Günter Steinhausen

Günther Steinhausen (15 September 1917 – 6 September 1942) was a World War II Luftwaffe Flying ace with 40 combat victories to his name. He was also a posthumous recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Biography
Steinhausen was born 15 September 1917 at Lobkevitz, present-day part of Breege, on the island of Rügen. After flight training, Steinhausen was posted, as an Unteroffizier, to 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) in the spring of 1941. The squadron was subordinated to I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 27 headed by Hauptmann Eduard Neumann.

North Africa
Following Operation Marita, the German invasion of Greece, the air elements of I. Gruppe briefly moved to Munich-Riem Airfield before they transferred to North Africa, arriving in Ayn al-Ġazāla between 18 and 22 April 1941. Steinhausen claimed his first aerial victory on 9 June, shooting down a Hawker Hurricane north of Tobruk. On 15 June, British forces launched Operation Battleaxe, an offensive to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica. On 17 June, the offensive ended with reaching its objectives. The next day, the Royal Air Force (RAF) attacked the road from Fort Capuzzo to Al Adm and Tobruk. A flight from 1. Staffel bounced these aircraft and Steinhausen claimed his second aerial victory when he shot down a Brewster F2A Buffalo near Buq Buq. On 26 August 1941, Steinhausen claimed his fifth victory: probably a Tomahawk IIb AK374 of No. 250 Squadron flown by British ace Sgt. Maurice Hards (7 victories) who force-landed wounded near Mersa Matruh.

In August, as the remaining Gruppen of Jagdgeschwader 27 transferred in to North Africa from Russia as reinforcements. In late October, I. Gruppe was reequipped with the Messerschmitt 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 on 10 November.

After the British Operation Crusader in November and December had relieved Tobruk and driven the Axis back, in January Rommel had sufficient fuel supplies to launch his next counter-attack, and he took Benghazi on 29 January, as the aircrew retraced their steps to airfields they had abandoned only a month or so previously. On 28 March Steinhausen claimed his 10th victory, when he shot down a Kittyhawk fighter of No. 94 Squadron RAF flown by P/O Crosbie, near Timimi.

On 26 May 1942, Generaloberst Erwin Rommel launched Operation Theseus, also referred to as the Battle of Gazala and the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Two days later, I. Gruppe predominantly flew fighter escort missions for Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers to the combat area near Al Adm. On an early morning mission east of Gambut, Steinhause claimed a Hawker Hurricane fighter shot down. With a rush of multiple victories he advanced his tally: a pair of South African Tomahawks on 31 May, followed by four fighters in the Al Adm area on 16 June (20-23v.) and then a further four Hurricanes (of No. 238 Sqn (RAF)) on 28 June over Sidi Haneish (27-30v.).

On 9 July, Steinhausen shot down a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) B-24 Liberator, ("Eager Beaver"), and only the second four-engine bomber claimed by JG 27. One of six bombers of the Halverston Detachment that had been sent to attack an Axis supply convoy, it was his 34th victory. By now the front had stabilised at the Alamein line and both sides paused to draw breath, and build up supplies for their next offensives. In the interim, he was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 5 August, and then the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 21 August, for his success to date.

At the end of August, activity picked up again, and Rommel launched his assault on the fortified Alamein line at the beginning of September. On 6 September 1942, on an early-morning patrol, Steinhausen shot down a Hurricane of South African Air Force (SAAF) No. 7 Squadron or the RAF No. 274 Squadron near El Alamein for his 40th victory. However, he was then himself shot down in his Bf 109F-4 "White 5" (Werknummer 13272—factory number) southeast of El Alamein. His body was never recovered. One analyst asserts that James Francis Edwards was his victor since his combat report tallies with the action, though he only claimed a "damaged" Bf 109. Another objects, since the time differences do not match. Christopher Shores and his co-authors noted Steinhausen was killed in the morning at 08:00 local time. Francis made a claim between 17:30 and 18:50 in an evening sortie. They assert the more certain candidates are Sergeant W J Malone and Flight Lieutenant R L Mannix from No. 127 Squadron RAF. Both made claim at approximately 08:25 to 09:35. posthumously, Steinhausen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 3 November 1942, and promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant).

Aerial victory claims
According to Ring and Girbig, Steinhausen was credited with 40 aerial victories including one four-engined heavy bomber. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces: Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 32 aerial victory claims, plus eight further unconfirmed claims. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Western Front and includes one four-engined bomber.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
 * Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 10 August 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot
 * German Cross in Gold on 21 August 1942 as Feldwebel in the I./Jagdgeschwader 27
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 November 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 27