Franz Schiess

Infobox Military Person
name=Franz Schiess
lived=birth date|1921|2|21|df=y — death date and age|1943|9|2|1921|2|21|df=y [Scutts 1994, p. 94.]
placeofbirth=St Polten, Austria
placeofdeath= Gulf of Naples, near Cancello, Italy


caption=Franz Schiess
nickname="Nawratil"
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=Luftwaffe
serviceyears= "Heer": 1938-1940, "Luftwaffe": 1940 - 1943
rank=Hauptmann
commands=8./JG 53
unit=JG 53
battles=World War II
*Polish Campaign ("Heer")
*Channel Front
*North African Campaign and Mediterranean Theatre
awards= German Cross in Gold (23 January 1943)Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (21 June 1943
laterwork=

Franz Schiess (21 February, 1921 - 2 September 1943) was a German fighter ace. He scored 67 victories in 657 missions, (14 on the Eastern Front, and 53 against the Western Allies) whilst flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

War time service

During the Polish campaign, he saw service in the Army before transferring to the "Luftwaffe" and undergoing fighter pilot training in 1940. Schiess was posted to JG 53, based on the Channel front, in March 1941. On 22 June 1941, Schiess scored his first victories on the opening day of Operation Barbarossa, destroying a I-153 biplane fighter and a Ilyushin DB-3 bomber.

The members of his Staffel called him "Nawratil", by his radio call sign name. Schiess joined JG 53 in the spring of 1941 and until February flew as a member of the "Geschwaderstab". In this time he established a close friendship with Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn. [Prien 1998, p. 678.]

After achieving 14 kills on the Eastern front JG 53 was withdrawn and, following rest and refitting in Germany, then deployed to the Mediterranean. Operating from Sicily, Schiess flew sorties over Malta scoring 11 victories. In Tunisia Schiess continued his success, gaining a further 13 victories.

"Leutnant" Schiess was awarded the German Cross in Gold on January 23, 1943 as a member of Stab/JG 53. [Patzwall 2001, p. 405] On 16 February 1943, Schiess was appointed "Staffelkapitän" of 8./JG 53 and reached 50 kills on 21 May over Sicily, he was to score 29 kills as "head" of 8./JG 53 [Scutts 1994, p. 94.] . Schiess was awarded the Knight's Cross on 21 June for 55 victories. In August, Schieß shot down 12 enemy aircraft in 11 days of which seven were P-38 twin-engine fighters. Together with Jürgen Harder of III./JG 53, Schiess was promoted to the rank of "Hauptmann" on September 1, 1943.Prien 1998, p. 677.]

Among his 67 aerial victories were 17 P-38 Lightnings, making him the highest scoring "Lightning Killer" of the war.

Death

On 2 September 1943 Schiess led a scramble against a USAAF B-25 bomber formation attacking Marshalling Yards at Cancello. His unit engaged the fighter escort of P-38 Lightnings. The final battles took place around the island of Ischia; at about 1:45 PM the pilots heard Franz Schiess radio: "At them again, everyone get ready!" At the time the formation was 30 to 40 km southwest of Ischia. It was at this time that Hauptmann Schiess wingman was forced away by two Lightnings and lost sight of his "Staffelkapitän". Ten of the P-38s were shot down, but Schiess Bf 109 G-6 (W.Nr. 160 022) "Black 1 + I", crashed into the Mediterranean 30-50km SSW of Ischia. [Prien 1998, p. 729.] Although it was not witnessed he probably was shot down by a P-38 [Scutts 1994, p. 61.] .

On September 27 Günther von Maltzahn wrote to Schiess' parents expressing the close friendship they shared: [Prien 1998, p. 678, 679]

"I ask that you and your husband accept my and my Geschwader's most sincere and heartfelt sympathy on the unspeakably hard stroke of fate which befell your son Franz.

I can sympathize with how hard it must be to come to terms with thought that you will never see your son Franz again in this life. One could not have wished for a better officer. Not only did there exist a comradeship and a mutual trust between "Kommodore" and adjutant that was tested in far more than 100 air battles, but in him I lost my best friend, on whom I could depend no matter what the situation."

References

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Persondata
NAME=Schiess, Franz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Schiehs, Franz
SHORT DESCRIPTION=German World War II fighter pilot
DATE OF BIRTH=February 21, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH=St Polten, Austria
DATE OF DEATH=September 2, 1943
PLACE OF DEATH=Gulf of Naples, Italy