Robert "Bazi" Weiß

[Teresa Maria]

Dear All,
I have two questions about Robert "Bazi" Weiß. The first one is my usual question about fighter pilots, namely: Was he married and, if so, who was his wife? :-)

The other question concerns the following statement from Wikipedia: 'Falling ill in May 1943, he was hospitalised until July 1943, when he was made Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) 3./JG 54.'
What illness did he contract, or was he perhaps wounded and needed treatment? I have searched for this online and some sites say the same thing, that he was hospitalised, but they don't specify the reason. (In fact, some authors confuse illness with being wounded. For example, I once read that Erich Rudorffer had fallen ill and been sent to a military hospital in Paris, and later I found the information in a book that he had been seriously wounded.)

Thank you very much in advance. :-)

[Reiner]

Hi Teresa
I have no answer but today 72 years ago Hptm. Robert Weiß was killed in action at aprox 11am.

greetings, Rene

[Teresa Maria]

Dear Rene,
Thank you very much for your answer, even though it was something that could be found online, maybe except for the hour of his death. May he rest in peace.

However, I hope someone else on the forum will answer my questions.
Have a nice day!

[Johannes]

Dear Teresa

Hope you had a nice Christmas.

With Weiß I cannot find a loss detail for him during the period you suggest, which makes me think it was other than in combat i.e illness, perhaps he stepped on a mine or something. However there is a break in his claims from 13th April 1943 until 2nd August 1943. I do have details of him being injured on 11th September 1943 flying a Fw190, but injuries must have been light as he claimed again on 15th September 1943.
My co-author John Foreman told me years ago that Weiß's claims were honest, as his claim pattern would suggest. I do have photos of him from 1944 with his left arm in a sling, so injured/wounded again.
Actually he doesn't seem to be wearing a wedding ring as this time. He did seem to be a happy chap, as smiling in most of his photographs. He was shot down and killed by K.F Hannes of 331 squadron flying a Spitfire.

Kind Regards

Johannes

[Reiner]

...,

[Teresa Maria]

Dear Johannes,
Thank you for your answer. Yes, I had a nice Christmas, and I hope so did you. I also hope you have received the email I sent you. :-)

Well, stepping on a mine might have been very dangerous, don't you think? Anyway, I'm surprised that fighter pilots should have been allowed to walk on ground that contained mines. After all, they were highly proficient experts, not ordinary soldiers, so it's strange that wasting their lives in such a way should have been tolerated.

Originally Posted by Johannes

Dear Teresa

Hope you had a nice Christmas.

With Weiß I cannot find a loss detail for him during the period you suggest, which makes me think it was other than in combat i.e illness, perhaps he stepped on a mine or something. However there is a break in his claims from 13th April 1943 until 2nd August 1943. I do have details of him being injured on 11th September 1943 flying a Fw190, but injuries must have been light as he claimed again on 15th September 1943.
My co-author John Foreman told me years ago that Weiß's claims were honest, as his claim pattern would suggest. I do have photos of him from 1944 with his left arm in a sling, so injured/wounded again.
Actually he doesn't seem to be wearing a wedding ring as this time. He did seem to be a happy chap, as smiling in most of his photographs. He was shot down and killed by K.F Hannes of 331 squadron flying a Spitfire.

Kind Regards

Johannes

[RT]

Seems he was not married, in his NVM, the "näschte Angehörige" is given as his father Johann Weiß Baden b. Wien Marchetstraße 33 a, sorry no phone or e-mail number given !

EM 60020/14

Rémi

[sidney]

I feel that stepping on a land mine should be safely excluded as the apparent cause of his injuries - once you step on a mine, even the smallest anti-personnel mine colloquially known as a "pate" mine because of its design that resembles a liver-pate tin-can, you are pretty much out of action for good.

[Teresa Maria]

Well, in fact, I thought so, too. That is why I was so surprised at Johannes' suggestion that he had stepped on a mine.

By the way, do you happen to know whether he was at that time (i.e. from May to July 1943) still in Russia, or already on the Western Front?

[Teresa Maria]

Thank you very much for your answer. In fact, his father definitely had no email address, as email did not exist yet, and phones were probably also a rarity, at least in people's homes. (By the way, do you happen to know whether he had any brothers or sisters?)

Originally Posted by RT

Seems he was not married, in his NVM, the "näschte Angehörige" is given as his father Johann Weiß Baden b. Wien Marchetstraße 33 a, sorry no phone or e-mail number given !

EM 60020/14

Rémi