It must have worked because on September 1, he downed 17 planes in three sorties – bringing his total to a whopping 126. General Field Marshall Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (left), “The Desert Fox,” congratulating Marseille for being the youngest to attain the rank of “Hauptmann” on SeptemPhoto Credit He had a fiancée, at the time, and some historians suggest that she was the leverage they used on him. The Gestapo found him, eventually, and convinced him to return to his base. On August 13, he was in Italy to receive an award from Benito Mussolini, after which he disappeared. The official line was that the Jews had simply been sent off to Eastern Europe.īut Marseille now knew otherwise. That visibly upset him since his family had been friends with a Jewish doctor who delivered him at birth. The following month, Marseille was at another party when he heard officials talking about the Jews. He did so, starting with some classics before moving on to play American jazz – which was banned since Hitler considered it “degenerate.” Upset, Hitler left. During a party hosted by Willy Messerschmitt (designer of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter plane), he was asked to play the piano. He was sent back to Germany in June to meet Hitler. Hitler presenting Marseille with the Swords to the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) in July 1942 Photo Credit As a result, he used far less bullets than most – averaging about 15 per hit. He not only took risks that went against the rulebooks, but also learned to get close to his enemies. He took it a step further, however, by coming at them from a high angle instead of the standard fly-in-from-behind-’em-and-shoot. This involves shooting not at the enemy per se, but at where they’ll be based on their trajectory. It was in North Africa that he learned to hone his skills, mastering a form of aerial combat known as deflection shooting. Based in an airfield just outside Tripoli, Libya the lack of available women would change all that… eventually. Marseille was a party animal who was often too hung over to fly. 213 Squadron RAF he shot down Photo Credit Which was why he transferred the new kid to North Africa – where he’d earn the title, “Star of Africa.” Marseille in February 1942 standing beside the Hurricane Mk IIB of No. Neumann knew that Marseille was a troublemaker but saw his potential. So they transferred him to JG 27 on December 24 under Group Commander Eduard Neumann. So Marseille achieved three more victories before they kicked him out and reassigned him to the 52 nd Fighter Wing (JG 52). Still, there was a war and Germany needed every able-bodied man it had. He had abandoned his leader, who was killed. His fourth victory happened on September 18… for which he again got in trouble. Marseille joined the attack on Britain on August 24 where he shot down a British plane – his first! But at the cost of abandoning his wingman, for which he got in trouble.
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Group Commander Eduard Neumann (right) Photo Credit To everyone’s surprise, he graduated with an outstanding assessment on July 18, 1940. On NovemMarseille was posted with the 5 th fighter pilot school. This and many other such incidents held him back while his colleagues graduated and attained rank. Upset, they called the authorities, causing him to be suspended. He took off just as a group of farmers arrived to see if he was alright, blasting them away with his slipstream. During one cross-country flight, he landed in a field to relieve himself. That changed when he joined the Luftwaffe (German Airforce) on November 7, 1938… sort of. Spoiled and pampered because of that, he never learned to respect authority and developed a reputation as a lazy, rebellious, and troublesome student. As a child, he had been rather sickly and almost died from influenza. Hans-Joachim Marseille in 1942 Photo CreditĪs for Marseille, he wasn’t expected to enter the military.