Fischer, Siegfried
- Date of birth:
- November 27th, 1918 (Pommerndorf-Hohenelbe/Sudetenland, Czechoslowakia)
- Date of death:
- March 26th, 1998 (Rheinbach, Germany)
- Nationality:
- German
Biography
Siegfried Fischer saw action in Sicily from February 1941 with the 6. / Stukageschwader 1. He flew his first mission on 15th April 1941 from Trapani against British warships near Malta. From June 1941 he was transfeerd to Russia, flying in the 6.Staffel. He was shot down in a dogfight on 8th August 1941 near Veliki Luki about 5km behind enemy lines, managed to bale out and to reach German lines, despite serious wounds. Another time he was downed 30km behind enemy lines, but managed to return together with his radio operator, Anton Kraus, four days later. From July 1943 to April 1944 he was in the 5.Staffel, from May 1944 to February 1945 in the 8. / Schlagtgeschwader 1, and from March to April 1945 in the 9. / Schlagtgeschwader 1. He was shot down by Flak on 17th April 1945, bailed out, and was – seriously wounded – brought to a hospital, remaining as Soviet POW from 21st April 1945 to 18th September 1946.
He flew a total of 713 missions, including 123 with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and was shot down twelve times, had fifteen aerial victories, 80 tanks destroyed and participated in the sinking of a submarine near Malta.
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- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberfeldwebel (Flight Sergeant)
- Unit:
- Flugzeugführer, 8.Staffel, III. Gruppe, Schlachtgeschwader 1, Luftwaffe
- Awarded on:
- February 28th, 1945
Awarded for his successes as a ground attack pilot. He was recognized for having flown 670 sorties in both the Mediterranean and on the Eastern front. He achieved particularly success against bridges, destroying about 30 important ones including the supply road bridge west of Smolensk, the Ukra bridge near Yukhnov and the Volga bridge near Rzhev.
Fischer would also accomplish notable feats as a ground attack pilot from the fall of 1944 onwards, a time in which he earned the nickname “Blitz von Pommern” (Pomeranian Lightning). On one day he shot down 2 enemy fighters despite carrying a full payload, and then went on to destroy 4 tanks with rockets.
Sources
- Photo 1: Willi Schumacher
- Photo: Willi Schumacher collection
- - BARTL, ANTON W. & VERSTRAETEN, BART, Die Ritterkreuzträger des Sudetenlandes: 1939-1945, Wolfgang Historica, 2015.
- FELLGIEBEL, W.P., Elite of theThird Reich, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003.
- OBERMAIER, ERNST, Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe, Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz, 1976.
- PATZWALL, K. & SCHERZER, V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001.
- Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002
- Obermaier E., Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe, Stuka- und Schlachtflieger 1939-1945, Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz