German bomber aces by missions
 

Hello,

personally, I would get more intrested in bomber pilots if it would be possible to express their achievements in some kind of numeric value.
By heart, I compiled the following top ten of German Kampfflieger ranked by their minimum number of missions flown:

1. Hansgeorg Bätcher, 658, first few as observer
2. Karl-Heinrich Höfer, 546+
3. Kurt Seyfarth, 532+
4. Hellmuth Kahle, 526, observer
5. Benno Herrmann, 520
6. Willi Antrup, 500+
7. Robert Seib, 488
8. Siegfried Röthke, 476
9. Herbert Wittmann, 467+
10. Wilhelm Odenhardt, 453+, observer
11. Rudolf Henne, 450
12. Walter Pilz, 447

Have a nice Saturday evening,

Michael

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

...how many of Hansgeorg Bätcher's missions were flown in the He 111 ?

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

Do you have the two volumes of Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger?

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

No, I only have Das waren die deutschen Kampfflieger-Asse 1939-1945.

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

Good evening Gentlemen,

from Mr Zapf I learned that Bätcher most likely flew his 655 missions in the He 111 and 3 in the Ar 234.
Can anybody tell me how many missions he flew as an observer and how many as a pilot ?

Cheers,

Michael

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

The Ju 88 was the most-built (9344) German bomber type and the most-built (2712) German nightfighter type, too.
Was it also the most-built (1866) German WW2 reconnaissance type ?
(The more famous German reconnaissance pilots Badorrek, Fischer, Györy, Engel, Hulha, Felgenhauer and Orlowski flew it.)

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

Franz Gapp, 426 missions,
my favourite bomber ace because he was born in my home town and i met him personally!
Franz flew in LG 1, KG 6 and in the last days of war the Me 262 in KG 6J.
With the jet he had 5 victories (4 Liberators, 1 Lightning).

Best,
Gerry.

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

Hello Gerry,

according to Johannes Mathews, Franz Gapp's last three kills were B-17's.
Is he still alive ? (Would be aged 102...)

Cheers,

Michael

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

Franz died meanwhile.
I met him about 10 years ago.
B 17 is possible.

Best,
Gerry.

Re: German bomber aces by missions
 

Good evening,

this entry mentions 4 Liberators:
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Gapp,_Franz
Died at the age of 96 years. Rest in Peace.

Best greetings from Switzerland,

Michael