Klaus Mietusch

On 18 June, 7. Staffel flew together with I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) and intercepted Hurricane fighters belonging to No. 1 Squadron of the South African Air Force (SAAF) covering the British retreat after Operation Battleaxe. In this encounter, No. 1 Squadron lost three Hurricanes, two were claimed by JG 27 and a third was shot down by Mietusch in combat southeast of Sidi Omar. On 21 August, twelve Martin Maryland bombers from the SAAF No. 12 and No. 24 Squadron attacked the Luftwaffe airfields at Kambut. The bombers were escorted by RAF Hurricane fighters from No. 229 Squadron. Bf 109s from JG 27 and 7. Staffel of JG 26 intercepted the flight, some attacking the bombers while others engaged the escort fighters. Mietusch claimed the probable destruction of a Maryland bomber which was not confirmed. This was his last claim on the North African Theater. 7. Staffel was then withdrawn from North Africa and returned France. During its six-month tenure in the Mediterranean Theater, 7. Staffel claimed 52 aerial victories without losing a single pilot nor aircraft in combat.

On 8 March 1944, Mietusch claimed his 60th aerial victory. That day, the Eighth Air Force, formerly known as VIII Bomber Command, targeted the ball bearings works at Erkner near Berlin. Mietusch led his III. Gruppe in the attack which intercepted the bombers on their target approach between Steinhuder Meer and Braunschweig. Due to the defending escort fighters, Mietusch attacked the bombers from the rear with only a few of his Bf 109 fighters. He was credited with a Herausschuss of a B-17 bomber from the 381st Bombardment Group south of Braunschweig before coming under attack by P-47 fighter from the 352nd Fighter Group. His Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 162032) was hit at close range, forcing him to bail out. Although injured, he landed safely near Steinhuder Meer. His victor may have been Captain Virgil Meroney who claimed his eighth aerial victory that day. Mietusch, who was hospitalized for next weeks, was awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 26 March for 60 aerial victories claimed.

Mietusch was killed in action on 17 September 1944 during the first day of Operation Market Garden, the operation to secure a bridgehead over the River Rhine. In an attempt to defend against Allied airborne landings in the Netherlands, Mietusch led a flight of 15 Bf 109s to the Allied landing zones. Near the German border to the Netherlands, Mietusch flight intercepted a squadron of North American P-51 Mustang fighters. In the resulting aerial combat, Mietusch shot down one of the P-51 fighters north of Mönchengladbach before he came under attack by another P-51, piloted by Lieutenant William Beyer from the 376th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the 361st Fighter Group. Mietusch was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6/U4 (Werknummer 441646) by Beyer, crashing near Aldekerk.

Posthumously, Mietusch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 18 November 1944. He was the 653rd member of the German armed forces to be so honored. Mietusch was buried in the honor section of the Düsseldorf Northern Cemetery (Field 112-Section 0-Grave 117). Caldwell characterized Mietusch as a very nervous man with limited social skills. According to Caldwell's account, Mietusch never interacted with non-commissioned officers, overcoming his lack of self-confidence by an act of will.

In January 1943, the Luftwaffe planned to move JG 26 to the Eastern Front. The idea was to exchange JG 26 with Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which supported Army Group North. In order to keep up operations, the exchange was planned by rotating each Gruppe by Gruppe and every Staffel by Staffel. In this context, Mietusch's 7. Staffel was attached to I. Gruppe of JG 54 which was commanded by Hauptmann Hans Philipp and was based outside of Leningrad. On 17 February, 7. Staffel left Courtrai, heading east by train. Following a stop at Heiligenbeil, the unit was based at the airbase at Krasnogvardeysk, present day Gatschina, which is located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Leningrad. At Heiligenbeil, 7. Staffel received 13 new Fw 190 A-4 and A-5 fighters. The combat area of I. Gruppe of JG 54 was predominantly over the front of 18th Army, on the left flank of Army Group North, and on the Volkhov River.

On 5 July, Mietusch arrived at Cuxhaven-Nordholz Airfield where III. Gruppe was based and took over command from Hermichen. In July, the Gruppe received the Bf 109 G-4 and G-6 variants and the pilots began familiarizing themselves with this aircraft type while flying in Defense of the Reich. On the night of 24/25 July, the RAF and USAAF launched Operation Gomorrah, the attack on Hamburg during the last week of July 1943. The RAF initiated the attack at night which created a firestorm in the city. The following day, the USAAF attacked Hamburg with 100 B-17 bombers, spreading the destruction. Further 118 B-17 bombers bombed Kiel that day. Defending against these attacks, Mietusch claimed his first aerial victory as Gruppenkommandeur when he shot down a B-17 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Hamburg. The USAAF targeted the German aircraft industry on 17 August in the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission. Mietusch led his Gruppe against the bombers and shot down two B-17 bombers, the first southeast of Schleiden in the Eifel hills, and the second south of Laacher See. On 29 November, VIII Bomber Command attacked Bremen. III. Gruppe intercepted the bombers prior to their bomb run and Mietusch shot a B-17 from its combat box west of Oldenburg. This was referred to as a Herausschuss (separation shot) and denoted a severely damaged heavy bomber which was forced to separate from its combat box and was counted as an aerial victory.

On 14 April 1942, Mietusch flew Fw 190 A-2 (Werknummer 5215) in combat. His aircraft sustained minor damage, resulting in an emergency landing at Wevelgem. At the time, Mietusch dated Lieselotte Hays, a Luftwaffenhelferin (female air force helper). During the Dieppe Raid on 19 August, Mietusch claimed two aerial victories in the vicinity of Dieppe. He shot down two Spitfires at 10:34 and 10:35 from either No. 19 Squadron or No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron. Mietusch claimed his first two aerial victories over the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 9 October, both claims were not confirmed by the Luftwaffe. The VIII Bomber Command flew a mission to Lille, targeting the locomotive works and steel factory. That day, Mietusch attacked a Short Stirling bomber which in fact was a misidentified Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber from the 301st Bombardment Group which made it back to England. He attacked another B-17 bomber from the 301st Bombardment Group which later made a forced landing in the English Channel. Credited with 23 aerial victories, Mietusch was presented the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 16 October 1942.

On 22 January 1941, 7. Staffel received orders to relocate to Sicily in support of X. Fliegerkorps, under the command of General der Flieger (General of the Flyers) Hans Geisler, for actions against the strategically important island of Malta. With the opening of a new front in North Africa in mid-1940, British air and sea forces based on the island could attack Axis ships transporting vital supplies and reinforcements from Europe to North Africa. To counter this threat the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) were tasked with bombing raids in an effort to neutralise the RAF defences and the ports. That day the unit and a 40-strong detachment of ground crews departed Wevelgem. Following a brief stopover in Rome, 7. Staffel arrived in Gela on Sicily on 9 February 1941. There, the unit received factory new Bf 109 E-7 aircraft.

Mietusch was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel on 19 September 1941. He succeeded Hauptmann Joachim Müncheberg in this command position. Müncheberg had led the Staffel since 22 August 1940 and had been given command of II. Gruppe after its former commander, Hauptmann Walter Adolph was killed in action. On 20 September, 7. Staffel began conversion training to the then new Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft at their airfield in Ligescourt. Full transition from the Bf 109 F-4 to the Fw 190 was not completed until mid-November.

Born in Bochum, Mietusch grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He joined the military service in the Luftwaffe in 1937. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) in 1939. Flying with this wing, Mietusch claimed his first aerial victory on 31 May 1940 on the Western Front during the Battle of France. In early 1941, he fought in the Mediterranean theater. He was made Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of JG 26 in September 1941 and in January 1943, was posted to the Eastern Front. In July 1943 he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 26. Following his 60th aerial victory, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944. Mietusch claimed his last aerial victory on 17 September 1944 during the Operation Market Garden. He was killed in action that day, shot down by a North American P-51 Mustang fighter from the 361st Fighter Group. Posthumously, Mietusch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 18 November 1944.

Mietusch claimed his first aerial victory during the Battle of France on 31 May 1940. In combat with the fighters from No. 213 and No. 264 Squadron from the Royal Air Force (RAF), he shot down a Hawker Hurricane fighter near Dunkirk. On 8 June, Mietusch made a forced landing in his Bf 109 E-1 (Werknummer 2746) behind enemy lines. He was shot down in combat with a Hurricane near Neufchâtel. Although uninjured in the landing, he was shot by a French civilian and taken prisoner of war. Following the armistice of 22 June 1940, he was sent to hospital in Germany.

Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) was created on 1 May 1939 in Düsseldorf by renaming Jagdgeschwader 132 (JG 132—132nd Fighter Wing) and was commanded by Oberst Eduard Ritter von Schleich, a flying ace of World War I. Mietusch, who was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) in 1939, was among the first pilots assigned to this unit following his training as a fighter pilot.

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Mietusch, who was serving as a technical officer with the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit), was replaced in this capacity by Leutnant Walter Horten on 14 December. Serving with 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of JG 26, he crashed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 (Werknummer 1202—factory number) during takeoff at Chièvres Airfield on 27 May. At the time 7. Staffel was headed by Oberleutnant Georg Beyer. III. Gruppe (3rd group), to which his squadron was subordinated, was commanded by Major Ernst Freiherr von Berg who was replaced by Hauptmann Adolf Galland on 11 June.

Klaus Mietusch (5 August 1918 – 17 September 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 72 aerial victories achieved in 452 combat missions. This figure includes 15 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and further 57 victories over the Western Allies, including 13 four-engined bombers.

Mietusch was born on 5 August 1918 in Posen in the Province of Posen, part of the Kingdom of Prussia, present-day Poznań in west-central Poland. At birth, his last-name was Mitusz which was later changed to Mietusch to sound more German. Following graduation from school with his Abitur (university-preparatory high school diploma), Mietusch joined the military service in the Luftwaffe in 1937, as a Fahnenjunker (officer cadet).

On 12 April, Mietusch was injured in a landing accident and was again hospitalized, this time for three weeks. His Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 162345) ran into a bomb crater during landing at the Étain-Rouvres Airfield. On 1 May, he was promoted to Major (major). On 12 May, the USAAF flew a mission against the German fuel industry, 886 bombers, escorted by 735 fighters, attacked six oil refineries. Mietusch intercepted the bombers on their return to England and claimed a Herausschuss of a B-17 bomber from the 452d Bombardment Group near Bastogne.