# Klaus Quaet-Faslem

Klaus Quaet-Faslem (5 September 1913 – 30 January 1944) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. On 30 January 1944 he was killed in a flying accident due to bad weather. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 9 June 1944. During his career he was credited with 49 aerial victories.

## Career

On 20 October 1940, Quaet-Faslem was transferred from Jagdfliegerschule 1 (1st fighter pilot school) at Werneuchen to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) where he assumed the position of adjutant. At the time, III. Gruppe was commanded by Hauptmann Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke.

### Operation Barbarossa

In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, JG 53 arrived in Mannheim-Sandhofen on 8 June 1941 where the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul. On 12 June, the Geschwader began its relocation east, with III. Gruppe moving to Suwałki in northeastern Poland. Two days later, III. Gruppe transferred to a forward airfield at Sobolewo.
On 21 November 1941, Quaet-Faslem was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel of JG 53, succeeding Oberleutnant Ignaz Prestele who was transferred.
On 19 August 1942, Quaet-Faslem was transferred and was succeeded by Leutant Walter Zellot as commander of 2. Staffel of JG 53. On 31 August, he took command of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), succeeding Hauptmann Georg Michalek.
On 17 August 1943 during the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission, Quaet-Faslem claimed his 48th aerial victory when he shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Following aerial combat on 24 October, Quaet-Faslem made a forced landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 27149—factory number) at Lille.
On 30 January 1944, Quaet-Faslem was killed in a flying accident when his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 15243) crashed in bad weather at Langeleben near Helmstedt. Following his death, Hauptmann Joachim von Wehren temporarily assumed command of the Gruppe before Hauptmann Josef Haiböck officially took command on 8 February. His grave is located on the cemetery Mönchengladbach-Holt, next to the grave of Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke.

## Summary of military career
### Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Quaet-Faslem was credited with 49 aerial victories, of which 41 were claimed on the Eastern Front, one over Poland and seven over the Western Allies, including two four-engine heavy bombers. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 49 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 42 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and seven on the Western Front, including two four-engine heavy bombers and one de Havilland Mosquito fighter bomber.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 4939". 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 km$^2$). 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.
Chronicle of aerial victories :
| This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Quaet-Faslem did not receive credit.  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
| – 1.(Jagd) Staffel of Lehrgeschwader 2 – Invasion of Poland — 1–30 September 1939 ||||||||||
| — | 4 September 1939 | — | PZL P.24 | vicinity of Poczałkowo | 1 | 9 September 1939 | 17:02 | PZL P.24 | vicinity of Lubień |
| – Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – July 1941 ||||||||||
| 2 | 22 June 1941 | 16:45 | I-17 (MiG-1) | | 5 | 5 July 1941 | 16:06 | R-5 | |
| 3 | 22 June 1941 | 16:47 | I-17 (MiG-1) | | 6 | 14 July 1941 | 14:22 | R-5 | |
| 4 | 26 June 1941 | 10:01 | DB-3 | | | | | | |
| – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 – Operation Barbarossa — July – 7 August 1941 ||||||||||
| — | 25 July 1941 | — | DB-3 | | — | 4 August 1941 | — | I-16 | |
| – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 – Action over the Netherlands — 7 August – 15 December 1941 ||||||||||
| 7 | 24 October 1941 | 15:40 | Spitfire | 80 km (50 mi) west of Zandvoort | | | | | |
| – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 – Mediterranean Theater — 15 December 1941 – 30 April 1942 ||||||||||
| 8 | 22 December 1941 | 14:36 | Hurricane | Malta | 10 | 14 April 1942 | 16:45 | Beaufort | |
| 9 | 15 February 1942 | 09:17? | Beaufort | | | | | | |
| – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 – Eastern Front — 28 May – 18 August 1942 ||||||||||
| 11 | 1 June 1942 | 08:25 | I-61 (MiG-3) | | 24 | 7 August 1942 | 10:47 | MiG-1 | PQ 4939 25 km (16 mi) south of Stalingrad |
| 12 | 1 July 1942 | 12:20 | P-39 | 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Voronezh | 25 | 8 August 1942 | 07:06 | Il-2 | PQ 49612 35 km (22 mi) south-southeast of Stalingrad |
| 13 | 3 July 1942 | 13:15 | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Semljansk | 26 | 8 August 1942 | 17:30 | Er-2 | PQ 49351 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Stalingrad |
| 14 | 3 July 1942 | 13:25 | Il-2 | 20 km (12 mi) south-southwest of Zadonsk | 27 | 10 August 1942 | 08:27 | LaGG-3 | PQ 39364 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Stalingrad |
| 15 | 5 July 1942 | 13:17 | Boston | 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Nishnij Kaluchowka | 28 | 12 August 1942 | 04:38 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49351 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Stalingrad |
| 16 | 5 July 1942 | 13:40 | Boston | 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Bojewo railway station | 29 | 13 August 1942 | 17:40 | LaGG-3 | PQ 39422 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Pitomnik Airfield |
| 17 | 8 July 1942 | 11:22 | Il-2 | | 30 | 13 August 1942 | 17:45 | MiG-3? | PQ 39432 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Pitomnik Airfield |
| 18 | 11 July 1942 | 09:54 | I-61 (MiG-3) | | 31 | 13 August 1942 | 18:12 | Il-2 | PQ 49182 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Bassargino |
| 19 | 1 August 1942 | 07:04 | LaGG-3 | PQ 39251 15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Pitomnik Airfield | 32 | 16 August 1942 | 13:30 | LaGG-3 | PQ 40752 30 km (19 mi) north of Gumrak |
| 20 | 5 August 1942 | 15:23 | R-Z? | PQ 49653 50 km (31 mi) south-southeast of Stalingrad | 33 | 17 August 1942 | 12:20? | Il-2 | PQ 39433 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Pitomnik Airfield |
| 21 | 6 August 1942 | 10:33 | MiG-1 | PQ 49534 30 km (19 mi) south of Stalingrad | 34 | 17 August 1942 | 17:03 | LaGG-3 | PQ 40774 75 km (47 mi) north-northeast of Pitomnik Airfield |
| 22 | 6 August 1942 | 10:43 | R-Z? | PQ 49382 25 km (16 mi) south of Bassargino | 35 | 17 August 1942 | 17:07? | LaGG-3 | PQ 30893 25 km (16 mi) north of Pitomnik Airfield |
| 23 | 6 August 1942 | 15:00 | MiG-1 | PQ 4955 45 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Stalingrad | | | | | |
| – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" – Eastern Front — 19 August 1942 – 20 January 1943 ||||||||||
| 36 | 19 August 1942 | 17:30 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 40794 | 42 | 3 September 1942 | 06:00 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 49434 |
| 37 | 19 August 1942 | 17:47 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 40841 | 43 | 3 September 1942 | 06:30 | P-40 | 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Srednyaya Akhtuba 40 km (25 mi) east of Stalingrad |
| 38 | 22 August 1942 | 17:50 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 49131 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Grebenka | 44 | 3 September 1942 | 17:30 | Yak-1 | PQ 35 Ost 59142 |
| 39 | 23 August 1942 | 06:05 | I-180 (Yak-7) | PQ 35 Ost 49253, northeast of Stalingrad 45 km (28 mi) east-northeast of Stalingrad | 45 | 12 December 1942 | 09:30 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 3987 |
| 40 | 2 September 1942 | 06:24 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 50823 | 46 | 20 December 1942 | 11:00 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 3963 |
| 41 | 2 September 1942 | 06:25 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 50823 | | | | | |
| – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" – Defense of the Reich — 1 May – 22 October 1943 ||||||||||
| 47 | 17 July 1943 | 10:45 | B-17 | PQ 05 Ost S/GJ over sea, off Haarlem | 48 | 17 August 1943 | 15:58 | B-17 | PQ 05 Ost S/QR-7 Geisenheim, west of Mainz |
| – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" – Action in the West — 1–8 January 1944 ||||||||||
| 49 | 4 January 1944 | 15:55 | Mosquito | west of Amiens | | | | | |

### Awards

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 21 September 1942 as Oberleutnant and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 29 October 1942 as Oberleutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 53
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 June 1944 (posthumously) as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"