Hans Philipp
Hans Philipp was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace 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 is credited with 206 enemy aircraft shot down in over 500 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 29 claims over the Western Front.
Born in Meissen, Philipp grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany as the only child of a single parent, Alma Philipp. He was raised under challenging financial circumstances, and volunteered for military service in the Wehrmacht in 1936. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 76 of the Luftwaffe and participated in the invasion of Poland and as a Staffelkapitän in the Battle of France. His unit was reformed as II./Jagdgeschwader 54 in June 1940. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 October 1940 during the Battle of Britain. He then fought in the aerial battles of the Balkans Campaign and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves after 62 aerial victories on 24 August 1941 and the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 12 March 1942, his score now at 86 aerial victories. He claimed his 100th victory on 31 March 1942, the fourth fighter pilot to achieve this mark, and his 150th aerial victory on 14 January 1943. Philipp claimed four aircraft shot down on 17 March 1943 taking his total to 203 aerial victories. He thus surpassed Hermann Graf as the leading German fighter pilot at the time, and six months after Graf, became the second pilot to claim more than 200 victories.
Philipp was promoted to Major and given command as the Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 1 on 1 April 1943, conducting Defense of the Reich operations against the United States Army Air Forces. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 October 1943 and was killed in action a week later on 8 October during an attack on Bremen. It is believed that he was shot down by the P-47 Thunderbolt pilot Robert S. Johnson. Philipp managed to bail out but his parachute failed to open.
Childhood and education
Johannes "Hans" Fritz Philipp was born on 17 March 1917 at 22:45 at Gustav-Graf-Straße 5 in Meissen, in the Kingdom of Saxony, part of the German Empire. His mother Alma Philipp was not married. His father was Leopold Gushurst whom his mother had met while serving at the hospital at Meissen-Zaschendorf. Gushurst had studied medicine at the universities in Erlangen and Freiburg and served as battalion doctor with the heavy artillery on the Western and Eastern Fronts of World War I. He attained his doctorate in the field of radiology in April 1920 and opened his medical practice in Plauen. In the 1920s, his social status as a doctor did not allow him to disclose his relationship with the unmarried mother of his child.Philipp's mother, who never married, was the eighth child of relatively poor parents. Her father made a living as a driver and as a laborer in the construction business. The financial situation was always tight, and taught everyone in the family discipline and to work hard to survive. To support the family, Alma worked as an accountant and clerk. Philipp's father paid a monthly alimony of until 1933. Initially he had to be reminded by his mother of his obligations. Philipp was baptized on 29 July 1917, taking the name Johannes Fritz, and was confirmed in 1931.
In 1924, Philipp attended the 4. Volksschule in Meissen. Philipp was a very good student. His mother understood that education was essential to Philipp's future. She worked very hard to raise the funds to pay for higher education in order to send Philipp to a Gymnasium. In 1927, she managed to have Philipp admitted to the Franziskaneum in Meissen, the Realgymnasium—a secondary school built on the mid-level Realschule to achieve the Abitur —in Meissen. Alma, desperate to secure her son's schooling, wrote to the city council of Meissen in 1932 asking if the school fees could be waived.
Philipp participated in various sporting events organized by the Christlicher Verein Junger Männer such as hiking, bicycling, skiing, paddling and rowing. He also was a member of the Hitlerjugend and received the HJ-Ehrenzeichen. Philipp learned to fly glider aircraft in the Hitler Youth and received his A and B glider license, leading the local HJ-Fliegerschar in Meissen. Adolf Hitler officially re-established the Luftwaffe in March 1935. Following this event, Philipp then changed his mind and decided he did not want to become a journalist. He passed his physical examination to become a pilot, observer, aircraft mechanic and or radio operator on 6 September 1935 in Dresden. The financial situation of the Philipp family was always a cause for concern. When Alma's mother was paralyzed and required nursing care, the financial situation became severe. Alma's monthly income was and the annual school fee of was a big burden. She wrote to the city council multiple times asking for the fees to be waived. By early 1935, the family was behind on their payments which had accumulated to a debt of by 31 March 1935. Philipp's graduation from school was at risk as he was threatened with expulsion on financial grounds. Philipp's decision to opt for military service in the Wehrmacht eased the financial tension. He was permitted to graduate, provided that his mother paid back the debt in instalments of per month.
Early career
Following his graduation from school, Philipp had to complete his compulsory six months in the Reichsarbeitsdienst. He began his RAD service on 2 January 1936 in Lager 5/150 in Riesa. He was released early and started his military training as a Fahnenjunker on 6 April 1936 at the 2nd Air Warfare School at Gatow, on the south-western outskirts of Berlin. Among his classmates were Werner Baumbach, who became a bomber pilot, and Helmut Lent, a nightfighter pilot. Philipp, as a member of the 4. Schülerkompanie, completed Lehrgang I by 4 August 1936, Lehrgang II by 31 May 1937, and the final Lehrgang III by 31 August 1937. He received the Pilot's Badge after completing these courses. During this training period he was promoted to Fahnenjunker-''Gefreiter on 1 October 1936, Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier on 1 December 1936, Fähnrich on 1 April 1937 and Oberfähnrich on 1 December 1937. Philipp was promoted to the officer rank of Leutnant on 24 February 1938, with the effective date was backdated to 1 January 1938. His commanding officer released him with the words, "I release you with great concern for your own career, but with even greater concern for the Air Force as a whole"—apparently Philipp had been aware that his promotion was at risk for his opposition to the monotony of the training system. Just prior to his promotion he had started looking for an alternative employment with the Maschinenfabrik Pekrun in Coswig, which his dance partner, Margarete Strunz, had helped to arrange.Philipp was transferred to the I. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 253 on 1 March 1938. This assignment did not suit Philipp, and on 1 May 1938 he managed to get himself transferred to the Jagdfliegerschule Werneuchen in Werneuchen, then under the command of Oberst Theodor Osterkamp. The Anschluß, the 1938 occupation and annexation of Austria into the German Reich, spawned the rapid expansion of the Luftwaffe. Philipp's fighter pilot career benefited from this expansion and he was transferred to the I./Jagdgeschwader 138 stationed in Wien-Schwechat on 1 July 1938. Here he underwent flight conversion training from the Heinkel He 51 biplane to the then modern Messerschmitt Bf 109. This posed challenges, and on 21 June and again 19 July 1939, he damaged his Bf 109 during takeoff and landing. In 1939, Philipp bought a DKW Meisterklasse automobile. With this car he went on a tour through Italy where he met his future fiancée Katharina Egger from South Tyrol. On 1 May 1939, his unit I./JG 138 was re-designated I./Jagdgeschwader'' 76.
World War II
The German invasion of Poland began on 1 September 1939, and marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. Philipp's unit was tasked with bomber escort and ground attack as well as combat air patrol missions. He was credited with his first aerial victory on 5 September 1939 over a PZL P.24 south of Radomsko. Philipp maneuvered himself into a favorable attack position and aimed carefully. Just as he was about to open fire, the enemy pilot bailed out without firing a single shot. Nevertheless, he was given credit for the destruction of the aircraft and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, which was presented to him on 10 October 1939. He lost his wingman during the Phoney War air skirmishes with the Armée de l'Air in late November 1939.Case Yellow, the invasion of France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, marked the beginning of the Battle of France. Philipp claimed four victories in the early phase of the campaign which earned him the Iron Cross 1st Class on 31 May 1940. The next day, 1 June, he was promoted to Oberleutnant. His unit was tasked with bomber escort missions against the British Expeditionary Force in the Battle of Dunkirk and was relocated to airbases in the vicinity of Paris on 3 June. Following the armistice on 22 June I./JG 76 was moved to Eindhoven and Schiphol where they were tasked with the aerial defense of the Netherlands. On 5 July 1940, I./JG 76 was renamed II./Jagdgeschwader 54, 1./JG 76 became 4./JG 54, and at the same time relocated at Campagne, south of Calais. On 25 August 1940, the Staffelkapitän of 4. Staffel of JG 54, Oberleutnant Dietrich Hrabak, was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 54. In consequence, Philipp was given command of 4./JG 54.