Battle of Britain

In his first dogfight over England on 24 August 1940, Marseille engaged in a four-minute battle with a skilled opponent while flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 Werknummer 3579.^{[Note 2]} He defeated his opponent by pulling up into a tight chandelle to gain an altitude advantage before diving and firing. The British fighter was struck in the engine, pitched over and dived into the English Channel; this was Marseille's first victory.

Marseille was then engaged from above by more Allied fighters. By pushing his aircraft into a steep dive, then pulling up metres above the water, Marseille escaped from the machine gun fire of his opponents: "skipping away over the waves, I made a clean break. No one followed me and I returned to Leeuwarden [sic—Marseille was based near Calais, not Leeuwarden]."

The act was not praised by his unit. Marseille was reprimanded when it emerged he had abandoned his wingman, and Staffel to engage the opponent alone. In so doing, Marseille had violated a basic rule of air combat.^[14] Reportedly, Marseille did not take any pleasure in this victory and found it difficult to accept the realities of aerial combat.^[15]

While returning from a bomber-escort mission on 23 September 1940 flying Bf 109 E-7 Werknummer 5094, his engine failed 19 kilometres (10 nautical miles) off Cap Gris Nez after combat damage sustained over Dover. Pilot Officer George Bennions from 41 Squadron may have shot Marseille down.^[16] According to another source, Werknummer 5094 was destroyed in this engagement by Robert Stanford Tuck, who had pursued a Bf 109 to that location and whose pilot was rescued by a Heinkel He 59 naval aircraft. Marseille is the only German airman known to have been rescued by a He 59 on that day and in that location.^[17] Tuck's official claim was for a Bf 109 destroyed off Cap Gris Nez at 09:45—the only pilot to submit a claim in that location.^[18]

Although Marseille tried to radio his position, he bailed out over the sea. He paddled around in the water for three hours before being rescued by the float plane based at Schellingwoude. Exhausted and suffering from exposure, he was sent to a field hospital.

When he returned to duty, he received a stern rebuke from his commander, Herbert Ihlefeld. In engaging Bennions, or Tuck, Marseille had abandoned his leader Staffelkapitän Adolf Buhl, who was shot down and killed. During his rebuke, his commander tore up Marseille's flight evaluations. Other pilots also voiced their dissatisfaction concerning Marseille. Because of his alienation of other pilots and his arrogant and unapologetic nature, Ihlefeld eventually dismissed Marseille from LG 2.^[19]

Marseille claimed his 7th aerial victory on 28 September 1940 but had to crash land near Théville due to engine failure. Bf 109 E-7; Werknummer 4091^[20]

A different account recalled how Marseille once ignored an order to turn back from a fight when outnumbered by two to one, but seeing an Allied aircraft closing on his wing leader, Marseille broke formation and shot the attacking aircraft down. Expecting congratulations when he landed, his commander was critical of his actions, and Marseille received three days of confinement for failing to carry out an order. Days later, Marseille was passed over for promotion and was now the sole Fähnrich in the Geschwader. This was a humiliation for him, suspecting that his abilities were being suppressed so the squadron leaders could take all the glory in the air.^[21]

Shortly afterwards, in early October 1940, after having claimed seven aerial victories all of them while flying with I.(Jagd)/LG 2 Marseille was transferred to 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52,^{[Note 3]} flying alongside the likes of Johannes Steinhoff and Gerhard Barkhorn. He wrote off four aircraft as a result of operations during this period.^{[Note 4][22]}

On 9 December, Oberleutnant Rudolf Resch confined Marseille to his room for five days for calling a fellow pilot a "goofy pig" (dußlige Sau).^[23] As punishment for "insubordination"—rumoured to be his penchant for American jazz music, womanising and an overt "playboy" lifestyle—and inability to fly as a wingman, Steinhoff transferred Marseille to Jagdgeschwader 27 on 24 December 1940. Steinhoff later recalled:

"Marseille was extremely handsome. He was a very gifted pilot, but he was unreliable. He had girlfriends everywhere, and they kept him so busy that he was sometimes so worn out that he had to be grounded. His sometime irresponsible way of conducting his duties was the main reason I fired him. But he had irresistible charm."^[24]

His new Gruppenkommandeur, Eduard Neumann, later recalled, "His hair was too long and he brought with him a list of disciplinary punishments as long as your arm. He was tempestuous, temperamental and unruly. Thirty years later, he would have been called a playboy."^[25] Nevertheless, Neumann quickly recognised Marseille's potential as a pilot. He stated in an interview: "Marseille could only be one of two, either a disciplinary problem or a great fighter pilot."^[26] Jagdgeschwader 27 was soon relocated to North Africa.

Arrival in North Africa

Marseille's unit briefly saw action during the invasion of Yugoslavia, deployed to Zagreb on 10 April 1941, before transferring to Africa. On 20 April on his flight from Tripoli to his front airstrip, Marseille's Bf 109 E-7 (Werknummer 1259) developed engine trouble and he had to make a forced landing in the desert short of his destination.^[27] His squadron departed the scene after they had ensured that he had got down safely. Marseille continued his journey, first hitchhiking on an Italian truck, then, finding this too slow, he tried his luck at an airstrip, but in vain. Finally, he made his way to the General in charge of a supply depot on the main route to the front and convinced him that he should be available for operations the next day. Marseille's character appealed to the General and he put at his disposal his own Opel Admiral, complete with chauffeur. "You can pay me back by getting fifty victories, Marseille!" were his parting words. He caught up with his squadron on 21 April.^[28]

Marseille scored two more victories on 23 and 28 April, his first in the North African Campaign. However, on 23 April, Marseille himself was shot down during his third sortie of that day by Sous-Lieutenant James Denis, a Free French pilot with No. 73 Squadron RAF (8.5 victories), flying a Hawker Hurricane. Marseille's Bf 109 E-7 (Werknummer 5160) received almost 30 hits in the cockpit area, and three or four shattered the canopy. Since Marseille was leaning forward, the rounds missed him by inches. Marseille managed to crash-land his fighter near Tobruk.^[27]

Records show that James Denis shot down Marseille again just a month later, on 21 May 1941. Marseille engaged Denis, but overshot his target. A dogfight ensued, in which Denis once again bested Marseille.^[29] His Bf 109 E-7 (Werknummer 1567) came down in the vicinity of Tobruk behind German lines.^[27]

In a postwar account, Denis wrote that he waited for Marseille to close on him while he feigned ignorance, then skidded [side slipped], forcing the faster German to overshoot. Marseille was lucky, as bullets passed both in front of his face and behind his head. 30 hits were counted after Marseille crash landed.^[30]

In between the battles with Denis, Marseille downed a Bristol Blenheim on 28 April. Blenheim T2429, from No. 45 Squadron RAF, piloted by Pilot Officer B. C. de G. Allan, crashed killing all five men aboard.^[31] Jan Yindrich, a Polish Army soldier, witnessed the attack: "when a Blenheim came roaring down over our heads at about 50 feet, there was a terrific rattle of machine gun fire and at first I thought the Blenheim had made a mistake and was firing at us or choosing an awkward spot to clear his guns. Bullets whistled around, so we dived into the slit trench. A Messerschmitt, hot on the tail of the Blenheim, was responsible for the bullets. The Blenheim roared down the wadi, out to sea, trying to escape from the Messerschmitt, but the Messerschmitt was too close. The Blenheim fell out of the sky and crashed into the sea. The plane disappeared completely not leaving a trace. The Messerschmitt banked and flew inland again."^[32]

Neumann (Geschwaderkommodore as of 10 June 1942) encouraged Marseille to self-train to improve his abilities. By this time, he had crashed or damaged another four Bf 109 E aircraft, including an aircraft he was ferrying on 23 April 1941.^[33] Marseille's kill rate was low, and he went from June to August without a victory. He was further frustrated after damage forced him to land on two occasions: once on 14 June 1941 and again after he was hit by ground fire over Tobruk and was forced to land blind.^[34]

His tactic of diving into opposing formations often found him under fire from all directions, resulting in his aircraft frequently being damaged beyond repair; consequently, Neumann grew impatient with him. Marseille persisted, and created a unique self-training programme for himself, both physical and tactical, which resulted not only in outstanding situational awareness, marksmanship and confident control of the aircraft, but also in a unique attack tactic that preferred a high-angle deflection shooting attack and shooting at the target's front from the side, instead of the common method of chasing an aircraft and shooting at it directly from behind. Marseille often practised these tactics on the way back from missions with his comrades and became known as a master of deflection shooting.^[35][1]

As Marseille began to claim Allied aircraft regularly, on occasion he personally looked after the welfare of the pilot and other Allied airmen he had downed, driving out to remote crash sites to rescue them. On 13 September 1941, Marseille shot down Pat Byers of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 451 Squadron. Marseille flew to Byers' airfield and dropped a note informing the Australians of his condition and treatment. He returned several days later to second the first note with news of Byers' death. Marseille repeated these sorties after being warned by Neumann that Göring had forbidden any more flights of this kind.^[36]

After the war, Marseille's JG 27 comrade Werner Schröer stated that Marseille attempted these gestures as "penance" for a group that "loved shooting down aircraft" but not killing a man; "we tried to separate the two. Marseille allowed us that escape, our penance I suppose."^{[37][Note 5]}

Finally, on 24 September 1941, his self-training came to fruition, with his first multiple victory sortie, claiming four Hurricanes of No. 1 Squadron, South African Air Force (SAAF). These victories represented his 19th through 23rd victory.^[39] In late October, I. Gruppe was reequipped with the Bf 109 F-4/trop. To retain operation status, 1. and 3. Staffel left North Africa on 22 October while 2. Staffel stayed. In Italy they handed over their Bf 109 E variants and continued the journey back home by train. The pilots were sent on a short home leave before returning to Ayn al-Ġazāla in early December.^[40] By mid December, he had reached 25 victories^[41] and was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold). Marseille became known amongst his peers for downing or damaging multiple enemy aircraft in a sortie.^[1]

The "Star of Africa"

Marseille always strove to improve his abilities. He worked to strengthen his legs and abdominal muscles to help him tolerate the extreme g forces of air combat. Marseille also drank an abnormal amount of milk and shunned sunglasses, in the belief that doing so would improve his eyesight.^[2]

To counter German fighter attacks, the Allied pilots flew "Lufbery circles", in which each aircraft's tail was covered by the friendly aircraft behind. The tactic was effective, as an enemy pilot attacking this formation could find himself constantly in the sights of opposing pilots.

Marseille nonetheless often dived at high speed into the middle of these defensive formations from either above or below, executing a tight turn and firing a two-second deflection shot to destroy an enemy aircraft. Marseille's successes had begun to become readily apparent by early 1942. He claimed his 37th through 40th victories on 8 February 1942 and 41st through 44th victories four days later, which earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) that same month for 46 victories.^[43]

Marseille's service men, Hoffmann (left) and Berger, cleaning the bore of one of the cannons of a Bf 109. "Yellow 14" W.Nr. 8673 can be seen in the background.^[44]

Marseille attacked under conditions many considered unfavourable, but his marksmanship allowed him to make an approach fast enough to escape the return fire of the two aircraft flying on either flank of the target. Marseille's excellent eyesight made it possible for him to spot the opponent before he was spotted, allowing him to take the appropriate action and manoeuvre into position for an attack.^[45] He was also credited with outstanding situational awareness.^[46]

In combat, Marseille's unorthodox methods led him to operate in a small leader/wingman unit, which he believed to be the safest and most effective way of fighting in the high-visibility conditions of the North African skies. Marseille worked alone in combat, keeping his wingman at a safe distance so he would not fire on him in error or collide with him.^[2]

Hans-Joachim Marseille standing next to one of his aerial victories, a Hurricane Mk IIB, possibly of No. 213 Squadron RAF, February 1942.^[47] There may be sufficient remains on the code to identify it as a No. 274 Squadron RAF aircraft.^[48]

In a dogfight, particularly when attacking Allied aircraft in a Lufbery circle, Marseille would often favour dramatically reducing the throttle and even lowering the flaps to reduce speed and shorten his turn radius, rather than the standard procedure of using full throttle throughout.^[49] Emil Clade said that none of the other pilots could do this effectively, preferring instead to dive on single opponents at speed so as to escape if anything went wrong. Clade said of Marseille's tactics:

Marseille developed his own special tactics, which differed significantly from the methods of most other pilots. (When attacking a Lufbery circle) he had to fly very slowly. He even took it to the point where he had to operate his landing flaps as not to fall down, because, of course he had to fly his curve (turns) more tightly than the upper defensive circle. He and his fighter were one unit, and he was in command of that aircraft like no-one else.^[50]

Friedrich Körner (36 victories) also recognised this as unique: "Shooting in a curve (deflection shooting) is the most difficult thing a pilot can do. The enemy flies in a defensive circle, that means they are already lying in a curve and the attacking fighter has to fly into this defensive circle. By pulling his aircraft right around, his curve radius must be smaller, but if he does that, his target disappears in most cases below his wings. So he cannot see it anymore and has to proceed simply by instinct."^[50] The attack was, however, carried out at close-range; Marseille dived from above, climbed underneath an opponent, fired as the enemy aircraft disappeared under his own, and then used the energy from the dive to climb and repeat the process.^[51]

His success as a fighter pilot also led to promotions and more responsibility as an officer. 1 May 1942 saw him receive an unusually early promotion to Oberleutnant followed by appointment to Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 27 on 10 June 1942, succeeding Oberleutnant Gerhard Homuth, who took command of I./JG 27.^[52]

In a conversation with his friend Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, Marseille commented on his style, and his idea of air-to-air combat:

I often experience combat as it should be. I see myself in the middle of a British swarm, firing from every position and never getting caught. Our aircraft are basic elements, Stahlschmidt, which have got to be mastered. You've got to be able to shoot from any position. From left or right turns, out of a roll, on your back, whenever. Only this way can you develop your own particular tactics. Attack tactics, that the enemy simply cannot anticipate during the course of the battle – a series of unpredictable movements and actions, never the same, always stemming from the situation at hand. Only then can you plunge into the middle of an enemy swarm and blow it up from the inside.^[53]

Marseille had a narrow escape on 13 May 1942, when his Bf 109 was damaged during a dogfight with 12 Curtiss Kittyhawks (Mk I) from No. 3 Squadron RAAF, southeast of Ayn al-Ġazāla and over the Gulf of Bomba ("Gazala Bay"). With a wingman, Marseille bounced the Kittyhawks. After he downed one of the Australian pilots, Flying Officer Graham Pace in AL172,^[55] Marseille's Bf 109 took hits in the oil tank and propeller, likely from Flying Officer Geoff Chinchen, who reported damaging one of the Messerschmitts. Marseille nevertheless managed to shoot down another Kittyhawk (Sergeant Colin McDiarmid; AK855), before nursing his overheating aircraft back to base. The repairs to Marseille's Bf 109 took two days.^[56] The aerial victories were recorded as numbers 57 and 58.^[57]

On 26 May 1942, Generaloberst Erwin Rommel launched Operation Theseus, also referred to as the Battle of Gazala and the Battle of Bir Hakeim.^[58] Four days later, on 30 May, Marseille performed another mercy mission after witnessing his 65th victory—Pilot Officer Graham George Buckland of No. 250 Squadron RAF—striking the tailplane of his fighter and falling to his death when the parachute did not open. After landing he drove out to the crash site. The P-40 had landed over Allied lines but they found the dead pilot within German territory. Marseille marked his grave, collected his papers and verified his identity, then flew to Buckland's airfield to deliver a letter of regret. Buckland died two days before his 21st birthday.^[59]

His attack method to break up formations, which he perfected, resulted in a high proportion of victories, and in rapid, multiple victories per attack. On 3 June 1942, Marseille attacked a formation of 16 Curtiss P-40 fighters and shot down six aircraft of No. 5 Squadron SAAF, five of them in six minutes, including three aces: Robin Pare (six victories), Cecil Golding (6.5 victories) and Andre Botha (five victories); the latter crash-landed his damaged fighter. This success inflated his score further, recording his 70th through 75th victories. Marseille was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 6 June 1942.^[60] His wingman Rainer Pöttgen, nicknamed Fliegendes Zählwerk (the "Flying Counting Machine"),^[61] said of this fight:

All the enemy were shot down by Marseille in a turning dogfight. As soon as he shot, he needed only to glance at the enemy plane. His pattern [of gunfire] began at the front, the engine's nose, and consistently ended in the cockpit. How he was able to do this not even he could explain. With every dogfight he would throttle back as far as possible; this enabled him to fly tighter turns. His expenditure of ammunition in this air battle was 360 rounds (60 per aircraft shot down)

Schröer, did however, place Marseille's methods into context:

He was the most amazing and ingenious combat pilot I ever saw. He was also very lucky on many occasions. He thought nothing of jumping into a fight outnumbered ten to one, often alone, with us trying to catch up to him. He violated every cardinal rule of fighter combat. He abandoned all the rules.^[62]

On 17 June 1942, Marseille claimed his 100th aerial victory. He was the 11th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.^[63] Marseille then returned to Germany for two months' leave and the following day was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

On 6 August, he began his journey back to North Africa accompanied by his fiancée Hanne-Lies Küpper. On 13 August, he met Benito Mussolini in Rome and was presented with the highest Italian military award for bravery, the Gold Medal of Military Valor (Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare).^[64] While in Italy Marseille disappeared for some time, prompting the German authorities to compile a missing persons report, submitted by the Gestapo head in Rome, Herbert Kappler. He was finally located. According to rumours he had run off with an Italian girl and was eventually persuaded to return to his unit. Unusually, nothing was ever said about the incident and no repercussions were visited upon Marseille for this indiscretion.^[65]

Leaving his fiancée in Rome, Marseille returned to combat duties on 23 August. 1 September 1942 was Marseille's most successful day, claiming to destroy 17 Allied aircraft (nos. 105–121), and September would see him claim 54 victories, his most productive month.^[66] The 17 aircraft claimed included eight in 10 minutes; as a result of this feat, he was presented with a Volkswagen Kübelwagen by a Regia Aeronautica squadron, on which his Italian comrades had painted "Otto" (Italian language: Otto = eight).^[67]

This was the most aircraft from Western Allied air forces shot down by a single pilot in one day. Only three pilots would ever match this score, while only one pilot would ever surpass it; Emil Lang, on 4 November 1943, scored 18 fighters of the Soviet Air Force on the Eastern Front.^[68] The post-war analysis shows that the actual results of the day were probably eight to nine destroyed by Marseille with three or four more damaged.^[69]

On 3 September 1942, Marseille claimed six victories (nos. 127–132) but was hit by fire from the British-Canadian ace James Francis Edwards.^[70] Der Adler, a biweekly propaganda magazine published by the Luftwaffe, also reported his actions in volume 14 of 1942.^[71] Marseille was made famous through propaganda that treated fighter pilots as superstars and continued to do so after his death.^[72] He regularly signed postcards with his image. Aside from Der Adler, his exploits were published in Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung and Die Wehrmacht.^[73]

Three days later Edwards likely killed Günter Steinhausen, a friend of Marseille. The next day, 7 September 1942, another close friend, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, was posted missing in action. These personal losses weighed heavily on Marseille's mind along with his family tragedy. It was noted he barely spoke and became more morose in the last weeks of his life. The strain of combat also induced consistent sleepwalking at night and other symptoms that could be construed as posttraumatic stress disorder. Marseille never remembered these events.^[74] Marseille flew Bf 109 E-7 aircraft^[75][76] and Bf 109 F-4/Z aircraft.^[77]

Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4/trop, W.Nr. 8673 – 3./JG 27 – Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseille in September 1942

Marseille continued scoring multiple victories throughout September, including seven on 15 September (nos. 145–151). Between 16 and 25 September, Marseille failed to increase his score due to a fractured arm, sustained in a forced landing soon after the 15 September mission. As a result, he had been forbidden to fly by Eduard Neumann. But the same day, Marseille borrowed the Macchi C.202 '96–10' of the Italian ace Tenente Emanuele Annoni, from 96a Squadriglia, 9° Gruppo, 4° Stormo, based at Fouka, for a test flight. But the one-off flight ended in a wheels-up landing, when the German ace accidentally switched the engine off, as the throttle control in Italian aircraft was opposite to that of the German aircraft.^[78] The event was photographed.^[79]

Marseille had nearly surpassed his friend Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt's score of 59 victories in just five weeks. However, the massive material superiority of the Allies meant the strain placed on the outnumbered German pilots was now severe. At this time, the strength of German fighter units was 112 (65 serviceable) aircraft against the British muster of some 800 machines.^[80] Marseille was becoming physically exhausted by the frenetic pace of combat. After his last combat on 26 September, Marseille was reportedly on the verge of collapse after a 15-minute battle with a formation of Spitfires, during which he scored his seventh victory of that day.^[81]

Of particular note was Marseille's 158th claim. After landing in the afternoon of 26 September 1942, he was physically exhausted. Several accounts allude to his Squadron members being visibly shocked at Marseille's physical state. Marseille, according to his own post-battle accounts, had been engaged by a Spitfire pilot in an intense dogfight that began at high altitude and descended to low level. Marseille recounted how both he and his opponent strove to get onto the tail of the other. Both succeeded and fired but each time the pursued managed to turn the table on his attacker. Finally, with only 15 minutes of fuel remaining, he climbed into the sun. The RAF fighter followed and was caught in the glare. Marseille executed a tight turn and roll, fired from 100 metres range. The Spitfire caught fire and shed a wing. It crashed into the ground with the pilot still inside. Marseille wrote, "That was the toughest adversary I have ever had. His turns were fabulous... I thought it would be my last fight". Unfortunately the pilot and his unit remain unidentified.^[82]

Death

The two missions of 26 September 1942 had been flown in Bf 109 G-2/trop, in one of which Marseille had shot down seven Allied aircraft. The first six of these machines were to replace the Gruppe's Bf 109 Fs. All had been allocated to Marseille's 3. Staffel. Marseille had previously ignored orders to use these new aircraft because of its high engine failure rate, but on the orders of Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, Marseille reluctantly obeyed. One of these machines, WK-Nr. 14256 (Engine: Daimler-Benz DB 605 A-1, W.Nr. 77 411), was to be the final aircraft Marseille flew.^[83]

Over the next three days Marseille's Staffel was rested and taken off flying duties. On 28 September Marseille received a telephone call from Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel asking to return with him to Berlin. Hitler was to make a speech at the Berlin Sportpalast on 30 September and Rommel and Marseille were to attend. Marseille rejected this offer, stating that he was needed at the front and had already taken three months' vacation that year. Marseille also said he wanted to take leave at Christmas to marry his fiancée Hanne-Lies Küpper.^[84]

On 30 September 1942, Hauptmann Marseille was leading his Staffel on a Stuka escort mission covering the withdrawal of the group and relieving the outward escort, III./Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53), which had been deployed to support JG 27 in Africa. Marseille's flight was vectored onto Allied aircraft in the vicinity but the opponent withdrew and did not take up combat. Marseille vectored the heading and height of the formation to Neumann who directed III./JG 27 to engage. Marseille heard 8./JG 27 leader Werner Schröer claim a Spitfire over the radio at 10:30.^[85] While returning to base, his new Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2/trop's cockpit began to fill with smoke; blinded, he was guided back to German lines by his wingmen, Jost Schlang and Lt Rainer Pöttgen. Upon reaching friendly lines, "Yellow 14" had lost power and was drifting lower and lower. Pöttgen called out after about 10 minutes that they had reached the White Mosque of Sidi Abdel Rahman, and were thus within friendly lines. At this point, Marseille deemed his aircraft no longer flyable and decided to bail out, his last words to his comrades being "I've got to get out now, I can't stand it any longer".^[86][87]

Eduard Neumann was personally directing the mission from the command post:

I was at the command post and listening to the radio communication between the pilots. I realised immediately something serious had happened; I knew they were still in flight and that they were trying to bring Marseille over the lines into our territory and that his aircraft was emitting a lot of smoke.^[50]

Crash site

Crash site

His Staffel, which had been flying a tight formation around him, peeled away to give him the necessary room to manoeuvre. Marseille rolled his aircraft onto its back, the standard procedure for a bailout, but due to the smoke and slight disorientation, he failed to notice that the aircraft had entered a steep dive at an angle of 70–80 degrees and was now travelling at a considerably faster speed (about 640 km/h (400 mph)). He worked his way out of the cockpit only to be carried backwards by the slipstream. The left side of his chest struck the vertical stabiliser of his fighter, which either killed him instantly or rendered him unconscious to the point that he could not deploy his parachute. He fell almost vertically, hitting the desert floor 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of Sidi Abdel Rahman. As it transpired, a gaping 40 cm (16 in) hole had been made in his parachute and the canopy spilt out. After recovering the body, the parachute release handle was still on "safe," suggesting Marseille had not attempted to open it. Whilst the body was checked, a regimental doctor noted Marseille's wristwatch had stopped at exactly 11:42 am. The doctor had been the first to reach the crash site, having been stationed just to the rear of the forward mine defences. He had also witnessed Marseille's fatal fall.^[86] The autopsy report stated:

"The pilot lay on his stomach as if asleep. His arms were hidden beneath his body. As I came closer, I saw a pool of blood that had issued from the side of his crushed skull; brain matter was exposed. I then noticed the awful wound above the hip. With certainty, this could not have come from the fall. The pilot must have been slammed into the airplane when bailing out. I carefully turned the dead pilot over onto his back. opened the zipper of his flight jacket, saw the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Marseille never actually received the Diamonds personally) and I knew immediately who this was. The paybook also told me. I glanced at the dead man's watch. It had stopped at 11:42."^[88]

Oberleutnant Ludwig Franzisket collected the body from the desert. Marseille lay in state in the Staffel sick bay, his comrades coming to pay their respects throughout the day. Marseille's funeral took place on 1 October 1942 at the Heroes Cemetery in Derna with Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring and Eduard Neumann delivering a eulogy.^[89] Marseille was succeeded by Oberleutnant Jost Schlang as Staffelkapitän of 3. Staffel.^[52]

The wreckage of Marseille's aircraft on 30 September 1942; the vehicle in the background marks the spot where Marseille landed.

An enquiry into the crash was hastily set up. The commission's report concluded that the crash was caused by damage to the differential gear, which caused an oil leak. Then a number of teeth broke off the spur wheel and ignited the oil. Sabotage or human error was ruled out.^[50] The aircraft, W. Nr. 14256, was ferried to the unit via Bari, Italy. The mission that ended in its destruction was its first mission.^[90]

Schland and Pöttgen's statements led Neuman to conclude there had been no fire and that a glycol leak was responsible for the engine failure. He ruled out the existence of a fire, for he did not believe Marseille could have spoken for nine minutes without fatigue in smoke caused by a fire.^[91]

JG 27 was moved out of Africa for about a month because of the impact Marseille's death had on morale. The deaths of two other German aces, Günter Steinhausen and Marseille's friend Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, just three weeks earlier reduced spirits to an all-time low. One biographer suggests these consequences were instigated by a failure in the command style of Marseille, although it was not entirely within his control. The more success Marseille had, the more his staffel relied on him to carry the greater share of aerial victories claimed by the unit. So his death, when it came, was something which JG 27 had seemingly not prepared for.^[92]

Marseille family grave in Schöneberg

Historians Hans Ring and Christopher Shores also point to the fact that Marseille's promotions were based on personal success rates more than any other reason, and other pilots did not get to score air victories, let alone become Experten themselves. They flew support as the "maestro showed them how it was done", and often "held back from attacking enemy aircraft to build his score still higher".^[93] As a result, there were no other Experten to step into Marseille's shoes if he was killed. Eduard Neumann explained:

"This handicap [that very few pilots scored] was partially overcome by the morale effect on the whole Geschwader of the success of pilots like Marseille. In fact, most of the pilots in Marseille's Staffel acted in secondary roles as escorts to the 'master.'"^[94]

Marseille's impact on Allied fighter pilots and their morale is unclear. Andrew Thomas quoted Pilot Officer Bert Houle of No. 213 Squadron RAF; "He was an extremely skilled pilot and a deadly shot. It was a helpless feeling to be continually bounced, and to do so little about it."^[95] Robert Tate, in contrast, is sceptical Allied pilots would have been familiar, asking, "How well was Marseille known to DAF personnel in the Desert? Apparently not so well. Although there is a little indication that some Allied pilots may have heard of Marseille, this information did not readily make its way down to Allied Squadrons. Fanciful stories abound of how pilots knew of one another and hoped to duel with each other in the skies. This was more than likely not the case."^[96]

German Military History Research Office

The German Military History Research Office (MGFA) published a brief evaluation of Marseille in early 2013, stating that "occasional attempts in the popular literature to suggest Marseille's unsoldierly bravado and honest character points to an ideological distance to National Socialism are misleading". MGFA concluded that, since there is no academic biography of Marseille, "it is not known that Hans-Joachim Marseille has, through his overall actions or through a single outstanding deed, earned praise in the service for freedom and justice [as defined in the current guidelines for military tradition]".^[100]

In 2019, Dr Eberhard Birk and Heiner Möllers published Die Luftwaffe und ihre Traditionen: Schriften zur Geschichte der Deutschen Luftwaffe. In the chapter Ist das noch Tradition - oder muss das weg? Der Jagdflieger Hans-Joachim Marseille - Namensgeber der "Marseille-Kaserne" in Appen [Is this still tradition, or must it go? The fighter pilot Hans-Joachim Marseille, namesake of the Marseille Barracks in Appen] the historians discuss Marseille and his character. The chapter asserts that the stories told about Marseille are rooted in wartime [Nazi] propaganda. They doubt whether Marseille's reputation is sufficient to allow him to act as a role model in the modern German military. However, they assert, like Werner Mölders, that Marseille was not a political soldier, but apolitical, despite the prevailing political situation in the Third Reich.^[101]

Biographies

Several biographies of Hans-Joachim Marseille have described his disdain for authority and for the National Socialist (Nazi) movement in general. Some biographers, such as Colin Heaton, describe him as "openly anti-Nazi".^[102] When Marseille first met Hitler in 1942, he did not form a positive impression. After returning to Africa, Eduard Neumann recalled, "After his first visit with Hitler, Marseille returned and said that he thought 'the Führer was a rather odd sort'." ^[103] On the visit, Marseille also said some unflattering things about Hitler and the Nazi Party. Several senior officers, which included Adolf Galland and Nicolaus von Below, overheard his remarks during one of the award ceremonies. Von Below asked Marseille whether he would join the Nazi Party and Marseille responded, within earshot of others, "that if he saw a party worth joining, he would consider it, but there would have to be plenty of attractive women in it." The remarks visibly upset Hitler, who was left "puzzled" by Marseille's behaviour.^[104]

At the home of Willy Messerschmitt, industrialist and designer of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, Marseille played American Jazz on Messerschmitt's piano in front of Adolf Hitler, party chairman Martin Bormann, Hitler's deputy and Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler and Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels. Hitler allegedly left the room.^[105] Magda Goebbels found the prank amusing and Artur Axmann recalled how his "blood froze" when he heard this "Ragtime" music being played in front of the Führer.^[106]

Later that month Marseille was invited to another party function, despite his earlier stunt. Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff, of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS, confirmed that during his visit Marseille overheard a conversation which mentioned crimes against the Jews and other people. He stated:

Globocnik and I were talking about Operation Reinhard, which was in full effect following Heydrich's murder, and also the construction of Sobibor and Treblinka. I know I asked him about Höss, who was also standing there and had been summoned by Himmler regarding logistics or something regarding the new camp (Auschwitz). Then Globocnik mentioned to me and Kaltenbrunner that Lidice had been cleared, and all the Jews and Czechs had been dealt with. I noticed that this young pilot, who I later learned was Marseille, must have overheard, and I debated whether I should go over and say something to him. I decided against it.^[107]

When Marseille returned to his unit, he reportedly asked his friends Franzisket, Clade and Schröer whether they had heard what was happening to Jews and if perhaps something was underway that they did not know about. Franszisket recalled that he had heard Jews were being relocated to territory gained in the East but no more. Marseille recounted how he had attempted to ask questions about Jews who had vanished from his own neighbourhood, including the family doctor who had delivered him at birth. Regardless of his hero status, when he attempted to bring the subject into any conversation with people who approached him, his enquiries were either met with awkward silences, people changed the subject, or even turned away. Franzisket noticed a change in Marseille's attitude toward his nation's cause. He never spoke of this with his comrades again.^[108]

Marseille's friendship with his adopted helper also is used to show his anti-Nazi character. In 1942, Marseille befriended a black South African Army prisoner of war, Corporal Mathew Letuku, nicknamed Mathias. Marseille took him as a personal helper rather than allow him to be sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Europe. Over time, Marseille and Mathias became inseparable. Marseille was concerned about how Mathias would be treated by other units of the Wehrmacht and once remarked "Where I go, Mathias goes."^[109] Marseille secured promises from his senior commander, Neumann, that if anything should happen to him [Marseille] Mathias was to be kept with the unit. Mathias duly remained with JG 27 until the end of the war and attended post-war reunions until his death in 1984.^[110]

Biographer Robert Tate went further in his examination. During his research, he contacted Professor Rafael Scheck, head of History at Colby College. Scheck published Hitler's African Victims: The German Army Massacres of Black French Soldiers in 1940 and is an acknowledged expert on racial theory and in Nazi Germany.^[111] Without being familiar with Marseille, Scheck identified his friendship with Corporal Mathew P. Letuku as being in direct contradiction to the Nazi mandate.^[112] Letuku, alias Mathias to everyone in JG 27, was a black South African soldier taken prisoner of war by German troops on the morning of 21 June 1941 at Tobruk fortress. Mathias initially worked as a volunteer driver with 3. Staffel then befriended Marseille and became his domestic helper in Africa.^[113] Scheck doubted that Marseille's "acquisition" of Mathias and his role as Marseille's "batman" was done out of disrespect. Scheck said, "I know of the camp commandant of the concentration camp of Mauthausen, who held a black man as his personal servant. This was done out of disrespect, however. I do not think that aspect was relevant for Marseille."^[112] When questioned on Marseille's behaviour, Scheck said: "I do not find it odd because I am accustomed to seeing many nuances among the Germans of the Third Reich. But his behaviour would probably be startling for many other researchers."^[112] Tate also noted Marseille's penchant for Cuban rumba by Ernesto Lecuona, jazz, and swing, which he believes was another way Marseille resisted Nazi ideals.^[24]

Aerial victory claims

Marseille was transferred to his first combat assignment with the I.(Jagd)/Lehrgeschwader 2 at the time stationed at Calais-Marck on Sunday 10 August 1940. Two days later he arrived at this unit on 12 August 1940. He was assigned to the 1. Staffel of this Gruppe. Staffelkapitän was Oberleutnant Adolf Buhl. One of the Schwarmführer was Oberfeldwebel Helmut Goedert, to whom Marseille was assigned as wingman. Marseille flew his first combat mission on the next day, Wednesday 13 August 1940 and claimed his first aerial victory on 24 August 1940. In over little more than two years he amassed another 157 aerial victories.^[121][122] His 158 aerial victories were claimed in 382 combat missions.^[123]

Dispute over claims

Bf 109 G-2 painted with markings of Marseille's aircraft on display at the Museu TAM in São Carlos, Brazil

Some serious discrepancies between Allied squadron records and German claims have caused some historians and Allied veterans to question the accuracy of Marseille's official victories, in addition to those of JG 27 as a whole.^[124] Attention has often focused on the claims from two days in particular: 1 and 15 September 1942.

A USAF historian, Major Robert Tate reveals that Marseille's career total comes close to 65–70 per cent corroboration, indicating as many as 50 of his claims may not have actually been kills. However, Tate also finds similar rates of corroboration and doubt for the top six P-40 pilots. While only the Canadian James Francis Edwards' records show verification of 100 per cent other aces like Clive Caldwell (50% to 60% corroboration), Billy Drake (70% to 80% corroboration), John Lloyd Waddy (70% to 80% corroboration) and Andrew Barr (60% to 70% corroboration) are at the same order of magnitude as Marseille's claims.^[125]

Of 26 claims made by JG 27 on 1 September 1942, a remarkable 17 were claimed by Marseille alone. Tate points out that Allied military sources and historians, for many years, had not acknowledged the loss of any aircraft in North Africa on that date. However, according to Tate, the Allies did lose "more than 17 aircraft that day ... in the area that Marseille operated."^[126] Tate reveals that 20 RAF/SAAF single-engined fighters and one twin-engine fighter were destroyed and several others severely damaged, as well as one USAAF P-40 shot down.^[29] Christopher Shores and Hans Ring also support Tate's conclusions.^[127] British historian Stephen Bungay gives a figure of 20 Allied losses that day.^[128]

The claims for 15 September 1942 are in serious doubt, following the first detailed scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons by Australian historian Russell Brown. Moreover, Brown lists three occasions on which Marseille could not have downed as many aircraft as claimed.^[124][129] Christopher Shores and his co-authors also stated that Marseille over-claimed on occasion, particularly in September 1942.^[130] They concluded Marseille had developed such a supreme confidence in his ability his mentality dictated, "If I fire at it, it must go down." They estimate two-thirds to three-quarters of his claims were aircraft that were destroyed, crash-landed or at least were heavily damaged.^[130]

Axis fighter pilots, including Marseille, destroyed very few bombers over North Africa. By mid-1942, Allied bombers were having a highly damaging effect on Axis ground units and convoy routes; Bungay has pointed out the relatively low military value of shooting down Allied fighters, rather than bombers.^{[128][Note 6]} Referring to 1 September 1942, Bungay points out that even if Marseille shot down 15 of the 17 he claimed that day, "the rest of the 100 or so German fighter pilots^{[Note 7]} between them only got five. The British [sic] lost no bombers at all...^[128] During this period the DAF lost only a few bombers, but all fell to anti-aircraft defences and evidence shows that Rommel was forced onto the defensive because of the losses inflicted by bombers.^[131]

Decorations

Sometime in the early 1990s, one of Marseille's biographers, Robert Tate, visited the former Marseille-Kaserne base and Museum to see and photograph Marseille's medals. When he arrived, Tate was informed the Knights Cross, Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds belonging to Marseille had been stolen.^[150]

Dates of rank

Marseille joined the military service in Wehrmacht on 7 November 1938. His first station was Quedlinburg in the Harz region where he received his military basic training as a Luftwaffe recruit.^[151]

Citations

Bibliography