Hartmann Grasser

Hartmann Grasser (23 August 1914 – 2 June 1986) was a World War II German fighter ace. He was credited with shooting down 103 Allied aircraft while flying 700 missions on the Western Front (8 victories), Eastern Front (83 victories), and in North Africa (12 victories.) He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Grasser was born on 23 August 1914 in Graz, Steiermark, Austria. After he received his Abitur he started studying medicine, however, due to political reasons, he was forced to leave Austria. Austrian National Socialism had been suppressed under the rule of Engelbert Dollfuss in 1934. He was trained at the Naval School in Neustadt and at the flying sports school at Rossitten, followed by six months at the Johannisthal flying school. Grasser then joined the Luftwaffe with the rank of Fahnenjunker (cadet) on 1 April 1936.

Beginning of the war

At the beginning of the war, Grasser was serving with Jagdgruppe (JG) 152 and was assigned to the 3./JG 152. After a short service in Poland, the group was relocated to the west in mid-September 1939. He participated in the Battle of France and shot down a French observation balloon on 16 September 1939. Grasser shot down a French Curtiss H75 fighter near Hornbach on 24 September, which marked his first victory over an aircraft.

Battle of Britain

In January 1940, JG 152 was redesignated I./ZG 52 and equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110 and in June 1940, I./ZG 52 was renamed II./ZG 2. Grasser was assigned to the 6./ZG 2 during the Battle of Britain and shot down two aircraft, raising his total kills to six. In October 1940, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 51 as adjutant to Werner Mölders. On 1 December 1940, Grasser shot down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Hurricane near Kent.

Eastern Front

Oberleutnant Grasser participated in Operation Barbarossa and shot down a Soviet Tupolev SB on the first day of the invasion of the Soviet Union. He shot down two enemy aircraft on 29 June 1941 which were respectively his ninth and tenth victories. Grasser passed the 20 kill mark on 29 July, a day on which he shot down a Soviet Ilyushin DB-3. On 1 August, he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 51, and achieved his 30th victory on 7 September after downing a Soviet I-61 near Karlewez. Grasser was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 51 on 4 September and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 29 victories. He achieved his 40th victory on 14 December after shooting down a Soviet Petlyakov Pe-2. On 24 January 1942, after achieving his 45th victory, Grasser was shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109, sustaining a severe eye injury. However, he was able to bail out, landing behind Soviet lines, but eventually reached German forces.

Grasser spent several months in hospital but returned to flying duty after recovering from his eye injury. He achieved his 50th victory on 23 June 1942 after shooting down a Soviet Polikarpov I-153. On 5 July, Grasser destroyed six Soviet aircraft, including three Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. He achieved his 70th and 80th victories on 13 August and 29 August respectively. When he was transferred from the Eastern Front, he had racked up a total of 91 kills.

North Africa and Germany

From left to right: Hartmann Grasser, Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shaking hands with Adolf Hitler, Günther Rall and Walter Nowotny at the Führerhauptquartier in Rastenburg on 22 September 1943

In November 1942, Grasser was assigned to command II./JG 51 in North Africa. In Tunisia, he added 12 more victories, increasing his total to 103. On 14 December 1942, Grasser was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 31st Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. Grasser was awarded the Eichenlaub on 31 August. On 28 April 1944, he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 1 based in Germany replacing Hauptmann Friedrich Eberle who had been wounded in combat with the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). He stayed with this unit for a short time and then passed the command of III./JG 1 to Hauptmann Erich Woitke. In December 1944, Grasser was assigned to JG 110 and given command of the II. Gruppe.

At the end of World War II, Grasser, who was in US-American captivity, was criminally handed over to the Soviet Union and was imprisoned until 1949. Grasser's views on military service radically changed after his return from Soviet prison, and he swore to never again wear a military uniform. He traveled to India in 1949 to train civil pilots in Allahabad and New Delhi. In 1950 he became an adviser to the Syrian Air Force. After his return from Syria, he began the manufacturing of industrial pressed parts made of steel. Grasser died on 2 June 1986 in Cologne and was buried in his hometown of Graz.

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (17 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (7 July 1940)
• German Cross in Gold on 19 September 1942 as Hauptmann in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 4 September 1941 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51
  • 288th Oak Leaves on 31 August 1943 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"

• ^ Thomas 1997, p. 216.
• Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 146.
• Fellgiebel 2000, p. 201.
• ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 345.
• Fellgiebel 2000, p. 72.