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Wilhelm Batz
Victories : 237
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Country : Germany
Fought in : WW2
Fought for : Axis
Died : 11th September 1988
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Major Wilhelm "Willi" Batz was born 21 May 1916 in Bamberg died 11 September 1988 in Mauschendorf/Ebern in Unterfranken.
Willi Batz flew 445 combat missions and claimed 237 enemy aircraft shot down. 234 victories were achieved over the Eastern front, including at least 46 Il-2 Sturmoviks, but he did claim three victories, including one four-engine bomber against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) over the Ploie?ti oil fields. He was wounded three times and was shot down four times.
Willi Batz joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and trained as a fighter pilot, becoming an instructor in 1937 at the flying school at Kaufbeuren and the fighter pilot school at Bad Aibling. He was promoted to Leutnant in November 1940, his applications for combat assignment were continually rejected. With some 5,000 flying hours, Batz was finally transferred to 2./Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost in December 1942.[1]. Batz was then transferred to II./JG 52. On 11 March, 1943, Batz claimed his first victory, a Il-2 Sturmovik, while flying a mission over the Strait of Kerch.[2] He was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 52 in May 1943, and by September, he had claimed 20 victories. By the end of 1943, Willi Batz had 75 victories to his credit.
He recorded his 100th in late March 1944, and was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 26 March 1944. In April, Willi Batz was appointed Gruppenkommandeur, III./JG 52. In June, his unit was moved to defend Rumanian targets against the American 15th Air Force. Batz downed two P-51s and a B-24 at this time. Hauptmann Batz was awarded the Eichenlaub on 20 July for 188 victories, 200 being achieved on 17 August, 1944.
By the end of 1944, Willi had shot down 224 enemy aircraft. In February 1945, he was transferred to take command of II./JG 52, based in Hungary. Major Batz was awarded the Schwerter on 21 April, 1945. At war’s end he was able to extricate his unit and men from Hungary and Austria back to Germany to surrender to American forces. He was thus able to avoid the prolonged Soviet captivity that befell the personnel of other two JG 52 Gruppen.
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