Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn

Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn
Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn
Born	20 October 1910; Wodarg, Province of Pomerania
Died	24 June 1953 (aged 42); Düsseldorf
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1931–45
Rank	Oberst (Colonel)
Unit	JG 134, JG 53
Commands held	JG 53
Battles/wars	See battles World War II Poland; Battle of France; Battle of Britain; Operation Barbarossa; Mediterranean Theatre;
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn (20 October 1910 – 24 June 1953) was a German military aviator and wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 68 enemy aircraft shot down in more than 500 combat missions. He claimed 34 aerial victories over the Eastern Front and 34 aerial victories over the Western Front, including one four-engine bomber. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, which was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Maltzahn.

Early life and career[]

Maltzahn was born on 20 October 1910 in Wodarg, present-day a borough of Werder in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at the time a Province of Pomerania as part of the German Empire. On 1 April 1931, he was accepted for military in the Reichswehr. However, Maltzahn did not join the cavalry regiment in Pasewalk, for one year, he trained as a pilot disguised as a civilian.^[1] In October 1932, Maltzahn attended the Military School Dresden. Among his classmates were Werner Mölders, Hubertus von Bonin, Joachim Pötter, Hans-Henning Freiherr von Beust, Arved Crüger, Gerhard Kollewe and Wolfgang Schellmann.^[2]

On 1 March 1934, Maltzahn was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) and began his service with the 4. and 2. Schwadron of 6. (Preußisch) Reiter-Regiment (4th and 2nd squadron of the 6th Prussian Cavalry Regiment) based in Pasewalk. On 1 October, he was transferred to the cavalry regiment in Schwedt, which was later renamed Kavallerie-Regiment 6 and was subordinated to the 1st Cavalry Division. Maltzahn transferred to the newly formed Luftwaffe on 1 April 1935. There, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 October and until 1 April 1936 received further flight training at the flight schools at Kitzingen and Würzburg. On 15 March 1937, Maltzahn was posted to the II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 334,^{[Note 1]} this unit was later designated II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 133 and finally became known as II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing).^[1]

World War II[]

von Maltzahn in Italy, July 1943

World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. During the Battle of Britain on 8 August 1940, Maltzahn claimed his third aerial victory over a Supermarine Spitfire. On 8 October, he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 53.^[3] Maltzahn reached 68 victories before leaving JG 53 in October 1943, assuming various staff positions.

On 11 November, Reichsmarschall (Marshal of the Realm) Hermann Göring, in his role as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, organized a meeting of high-ranking Luftwaffe officers, including Maltzahn. The meeting, also referred to as the "Areopag" was held at the Luftkriegsakademie (air war academy) at Berlin-Gatow. This Luftwaffe version of the Greek Areopagus—a court of justice—aimed at finding solutions to the deteriorating air was situation over Germany.^[4]

In February 1945 he was detached to 9 Fliegerdivision, until the end of the war. Maltzahn flew 497 missions and claimed 68 victories, 67 of them in the west.

Later life[]

After the war Maltzahn worked in agriculture and later in the "Amt Blank", a forerunner of the Ministry of Defence, on the reconstruction of the German Air Force. He was a candidate for the position of Inspector of the Air Force. He died of Hodgkin's lymphoma on 24 June 1953 in Düsseldorf at the age of 42. The street "Günther-von-Maltzahn-Straße" in Fürstenfeldbruck was named after him.^[5]

Summary of career[]

Aerial victory claims[]

Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 67 confirmed aerial victory claims, plus three further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 33 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 34 on the Western Front, including one four-engined bomber.^[6]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Maltzahn did not receive credit. This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Matthews and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[7] "Phoney War" — 1 September 1939 – 9 May 1940
1	30 September 1939	11:34	Potez 63	Saarbrücken^[8]	2	31 March 1940	15:53?^{[Note 2]}	M.S.406	southwest of Saargemünd^[8]
– Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[7] Action at the Channel and over England — 26 June – September 1940
3	8 August 1940	17:05	Spitfire	15 km (9.3 mi) south of Swanage^[9]	7	6 September 1940	10:10	Hurricane^[9]
4	16 August 1940	18:10	Spitfire^[9]		8	24 September 1940	09:53	Spitfire	southeast of London^[10]
5	1 September 1940	12:10	Spitfire^[9]		9	27 September 1940	10:19	Spitfire^[10]
6	5 September 1940	16:05	Spitfire^[9]		10	27 September 1940	16:25	Spitfire^[10]
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[7] Action at the Channel and over England — October – 8 June 1941
11	12 October 1940	17:40	Hurricane^[11]		14	16 April 1941	18:40	Spitfire	Dungeness^[11]
12	1 December 1940	15:15?^{[Note 3]}	Hurricane^[11]		15	19 April 1941	19:09	Spitfire	Calais/Dover^[11] English Channel
13	31 March 1941	11:35	Spitfire	northwest of Calais^[11]	—	9 May 1941	—	Spitfire	north of Calais^[11]
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[12] Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941
16	22 June 1941	07:17	I-153	vicinity of Kobryn^[13]	33	14 July 1941	11:15	I-16^[14]
17?^{[Note 4]}	22 June 1941	16:30	SB-2	northwest of Brest-Litowsk^[13]	34	15 July 1941	06:50	I-15^[14]
18	25 June 1941	12:55	DB-3^[13]		35	15 July 1941	06:54	SB-3^[14]
19	25 June 1941	12:57	SB-3^[13]		36	16 July 1941	07:50	SB-3^[14]
20	25 June 1941	12:59	SB-3^[13]		37	18 July 1941	12:05	SB-3^[14]
21	25 June 1941	13:01	SB-3^[13]		38	18 July 1941	12:08	SB-3^[14]
22	27 June 1941	13:45	Pe-2^[13]		39	20 July 1941	17:49	I-15^[14]
23	29 June 1941	19:35	SB-3	Bobruysk^[13]	40	23 July 1941	06:50	SB-3	north of Uman^[14]
—	6 July 1941	—	DB-3^[13]		41	23 July 1941	06:59	SB-3	north of Uman^[14]
24	7 July 1941	06:14	SB-3	east of Polonnoje^[13]	42	24 July 1941	18:12	Pe-2^[14]
25	8 July 1941	18:48	V-11 (Il-2)^[14]		43	25 July 1941	18:19?^{[Note 5]}	Pe-2^[16]	east of Bila Tserkva
26	9 July 1941	16:11	DB-3^[14]		44	26 July 1941	11:00	V-11 (Il-2)^[16]
27	9 July 1941	16:14	DB-3^[14]		45	29 July 1941	17:00	SB-3^[16]
28	10 July 1941	09:35	I-16^[14]		46	30 July 1941	18:30?^{[Note 6]}	SB-3^[16]
29	10 July 1941	09:37	I-16^[14]		47	30 July 1941	18:53	Pe-2^[16]
30	10 July 1941	13:55	SB-3^[14]		48	31 July 1941	06:25	Pe-2^[16]
31	12 July 1941	18:07	DB-3^[14]		49	31 July 1941	06:35	Pe-2^[16]
32	12 July 1941	18:08	DB-3^[14]
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[15] Mediterranean Theater — 15 December 1941 – 31 December 1942
50	19 December 1941	16:55	Hurricane^[17]	Malta	59	15 February 1942	18:00	Beaufort^[17]
51	21 December 1941	12:00	Hurricane^[17]	Malta	60	1 April 1942	14:55	Spitfire	east of Ħal Far^[17]
52	26 December 1941	11:12	Hurricane^[17]	vicinity of Malta	61	1 April 1942	17:28	Spitfire	Malta^[17]
53	26 December 1941	16:55	Hurricane	southeast of Malta^[17]	62	14 April 1942	10:40	P-40^[17]
54	25 January 1942	10:35	Hurricane^[17]		63	25 April 1942	15:28	Spitfire^[17]	Malta
55	25 January 1942	10:40	Hurricane^[17]		64	14 June 1942	17:32	Hurricane^[18]	vicinity of Malta
56	4 February 1942	15:53	Hurricane	east of Malta^[17]	65	3 December 1942	11:38	P-38	Bizerte^[18]
57	11 February 1942	15:45	Beaufighter^[17]		66	14 December 1942	12:18	Spitfire	Jefna^[18]
58	15 February 1942	16:08	Beaufort^[17]		67	18 December 1942	12:10	B-17	northwest of Majaz al Bab^[18]
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[15] Mediterranean Theater — 1 January – 31 December 1943
68	1 April 1943	12:21	Curtiss P-40	5 km (3.1 mi) south of Sbeitla^[19]

Awards[]

Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (7 October 1939)^[20]
- 1st Class (10 May 1940)^[20]
German Cross in Gold on 23 December 1942 as Oberstleutnant in Jagdgeschwader 53^[21]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 30 December 1940 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 53^[22]^[23]
- 29th Oak Leaves on 24 July 1941 as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 53^[22]^[24]

Promotions[]

1 March 1934:	Leutnant (Second Lieutenant)^[1]
1 October 1935:	Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant)^[1]
16 August 1939:	Hauptmann (Captain)^[1]
24 October 1940:	Major (Major)^[1]
18 June 1942:	Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)^[25]
1 June 1943:	Oberst (Colonel)^[25]

References[]

Notes[]

^ For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organisation of the Luftwaffe during World War II.
^ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 15:55.^[7]
^ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 13:15.^[7]
^ According to Matthews and Foreman this claim is unconfirmed.^[7]
^ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 18:15.^[15]
^ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 18:50.^[15]

Citations[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Stockert 2012, p. 174.
^ Braatz 2009, pp. 53–54.
^ Goss 2017, p. 94.
^ von Below 2010, p. 220.
^ "Günther von Maltzahn-Straße". strassenkatalog.de (in German). Retrieved 20 January 2015.
^ Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 802–803.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 802.
^ ^a ^b Prien et al. 2001, p. 386.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Prien et al. 2002, p. 226.
^ ^a ^b ^c Prien et al. 2002, p. 228.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Prien et al. 2002, p. 184.
^ Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 982–983.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Prien et al. 2003, p. 93.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Prien et al. 2003, p. 94.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 803.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Prien et al. 2003, p. 95.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Prien et al. 2004, p. 41.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Prien et al. 2004, p. 42.
^ Prien et al. 2010, p. 393.
^ ^a ^b Thomas 1998, p. 55.
^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 293.
^ ^a ^b Scherzer 2007, p. 525.
^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 302.
^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 55.
^ ^a ^b Stockert 2012, p. 175.

Bibliography[]

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Military offices
Preceded by Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 53 Pik As October 1940 – October 1943	Succeeded by Major Friedrich-Karl Müller
Preceded by unknown	Commander of Jagdfliegerführer Oberitalien 5 October 1943 – December, 1944	Succeeded by Oberst Eduard Neumann