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Hans-Joachim Marseille (13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942; (:hants joˈaχɪm mɑrˈseɪ)) was a ''Luftwaffe'' fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One of the most successful fighter pilots, he was nicknamed the "Star of Africa". Marseille claimed all but seven of his "official" 158 victories against the British Commonwealth's Desert Air Force over North Africa, flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter for his entire combat career. No other pilot claimed as many Western Allied aircraft as Marseille. Marseille, of French Huguenot ancestry, joined the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1938. At the age of 20 he graduated from one of the ''Luftwaffe's'' fighter pilot schools just in time to participate in the Battle of Britain, without notable success. A charming person, he had such a busy night life that sometimes he was too tired to be allowed to fly the next morning. As a result, he was transferred to another unit, which relocated to North Africa in April 1941. Under the guidance of his new commander, who recognised the latent potential in the young officer, Marseille quickly developed his abilities as a fighter pilot. He reached the zenith of his fighter pilot career on 1 September 1942, when during the course of three combat sorties he claimed 17 enemy fighters shot down, earning him the ''Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten'' (Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds). Only 29 days later, Marseille was killed in a flying accident, when he was forced to abandon his fighter due to engine failure. After he exited the smoke-filled cockpit, Marseille's chest struck the vertical stabiliser of his aircraft. The blow either killed him instantly or incapacitated him so that he was unable to open his parachute. ==Early life== Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Walter Rudolf Siegfried Marseille was born to Charlotte (maiden name: Charlotte Marie Johanna Pauline Gertrud Riemer) and ''Hauptmann'' Siegfried Georg Martin Marseille, (a family ) with paternal Huguenot ancestry, in Berlin-Charlottenburg Berliner Strasse 164 on 13 December 1919 at 11:45 pm. As a child, he was physically weak, and he nearly died from a serious case of Influenza. His father Siegfried was an Army officer during World War I, and later left the armed forces to join the Berlin Police force. Siegfried later rejoined the Army in 1933, and was promoted to General in 1935. Promoted again he attained the rank of ''Generalmajor'' on 1 July 1941. He served on the Eastern Front from the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Siegfried Marseille was killed by partisans near Pyetrykaw on 29 January 1944. He was buried in the cemetery of Selasje. Hans-Joachim also had a younger sister, Ingeborg "Inge". While on sick leave in Athens at the end of December 1941, he was summoned to Berlin by a telegram from his mother. Upon arriving home, he learned his sister had been "slain by a jealous lover"; Hans-Joachim never recovered emotionally from this blow. When Marseille was still a young child his parents divorced and his mother subsequently married a police official named Reuter. Marseille initially assumed the name of his stepfather at school (a matter he had a difficult time accepting) but he reverted to his father's name of Marseille in adulthood. He acquired the reputation of being a rebel from a lack of discipline, a characteristic that would plague him early on in his ''Luftwaffe'' career. Marseille also had a difficult relationship with his natural father whom he refused to visit in Hamburg for some time after the divorce. Eventually he attempted a reconciliation with his father, who subsequently introduced him to the nightlife that was to initially hamper his military career during his early years in the ''Luftwaffe''. However, the rapproachment with his father did not last and he did not see him again thereafter. Marseille attended the 12th ''Volksschule'' Berlin (1926–1930), and from the age of 10, the Prinz Heinrich Gymnasium in Berlin-Schöneberg (1930–1938). He was considered to be a lazy student at first, and was constantly playing pranks and getting into trouble. Toward the end of his school years he started to take his education more seriously and qualified as one of the youngest (at 17 years, six months) to achieve his Abitur, graduating in early 1938. Marseille then expressed his desire to become a "flying officer." 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「Hans-Joachim Marseille」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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