Alfred Franke


Alfred Franke was a German Luftwaffe ace and a posthumous recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. As a fighter pilot, he was credited with 60 aerial victories, four on the Western Front and 56 on the Eastern Front.

Early life and career

Frank was born on 20 September 1918 in Jena, then in Thuringia within the German Empire. He joined the military service of Luftwaffe and following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 53 where he was assigned to 2. Staffel in early 1940. At the time, the Staffel was commanded by Hauptmann Rolf Pingel and subordinated to I. Gruppe which was headed by Hauptmann Lothar von Janson and based at Darmstadt-Griesheim Airfield.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. On 10 May 1940, the first day of the Battle of France, I. Gruppe moved to Kirchberg. Flying from Kirchberg on 14 May, I. Gruppe flew missions in support of German forces fighting in the Battle of Sedan. That day, the Gruppe claimed 35 aerial victories, including the first two claims filed by Franke. On two separate missions, he claimed a Bloch MB.151 fighter and a Fairey Battle light bomber shot down south of Sedan.
On 6 June, I. Gruppe moved to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield. Following a maintenance overhaul of the aircraft, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield named Krzewicza located near Międzyrzec Podlaski, approximately west of Brest, from 12 to 14 June.

Operation Barbarossa and Malta

On 22 June, the Geschwader crossed into Soviet airspace in support of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front. I. Gruppe took off on its first mission at 3:40 am, escorting Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. On 1 July, Franke was shot down in aerial combat behind enemy lines, resulting in a forced landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2. Initially reported as missing in action, he later returned to his unit unhurt. On 16 July, he was shot down in his Bf 109 F-2 near Zhytomyr and was again reported as missing in action before returning unhurt.

Eastern Front and death

In early May 1942, I. Gruppe was transferred back to the Eastern Front. Prior to the relocation, the Gruppe received a full complement of 41 factory new Bf 109 F-4 aircraft at Schwäbisch Hall before heading for Prague Ruzyne Airfield on 28 May. The following day, I. Gruppe flew to Kursk. There, the Gruppe supported the German 4th Panzer Army in its advance towards Voronezh during Case Blue, the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942.
On 9 September 1942, Franke was shot down in aerial combat with Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery. His Bf 109 G-2 north of Stalingrad. His victor may have been Kapitan Pavel S. Vinogradov of the 694 IAP, 228 ShAD. Posthumously, Franke was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 October 1942 for 59 aerial victories claimed. He was also posthumously promoted to Leutnant.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Franke was credited with 60 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 58 aerial victory claims. This figure includes 54 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and four over the Western Allies.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 40773". The Luftwaffe grid map 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. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards