Karl-Heinz Greisert

Karl-Heinz Greisert (2 February 1908 – 22 July 1942) was an officer in the Luftwaffe.

He served in the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War.

During the Second World War he participated in the air battles over France and England.

He was made commanding officer of II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 2.

For three months he served as acting commander of JG 2 after his commander had been killed in action.

Following the Battle of Britain he remained in the west and was involved in a number of air battles over the English Channel and northern France.

Karl-Heinz “Heino” Greisert was born on 2 February 1908.

A week later he was credited his 21st, also over a Spitfire.

In the coming months Greisert played a significant role in two of the more dramatic missions of this period.

Greisert joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 at the age of 28.

Though still a young man, he was considered old for a fighter pilot.

He was sent to Spain to serve in the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War.

He was assigned to 2.

Staffel of J 88 when the unit first formed at the end of November 1936.

He performed a number of combat patrols and on 30 November 1937 shot down a Republican Polikarpov I-16 fighter.

Greisert returned to Germany in early 1938, and was followed by the rest of J/88 when the unit was withdrawn in April 1939.

At the outbreak of the Second World War Greisert was serving in II Gruppe of JG 2.

He participated in the Battle of France.

By the end of the campaign he had been credited with 6 victories, bringing his total to 7.

He participated in many of the air battles of the Battle of Britain.

A week into the battle on 18 July he was credited with downing a Spitfire over the Isle of Wight.

In August he was credited with two more victories, both over Hurricanes.

On 3 September 1940 he was given command of his Gruppe.

Two months later on 28 November 1940 Jagdschwader 2 lost its commander, Major Helmut Wick, when he failed to return from a mission over the English Channel.

Though still a Hauptman, Greisert was made acting commander of JG 2.

He held this post until 16 February 1941 when the permanent replacement, Major Wilhelm Balthasar, took over the position.

In the spring of 1941 Luftwaffe strength in the west was decreased as units were moved to the east to support Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Soviet Russia.

JG 2 and JG 26 were left in the west to provide an air defense.

After the German's invasion of Russia that June the RAF began a series of incursion raids they called Circus operations in the hopes of aiding the Soviet effort by draining German strength and forcing them to pull units back from the east.

These missions resulted in a number of combats over northern France.

On 20 September 1941 Greisert was credited with his 20th victory, over a Spitfire.

In June 1942 he was transferred to the eastern Front where he took command of III Gruppe of JG 3.

A month later he was killed in action in the course of a low altitude air battle.

He was credited with 34 victories, and was a recipient of the Spanish Cross and the German Cross in Gold.

In February 1942 the Kriegsmarine was ordered to move its capitol ships from Brest to German waters, to be in a position to intervene in a feared invasion of German occupied Norway.

The Luftwaffe's Adolf Galland was given responsibility to provide air cover for the Scharnhorst-class battleships GERMAN BATTLESHIP Scharnhorst and GERMAN BATTLESHIP Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen during the Channel Dash of 12 February 1942.

Operation Donnerkeil (Operation Thunderbolt), as the German air-cover plan was called, made use of Greisert's JG 2 for the middle portion of the channel transit.

To keep up a continuous air coverage the group would ferry aircraft out over the force.

As the fighters had limited range, the group moved up to the airfield at Calais-Marck for the operation.

With limited aircraft and limited range, only 16 aircraft could be provided at a time.