Heinz-Horst Hißbach

In the night of 14/15 April 1945, Hißbach and his crew of Hubert Varzecha and Max Mayer were killed in action when they were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery. The three were strafing a US resupply column, destroying eight vehicles, in the area of Gelnhausen when their aircraft was hit and exploded. Posthumously, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) that day.

On 1 November 1944, Hißbach succeeded Major Paul Semrau as Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2—2nd Night Fighter Wing).

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.

According Spick, Hißbach was credited with 34 nocturnal aerial victories, claimed in approximately 200 combat missions. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 30 victory claims. Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, stating that Hißbach claimed more than 29 aerial victories, plus two further unconfirmed claims.

Heinz-Horst Hißbach (30 January 1916 – 14 April 1945) was a Luftwaffe night fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Heinz-Horst Hißbach claimed 34 aerial victories, all of them at night.