Emil Bitsch

Emil Bitsch (14 June 1916 – 15 March 1944) was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II.

He was one of the most successful pilots on the Eastern Front; being credited with 108 aerial victories.

He claimed 104 over the Eastern Front and four four-engine bombers over the Western Front.

He may have been the pilot that shot down Soviet female ace Yekaterina Budanova.

Bitsch was born on 14 June 1916 in Bad Griesbach in the Grand Duchy of Baden within the German Empire.

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

In July 1941, Bitsch served with III.

Gruppe (3rd group) of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3–3rd Fighter Wing), based on the Eastern Front and under the command of Walter Oesau.

The Wehrmacht had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June 1941.

III.

Gruppe supported Army Group South in its strategic goal towards the heavily populated and agricultural heartland of Ukraine, taking Kiev before continuing eastward over the steppes of southern USSR to the Volga with the aim of controlling the oil-rich Caucasus.

Operating from an airfield at Lutsk, Bitsch claimed his first victory on 2 July over an Ilyushin Il-2.

He had a total of five victories by the end of the year.

He claimed two Russian Yak-4 twin-engine fighters which were shot down on 24 June 1942 to claim his 9th and 10th victories.

The Gruppe received a full complement of 41 Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft and on 6 January 1942 was ordered to relocated to Sicily.

On 13 January, 7.

Staffel and elements of 8.

and 9.

Staffel boarded a train to Bari in southern Italy while the rest of III.

Gruppe headed for Sciacca, Sicily.

The relocation progressed until 26 January when new orders were received, ordering the Gruppe to return to Germany.

At Jesau near Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad in Russia, III.

Gruppe began preparations for redeployment to the Eastern Front again.

On 4 September 1942, Oberleutnant Bitsch was shot down by anti aircraft artillery northwest of Stalingrad.

He bailed out of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 13325—factory number) and landed safely but suffered light injuries in the incident.

He later returned to combat duty and continued flying.

Bitsch recorded his 50th victory on 19 March 1943 three km South of Stary.

On 1 June 1943, Bitsch succeeded Oberleunant Franz Beyer who was transferred to IV.

Gruppe as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 8./JG 3.

In July, Oberleutnant Bitsch claimed 29 aerial victories.

On 5 July, he became an "ace-in-a-day", including three Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft on one mission.

On 19 July he shot a Yakovlev Yak-1 down on the Mius front, possibly flown by Soviet female ace Yekaterina Budanova.

He recorded his 100th victory on 21 July 1943 over a Lavochkin La-5.

Bitsch was killed in action against United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters on 15 March 1944.

In July, he claimed 15 victories, including his 20th 'kill' which he shot down on 13 July.

Bitsch recorded 18 victories in August, including his 30th victim shot down on 16 August; his score had risen to 40 on 28 August.

On 6 November, III.

Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment.

The first elements of the Gruppe arrived by train in Mannheim on 8 December, the transfer was completed a week later.

There, the personnel was sent on home leave.