Obitaury--Hptm. Fritz Karch--II./JG2

[wcarah]

Hptm. Fritz Karch was the last commander of II./JG2. Earlier in the war in the summer of 1943, then Ltn. Karch shot down my father's B-17F in l'Orne, France.

I am completing a sequel to my father's memoir of WW-II and would like to add an appendix with as biogrpahy of Hptm. Karch. I have the information I need for the WW-II period, but know nothing about his post-war years.

I would be greatful if someone could post here or e-mail me (wcarah@hotmail.com), his obituary in either English or German. Hptm. Karch died on 30 Dec 2001 at Beyreuth, Bavaria.

Regards,

Warren Carah
Brighton, MI
USA

[David P. Williams]

Hi Warren,

Fritz Karch was born on 17th January 1920 in Munich.
In Sept 1942 he was a Feldwebel with 6./JG 2 on the Channel Front.

During the Tunisian Campaign he scored his first 3 victories beginning on 28th November 1942.

In January 1943 he was promoted Leutnant. He became Staffelfuehrer of 6./JG 2 and in March 1944 he became Staffelkapitaen of 6./JG 2.

On 17th August 1943 he achieved his 10th victory and his 15th on 31st December 1943.

In January 1944 he had raised his total to 20 and by August to 30.. He shot down 2 P-47s in December 1944 and by January 1945 his total had increased to 40.

On 2nd January 1945 he was promoted to Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 2. He achieved his final victory on 28th March 1945, a P-51.

Awarded the Knight's Cross on 20th April 1945. He finished with a total of 47 victories, 21 of which were four-engined bombers

This brief biography was taken from Ernst Obermaier's book, Die Ritterkreuztraeger Vol 1.

Hope this helps you, but please double check facts as the book is well known for errors! All the best, David.

[Chris Goss]

David: I think he wanted post-war!

[WOLFHEARTED]

both was a sad lost

[wcarah]

Thank you for the details on Hptm. Karch's military career. I was not aware he had most of his 47 victories in 1944-45. When he shot my father down in July 1943, he must have had only five or so kills. II./JG2 switched to Bf109G-6's in May of 1943 to be able to get at the increasing number of B-17 and B-24 bombers flying into France at high altitude. I understand the Fw190's simply could not function effectively above 20,000 ft.

My father's B-17F was initally damaged by flak while on a bomb run on an aero engine factory located in LeMans, France. The flak knocked out the oxygen supply and the aircraft had to descend to lower elevation or the crew would suffocate.

Then began a 50km game of tag where Karch and Uffz. Lothar Aue and one other JG2 pilot swooped in, fired their cannon, and stood off waiting for the mortally hit aircraft to call it quits. The plane kept on going with only two engines for some time, but finally a cannon burst on the tail jammed the horizontal stabilzer up against the rudder and plane started an uncontrollable climb that would result in a stall. It was time to to hit the silk and seven of the crew bailed out over La Coulonche, L'Orne. The final result was 3 KIA, 2 POW and 5 Evaded. Later, one of the evadees would freeze to death going over the Pyrenees in late October, 1943.

If anyone should know about Mr. Karch's post war career, I would appreciate a post.

Again, thank you for the information.

Regards,

Warren