Edmund Roßmann

Unteroffizier "Paule" Roßmann was transferred to 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 1 March 1940. At the time, 7. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Herbert Ferner. The Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 52 headed by Major Wolf-Heinrich von Houwald.^[2] The Gruppe had been formed on 1 March 1940 at Strausberg and was equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1 and E-3. On 6 April, the Gruppe was moved to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield where it was placed under the control of the Stab (headquarter unit) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53–53rd Fighter Wing).^[3] On 1 July, III. Gruppe transferred from Jever Airfield to Werneuchen.^[4] According to Mathews and Foreman, Roßmann filed claim for an unconfirmed aerial victory over an unknown type of aircraft that day.^[5] This claim is not listed by Barbas nor by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.^[6][7]

Roßmann participated in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain. He was credited with six aerial victories in the western theatre.

In defense of Germany's southeastern borders, with its primary objective defending the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești, Romania, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) was created. On 15 October, the Stab and 9. Staffel of III. Gruppe of JG 52 were sent to Bucharest Pipera Airfield, followed by 7. And 8. Staffel in late November. There, the III. Gruppe of JG 52 temporarily became the I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing). On 4 January 1941, the Gruppe again became the III. Gruppe of JG 52. On 25 May, III. Gruppe was sent to Greece where it was subordinated to Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and fought in the Battle of Crete.^[8]

Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III. Gruppe was back in Bucharest by mid-June.^[9] There, the unit was again subordinated to the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien and reequipped with the new, more powerful Bf 109 F-4 model. On 21 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești.^[10] Prior to the invasion, Major Gotthard Handrick was replaced by Major Albert Blumensaat as commander of III. Gruppe. Blumensaat was then replaced by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin on 1 October. At the time, von Bonin was still in convalescence so that Hauptmann Franz Höring, the commander of 9. Staffel, was also made the acting Gruppenkommandeur (group commander).^[11] The invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June. The next day, the Gruppe moved to Mamaia, the northern district of Constanța on the Black Sea coast.^[12]

Roßmann received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 17 November.^[13] By the end of 1941 he had accumulated 32 aerial victories. On 19 March 1942, Roßmann and fellow JG 52 pilot Leutnant Adolf Dickfeld were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).^[14] From March to June 1942, he was posted to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group, East) as fighter pilot instructor and returned to his Staffel afterwards. Nevertheless, he almost doubled his score by the end of 1942 and claimed his 80th victory on 29 November 1942. At the time, he was an early mentor of Erich Hartmann, history's leading fighter ace.^[15]

On 9 July 1943, Roßmann attempted to rescue Feldwebel Ernst Lohberg who had crash landed behind enemy lines, approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Oboyan. Roßmann successfully landed his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 20154—factory number) next to Lohberg's aircraft. At this moment, the Soviet infantry arrived, while Lohberg was shot, Roßmann was taken prisoner of war.^[16][17]

Roßmann died on 4 April 2005 at the age of 87 in Krefeld, Germany.^[18]

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Roßmann was credited with 93 aerial victories.^[19] Spick also lists Roßmann with 93 aerial victories claimed in approximately 640 combat missions. This figure includes 87 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and further six victories over the Western Allies.^[20] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 93 aerial victory claims, plus six further unconfirmed claims. All of his confirmed aerialvitories were claimed on the Eastern Front.^[21]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 44457". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[22]

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[58]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 17 November 1941 as Unteroffizier and pilot^{[59][Note 9]}
• German Cross in Gold on 22 January 1942 as Feldwebel in the III./Jagdgeschwader 52^[61]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 March 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot in the 7./Jagdgeschwader 52^[62][63]