislawski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 43 victories, and sent on leave on 24 July.
In August 1942 Oberfeldwebel Grislawski was assigned to 7./JG 52 based in the Caucasus. In September, he claimed 16 victories over the Terek bridgehead. On 5 November he shot down four Ilyushin Il-2
s but was shot down in Bf 109 G-2 and belly-landing with a few bruises. On 18 January 1943, Grislawski's Rotte was intercepted by Russian I-16 fighters and Grislawski’s Bf 109 was hit, setting on fire. He nursed his aircraft over German lines before baling out, sustaining facial burns. Grislaski was one of the four pilots in the famed Karaya Quartet
.
On 26 January Grislawski received promotion to Leutnant. He recorded his 92nd victory on 3 February 1943. On 27 April 1943 he recorded his 100th victory. In June 1943 he was wounded by blast from a German land mine near Taman. On his recovery Grislawski transferred to Jagdgruppe Süd (JGr Süd). In August 1943 elements of JGr Süd were redesignated Jagdgeschwader 50 (JG 50), under the command of Major Hermann Graf
and charged with intercepting the high-flying Royal Air Force
de Havilland Mosquito
fighter-bomber and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. Based at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim he shot down his first two United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) four-engine bombers on 17 August. In early October Grislawski was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann
and given temporary command of JGr. 50.
In November 1943 Grislawski was appointed Staffelkapitän
of 1./JG 1 based at Deelen
, flying the Fw-190. He was shot down by USAAF bombers over Baske on 24 January 1944 and wounded, bailing out of his Fw 190A-7. Grislawski was then posted as Staffelkapitän of 8./Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) on 13 March 1944. Operating the new Bf 109 G-6/AS especially equipped for high-altitude operations, the unit was tasked with combating the potent USAAF fighter escorts.
Hauptmann Grislawski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 11 April for 122 victories. Grislawski then led 8./JG 1 to France to combat the Allied landings in Normandy. After less than a week the unit was relocated to Germany having been decimated in operations against the beachhead.
In July Grislawski was back to France as acting Gruppenkommandeur
of III./JG 1. On 27 July, Grislawski was shot down by Spitfires, baling out safely. At the end of July 1944 Grislawski was transferred to Staffelkapitän of 11./JG 53. He claimed two B-17 four-engine bombers shot down on 12 September. On 26 September 1944, Grislawski was credited with a P-38 twin-engine fighter shot down as his 133rd and last claim. His Bf 109 G-14 was hit in the engine by a P-51 flown by Col. Hubert Zemke
and caught fire. He baled out but had a very hard landing that cracked two vertebrae in his back and he spent the remainder of the war in a military hospital.
By the end of the war Grislawski was at Badgastein in the Austrian Alps. He was able to cross the zone border and return to his hometown of Wanne-Eickel. He declined to join the Bundesluftwaffe because of his wartime injuries. Grislawski died on 19 September 2003.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
former Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
fighter ace
Fighter Ace
Fighter Ace was a massively multiplayer online computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots...
and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
with Oak Leaves during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
during aerial combat. He was credited with 133 victories claimed in over 800 combat missions. He recorded 24 victories over the Western front, including 18 United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF) four–engine bombers. Of his 109 claims recorded over the Eastern front, 16 were Il-2 Sturmoviks.
Military career
Alfred Grislawski was born 2 November 1919 at Wanne-Eickel in the Ruhrgebiet, the son of Gustav Grislawski, a coal miner, and his wife Henriette. He was the second of four children, with an older brother, Walter, a younger sister, Herta, and the youngest brother Horst. On leaving school Grislawski worked on a farm in PomeraniaPomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. He applied to join the Navy but was rejected in preference to a posting in Naval Aviation. Grislawski began his training at Fliegerersatzabteilung 16 at Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
. In July 1940, the graduated Gefreiter Grislawski was posted into III./Jagdgeschwader 52
Jagdgeschwader 52
Jagdgeschwader 52 of the Luftwaffe, was the most successful fighter-wing of all time, with a claimed total of more than 10,000 victories over enemy aircraft during World War II. It was the unit of the top three scoring Fighter aces of all time, Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn and Günther Rall...
(JG 52), based at Zerbst
Zerbst
Zerbst is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until the administrative reform of 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the Anhalt-Zerbst district. Since the 1 January 2010 local government reform, Zerbst has about 24,000 inhabitants.It is not clear when was it founded;...
. He was promoted to Unteroffizier
Unteroffizier
Unteroffizier is both a specific military rank as well as a collective term for non-commissioned officers of the German military that has existed since the 19th century. The rank existed as a title as early as the 17th century with the first widespread usage occurring in the Bavarian Army of the...
in October. The same month III./JG 52 was ordered to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and as the redesignated I./JG 28 tasked with training Romanian Air Force
Romanian Air Force
The Romanian Air Force is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, four air bases and an air defense brigade...
personnel. In August 1941, III./JG 52 was ordered to the Eastern Front and based in Ukraine. Grislawski gained his first victory on 1 September 1941, when he shot down a Russian I-16. By the end of 1941, Grislawski had a victory total 11. At the end of December, III./JG 52 relocated to the Kharkiv area. In April, 9./JG 52 were ordered to the Crimea in support of the Kerch offensive. Grislawski recorded his 20th claim on 30 April, when he shot down a Russian I-15bis
Polikarpov I-15
The Polikarpov I-15 was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed Chaika because of its gulled upper wings, it was operated in large numbers by the Soviet Air Force, and together with the Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, was one of the standard fighters of the Spanish Republicans during...
fighter-bomber. Grislawski was particularly successful during May 1942 claiming 22 victories, and in July Grislawski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 43 victories, and sent on leave on 24 July.
In August 1942 Oberfeldwebel Grislawski was assigned to 7./JG 52 based in the Caucasus. In September, he claimed 16 victories over the Terek bridgehead. On 5 November he shot down four Ilyushin Il-2
Ilyushin Il-2
The Ilyushin Il-2 was a ground-attack aircraft in the Second World War, produced by the Soviet Union in very large numbers...
s but was shot down in Bf 109 G-2 and belly-landing with a few bruises. On 18 January 1943, Grislawski's Rotte was intercepted by Russian I-16 fighters and Grislawski’s Bf 109 was hit, setting on fire. He nursed his aircraft over German lines before baling out, sustaining facial burns. Grislaski was one of the four pilots in the famed Karaya Quartet
Karaya Quartet
Jagdgeschwader 50 , sometimes erroneously referred to as Jagdgruppe 50, was a special high-altitude fighter unit that specialized in intercepting the Royal Air Force's de Havilland Mosquito light bombers during World War II.-History:...
.
On 26 January Grislawski received promotion to Leutnant. He recorded his 92nd victory on 3 February 1943. On 27 April 1943 he recorded his 100th victory. In June 1943 he was wounded by blast from a German land mine near Taman. On his recovery Grislawski transferred to Jagdgruppe Süd (JGr Süd). In August 1943 elements of JGr Süd were redesignated Jagdgeschwader 50 (JG 50), under the command of Major Hermann Graf
Hermann Graf
Colonel Hermann Graf was a German Luftwaffe World War II fighter ace. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts...
and charged with intercepting the high-flying Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
fighter-bomber and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. Based at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim he shot down his first two United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF) four-engine bombers on 17 August. In early October Grislawski was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann
Hauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
and given temporary command of JGr. 50.
In November 1943 Grislawski was appointed Staffelkapitän
Staffelkapitän
Staffelkapitän is a position in flying units of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a Staffelkapitän is of Oberstleutnant or Major rank....
of 1./JG 1 based at Deelen
Deelen
Deelen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is largely located in the municipality of Ede, Netherlands, but a small part lies in the municipality of Arnhem.Deelen is best known for the Deelen Air Base, a military airfield close to the village....
, flying the Fw-190. He was shot down by USAAF bombers over Baske on 24 January 1944 and wounded, bailing out of his Fw 190A-7. Grislawski was then posted as Staffelkapitän of 8./Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) on 13 March 1944. Operating the new Bf 109 G-6/AS especially equipped for high-altitude operations, the unit was tasked with combating the potent USAAF fighter escorts.
Hauptmann Grislawski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 11 April for 122 victories. Grislawski then led 8./JG 1 to France to combat the Allied landings in Normandy. After less than a week the unit was relocated to Germany having been decimated in operations against the beachhead.
In July Grislawski was back to France as acting Gruppenkommandeur
Gruppenkommandeur
Gruppenkommandeur is a Luftwaffe position , that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. Gruppenkommandeur usually has the rank of Hauptmann or Major, and commands a Gruppe, which is a sub-division of a Geschwader. A Gruppe usually consists of three or four...
of III./JG 1. On 27 July, Grislawski was shot down by Spitfires, baling out safely. At the end of July 1944 Grislawski was transferred to Staffelkapitän of 11./JG 53. He claimed two B-17 four-engine bombers shot down on 12 September. On 26 September 1944, Grislawski was credited with a P-38 twin-engine fighter shot down as his 133rd and last claim. His Bf 109 G-14 was hit in the engine by a P-51 flown by Col. Hubert Zemke
Hubert Zemke
Colonel Hubert A. "Hub" Zemke was a career officer in the United States Air Force, a fighter pilot in World War II, and a leading USAAF ace...
and caught fire. He baled out but had a very hard landing that cracked two vertebrae in his back and he spent the remainder of the war in a military hospital.
By the end of the war Grislawski was at Badgastein in the Austrian Alps. He was able to cross the zone border and return to his hometown of Wanne-Eickel. He declined to join the Bundesluftwaffe because of his wartime injuries. Grislawski died on 19 September 2003.
Awards
- Ehrenpokal der LuftwaffeEhrenpokal der LuftwaffeThe Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe was a Luftwaffe award established on February 27, 1940 by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Reich Minister of Aviation and Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was officially known as the Ehrenpokal "für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg", or Honor Goblet "For...
(30 May 1942) - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939)- 2nd Class (9 September 1941)
- 1st Class (29 October 1941)
- Front Flying Clasp of the LuftwaffeFront Flying Clasp of the LuftwaffeThe Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe was awarded in Bronze, Silver, and Gold with upgrade possible to include diamonds. Pennants suspended from the clasp indicated the number of missions obtained in a given type of aircraft...
for Fighter Pilots in Gold (5 December 1941) - Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak LeavesKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
- Knight's Cross on 1 July 1942 as FeldwebelFeldwebelFeldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
and pilot in the 9./JG 52 - 446th Oak Leaves on 11 April 1944 as HauptmannHauptmannHauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
(war officer) and StaffelkapitänStaffelkapitänStaffelkapitän is a position in flying units of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a Staffelkapitän is of Oberstleutnant or Major rank....
of 1./JG 1
- Knight's Cross on 1 July 1942 as Feldwebel