Herbert Huppertz

On 15 June, IV. Gruppe of JG 51 began transferring east and was located at an airfield named Krzewicze, located approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of Brest-Litovsk. On 22 June, German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.[15] JG 51, under the command of Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders, was subordinated to II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), which as part of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2). JG 51 area of operation during Operation Barbarossa was over the right flank of Army Group Center in the combat area of the 2nd Panzer Group as well as the 4th Army.[16]

On the first day of the invasion, Huppertz, who was flying with 12. Staffel commanded by Oberleutnant Karl-Gottfried Nordmann, claimed a Tupolev SB bomber shot down.[17] The Gruppe was moved to an airfield at Schatalowka, present-day Shatalovo air base, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Smolensk, on 21 July.[18] Huppertz accounted for a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber on 23 July. Three were lost from the 411 BAP (Bombardirovochnyy Aviatsionyy Polk—bomber aviation regiment) operating under the OSNAZ (Osoboye Naznachenie—Special purpose-unit or task force). German pilots submitted three claims.[19]

On 9 August, Huppertz was shot down in his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8938) near Schatalowka.[20] He was shot down by the air gunner Serzhant Listratow from the 57 BAP.[21] That day, he had claimed two aerial victories when he shot down a Polikarpov I-16 fighter and a SB-3 bomber.[22] Huppertz was then transferred to 9. Staffel of JG 51 where he claimed his last aerial victory on the Eastern Front on 25 August over an I-16 fighter, taking his total to 34 aerial victories.[23] At the time, 9. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Schnell.[24] Huppertz was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 30 August 1941.[25]

In September 1941, Huppertz was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1. Staffel of the Ergänzungsgruppe of JG 51, a supplementary training group. At the time, the unit was based in Zerbst before moving to Düsseldorf and to Vannes-Meucon Airfield in mid October.[26] In January 1942, the Staffel became part of the newly formed IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) where it thus became 12. Staffel of JG 1.[27] IV. Gruppe first major task was Operation Donnerkeil, an air superiority operation to support the Kriegsmarine's (German Navy) Operation Cerberus. The objective of this assignment was to give the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fighter protection in the breakout from Brest to Germany. During this operation, Huppertz claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down on 12 February. End-February to early March 1942, IV. Gruppe began relocating north to Trondheim. On 21 March, IV./JG 1 was renamed to III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) and placed under the command of Hauptmann Günther Scholz. In consequence, Huppertz became the Staffelkapitän of 9. Staffel of JG 5.[28]

On 2 April 1942, Huppertz attacked the de Havilland Mosquito W4056 aerial reconnaissance aircraft from the RAF No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (No. 1 PRU) on a mission to Trondheim. The crew made a forced landing at the German Ørland Airfield and was taken prisoner of war.[29][30] On 10 April, Huppertz shot down the Spitfire fighter AB307 from the No. 1 PRU. Its pilot, Flighing Officer Peter Geoffrey Charles Gimson was on an aerial reconnaissance mission searching for the German battleship Tirpitz. Although Gimsaon bailed out, his parachute failed to deploy and he fell to his death.[31][32] On 1 May, 9. Staffel was renamed and became the 10. Staffel which was subordinated to IV. Gruppe of JG 5.[33][34] On 10 May, Huppertz shot down Spitfire AB127 from No. 1 PRU. Flying Officer Ian Malcolm was also searching for Tirpitz when he was shot down and killed by Huppertz.[35]

Huppertz left his 10. Staffel on 15 September to receive conversion training to the Focke Wulf Fw 190. He received his training at the Værløse Air Base near Copenhagen. That day, he was injured when his Fw 190 A-2 (Werknummer 122208) suffered engine failure resulting in a forced landing near Mogensbæk. He was hospitalized at Frederikshavn and released on 1 October.[36][37]

JG 2 insignia

On 9 November 1942, Huppertz was transferred and appointed Staffelkapitän of 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing). He replaced Oberleutnant Elmar Resch who was injured in a flight accident the day before. At the time, I. Gruppe of JG 2 under command of Hauptmann Erich Hohagen, the Gruppe to which his Staffel was subordinated, was based in Triquerville on the English Channel.[38] Huppertz was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 April 1943.[39]

On 20 April 1943, Huppertz was transferred to III. Gruppe of JG 2 which was led by Hauptmann Egon Mayer. There, Huppertz was tasked with the formation of a new 10. Staffel.[40] The former 10. Staffel was a fighter-bomber unit and had been detached from JG 2 on 6 April. Huppertz reformed 10. Staffel was initially based at Beaumont-le-Roger and equipped with Fw 190 A-5.[41] In late June, the Staffel was declared operational readiness and moved to Vannes Airfield.[42] There, Huppertz claimed a Lockheed P-38 Lightning F-5 aerial reconnaissance aircraft shot down on 29 June.[43]

A Fw 190 fighter similar to those flown by Huppertz.

When Mayer was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 2 on 25 June, Huppertz was again transferred. He took command of 12. Staffel from Oberleutnant Bruno Stolle on 1 July who replaced Mayer as commander of Gruppe.[44] Three days later on 4 July, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) attacked the U-boat pens at La Pallice, Nantes and Le Mans. Defending against this attack, Huppertz shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. The next day, flying off of Brest, he claimed a RAF Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber shot down.[43] On 3 August, RAF fighter-bombers attacked the Luftwaffe Brest-Guipavas Airfield. Defending against this attack, Huppertz shot down a Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber north of Brest. On 27 August, Huppertz claimed a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber shot down.[45] On 30 August, Huppertz shot down a RAF North American P-51 Mustang fighter on a "Rhubarb" mission. The next day, he claimed a Spitfire fighter.[46]

The Gruppe engaged in aerial combat with Martin B-26 Marauder bombers and their fighter escort heading for Rouen on 11 September. In this encounter, Huppertz claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down. Four days later, USAAF bombers headed for various industrial targets near Paris. That day, Huppertz shot down a B-17 bomber north of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. On 23 September, the USAAF VIII Bomber Command attacked Nantes, Vannes and Lorient. For the loss of four Fw 190 fighters, the Gruppe was credited with the destruction of two B-17 bombers, both of which attributed to Huppertz.[47] The next day, Huppertz claimed a Spitfire destroyed.[48]

On 14 October 1943, during the second Schweinfurt raid, Huppertz shot down a B-17 bomber southeast of Verdun.[49] III. Gruppe flew in Defense of the Reich on 1 December when the VIII Bomber Command attacked Solingen that day. The Gruppe intercepted the bombers over Belgium where for the loss of two Fw 190 fighters, one B-17 was shot down by Huppertz.[50] Huppertz received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 26 December.[39] Four days later, III. Gruppe intercepted VIII Bomber Command bombers on their bombing mission to Ludwigshafen. During this engagement, Huppertz claimed a Consolidated B-24 Liberator and a B-17 bomber shot down. The next day, the USAAF attacked various Luftwaffe airfields along the French Atlantic coast. That day, Huppertz was credited with a B-17 bomber shot down.[50]

On 20 February 1944, the first day of Big Week, Hupertz claimed the destruction of a B-17 bomber of the 91st Bombardment Group near Mons.[51] Two days later, he shot down a B-24 bomber but was himself shot down in his Fw 190 A-7 (Werknummer 340275) and injured.[25] A B-17 bomber shot down near Ulm on 18 March was his last four-engined heavy bomber claimed.[52] In February 1944, Huppertz was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 2, succeeding Stolle who was transferred.[53][Note 2] Command of 11. Staffel was handed to Oberleutnant Jakob Schmitt.[53] On 25 May, III. Gruppe moved to Fontenay-le-Comte.[55]

His grave at the La Cambe German war cemetery.

According to Bowman, Huppertz shot down five P-51 fighters on 6 June, making him an "ace-in-a-day" on D-Day.[56] In contrast, authors Mathews and Foreman list him with five claims over three Typhoon, a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and a P-51 fighter that day.[57] Author Page states that 29 fighters from JG 2 attacked more than 24 P-47 fighters from USAAF 365th Fighter Group and Typhoon fighters from the RAF No. 183 Squadron. In this combat, German pilots claimed six aerial victories, including two Typhoon fighters by Huppertz, for the loss of one German aircraft. Allied records indicate that two P-47 and three Typhoon fighters were lost. On another mission, Huppertz encountered eight Typhoon fighters from RAF No. 164 Squadron, claiming his third Typhoon of the day shot down. That evening, he claimed two further aerial victories, a P-51 and a P-47 fighter shot down.[58][59]

Two days later, during Battle for Caen, Huppertz was shot down and killed in action in his Fw 190 A-8 (Werknummer 730440—factory number) by P-47 fighters near Cintheaux, in the combat area of Caen.[25][60] He was replaced by Hauptmann Josef Wurmheller as commander of III. Gruppe.[61] He was posthumously promoted to Major (major) and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 24 June, the 512th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored.[39]

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Huppertz was credited with 68 aerial victories.[62] Spick also lists him with 68 aerial victories claimed in approximately 380 combat missions.[63] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 73 aerial victory claims, all of which confirmed. This number includes 28 on the Eastern Front and 45 on the Western Front, including 17 four-engined bombers.[64]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 14 West 3867". 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.[65]

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (30 May 1940)[82]
  • 1st Class (9 October 1940)[82]
• German Cross in Gold on 26 December 1943 as Hauptmann in the 8./Jagdgeschwader 2[83]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 30 August 1941 as Leutnant and pilot in 12./Jagdgeschwader 51[84][85]
  • 512th Oak Leaves on 24 June 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of III./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[86][85]