Robert Weiß (pilot)

Robert "Bazi" Weiß (21 April 1920 – 29 December 1944) was an Austrian-born Luftwaffe fighter pilot during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 121 aerial victories claimed in more than 471 combat missions. Weiß claimed the majority of his victories over the Eastern Front, and 26 over the Western Allies, including three four-engined heavy bombers.

Born in Baden bei Wien, Weiß joined the military service in the Luftwaffe in 1939, initially serving with the anti-aircraft artillery. He was then accepted for pilot training and was then posted to Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) in early 1941. Fighting on the English Channel, he claimed his first aerial victory on 21 September 1941. In September 1942, Weiß was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which was fighting on the Eastern Front. In July 1943, Weiß was made a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader), first  of 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of JG 54, then of 1. and 10. Staffel and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in March 1944. In June, he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 54. He was killed in action on 29 December 1944 during the aerial battles of the Battle of the Bulge, shot down near Lengerich. Posthumously, Weiß was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 12 March 1945.

Early life and career
Weiß was born on 21 April 1920 in Baden bei Wien, Austria. He was the oldest son of a higher city secretary (Stadtobersekretär), a public servant, and police commissioner (Polizei-Inspektor). Following four years of schooling at a Volksschule (compulsory education) in Baden, he attended the Bundesgymnasium (secondary education) since 3 September 1930, graduating with his Matura (maturity diploma) in 1938. In early 1939, he volunteered for military service with the Luftwaffe as an officer cadet, serving with Flak-Regiment 22, an anti-aircraft artillery regiment based at Döberitz.

World War II
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. For the invasion, Flak-Regiment 22 was subordinated to the 3. leichte Division (3rd Light Division). Following this campaign, Weiß was trained as a fighter pilot, and was posted to 6. Staffel (6th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) on 1 January 1941. On 1 April, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant).

Fighting against the Royal Air Force (RAF) on the English Channel, Weiß claimed his first aerial victory on 21 September. That day, RAF Fighter Command flew "Circus" No. 101 consisting of twelve Bristol Blenheim bombers and escorted by fourteen squadrons of Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane fighters which targeted Béthune and Gosnay. In combat over Étaples and 5 km northwest of Berck, Weiß managed to shoot down a No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron Spitfire at 16:25, his first aerial victory. On 9 March 1942, the RAF sent six Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers of "Circus" No. 113 to the power station at Gosnay. Defending against this attack, Weiß claimed a Spitfire shot down 4 km west of Boulogne. On 31 May, RAF Fighter Command sent several "Rodeos" to France. II. Gruppe intercepted several Spitfires over the Abbeville-Drucat Airfield where Weiß shot down a Spitfire of the Royal New Zealand Air Force No. 485 Squadron. In September 1942, Weiß was transferred to 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which was based on the Eastern Front.

Eastern Front
In September 1942, 1. Staffel of JG 54 was commanded by Oberleutnant Heinz Lange and part of I. Gruppe, which was headed by Hauptmann Hans Philipp. The Gruppe was based at Krasnogvardeysk and was fighting in the siege of Leningrad. Weiß claimed his first aerial victories on the Eastern Front on 12 January 1943 when Soviet forces launched Operation Iskra which created a land connection to Leningrad. That day, Weiß claimed two Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft shot down. On 1 March, Weiß was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant). Then fighting and flying with 3. Staffel in the combat area of Leningrad, Weiß claimed his 31st aerial victory on 13 April when he shot down a Soviet Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber making an attack on the Luftwaffe airfield at Krasnogvardeysk. Falling ill in May 1943, he was hospitalized until July 1943. During his convalescence, Weiß was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 8 May.

After Oberleutnant Franz Eisenach was wounded in combat on 8 July, Weiß temporarily replaced him as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 54 until his return on 15 September 1943. On 12 July, Weiß was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold). On 20 July, I. Gruppe relocated to an Karachev during the Battle of Kursk. Weiß claimed two Il-2 ground-attack aircraft destroyed, his first aerial victories following his return to combat operations, on 2 August while supporting German troops retreating northwest of Orel and southwest of Kromy. On 15 September, Weiß was temporarily given command of 1. Staffel, replacing Oberleutnant Otto Vinzent who had stepped in for Oberleutnant Walter Nowotny after Nowotny had been put in command of I. Gruppe. On 28 September, Weiß was transferred to IV. Gruppe where was made Staffelkapitän of 10. Staffel of JG 54. He replaced Oberleutnant Alfred Teumer who had been wounded in aerial combat on 3 September. Command of 1. Staffel was then passed to Oberleutnant Kurt Fischer. On 11 September, Weiß made an emergency landing in his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 (Werknummer 530 337—factory number) at Shatalovka following aerial combat. On 15 February 1944, Weiß claimed his last aerial victories on the Eastern Front when he shot down four Il-2 ground-attack aircraft in support of 16th Army fighting in the combat area near Luga. Two days later, he left IV. Gruppe, handing over command of 10. Staffel to Oberleutnant Paul-Rudolf Deterra. Weiß had telegraphed his fiancée, that for the four weeks he would be rehabilitating at a clinic in Oberschreiberhau, present-day Szklarska Poręba, near Hirschberg, present-day Jelenia Góra in Poland.

Western Front and death
While Weiß was recovering at Oberschreiberhau, the commander of 10. Staffel of JG 54 was killed in action on 21 February 1944. In consequence, Weiß was became Staffelkapitän of 10. Staffel. The Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe of JG 54 and was based at Ludwigslust, fighting in defense of the Reich against the Western Allies. Weiß, who had been nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) while serving with 3. Staffel of JG 54, received the award on 26 March 1944. On 20 April, III. Gruppe relocated to Landau an der Isar. Here Weiß claimed his first aerial victory with III. Gruppe on 19 May when he shot down a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Lockheed P-38 Lightning southeast of Oschersleben. On 27 May, Weiß claimed his first heavy bomber when he shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress northwest of Colmar.

On 6 June 1944, Weiß was temporarily appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 54. On 21 June, he officially succeeded Major Werner Schröer, who had been transferred. Command of 8. Staffel then went to Leutnant Alfred Gross. Weiß was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 July 1944. At the time, the Gruppe was based at Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base, France on the Western Front and fought in German retreat following the Invasion of Normandy. The Gruppe was withdrawn from combat operations on 5 September, relocating to Oldenburg Airfield (Gruppenstab, 9. and 12. Staffel) and Varrelbusch Airfield (10. and 11. Staffel), where it became the first unit to receive the new Fw 190 D-9. On 28 September, Weiß was credited with the destruction of a Spitfire fighter, his 119th victory claim. His opponent was Flight Lieutenant Duncan McCuaig from the RAF No. 541 Squadron, a photographic reconnaissance squadron.

III. Gruppe became fully operational on 25 December with all three squadrons uniting at Varrelbusch Airfield. On 27 December, III. Gruppe fought Hawker Tempest fighters from the No. 486 Squadron, a New Zealand fighter squadron of the RAF. In this encounter, III. Gruppe lost five aircraft for one victory claimed. On 29 December, Weiß led his Gruppe in combat against Allied fighters of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. Vectored by ground control to the Münster-Rheine area, the engagement ended with the destruction of 15 fighters, plus two further damaged, 13 pilots killed and two wounded. In return III. Gruppe claimed eight aircraft shot down. Weiß was one of the pilots killed, he was shot down in his Fw 190 D-9 (Werknummer 210 060) "Black 10" near Lengerich. His victor was Flight Sergeant K. F. Haanes of the RAF No. 331 Squadron, a Norwegian squadron. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 12 March 1945, the 782nd officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored. Initially he was interred on the new cemetery in Lingen. In 1958, his remains were moved and reinterred to the war cemetery at Baden bei Wien and again moved to the Helenen cemetery where he now rests in a family grave. He was replaced by Oberleutnant Hans Dortenmann as commander of III. Gruppe of JG 54.

Aerial victory claims
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Weiß was credited with 121 aerial victories. Obermaier also lists Weiß with 121 aerial victories in claimed 471 missions. Spick claims that Weiß shot down 90 aircraft on the Eastern front and 31 on Western Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 122 aerial victory claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 96 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 26 Western Front, including three four-engined bombers.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 10191". 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 Class (August 1940)
 * 1st Class (5 December 1941)
 * Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 8 May 1943 as Oberleutnant and pilot
 * German Cross in Gold on 12 July 1943 as Oberleutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knight's Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54
 * 782nd Oak Leaves on 12 March 1945 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 54