[Gaston]

Hello everyone,

On July 28, 1941, Lt. Horst-Günther von Fassong, a member of 3./JG 51, crashed during an emergency landing at the Stara-Bychow base. He suffered injuries. The cause was a fire in his Bf 109 F-2, W.Nr. 9650 (50% damaged). Was this the result of engine failure, or did he suffer damage in aerial combat?

At the end of 1942, as Oblt. and a member of 3./JG 51, he suffered such severe burns in a crash during takeoff that it was assumed he would never return to action. Is the cause of the crash known? Are the exact date, location, aircraft type, and W.Nr known, please?
In a well-known profile photo of von Fassong from late 1944, when he was visiting his wife and son, his burns on his nose and right cheek are clearly visible.
After recovering, he became Stkpt. 10./JG 51 on February 12, 1943.

Von Fassong's known victories with JG 51:
1941: 2
1942: 2
1943: 47
1944: 9
A total of 60 victories with JG 51 before he was transferred to Stkpt. 7./JG 11 in May 1944.
With JG 11, he achieved his last 25 victories, 10 of which were against Western allies, including four four-engine bombers.
He achieved a total of 85 victories.
For a long time, 75-136 victories were reported, according to post-war records. I wonder how they arrived at the number 136 victories? Were unconfirmed victories included in this, i.e. a total of 51 unconfirmed victories?
When he was awarded the RK on July 27, 1944, as Kdr. III./JG 11, it is stated that he received it for 100 victories (apparently including unconfirmed victories again). Does this record for the RK award still exist somewhere? Other data mention 75 victories.

On January 1, 1945, during Operation Bodenplatte, von Fassong was flying his Fw 190 A-8 (<< Black 8 + I, W.Nr. 682792) at low altitude when he was ambushed by two P-47s from 390 FS, 366 FG. According to the recollections of pilots from 366 FG, von Fassong was shot down by 1/Lt Robert V. Brulle.

Robert V. Brulle, Belgian origin a World War II P-47 combat pilot with 70 combat mission with 366th Fighter Group in Europe, he shot down one German Fw 190 (von Fassong) and one damaged Fw 190, both achieved on January 1, 1945. And destroyed enough German military vehicles to equip a sizeable force. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1948 and Master of Science degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) 1952.
He served as AirForce Project Officer to get the F-84F aircraft into operational service and was an assistant professor at AFIT. He joined McDonnell Aircraft in 1957 as an aerodynamicist. His projects included the Alpha Draco missile, Mercury and Gemini manned space vehicles, and research on advanced missile and aircraft control dynamics. In addition he was an adjunct associate professor at the University of Missouri Graduate Center in St. Louis.
He invented the GIROMILL wind turbine and built a 40kW unit for Energy Research and Development Administration.
He retired from McDonnell-Douglas in 1983 and developed the AquaGiro, a unique water turbine to extract energy from a water current. He moved to Florida in 1988 and devotes his time to writing about his aviation experiences. He has published a dozen magazine articles and one book titled Angels Zero (Smithsonian Institution Press, Sept. 2000). He retired from the Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel in 1968.

Von Fassong crashed in a ball of fire near Opglabbeek, in the area around Asch airport. Again, fire, bad luck...
Has no one yet searched the crash site of his Fw 190 with a metal detector?
His grave is unknown. It is possible that he is one of at least six unknown airmen buried in the war cemeteries in Lommel, Belgium, and Ysselsteyn, Netherlands, who died in the area around Asch airfield. Is there a record of the American commission at the crash site of his Fw 190 near Opglabbeek? I know that there is a commission that is still excavating the remains of pilots in order to obtain DNA and compare it with that of their family members. The fact is that his family would have to request this.

Thank you very much, have a nice day.