Gustav Denk

Gustav Denk (24 January 1915 – 13 February 1943) was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 67 aerial victories—that is, 67 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in over 500 combat missions. One aerial victories were claimed over the Western Front, the other victories were claimed over the Eastern Front.

Denk was born in Soest, and following fighter pilot training was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in 1939. He claimed his first aerial victory on 13 July 1940 during the Battle of Britain. In 1941, his unit was transferred east where it participated in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In January 1943, Denk was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel (5th squadron) of JG 52. On 13 February 1943, he was killed in action, shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft artillery near Chernigov. Posthumously, Denk was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943.

Career
Denk was born on 24 January 1915 in Soest in the Province of Westphalia of the German Empire. In late 1939, he was posted to II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), at the time headed by Hauptmann Hans-Günther von Kornatzki. On 27 June 1940, II. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Nordholz located approximately 10 km south of Cuxhaven. Here on 13 July during the Battle of Britain, Denk claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Royal Air Force Bristol Blenheim bomber.

Operation Barbarossa
In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe of JG 52, without a period of replenishment in Germany, was ordered to airfields close to the German-Soviet demarcation line. While the Gruppenstab (group headquarters unit) and 4. Staffel were based at Suwałki in northeastern Poland, 5. and 6. Staffel were transferred to a forward airfield at Sobolewo. For the invasion, II. Gruppe of JG 52 was subordinated to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). The Geschwader was part of the VIII. Fliegerkorps commanded by Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen which supported the northern wing of Army Group Centre.

II. Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Soltsy, 30 km west of Lake Ilmen, on 5 August in support of the 16th Army and Army Group North. Here, the Gruppe supported the fighting south of Lake Ilmen, and the German attacks on Shlisselburg, Leningrad and the Soviet fleet at Kronstadt. On 24 August, II. Gruppe was ordered to an airfield at Spasskaya Polist on the river Polist, south of Chudovo and north of Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, supporting the 18th Army in its advance towards the Neva and Lake Ladoga. Here Denk claimed his second aerial victory and first on the Eastern Front on 25 August when he shot down an I-18 fighter, an alternative Luftwaffe name for a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1.

Since German forces had reached the proximity of Leningrad, II. Gruppe was ordered to Lyuban on 1 September, approximately 70 km to Leningrad and located on the road to Moscow. The Gruppe stayed at Lyuban until 30 September, flying missions to Shlisselburg, Leningrad and Mga. Here Denk claimed a Polikarpov I-16 fighter on 7 September and a Polikarpov I-153 fighter on 21 September.

Eastern Front
In late January 1942, II. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to Jesau near Königsberg for a period of recuperation and replenishment, arriving on 24 January 1942. In Jesau, the Gruppe received many factory-new Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft. On 14 April, II. Gruppe received orders to move to Pilsen, present-day Plzeň in the Czech Republic, for relocation to the Eastern Front. The Gruppe had also received a new commander, Hauptmann Erich Woitke had been transferred and was replaced by Hauptmann Johannes Steinhoff. The Gruppe then moved to Wien-Schwechat on 24 April before flying to Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement Kirovske in the Crimea. There, II. Gruppe participated in Operation Trappenjagd, a German counterattack during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, launched on 8 May.

The Gruppe then moved to Maykop located in the North Caucasus on 21 September where, with the exception of 24 to 29 October, they were based until 26 November. Here, Denk claimed two aerial victories over Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighters near Tuapse on 25 September, taking his total to 21 aerial victories. On 19 November, Soviet forces launched Operation Uranus which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad. To support the German forces fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad forced the Luftwaffe to relocate its forces and ordered II. Gruppe to move from Maykop to Morozovsk, located approximately 200 km west of Stalingrad, on 26 November. By end of November 1942, Denk's number of aerial victories had increased to 36, making him the fifth most successful fighter pilot of II. Gruppe.

On 23 December, Denk received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold). On 30 December, the Gruppe was ordered to an airfield at Gigant, retreating from the advancing Soviet forces. There, the unit flew ground missions against the Soviet infantry as well as fighter escort missions for Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. On 22 January 1943, II. Gruppe had to retreat further and moved to an airfield at Rostov-on-Don. Operating from Rostov, Denk claimed a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber on 26 January, a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber on 27 January, two LaGG-3 fighters on 31 January, a Lavochkin La-5 fighter on 1 February, and another La-5 and a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter the following day.

Squadron leader and death
In January 1943, Denk officially succeeded Oberleutnant Siegfried Simsch as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel of JG 52. Simsch had been wounded in combat on 3 November 1942. The Staffel had then been temporarily led by Oberfeldwebel Willi Nemitz. On 7 February, the Gruppe moved to Kuteinikowo near Stalino, present-day Donetsk, where Denk claimed a Yak-1 that day. On 10 February, he succeeded Hauptmann Rudolf Resch as Staffelkapitän of 6. Staffel of JG 52. That day, the Gruppe was moved to the combat area of the Kuban bridgehead where it was initially based at an airfield at Slavyansk-na-Kubani. The next day on 11 February, he claimed two Yak-1 fighters. On 12 February, Denk became an ace-in-a-day, claiming four I-153 fighters and a R-5 reconnaissance bomber.

On 13 February, Denk claimed his 67th and last aerial victory when he shot down a Douglas A-20 Havoc, also known as "Boston". He was then killed in action when he was shot down in his Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 14554—factory number) by anti-aircraft artillery over the Soviet airfield at Chernigov. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 14 March 1943. Denk was succeeded by Nemitz as commander of 6. Staffel.

Aerial victory claims
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Denk was credited with 67 aerial victories. Spick also lists Denk with 67 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 67 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. All but two of his confirmed victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 95722". 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 sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 x in size.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
 * Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 2 November 1942 as Leutnant and pilot
 * German Cross in Gold on 23 December 1942 as Leutnant in the II./Jagdgeschwader 52
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the II./Jagdgeschwader 52