Klaus Quaet-Faslem
Born5 September 1913
Kiel, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died30 January 1944(1944-01-30) (aged 30)
Langeleben/Braunschweig, Nazi Germany
Buried
Cemetery in Mönchengladbach-Holt
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchBalkenkreuz (Iron Cross) Luftwaffe
Years of service?–1944
RankOberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel)
UnitLG 2, JG 53, JG 3
Commands heldI./JG 3
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Klaus Quaet-Faslem (5 September 1913 – 30 January 1944) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. On 30 January 1944 he was killed in a flying accident due to bad weather. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 9 June 1944. During his career he was credited with 49 aerial victories.

Career

On 20 October 1940, Quaet-Faslem was transferred from Jagdfliegerschule 1 (1st fighter pilot school) at Werneuchen to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) where he assumed the position of adjutant.[1] At the time, III. Gruppe was commanded by Hauptmann Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke.[2]

Operation Barbarossa

In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, JG 53 arrived in Mannheim-Sandhofen on 8 June 1941 where the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul. On 12 June, the Geschwader began its relocation east, with III. Gruppe moving to Suwałki in northeastern Poland.[3] Two days later, III. Gruppe transferred to a forward airfield at Sobolewo.[4]

On 21 November 1941, Quaet-Faslem was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel of JG 53, succeeding Oberleutnant Ignaz Prestele who was transferred.[5]

On 19 August 1942, Quaet-Faslem was transferred and was succeeded by Leutant Walter Zellot as commander of 2. Staffel of JG 53.[6] On 31 August, he took command of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), succeeding Hauptmann Georg Michalek.[7]

On 17 August 1943 during the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission, Quaet-Faslem claimed his 48th aerial victory when he shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.[8]

Graves of honor in the Mönchengladbach-Holt cemetery. Klaus Quaet-Faslem's gravestone is on the left.

On 30 January 1944, Quaet-Faslem was killed in a flying accident when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 15243—factory number) crashed in bad weather at Langeleben near Helmstedt.[9] Following his death, Hauptmann Joachim von Wehren temporarily assumed command of the Gruppe before Hauptmann Josef Haiböck officially took command on 8 February.[10] His grave is located on the cemetery Mönchengladbach-Holt, next to the grave of Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke.

Summary of military career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Quaet-Faslem was credited with 49 aerial victories, of which 41 were claimed on the Eastern Front, one over Poland and seven over the Western Allies, including two four-engine heavy bombers.[11] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 49 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 42 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and seven on the Western Front, including two four-engine heavy bombers and one de Havilland Mosquito fighter bomber.[12]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 4939". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.[13]

Chronicle of aerial victories
  This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Quaet-Faslem did not receive credit.
  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location
– 1.(Jagd) Staffel of Lehrgeschwader 2 –[14]
Invasion of Poland — 1–30 September 1939
—
 4 September 1939
—
 PZL P.24 vicinity of Poczałkowo[15] 1 9 September 1939 17:02 PZL P.24 vicinity of Lubień[15]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[14]
Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – July 1941
2 22 June 1941 16:45 I-17 (MiG-1)[16] 5 5 July 1941 16:06 R-5[17]
3 22 June 1941 16:47 I-17 (MiG-1)[16] 6 14 July 1941 14:22 R-5[17]
4 26 June 1941 10:01 DB-3[18]
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 –
Operation Barbarossa — July – 7 August 1941
—
[Note 1]		 25 July 1941
—
 DB-3[19]
—
[Note 1]		 4 August 1941
—
 I-16[20]
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[14]
Action over the Netherlands — 7 August – 15 December 1941
7 24 October 1941 15:40 Spitfire 80 km (50 mi) west of Zandvoort[21]
– 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[14]
Mediterranean Theater — 15 December 1941 – 30 April 1942
8 22 December 1941 14:36 Hurricane[22] Malta 10 14 April 1942 16:45 Beaufort[22]
9 15 February 1942 09:17?[Note 2] Beaufort[22]
– 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –[23]
Eastern Front — 28 May – 18 August 1942
11 1 June 1942 08:25 I-61 (MiG-3)[24] 24 7 August 1942 10:47 MiG-1 PQ 4939[25]
25 km (16 mi) south of Stalingrad
12 1 July 1942 12:20 P-39 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Voronezh[26] 25 8 August 1942 07:06 Il-2 PQ 49612[25]
35 km (22 mi) south-southeast of Stalingrad
13 3 July 1942 13:15 Il-2 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Semljansk[26] 26 8 August 1942 17:30 Er-2 PQ 49351[25]
15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Stalingrad
14 3 July 1942 13:25 Il-2 20 km (12 mi) south-southwest of Zadonsk[26] 27 10 August 1942 08:27 LaGG-3 PQ 39364[27]
15 km (9.3 mi) south of Stalingrad
15 5 July 1942 13:17 Boston 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Nishnij Kaluchowka[26] 28 12 August 1942 04:38 LaGG-3 PQ 49351[27]
15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Stalingrad
16 5 July 1942 13:40 Boston 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Bojewo railway station[26] 29 13 August 1942 17:40 LaGG-3 PQ 39422[27]
20 km (12 mi) southwest of Pitomnik Airfield
17 8 July 1942 11:22 Il-2[26] 30 13 August 1942 17:45 MiG-3?[Note 3] PQ 39432[27]
15 km (9.3 mi) south of Pitomnik Airfield
18 11 July 1942 09:54 I-61 (MiG-3)[26] 31 13 August 1942 18:12 Il-2 PQ 49182[28]
5 km (3.1 mi) north of Bassargino
19 1 August 1942 07:04 LaGG-3 PQ 39251[29]
15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Pitomnik Airfield		 32 16 August 1942 13:30 LaGG-3 PQ 40752[28]
30 km (19 mi) north of Gumrak
20 5 August 1942 15:23 R-Z[Note 4] PQ 49653[30]
50 km (31 mi) south-southeast of Stalingrad		 33 17 August 1942 12:20?[Note 5] Il-2 PQ 39433[28]
15 km (9.3 mi) south of Pitomnik Airfield
21 6 August 1942 10:33 MiG-1 PQ 49534[25]
30 km (19 mi) south of Stalingrad		 34 17 August 1942 17:03 LaGG-3 PQ 40774[28]
75 km (47 mi) north-northeast of Pitomnik Airfield
22 6 August 1942 10:43 R-Z?[Note 4] PQ 49382[25]
25 km (16 mi) south of Bassargino		 35 17 August 1942 17:07?[Note 6] LaGG-3 PQ 30893[28]
25 km (16 mi) north of Pitomnik Airfield
23 6 August 1942 15:00 MiG-1 PQ 4955[25]
45 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Stalingrad
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[31]
Eastern Front — 19 August 1942 – 20 January 1943
36 19 August 1942 17:30 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 40794[32] 42 3 September 1942 06:00 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 49434[33]
37 19 August 1942 17:47 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 40841[32] 43 3 September 1942 06:30 P-40 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Srednyaya Akhtuba[33]
40 km (25 mi) east of Stalingrad
38 22 August 1942 17:50 Pe-2 PQ 35 Ost 49131[32]
5 km (3.1 mi) north of Grebenka		 44 3 September 1942 17:30 Yak-1 PQ 35 Ost 59142[33]
39 23 August 1942 06:05 I-180 (Yak-7) PQ 35 Ost 49253, northeast of Stalingrad[32]
45 km (28 mi) east-northeast of Stalingrad		 45 12 December 1942 09:30 Pe-2 PQ 35 Ost 3987[34]
40 2 September 1942 06:24 Pe-2 PQ 35 Ost 50823[33] 46 20 December 1942 11:00 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 3963[34]
41 2 September 1942 06:25 Pe-2 PQ 35 Ost 50823[33]
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[31]
Defense of the Reich — 1 May – 22 October 1943
47 17 July 1943 10:45 B-17 PQ 05 Ost S/GJ[35]
over sea, off Haarlem		 48 17 August 1943 15:58 B-17 PQ 05 Ost S/QR-7[35]
Geisenheim, west of Mainz
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[31]
Action in the West — 1–8 January 1944
49 4 January 1944 15:55 Mosquito west of Amiens[36]

Awards

Citations

  1. 1 2 This unconfirmed claim is not listed by Mathews and Foreman.[14]
  2. ↑ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 09:11.[14]
  3. ↑ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as a Ilyushin Il-2.[14]
  4. 1 2 According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as a Polikarpov R-5.[14]
  5. ↑ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 12:25.[31]
  6. ↑ According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 17:08.[31]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Prien 1997, p. 179.
  2. ↑ Prien 1997, p. 140.
  3. ↑ Prien 1997, p. 252.
  4. ↑ Prien 1997, p. 253.
  5. ↑ Prien et al. 2003a, p. 93.
  6. ↑ Prien 1998, p. 420.
  7. ↑ Prien & Stemmer 2002, p. 403.
  8. ↑ Weal 2013, p. 16.
  9. ↑ Prien, Stemmer & Bock 2018, p. 279.
  10. ↑ Prien, Stemmer & Bock 2018, p. 273.
  11. ↑ Obermaier 1989, p. 182.
  12. ↑ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 989–990.
  13. ↑ Planquadrat.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 989.
  15. 1 2 Prien et al. 2000, p. 433.
  16. 1 2 Prien et al. 2003b, p. 159.
  17. 1 2 Prien et al. 2003b, p. 161.
  18. ↑ Prien et al. 2003b, p. 160.
  19. ↑ Prien et al. 2003b, p. 110.
  20. ↑ Prien et al. 2003b, p. 111.
  21. ↑ Prien et al. 2003a, p. 96.
  22. 1 2 3 Prien et al. 2004, p. 66.
  23. ↑ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 878–880.
  24. ↑ Prien et al. 2006b, p. 21.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prien et al. 2006b, p. 27.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Prien et al. 2006b, p. 23.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Prien et al. 2006b, p. 28.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 Prien et al. 2006b, p. 29.
  29. ↑ Prien et al. 2006b, p. 25.
  30. ↑ Prien et al. 2006b, p. 26.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 990.
  32. 1 2 3 4 Prien et al. 2006a, p. 102.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 Prien et al. 2006a, p. 103.
  34. 1 2 Prien et al. 2006a, p. 107.
  35. 1 2 Prien et al. 2008, p. 249.
  36. ↑ Prien, Stemmer & Bock 2018, p. 277.
  37. ↑ Patzwall 2008, p. 165.
  38. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 362.
  39. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 258.
  40. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 608.

Bibliography

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