Hans Troitzsch.

[tcolvin]

Does anyone know the fate of Oberfeldwebel Hans Troitzsch, and who has his pilot's logbook?
He was born 20 May 1916 in Heinrichswalde/East Prussia.
In a Bf 109 he shot down a Wellington on September 4, 1939 - likely the first German air victory of the war.
He had two more victories, but was so heavily wounded on Dec. 18, 1939, that he was withdrawn from frontline service.
In April 1940 he was in 6 Staffel, II. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 77, probably delivering new planes from the factories to the units.
In 1941 he was in 4 Staffel, Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg.
The last official posting was Flieger-Sanitätslager (Flyer Medical Camp) Quedlinburg.
He must have been still ill or wounded.
At the end of the war he was captured by American troops although where and by what unit is not recorded.
It is possible though nearly unlikely that his log book survived and is still preserved in the Archives.
Can anyone please add to this?
Tony

[Franek Grabowski]

Originally Posted by tcolvin

In a Bf 109 he shot down a Wellington on September 4, 1939 - likely the first German air victory of the war.

Pardon?

[tcolvin]

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

Pardon?

"In the west against the RAF", I should have added, Franek. And with that addition it might stand a chance of qualifying as a true statement.

Tony

[simon_nzg]

A bit of a late reply, but I've only just stumbled upon this post...

Hans was a distant relative of mine. He survived the war and lived into the late 1980s. I suspect that none of his paperwork survives in the family but my brother is researching him and may eventually turn something up!

Simon

[tcolvin]

I am sure many on this site would be interested in anything your brother can unearth.

In fact Hans Troitsch destroyed the second RAF aircraft, another Wellington, shot down on September 4, 1939 in aerial combat - at 18.25 hours. This was ten minutes after the first ever LW victory in the West (pace Franek) which was achieved by Alfried Held of the same II./JG77 and also operating out of Nordholz.

Tony