Heinrich Setz

Heinrich Setz (12 March 1915 – 13 March 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 138 enemy aircraft shot down in 274 combat missions.

The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with six claims over the Western Front.

Setz was born on 12 March 1915 in Gundelsdorf near Kronach, Upper Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Born in Gundelsdorf, Setz volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1936.

He was the son of an Oberförster (head of a forest range) and joined the military service of the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker (cadet) on 6 April 1936.

He was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 January 1938.

On 1 July 1938, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 135 (135th Fighter Wing).

From April 1939 onwards he was posted to a Jagdfliegerschule (fighter pilot training school) as an instructor.

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

Setz was transferred to a front-line unit when he joined II.

Following flight training and a period at a fighter pilot training school as an instructor, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) in 1940.

Following the Norwegian Campaign he claimed his first three aerial victories in late 1940 in that theater.

On 3 April 1940 he was transferred to Jagdfliegerschule 3 at Stolp-Reitz, present day Słupsk-Redzikowo Airport in Poland.

There he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 June 1940.

Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) on 28 June 1940.

There he was assigned to the 6.

Staffel (6th squadron) of JG 77 on 1 July 1940.

JG 77 at the time was based at Kristiansand, in southern Norway.

He claimed three aerial victories in this theater, his first aerial victory, a Royal Air Force (RAF) No. 82 Squadron Bristol Blenheim bomber, was shot down south of Stavanger over Norway's west coast on 27 August 1940.

This achievement earned him the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse) on 12 September 1940.

Following two further victories over Norway, he received Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse) on 18 October 1940.

In July 1941, Setz was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 4.

Following his 43rd aerial victory he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 31 December 1941 and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 23 June 1942 after 81 victories.

In May 1941, Setz was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 4.

Staffel of 2.

(Schul.)/Ergänzungs-Gruppe of JG 77, a supplementary training group for new pilots posted to the front.

Following the Invasion of Yugoslavia, JG 77 was moved to Romania in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941.

II.

and III.

Gruppe, plus the Stab (headquarters unit), of JG 77 supported the German advance as part of Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South).

On 21 June, II.

Gruppe was ordered from Bucharest to Roman, a forward airfield near the Siret river.

That evening, the pilots and ground crews were briefed of the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front.

In late June or early July, Setz succeeded Hauptmann Walter Jänisch as Staffelkapitän of 4.

Staffel of JG 77.

There, he claimed his first aerial victory on the Eastern Front, his fourth in total, on a Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber escort mission to Kamianets-Podilskyi.

He claimed his 100th aerial victory on 24 July 1942.

In February 1943 Setz was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) which was based in France on the Western Front.

Setz claimed three more victories before he was killed in action on his 274th combat mission in a mid-air collision with a Supermarine Spitfire on 13 March 1943.

Staffel (4th squadron) of JG 77 which he led in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.