Edmund Rossmann

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edmund "Paule" Roßmann (born January 11, 1918 in Gera ; † April 4, 2005 in Krefeld ) was a flying ace and most recently a lieutenant in the German Air Force in World War II . He scored 93 victories in 640 enemy flights, including numerous air-to-ground attacks. He is also considered an early mentor to Erich Hartmann , the most successful fighter pilot in the history of the air war.

Life

As a non-commissioned officer , Roßmann was drafted into the 7th / Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) on March 1, 1940 and took part in both the French campaign and the Battle of Britain . He achieved a total of seven aerial victories before the JG 52 was withdrawn and used at the Barbarossa company . On November 6, 1941, Roßmann received the trophy of honor for special achievement in the air war .

At the end of 1941 he had already achieved 32 aerial victories. After the 250th combat mission and his 48th victory, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on March 19, 1942 , after having received the German Cross in Gold on January 22, 1942 . From March to June 1942 he was employed as a fighter pilot instructor in the supplementary hunting group East and only then returned to his squadron. Nevertheless, by the end of the year he was able to almost double his combat statistics by achieving his 80th victory in the air on November 29, 1942.

On July 9, 1943, Roßmann tried to rescue an aviator who had crashed behind the Russian lines. He was picked up by Russian infantrymen, his comrade Lieutenant Seyler shot and he was wounded. He was released from the ensuing captivity in October 1949.

literature

  • Ernst Obermaier: The Air Force Knight's Cross bearers. Fighter pilot 1939–1945. Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1989, ISBN 3-87341-065-6 .
  • Mike Spick: Air Force Fighter Aces. Ivy Books, New York 1996, ISBN 0-8041-1696-2 .
  • John Weal: More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Osprey Publishing, Oxford, New York 2007, ISBN 978-1-84603-177-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obermaier 1989, p. 189.
  2. ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 640.
  3. ↑ Klaus D. Patzwall , Veit Scherzer: The German Cross 1941-1945. History and owner. Volume II. Publishing house Klaus D. Patzwall. Norderstedt 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X . P. 386.
personal data
SURNAME Rossmann, Edmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Roßmann, Paule (nickname); Rossmann, Edmund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German lieutenant, flying ace of the Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Gera
DATE OF DEATH April 4, 2005
Place of death Krefeld