Major Bernd Gallowitsch

[RT]

A pretty well know fighter, to start with a new thread of very, very few losses not reported in gen returns, Bernd Gallowitsch has been seerely wounded in mai 1942 , but I couldn't find the right date noch the place even not if he was flying .. who knows more ???

Remi

[Doug Stankey]

This is perplexing, as few details can be found.

Here’s our file on this chap:

GALLOWITSCH, Bernhard (Bernd).
Date of birth: 23.02.18 in Wien.
1939-40 in KGr. 100.
06.40 converted to fighters and assigned to IV./JG 51.
31.08.41 Lt., acting Staka 12./JG 51 (to 11.41).
15.09.41 Lt., awarded Ehrenpokal.
24.01.42 Lt., awarded Ritterkreuz, 12./JG 51.
1942 severely WIA.
01.01.43 promo to Hptm.
26.03.43 trf from Frontflieger-Sammelgruppe to RLM (LP 5).
1944 Me 262 jet training at Lechfeld.
01.05.45 Maj., appt Staka 4./JG 1 (to 05.05.45).
Credited with c.480 combat missions, 64 air victories and the destruction of at least 23 tanks.
† 28.12.83 in Wien/Schwechat.


I searched the Tony Wood listings and came up with nothing, excerpt that his kill claims cease c 02.12.41 and there is nothing after that.

Looking in Prien JFV 9/II was unrevealing but 6/I says that he had been the acting Staka up to 11.41 and then disappears completely with the 02.12.41 kill claim.

Could it be that his wounding occurred in very late 1941 or very early 1942, and was severe enough to limit him to staff jobs after that? It might have been the trigger to getting the Ritterkreuz.

Maybe someone out there can fill in the blanks on this?

[Leo Etgen]

Hi guys

Interesting topic to bring up. Some time ago I discussed this with Ota Jirovec and Gordon Raddock as to if they knew when he was wounded as Obermaier states. It appears that there is no evidence that he was wounded in aerial combat at least as to regarding Prien's JG 51 loss list. Perhaps if he was wounded in May 1942 it was in a ground incident? Interestingly, Obermaier states that he was credited with 64 victories but Prien only lists 45 victories for him through 1941! Thereafter as Doug states he disappears from the records. Could the balance of his claims have occurred in 1945 when he was operating with JG 1?

Horrido!

Leo

[Andreas Brekken]

Hi.

Several possibilities here of course.

1. Transferred out of JG 51 before he was wounded, might even have occured in a training unit, and our databases haven't been fed this loss yet...

2. There are several losses for JG 51 were it would be likely that the pilot was at least wounded but where no such information is entered, thus we have the aircraft but no way of linking the accident to this pilot

3. The loss remain unreported or has been missed by the GenQu, while a NVM exist, in this case a control of the NVM's of the unit would give us the answer

The first thing I would do here would be to pull his personnel file and check the entries there.

Regards,
Andreas B