Hans Philipp

Gushurst had studied medicine at the universities in Erlangen (1912–14) and Freiburg (1914–16) and served as battalion doctor with the heavy artillery on the Western and Eastern Fronts of World War I.

Hans Philipp (17 March 1917 – 8 October 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II.

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.

He is credited with 206 enemy aircraft shot down in over 500 combat missions.

The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 29 claims over the Western Front.

Born in Meissen, Philipp grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany as the only child of a single parent, Alma Philipp.

Johannes "Hans" Fritz Philipp was born on 17 March 1917 at 22:45 at Gustav-Graf-Straße 5 in Meissen, in the Kingdom of Saxony, part of the German Empire.

His mother Alma Philipp was not married.

His father was Leopold Gushurst whom his mother had met while serving at the hospital at Meissen-Zaschendorf.

Philipp was baptized on 29 July 1917, taking the name Johannes Fritz, and was confirmed in 1931.

He attained his doctorate in the field of radiology in April 1920 and opened his medical practice in Plauen.

In the 1920s, his social status as a doctor did not allow him to disclose his relationship with the unmarried mother of his child.

Philipp's mother, who never married, was the eighth child of relatively poor parents.

Her father made a living as a driver and as a laborer in the construction business.

The financial situation was always tight, and taught everyone in the family discipline and to work hard to survive.

To support the family, Alma worked as an accountant and clerk.

In 1924, Philipp attended the 4. Volksschule (Pestalozzischule—4th elementary school) in Meissen.

Philipp was a very good student.

His mother understood that education was essential to Philipp's future.

She worked very hard to raise the funds to pay for higher education in order to send Philipp to a Gymnasium (secondary school).

In 1927, she managed to have Philipp admitted to the Franziskaneum in Meissen, the Realgymnasium—a secondary school built on the mid-level Realschule to achieve the Abitur (university entry qualification)—in Meissen.

Alma, desperate to secure her son's schooling, wrote to the city council of Meissen in 1932 asking if the school fees could be waived.

Philipp participated in various sporting events organized by the Christlicher Verein Junger Männer (CVJM—the German equivalent of YMCA) such as hiking, bicycling, skiing, paddling and rowing.

He also was a member of the Hitlerjugend (HJ—Hitler Youth) and received the HJ-Ehrenzeichen (Honor Badge).

Philipp learned to fly glider aircraft in the Hitler Youth and received his A and B glider license, leading the local HJ-Fliegerschar (Flying Squad) in Meissen.

Philipp's father paid a monthly alimony of until 1933.

Initially he had to be reminded by his mother of his obligations.

He was raised under challenging financial circumstances, and volunteered for military service in the Wehrmacht in 1936.

His unit was reformed as II./Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in June 1940.

He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 October 1940 during the Battle of Britain.

He then fought in the aerial battles of the Balkans Campaign and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves after 62 aerial victories on 24 August 1941 and the Swords (Schwerter) to his Knight's Cross on 12 March 1942, his score now at 86 aerial victories.

He claimed his 100th victory on 31 March 1942, the fourth fighter pilot to achieve this mark, and his 150th aerial victory on 14 January 1943.

Philipp claimed four aircraft shot down on 17 March 1943 taking his total to 203 aerial victories.

He thus surpassed Hermann Graf as the leading German fighter pilot at the time, and six months after Graf, became the second pilot to claim more than 200 victories.

Philipp was promoted to Major (major) and given command as the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) on 1 April 1943, conducting Defense of the Reich operations against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).

He was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 1 October 1943 and was killed in action a week later on 8 October during an attack on Bremen.

It is believed that he was shot down by the P-47 Thunderbolt pilot Robert S. Johnson.

Philipp managed to bail out but his parachute failed to open.

Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 76 (JG 76—76th Fighter Wing) of the Luftwaffe and participated in the invasion of Poland and as a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) in the Battle of France.