Herbert Rollwage (24 September 1916 – 4 January 1980) was a German Luftwaffemilitary aviator and fighter ace during World War II. Depending on source, he is credited between 71 and 102 aerial victories achieved in 664 combat missions. This figure includes 11 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and at least 61 victories over the Western Allies, including up to 44 four-engine heavy bombers.
Career
Rollwage was born on 24 September 1916 in Gielde, at the time in the Province of Hanover within the German Empire, present-day part of the Schladen-Werla municipality. He was the son of a shunter who joined the military service of the Luftwaffe as an Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer) candidate in 1936. Following flight training,[Note 1] Rollwage was posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) in 1941 holding the rank of Feldwebel (platoon sergeant).[2]
Operation Barbarossa
On 8 June 1941, the bulk of JG 53's air elements moved via Jever, in northern Germany, to Mannheim-Sandhofen. There the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul prior to moving east. The II. Gruppe was transferred to Neusiedel in East Prussia, present-day Malomožaiskojė in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia, between 12–14 June.[3] 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. That day, Rollwage claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Soviet Tupolev SB-2 bomber.[4] On 5 July 1941, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) followed by the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) on 16 September.[5]
On 5 October, Rollwage claimed his last aerial victory on the Eastern Front, his eleventh in total, when he shot down a Polikarpov I-16 fighter.[6] That day, his unit flew its final missions in the area of Shlisselburg. The Gruppe then relocated to the Western Front where it arrived at Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands on 12 October.[7] On 2 December 1941, II. Gruppe moved to the Mediterranean theater and where then based at Comiso airfield during the siege of Malta.[8]
Mediterranean theater
Rollwage was credited with his first aerial victory in the Mediterranean theater on 4 January 1942, claiming Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Hurricane fighter shot down.[6] On 14 April, he claimed his 13th and 14th aerial victories when he shot down two Bristol Beaufort bombers south of Qrendi.[9][10] Two Supermarine Spitfire fighters claimed on 10 May near Valletta took his total to 18 aerial victories.[11] Three days later, he claimed another Spitfire shot down near Luqa.[12] On 14 July, Rollwage participated in mission which escorted 15 Junkers Ju 88 bombers from Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54—54th Bomber Wing) to the RAF Luqa airfield. On this mission, he claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down.[13]
Messerschmitt Bf 109G's of JG 53 in southern Italy
On 8 August 1942, Rollwage flew his 300th combat mission and claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down.[14] His opponent may have been the Canadian fighter pilot George Beurling who managed to land his damaged aircraft.[15] For his achievements to date, Rollwage was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 10 August followed by the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) two days later.[2] Following the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch, II. Gruppe relocated to Tunis on 9 November.[16] On 30 December, a number of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters escorted twelve Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers on their bombing mission to Gabès. 5. Staffel intercepted the formation and Rollwage claimed one of the P-38 fighters shot down, his 35th aerial victory.[17] His opponent may have been Virgil Smith of the 14th Fighter Group, who was killed in the crash landing.[18]
On 8 July 1943, the USAAF attacked Ramacca with 24 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Elements of II. Gruppe intercepted the bombers. During this aerial battle, Rollwage claimed a B-17 bomber shot down approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southwest of Capo Scaramia. The next day, the USAAF attacked the Luftwaffe airfield at Trapani with a formation of Martin B-26 Marauder bombers escorted by Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters. The formation was intercepted at 10:53. In this encounter, Luftwaffe pilots claimed seven aerial victories including a P-40 shot down by Rollwage 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) northwest of Cape San Vito.[19] On 10 July during the Allied invasion of Sicily, Rollwage claimed two aerial victories, a P-38 fighter and a Ryan YO-51 Dragonflyobservation aircraft. The YO-51 was likely misidentified and could have been a Vought OS2U Kingfisher observation floatplane launched form USS Birmingham and piloted by Lieutenant McGuiness.[20] Following this encounter, he was shot down and wounded in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 18242—factory number) near San Pietro.[21]
Defense of the Reich
In mid-October 1943, II. Gruppe of JG 53 was withdrawn Italy and ordered to relocate to Wien-Seyring near Vienna for combat in defense of the Reich. In Wien-Seyring, the Gruppe received a full complement of factory new Bf 109 G-6 aircraft. Here, Rollwage returned to his unit in November after a period of convalescence following his injuries sustained on 10 July.[22] On 7 January 1944, the USAAF targeted Vienna. The heavy bombers were escorted by P-38 fighters. II. Gruppe was scrambled at 10:41 and engaged the escorting P-38 fighters. In this 40 minute aerial battle, Luftwaffe pilots claimed 15 P-38s shot down, including two by Rollwage, taking his total to 49 aerial victories claimed.[23][24][25] On 25 February during Operation Argument, also known as Big Week, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attacked the ball bearing factories at Steyr. Defending against this attack, Rollwage shot down a B-17 bomber near Gmunden.[26]
On 5 April, Rollwage was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 53 aerial victories. He received the award from GeneralleutnantJoseph Schmid, commanding 1. Jagdkorps.[2] Rollwage was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 May 1944.[2] On 27 May, the USAAF 3rd Bombardment Division sent 102 B-17 bombers to Strasbourg and further 98 B-17 bombers to the marshalling yard at Karlsruhe. Defending against attack, Rollwage claimed a B-17 bomber and an escorting North American P-51 Mustang fighter shot down.[27] On 15 August, Rollwage was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel of JG 53. He succeeded Oberleutnant Karl Paashaus who was transferred.[28]
In December 1944, Rollwage was transferred to II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 106 (JG 106—106th Fighter Wing), a fighter pilot training unit, where he served as an instructor.[29] On 21 January 1945, Rollwagen, who was en-route to the Führerbunker in Berlin to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) by Adolf Hitler, visited II. Gruppe of JG 53 then based at Rutesheim. The Gruppenkommandeur (group commander), MajorJulius Meimberg, advised Rollwage to be at his best behavior when meeting with Hitler. Apparently, Rollwage had a problem with military discipline.[30] The Oak Leaves were awarded to him on 24 January, the 713th member of the German armed forces to be so honored.[31] Rollwage claimed his last documented aerial victory on 5 April. At the time both II. Gruppe of JG 106 and II. Gruppe of JG 53 were both based at at Rißtissen, located approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southwest of Ulm. That day, Rollwage shot down a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter.[32]
Later life
Following World War II, Rollwage served in the newly established German Air Force of West Germany with the rank of Hauptmann (captain) until his retirement in 1968. He died on 4 January 1980 in his hometown Gielde.[33]
Summary of career
Aerial victory claims
According to Spick, Rollwage was credited with 102 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions.[34] Toliver and Constable also list him with 102 aerial victories, 11 on the Eastern Front, 20 in the Mediterranean theater and 71 on the Western Front, including 44 heavy bombers.[35] Obermaier states that exact number of aerial victories remains unknown, likely to be in the range of 80 to 85, claimed in 664 combat missions.[36] Scutts lists him with 71 aerial victories, including 12 on the Eastern Front.[37] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 66 aerial victory claims, plus six further unconfirmed claims. This number includes ten claims on the Eastern Front and 56 over the Western Allies, including ten four-engined bombers.[38] Stockert speculates that the figure of 102 aerial victories stated by some authors is likely liked to the confusion between aerial victories claimed and the Luftwaffe point system associated to shooting down a heavy bomber.[31] In 1943, the Luftwaffe had introduced a point system which accounted for the difficulties in shooting down a heavy bomber. Although a single heavy bomber shot down or damaged still counted as one aerial victory, the pilot was however credited with three points. These accumulated points earned a fighter pilot awards, medals and promotions.[39]
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 15 Ost S/JA". 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.[40]
Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Rollwage did not receive credit.
This along with the * (asterisk) indicates an Herausschuss (separation shot)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from his combat box which was counted as an aerial victory.
This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews, and Foreman.
Claim
Date
Time
Type
Location
Claim
Date
Time
Type
Location
– 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[41] Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 4 October 1941
^Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations.[1]
^According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as an unspecified flying boat.[44]
^ abcdeAccording to Mathews and Foreman this claim is unconfirmed.[44]
^According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 17:38.[61]
^According to Scherzer on 5 April 1944 as pilot in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 53.[68]
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