Ernst Süß

In the spring of 1943, Süß was transferred to the Ergänzungsgruppe Ost, where he remained a long time as an instructor. With this unit he attained his 64th and last victory on the Eastern front on 31 May 1943.

Süß was made the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) on 7 October 1943 of 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 11. This unit fought in the Defense of the Reich, with which he won his last four victories.

On 20 December 1943, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bombed Bremen. In total 546 bombers, escorted by 491 escort fighters, targeted the port of Bremen. Defending against this attack, Süß shot down a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter but was himself shot down by USAAF fighters near Wardenburg, south of Oldenburg, in his Messerschmitt Bf-109 G-5 (Werknummer 15 709—factory number). Süß managed to bail out but was shot in his parachute by a USAAF pilot.

On 22 July 1942, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 52, Major Herbert Ihlefeld, was severely injured in a flight accident and had to surrender command during his convalescence. In consequence, Major Gordon Gollob, the commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), temporarily took over command of JG 52 as acting Geschwaderkommodore. On 17 August, Gollob was ordered dispatch one Schwarm, a flight of four aircraft, of every III. Gruppe squadron to the Don-bend. The pilots selected for this mission included Süß, Graf and Füllgrabe.

The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) Wilhelm Speidel. III. Gruppe of JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Here, Süß joined the trio of Hermann Graf, Alfred Grislawski and Heinrich Füllgrabe. Later, Leopold Steinbatz and Edmund Roßmann joined as well.

In the months following the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the 9./JG 52, later dubbed the Karaya Quartet, became one of the most successful units of the Luftwaffe. Süß flew alongside Graf, Grislawski and Füllgrabe. He claimed his first victory on 8 August 1941 and in the next twelve months, fighting in the Caucasus and the Battle of Stalingrad, Süß reached a series of victories against the Soviets, for which he was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 4 May 1942, the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 29 June 1942. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) was awarded to him on 4 September 1942 following 50 aerial victories claimed.

Ernst Süß (31 August 1912 – 20 December 1943) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. During his career he was credited with 68 aerial victories.

Süß was born on 31 August 1912 in Possessern, at the time in East Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia within the German Empire, present-day Pozezdrze in northern Poland. As a reserve pilot, he was appointed to join 9./Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) as an Unteroffizier. With this unit he participated in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, without achieving any victory confirmed in this period.