Astounding carreer
Hans Joachim Marseille
http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/hanstate.html "
Much of the debate and refusal to substantiate Marseille's combat record originates from one day of furious air combat on 1 September, 1942 in which he claimed to have destroyed 17 aircraft in three sorties. Not only did Marseille claim 17 aircraft, but he did it in a fashion that was unheard of at the time. His victims were shot out of the sky in such a rapid fashion that many Allied critics still refuse to believe Marseille's claims as fact. But it is precisely the speed and fury involved with these kills that has been the center of the Marseille debate for the past half century. For years, many British historians and militarists refused to admit that they had lost any aircraft that day in North Africa. Careful review of records however do show that the British did lose more than 17 aircraft that day, and in the area that Marseille operated. The British simply refused to believe, as many do today, that any German pilot was capable of such rapid destruction of RAF hardware.
Facts are that Marseille is still acknowledged as among the best marksmen in the Luftwaffe. The Germans were very meticulous in filing combat reports with all relevant data to include time of battle, area of operation, opposition encountered, as well as an in-depth armorers report. At the end of a mission, the armorers would count the number of bullets and cannon shells expended during the fight. Marseille would often average an astonishing 15 bullets required per victory, and this with a combat resulting in his downing of several allied aircraft. No other German pilot was close to Marseille in this area"
"On 15 September, 1942, for example, Marseille destroyed 7 Australian fighter aircraft within an eleven minute period and on 17 June, 1942, Marseille destroyed six aircraft within a seven minute period. The table below illustrates the quickness of many of Marseille's multiple kills.
A Sample of Multiple Kill Sorties Achieved by Marseille
Victories Date Times of Victories
88 thru 91 15 Jun 42 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905
92 thru 95 16 Jun 42 1902, 1910, 1911, 1913
96 thru 101 17 Jun 42 1202, 1204, 1205, 1208, 1209, 1212
105 thru 108 01 Sep 42 0828, 0830, 0833, 0839*
109 thru 116 01 Sep 42 1055, 1056, 1058, 1059, 1101, 1102,
1103, 1105*
117 thru 121 01 Sep 42 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1853*
127 thru 132 03 Sep 42 0820, 0823, 0829, 1608, 1610, c.1611
137 thru 140 06 Sep 42 1803, 1813, 1814, 1820
145 thru 151 15 Sep 42 1751, 1753, 1755, 1757, 1759, 1800,
1802
152 thru 158 26 Sep 42 0910, 0913, 0915, unk, 1656, 1659,
1715
* Indicates a total of 17 aircraft shot
down on this day.
Marseille's ingenious tactics were made successful because of his unique and masterful flying abilities. Other pilots who tried to emulate Marseille, but failed to master their own aircraft, were not as successful. It is interesting to note that two of the other most successful German pilots in the desert also used Marseille's tactics to achieve many their victories. Still many Allied historians refuse to believe that Marseille was as successful and deadly as the Germans claim. Keep in mind that during the Marianas Turkey Shoot, on June 19, 1944, US Navy pilot David McCambell shot down 7 Japanese aircraft on a single sortie, and another 9 on 24 October, 1944. Major William Shomo was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for downing 7 Japanese aircraft in a single sortie on 11 January, 1945. Many pilots on both sides of the war were credited with multiple kills on single sorties. Marseille just happened to make a deadly habit of it.
