Josef Pöhs

Josef "Joschi" Pöhs (14 March 1912 – 30 December 1943) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Pöhs was attached with the Jagdgeschwader 54 fighter wing until spring of 1942 when he transferred to Erprobungskommando 16, a test unit for the new Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet.^[1] Pöhs was killed on 30 December 1943 when his Me 163 was damaged on take-off. When the drop away undercarriage bounced off the ground, it hit the underbelly of the aircraft on rebound, damaging a fuel line containing T-Stoff. This caused the engine to shut down and forced Pöhs to try an attempt to glide back to safety. However, he crashed at Bad Zwischenahn succumbing to injuries he sustained due to exposure to T-Stoff. During his career he was credited with 43 aerial victories.

Oberleutnant Josef Pöhs
Born	14 March 1912 Altkettenhof, Austria-Hungary
Died	30 December 1943(1943-12-30) (aged 31) Bad Zwischenahn
Allegiance	First Austrian Republic (to 1934) Federal State of Austria (to 1938) Nazi Germany
Branch	Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte (1934–1938) Luftwaffe (1938–1943)
Years of service	1934–1943
Rank	Oberleutnant
Unit	JG 54 EKdo 16
Battles / wars	World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Battle of Britain Invasion of Yugoslavia Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Awards

• Flugzeugführerabzeichen
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (9 August 1941)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 August 1941 as Leutnant of the Reserves and pilot in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 54^[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 9 December 1941 as Oberleutnant in the II./Jagdgeschwader 54^[3]