Max Stotz

Max Stotz ( born February 13, 1912 in Schwechat, Austria, missing since August 19, 1943 near Vitebsk, Belarus ) was an Austrian fighter pilot in Fighter Squadron 76 and Jagdgeschwader 54 of the German Air Force and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Most recently, he held the rank of captain.

Military Biography

Stotz came in 1935 in the Austrian Air Force, where he trained as a pilot. During his military service in the Austrian army, he was also a member of any aerobatic team. After the annexation of Austria in March 1938 to the German Reich Stotz has been adopted as one of the few Austrian fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe. In 1939 he was assigned to the II group of Jagdgeschwader 76. In this Stotz flew in the Polish campaign and in the western campaign. The end of 1940 the Jagdgeschwader 76 was renamed 54 (Green Heart) in the fighter squadron. Before the beginning of the Eastern campaign Stotz had achieved 16 victories, 29 October 1942, he reached, now used on the Eastern Front, his 100th aerial victory. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded by Stotz 53 air victories already on June 19, 1942, the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross he received on the occasion of the 100th air victory. On 19 August 1943 he won the Ilmensee 10 kills in one day. In the summer of 1943, Stotz was appointed squadron commander of the 5th season in the Jagdgeschwader 54. On August 19, 1943 Stotz was shot in Vitebsk in a dogfight with Russian hunters. After an emergency exit beyond the Russian lines, he went there with the parachute to the ground and has been missing ever since.

Stotz, a total of 189 individual kills awarded in more than 500 aerial combat, with which he is one of the most successful fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe.

Awards

  • Medal commemorating the October 1, 1938
  • Frontflugspange for hunters in gold with supporters of the Air Force
  • German Cross in Gold on December 1, 1941 as a Sergeant
  • Iron Cross First Class and
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Knight's Cross on June 19, 1942
  • Oak Leaves on 30 October 1942 ( 137th ceremony )
Lake Ilmen Sudetenland Medal Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
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