Heinz-Horst Hißbach

Heinz-Horst Hißbach^{[Note 1]} (30 January 1916 – 14 April 1945) was a Luftwaffe night fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Heinz-Horst Hißbach claimed 27 aerial victories, 22 of them at night.^{[Note 2]}

Heinz-Horst Hißbach
Born	30 January 1916 Dessau, German Empire
Died	14 April 1945(1945-04-14) (aged 29) Gelnhausen, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	?–1945
Rank	Hauptmann (captain)
Unit	KG 40, NJG 2
Commands	II./NJG 2
Battles / wars	World War II Defence of the Reich Operation Gisela
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Hißbach was born on 30 January 1916 in Dessau.^[1]

Night fighter career

A map of part of the Kammhuber Line. The 'belt' and night fighter 'boxes' are shown.

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign.^[2] By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.^[3]

On 1 November 1944, Hißbach succeeded Major Paul Semrau as Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2—2nd Night Fighter Wing).^[4]

In the night of 14/15 April 1945, Hißbach and his crew of Hubert Varzecha and Max Mayer were killed in action when they were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery. The three were strafing a US resupply column, destroying eight vehicles, in the area of Gelnhausen when their aircraft was hit and exploded.^[1] Posthumously, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) that day.^[5]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According Spick, Hißbach was credited with 34 nocturnal aerial victories, claimed in approximately 200 combat missions.^[6] Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 30 victory claims.^[7] Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, stating that Hißbach claimed more than 29 aerial victories, plus two further unconfirmed claims.^[5]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ DF-DG". 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.^[8]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the – (dash) indicates unwitnessed aerial victory claims for which Hißbach did not receive credit.   This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed in Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 but not in Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Serial No./Squadron No.
– I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 –[5]
1?[Note 3]	25/26 July 1942	—	Wellington	southwest of Crete[9]	Wellington HF944/No. 108 Squadron RAF[10]
– 14. Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 40 –[5]
1?[Note 4]	30 November 1942	14:05	Whitley[5]
– 5. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 –[5]
— ?[Note 5]	14 October 1943	—	B-17[5]
2	21 January 1944	22:52?[Note 6]	Lancaster[13]
3	21 January 1944	23:00	Lancaster[14]
4	29 January 1944	03:20	Lancaster[15]
5	29 January 1944	03:35	Lancaster[15]
6	21 February 1944	04:09	four-engined bomber	Stuttgart[16]
7	25 February 1944	21:51	four-engined bomber	vicinity of Schönbach[17]
8	15 March 1944	23:26	four-engined bomber	70 km (43 mi) south of Stuttgart[18]
9	24 March 1944	22:22	four-engined bomber	20–80 km (12–50 mi) from of Kassel[19]
10	24 March 1944	22:50	four-engined bomber	20–50 km (12–31 mi) from of Berlin[20]
11	31 March 1944	00:49?[Note 7]	four-engined bomber	vicinity of Rheine[21]
12?[Note 8]	31 March 1944	00:50	four-engined bomber	southwest of Buer[21]
13	31 March 1944	00:50	four-engined bomber	southwest of the Thuringian Forest[22]
14	28 April 1944	03:06	Halifax	Saint-Dizier[23]
15	23 May 1944	01:18	Lancaster[24]	east of Uden
16	10 June 1944	00:38	Lancaster	vicinity of Étrépagny[25]
17	25 June 1944	00:38	Lancaster	north of Abbeville[26]
18	1 July 1944	01:25	Lancaster	Blois-Vendôme[27]
19	1 July 1944	01:38	Lancaster	30 km (19 mi) northwest of Châteaudun[27]
20	5 July 1944	01:55	Lancaster	south of Abbeville[28]
21	8 July 1944	01:45	Lancaster	Dieppe[29]
22	19 July 1944	01:12	four-engined bomber	Jouarre[30]
23	19 July 1944	01:58	four-engined bomber	Épernay[30]
24	29 July 1944	00:46	four-engined bomber	PQ DF-DG[31] vicinity of Montargis-Sens
25	29 July 1944	01:23	four-engined bomber	Chaumont[31]	Lancaster PB245/No. 619 Squadron RAF[32]
26	29 July 1944	01:58	four-engined bomber	40 km (25 mi) west of Stuttgart[33]
27	26 August 1944	01:24	four-engined bomber	Darmstadt[34]
28	19 September 1944	23:05	Lancaster	west-northwest of Mönchengladbach[35]
– II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 –[5]
29	3/4 March 1945	—	four-engined bomber	over England[36]
30	3/4 March 1945	—	four-engined bomber	over England[37]

Awards

• Flugzeugführerabzeichen
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 19 June 1944 as Hauptmann and pilot^[38]
• German Cross in Gold on 1 January 1945 as Hauptmann in the 5./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2^[39]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 April 1945 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2^[40][41]

Notes

1. His name, in German, is spelled with a "sharp S"; see ß.
2. For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces.
3. According to Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, this claim was unconfirmed.^[5]
4. This claim is not listed in Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945.^[11]
5. This unconfirmed claim is not listed in Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945.^[12]
6. According to Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, claimed at 22:25.^[5]
7. According to Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, claimed at 00:50.^[5]
8. This claim is not listed in Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.^[5]