Hugo Frey

Hugo Frey (14 April 1915 – 6 March 1944) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. On 6 March 1944, Frey was killed over Sleen, the Netherlands after attacking a formation of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 4 May 1944. During his career he was credited with 32 aerial victories including 25 four-engine bombers, all on the Western Front.

Frey was born on 14 April 1915 in Heilbronn, at the time in the Kingdom of Württemberg within the German Empire. Following his flight training, Frey was posted to I. (Jäger) Gruppe (I.(J)—1st fighter group) of Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing), an operational training unit tasked with the evaluation of new types of aircraft and tactics. There, he was assigned to the 1. Staffel (1st squadron).

World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. On 3 September, 1. Staffel moved to Lottin, present-day Lotyń. The next day, Frey claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Polish PZL P.24 fighter aircraft.

On 26 October 1942, Frey was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing). He succeeded Hauptmann Werner Dolenga who was transferred. On 1 April 1943, 2. Staffel was renamed and became the 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing). On 1 May, Frey was transferred and appointed Staffelkapitän of the newly formed 7. Staffel of JG 11. In consequence, command of 5. Staffel was passed to Oberleutnant Heinz Knoke.

On 6 March 1944, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force sent 730 heavy bombers on a mission to bomb Berlin. Defending against this attack, Frey claimed four Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers shot down. During this aerial combat, Frey was shot down and killed in action in his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-7 near Sleen, 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Meppen. In April, command of 7. Staffel went to Hauptmann Horst-Günther von Fassong after Frey's immediate successor was also killed in action. Posthumously, Frey was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 4 May 1944. Frey is buried at the German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn (Block AX—Row 9—Grave 210) at Venray.

According to Weal, Frey, together with Major Hermann Staiger, was the most successful fighter pilot against the heavy bombers while flying the Bf 109. Forsyth lists him with 25 heavy bombers shot down. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 17 aerial victory claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims. This figure includes one aerial victory over Poland and 17 on the Western Front, including 15 four-engine heavy bombers.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 05 Ost S/HU-8". 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 km). 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.

• Aviator badge
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold on 25 November 1943 as Oberleutnant in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 11
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 May 1944 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 7./Jagdgeschwader 11