Josef Priller

In July 1940, the Luftwaffe began a series of air operations dubbed Kanalkampf (Channel Battle) over the English Channel against the RAF, which marked the beginning of the Battle of Britain. On 14 July, Priller claimed a Hurricane shot down southeast of Dover.[18] Pilot Officer M. R. Mudie, piloting Hurricane L1584, No. 615 Squadron was killed in combat with a JG 51 Bf 109.[19] On 20 July, Priller claimed another Hurricane in the afternoon at 19:20 CET.[18] No. 32 Squadron lost two Hurricanes in combat with JG 51 at this time—one pilot was killed, Squadron Leader J Worrall survived. Pilot Officer G Keighley, 610 Squadron was shot down by JG 51 at the same time.[20] Off Dover on 29 July, Priller claimed a Spitfire.[18] Two Spitfires from No. 41 Squadron force-landed with battle damage and one pilot, Flying Officer D. R. Gamblen. No. 56 Squadron lost Flight Sergeant C. J. Cooney killed.[21]

From 13 August—Adlertag—the Luftwaffe targeted airfields. On 14 August Priller claimed another Spitfire at 13:45.[22] Fighter Command lost seven fighters.[21] No Spitfires were lost at this time and place, but at 12:45 GMT two No. 615 Squadron Hurricane pilots were killed in combat off Dover.[23] Pilot Officer R. Montgomery and Flying Officer P. Collard died aged 26 and 24.[23] The following day, 15 August, developed into a large series of battles over southern and northern England. To the Germans it became known as "Black Thursday" due to the scale of the losses.[24] 130 Bf 109s from JG 51, JG 52 and JG 54 escorted 88 Dornier Do 17 bombers from KG 3 to targets in the south. As the formation approached Deal, 60 Bf 109s from JG 26 carried out a fighter sweep either side of Dover. Seven RAF squadrons intercepted but could not penetrate the fighter screen. No. 64, No. 111 and No. 151 Squadron are known to have engaged at approximately 15:30 GMT. 64 lost two Spitfires and one pilot, 111 lost one Hurricane and another damaged with one pilot killed, and No. 151 Squadron suffered damage to one Hurricane.[25] Priller claimed a Hurricane.[22] The following afternoon, Priller claimed a Hurricane over Canterbury.[22] Elements of JG 51 engaged No. 111 Squadron and two 4./JG 51 pilots were posted missing. 111 Squadron pilot Sergeant R. Carnall was burned when shot down while another pilot was killed in a head-on collision with a Do 17.[26] On 24 August Priller continued claiming with two further fighters destroyed.[22] JG 51 lost four pilots in combat with 32 and No. 56 Squadron. Five No. 32 Squadron Hurricanes were shot down with one pilot wounded while No. 65 Squadron suffered no losses.[27] Updated sources show a single Spitfire from No. 65 Squadron was damaged but was repaired.[28] On 26 August Priller made a claim west of Boulogne, France at 18:57 local time.[22] Sergeant P. T. Wareing, No. 616 Squadron, was reported missing at approximately 18:45, shot down over the French coast, reportedly near Calais. Wareing was captured.[29]

Priller filed no claims in September 1940 as the air battles reached a climax. On 7 October Priller claimed a victory in the morning and afternoon. Three JG 51 fighters were destroyed in combat with RAF fighters. One of these losses was inflicted by No. 501 Squadron. The British unit lost one pilot killed; Flying Officer N J M Barry. Another Spitfire was damaged in a collision with a Bf 109. During the day Fighter Command reported 14 fighters destroyed and three damaged.[30] On 15 October 1940, Priller claimed two fighters in the early afternoon.[22] No. 92 Squadron accounted for one of the JG 51's casualties, and lost one Spitfire in the engagement [two were lost in an early morning battle]. Pilot Officer J W Lund was rescued by naval craft. Fighter Command reported 15 fighters destroyed in combat with Bf 109s and two damaged.[31] A final 20th claim made by Priller on 17 October was his last of the Battle of Britain.[22] Pilot Officer H W Reilly, No. 66 Squadron, was killed in combat with JG 51 over Kent.[32] On 19 October 1940, Priller was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).[33] He was the fourth pilot of JG 51 to receive this distinction.[34]

Emblem of JG 26 "Schlageter"

In November 1940, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing), Adolf Galland, used his influence with the Ministry of Aviation (RLM—Reichsluftfahrtministerium) in Berlin and had Priller transferred to JG 26. JG 26 was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a martyr cultivated by the Nazi Party. Priller arrived with JG 26 on 19 November, taking command of 1. Staffel, a squadron of I. Gruppe, as Staffelkapitän.[35] On 16 June 1941, the RAF flew "Circus" No. 13, targeting Boulogne with six Blenheim bombers, escorted by six squadrons of fighter escort from No. 11 Group. The RAF attack was countered by I. Gruppe and JG 26's Stabsschwarm. During this engagement, Priller claimed a Spitfire and a Blenheim from No. 59 Squadron shot down.[36]

Between 16 June and 11 July 1941, Priller claimed 19 RAF aircraft, including 17 Spitfires.[37] Priller's first claims of the year were made on 16 June.[18] Fighter Command reported six losses, although British sources credit the loss of four to JG 26.[38] Squadron Leader John Mungo-Park, commanding No. 74 Squadron, force-landed after combat. Pilot Officer D H Gage of No. 91 Squadron was killed over the Channel; both pilots were lost in action with an unstated unit. No. 1, No. 54 and No. 258 Squadrons reported one loss each. Sergeant A Nasswetter, a Czech pilot of the latter squadron, died of his wounds.[38]

On 7 July Priller claimed two Spitfires.[18] Fighter Command reported three aircraft destroyed, and their pilots wounded.[39] On 14 July, RAF "Circus" No. 48 targeted the Hazebrouck motor yards on. The attack force of Blenheim bombers was escorted by Spitfire fighters. Priller attacked the fighters of No. 72 Squadron south of Dunkirk and shot down one of the Spitfires from dead ahead, taking his total to 40 aerial victories.[37] Priller's adversary was Sergeant W M Lamberton in R7219, who was captured, wounded.[40] For this achievement, Priller was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 20 July 1941. By this date, he had accumulated 41 aerial victories and was the 28th member of the German armed forces to be so honored.[41] His 41st aerial victory had been claimed over another No. 72 Squadron Spitfire on 19 July 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) off Dover.[42] The presentation of the Oak Leaves was made by Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in Rastenburg. Two other Luftwaffe officers were presented with awards that day by Hitler, Major Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn and Major Günther Lützow were also awarded the Oak Leaves.[43]

On 22 November 1941, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring informed Galland that he would succeed Oberst Werner Mölders as General der Jagdflieger (General of the Fighter Arm), a staff position with the RLM in Berlin.[44] In consequence of this decision, on 6 December, Major Gerhard Schöpfel, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26, and Priller was given command of III. Gruppe, and Oberleutnant Josef Haiböck took over 1. Staffel.[45] On 11 December, Priller was one of the first pilots to receive a then new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-2 radial engine powered fighter aircraft, testing it on nineteen flights before year's end.[45]

Priller engaged in combat for the first time while flying the Fw 190 on 3 January 1942. On a test flight, he claimed a Hurricane shot down 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Calais.[46] On 1 May, Fighter Command ordered one "Circus" and four "Rodeos" to France. III. Gruppe was scrambled and attacked elements of the Kenley Wing near Calais. During this attack, III. Gruppe claimed four aerial victories, one of which by Priller who shot down a Spitfire 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Calais.[47]

On 9 October, Priller for the first time encountered heavy bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Misjudging the size of the bombers, he underestimated their altitude and had to make three approaches before coming into an attack position. Attacking from the rear, Priller shot down a Consolidated B-24 Liberator from the 93d Bombardment Group.[48] On 20 December, Priller claimed his 81st aerial victory when he shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber from the 91st Bombardment Group over the Baie de la Seine.[49] That day, the USAAF VIII Bomber Command, later renamed to Eighth Air Force, had targeted Lille with 101 B-17s and B-24s.[50]

Priller was promoted to Major (major) on 1 January 1943.[15] On 8 January 1943, at a Luftwaffe conference in Berlin, General der Jagdflieger (General of the Fighter Arm) Galland informed Geschwaderkommodore Schöpfel that he was to be transferred to a staff position with Jagdfliegerführer Bretagne and that Priller would be replacing Schöpfel as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26. Priller was also told that JG 26 was scheduled to be deployed on the Eastern Front.[51] On 10 January, Priller took over command of JG 26. His first task was to work out the plans for the transfer to the Eastern Front. The original idea was to transfer the various Gruppen of JG 26 in exchange for the Gruppen of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which were planned to move west.[52] By March 1943, the first Gruppe to arrive on the Western Front had been III. Gruppe of JG 54. Since the combat conditions on the Western Front differed from those on the Eastern Front, a smooth transition of units proved to be more difficult than expected. Priller's reports to Galland were pessimistic of the idea and in consequence, on 27 March, Galland postponed the decision to exchange units, a plan that was later cancelled.[53]

"Lady Liberty", a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, was shot down over the Netherlands by Priller on 19 August 1943.

On 19 August, VIII Bomber Command sent a number of B-17 bombers in an attack on Luftwaffe airfields at Woensdrecht, Gilze-Rijen and Souburg. The attack force was escorted by ten squadrons of Spitfires during the approach and two groups of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters over the target areas, and two further groups of P-47s during the return. Priller led his Stabsschwarm and 8. Staffel in this engagement. Avoiding combat with the 56th Fighter Group, he led his flight in a frontal attack on the B-17 bombers which resulted in the destruction of two B-17s from the 305th Bombardment Group.[54]

On 20 October, Priller attacked a 96th Bombardment Group B-17 bomber during its mission to Düren and shot it out of formation. This Herausschuss (separation shot)—the damaged heavy bomber was forced to separate from its combat box—was counted as an aerial victory by the Luftwaffe.[55] In late 1943, in parallel to his obligations as Geschwaderkommodore, Priller served as interims Jagdfliegerführer 4, the commander of the fighter forces of Luftflotte 3.[56] Priller was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 1 January 1944.[57]

On 6 June 1944 (D-Day), Priller, accompanied by his wingman made a single strafing pass attack on Sword Beach in their Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8s. This act was first brought to the world's attention by the book, then the film, The Longest Day. Contrary to popular belief, Priller and his wingman (Feldwebel Heinz Wodarczyk) were not the only Luftwaffe forces to attack the beachhead that day. Both Luftwaffe Hauptmann (Captain) Helmut Eberspächer, leading a ground-attack four-plane element of Fw 190s of Schnellkampfgeschwader 10, which downed a quartet of RAF Avro Lancasters at 05:00 over the invasion area, and the Luftwaffe bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 54 made several attacks on the British beachheads on D-Day.[58]

The Eighth Air Force attacked various tactical targets in France on 15 June. To counter this attack, Jagdfliegerführer 5 dispatched the German fighters at dawn. Priller and his wingman, Unteroffizier Heinz Wodarczyk, joined II. Gruppe, heading for the area west of Caen and encountered the USAAF heavy bombers just as they were crossing the French coast. Avoiding the escort fighters, Priller attacked the first combat box of about twenty B-24 bombers from the front. Priller shot down a B-24 from the 492nd Bomb Group flying in the left outboard position at 07:10 west of Dreux and southwest of Chartres. This aerial victory was Priller's 100th claim.[59] He was the 77th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.[60] Priller was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on 2 July 1944. He was the 93rd member of the German armed forces to be so honored.[41]

On 1 January 1945, he led JG 26 in the ill-fated mass attack on Allied airfields, in Operation Bodenplatte, (an operation that saw Wodarczyk killed). That day, Priller was promoted to Oberst (colonel).[57] On 28 January 1945, Priller left JG 26 and was replaced as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26 by Major Franz Götz. Priller was appointed as Inspector of Day Fighters (West), a staff position with the Inspector of Fighters.[61]

Priller flew 307 combat missions to claim 101 victories. All his victories were recorded over the Western Front, and consisted of 11 USAAF heavy bombers, 68 Spitfires (the highest Luftwaffe ace's tally for this type), 11 Hurricanes, five medium bombers and five USAAF fighters. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 100 aerial victory claims, plus three further unconfirmed claims. All of his victories were claimed on the Western Front and includes ten four-engined bombers.[68]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 05 Ost ML-7". 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.[69]

• Wound Badge in Black[91]
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Fighter Pilots in Gold with Pennant "300"[91]
• Combined Pilots-Observation Badge[91]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (30 May 1940)[92]
  • 1st Class (10 July 1940)[92]
• German Cross in Gold on 9 December 1941 as Oberleutnant in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 51[93]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 19 October 1940 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 6./Jagdgeschwader 51[94][95]
  • 28th Oak leaves on 20 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 1./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"[94][96]
  • 73rd Swords on 2 July 1944 as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"[94][97]