|
Gustav "Micky" Sprick (29 November 1917 – 28 June 1941) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Sprick was credited with 31 victories in 192 missions. All his victories were recorded over the Western Front. == Military career == Sprick joined the Luftwaffe in 1937. After completing his pilot-training ''Fähnrich'' Sprick was posted to JG 26 on 23 September 1939,〔Luftwaffe 39-45 Historia website.〕 and assigned to 8./JG 26 (8th squadron of the 26th Fighter Wing). On 10 May 1940, the opening day of ''Fall Gelb'' (the invasion of the West), the now ''Leutnant'' Sprick shot down his first enemy aircraft: a Dutch Fokker T-5 twin-engined bomber, over Breda in the Netherlands. He was very successful during the French campaign, having scored nine victories by the fall of France, and been promoted to ''Oberleutnant''. He was shot down however, on 14 June near Évreux, by RAF (Royal Air Force) Hurricane fighters after claiming one of their number. But he managed to crash-land uninjured and was rescued by German troops. On 8 August 1940 he was promoted to ''Staffelkapitän'' (Squadron leader) of 8./JG 26.〔Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries website.〕 His ''Gruppe'', III./JG 26 had a formidable team of leaders during the Battle of Britain, with the experienced ''Kommandeur'' Adolf Galland and Gerhard Schöpfel (9. ''Staffel''), with Sprick (8. ''Staffel'') and Joachim Müncheberg (7. ''Staffel''). These four pilots all had 10 or more victories and over the next 2 months claimed 50 aircraft between them. Sprick himself scored 11 victories in the battle, including a pair of Hurricanes of 85 Sqn on 31 August (his 14th & 15th victories). He was awarded the ''Ehrenpokal'' (Goblet of Honour) on 8 September,〔Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries website.〕 and then the coveted ''Ritterkreuz'' (Knight’s Cross) on 1 October after gaining his 20th victory on 28 September.〔Aces of the Luftwaffe website.〕 By the end of 1940, with the battle falling back into a relatively quiet period, his score had increased to 23. (Müncheberg had 23, Schöpfel had 22 and Galland with 58) June 1941 marked the invasion of the Soviet Union in the east. With the majority of the Luftwaffe involved in Operation Barbarossa, it left just JG 26, JG 2 and JG 1 defending the west. Coinciding with this, the British started their own air offensive, taking the fight to the Germans over France. Now, however, the roles were reversed, and it was the RAF fighters that found themselves vulnerable, operating at the limit of their range. Sprick quickly claimed 8 victories in the last fortnight of June. On 28 June, III./JG 26 was ordered to intercept the RAF Circus No. 26 flown by No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, en route to attack the Comines power station.〔Knoblock 2008, p. 79.〕 8./JG 26 was jumped from above by Spitfires and in the ensuing melee, the right wing of Sprick's Bf 109 F-2 (''Werknummer'' 5743—factory) sheared off while he attempted an evasive Split S maneuver. He crashed to his death near Holque, inland from Calais.〔Caldwell 1991, p. 89.〕〔Weal 1999, p. 94.〕〔Weal 2000, p. 76.〕〔Obermaier 1989, p. 208.〕〔Hall 2001, p. 11.〕 Other sources say he may have been shot down by Spitfires. ''Oberleutnant'' Gustav Sprick was credited with 31 victories in 192 missions, all over the Western Front. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gustav Sprick」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|