Heinrich Füllgrabe

Heinrich Füllgrabe (26 July 1916 – 30 January 1945) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Füllgrabe was born on 26 July 1916 in Witzenhausen in Hesse-Nassau, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia within the German Empire.

Füllgrabe joined the military service of the Luftwaffe, initially serving as a mechanic with I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 234 (JG 234–234th Fighter Wing), which later became the I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26–26th Fighter Wing).

He was trained as a fighter pilot at the Jagdfliegerschule, the fighter pilot school at Stolp-Reitz.

After joining the Luftwaffe in the late 1930s, after his training as a fighter pilot, Füllgrabe was appointed to serve as the Unteroffizier 9./JG 52 in spring 1941.

Füllgrabe became a member of one of the most efficient units of the Luftwaffe, Karaya Quartet, where he flew alongside Hermann Graf (212 kills), Alfred Grislawski (133) and Ernst Süß (68).

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

At the time of Füllgrabel's posting to 9.

Staffel, the Gruppe was commanded by Major Gotthard Handrick.

In June 1940, Füllgrabe was posted to 2.

Staffel (2nd squadron) of Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg, a supplementary training unit based at Merseburg.

In Merseburg, he befriended Hermann Graf and Alfred Grislawski, with whom he would later spend much of his combat career.

The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces.

In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general).

III.

In early 1941, he was posted to 9.

Gruppe of JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941.

Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel.

Here, the trio of Füllgrabe, Graf and Grislawski were joined by Ernst Süß, and later by Leopold Steinbatz and Edmund Roßmann.

Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III.

Gruppe was back in Bucharest by mid-June.

There, the unit was again subordinated to the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien and reequipped with the new, more powerful Bf 109F-4 model.

On 21 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești.

Prior to the invasion, Handrick was replaced by Major Albert Blumensaat as commander of III.

Gruppe.

Blumensaat was then replaced by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin on 1 October.

At the time, von Bonin was still in convalescence so that Hauptmann Franz Höring, the commander of 9.

Staffel, was also made the acting Gruppenkommandeur (group commander).

Füllgrabe received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 30 March 1942.

On 22 July, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 52, Major Herbert Ihlefeld, was severely injured in a flight accident and had to surrender command during his convalescence.

Füllgrabe was killed on 30 January 1945 by Soviet anti-aircraft fire near Brieg in Silesia.

During his career he was credited with 67 aerial victories, all of them on the Eastern Front, including five Il-2 Sturmoviks.

Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of III.

Gruppe.

In consequence, Major Gordon Gollob, the commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), temporarily took over command of JG 52 as acting Geschwaderkommodore.

On 17 August, Gollob was ordered dispatch one Schwarm, a flight of four aircraft, of every III.

Gruppe squadron to the Don-bend.

The pilots selected for this mission included Füllgrabe, Graf and Süß.