# Maximilian Volke

Maximilian Volke (Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, 23 May 1915 – Mirandola, Italy, 5 September 1944) was a Luftwaffe Oberfeldwebel (flight sergeant) and 36-victory fighter ace of the Jagdgeschwader 77.
Volke was a veteran of the campaigns in Russia and Africa. On 5 September 1944, he was shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 441456—factory number) near Mirandola-Cividale. Volke was 29 years and was decorated with the German Cross in Gold, received as Feldwebel in the II./JG 77 on 12 July 1943.
Ofw. Volke's remains and parts of his aircraft were located and dug out of a farmer's field in Mirandola, just north of Modena by an Italian amateur war history research team (the Romagna Air Finders) in July 2007, nearly 63 years after he was shot down.

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 36 aerial victory claims. This figure includes 27 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and nine over the Western Allies, including three four-engine bomber.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 83763". 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 ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 ||||||||||
| 1 | 26 June 1941 | 14:25 | SB-3 | | | | | | |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 – On the Eastern Front — 17 March – 30 April 1942 ||||||||||
| 2 | 19 March 1942 | 12:45 | DB-3 | | 3 | 23 April 1942 | 13:14 | Pe-2 | |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 – On the Eastern Front — 1 May – 7 November 1942 ||||||||||
| 4 | 13 May 1942 | 15:24 | LaGG-3 | | 16 | 6 August 1942 | 18:10 | Douglas DB-7 (Boston) | PQ 83763 60 km (37 mi) south-southwest of Yelets |
| 5 | 15 May 1942 | 15:00 | Il-2 | | 17 | 7 August 1942 | 11:12 | LaGG-3 | PQ 92471 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Voronezh |
| 6 | 16 July 1942 | 18:02 | Yak-1 | | 18 | 11 August 1942 | 11:37 | LaGG-3 | PQ 92364 20 km (12 mi) east of Voronezh |
| 7 | 17 July 1942 | 18:34 | Il-2 | | 19 | 11 August 1942 | 11:38 | LaGG-3 | PQ 92353 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Voronezh |
| 8 | 19 July 1942 | 06:22 | Pe-2 | | 20 | 12 August 1942 | 07:15 | Douglas DB-7 (Boston) | PQ 92424 25 km (16 mi) east of Voronezh |
| 9 | 19 July 1942 | 06:23 | Pe-2 | | 21 | 12 August 1942 | 07:20 | Pe-2 | PQ 92324 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Voronezh |
| 10 | 19 July 1942 | 06:36 | Il-2 | | 22 | 13 August 1942 | 10:50 | Il-2 | PQ 83811 50 km (31 mi) south of Yelets |
| 11 | 23 July 1942 | 04:06 | Pe-2 | | 23 | 13 August 1942 | 18:14 | LaGG-3 | PQ 83871, Semljansk 60 km (37 mi) northwest of Voronezh |
| 12 | 25 July 1942? | 05:06 | Hurricane | | 24 | 21 August 1942 | 11:06 | Yak-1 | PQ 92783 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Sloboda |
| 13 | 28 July 1942 | 07:40 | Hurricane | PQ 82231 40 km (25 mi) north-northwest of Voronezh | 25 | 26 August 1942 | 05:55 | Pe-2 | PQ 82274 45 km (28 mi) west-northwest of Voronezh |
| 14 | 28 July 1942 | 15:15? | Douglas DB-7 (Boston) | PQ 92353 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Voronezh | 26 | 13 September 1942 | 10:22 | Hurricane | PQ 92594 30 km (19 mi) north-northwest of Sloboda |
| 15 | 28 July 1942 | 15:20 | Douglas DB-7 (Boston) | PQ 92354, Voronezh 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Voronezh | 27 | 13 September 1942 | 10:27 | Yak-1 | PQ 92653 50 km (31 mi) north-northeast of Sloboda |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Mediterranean Theater, North Africa — 1 January – May 1943 ||||||||||
| 28 | 7 March 1943 | 12:35 | Spitfire | 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Medenine | 31 | 12 March 1943 | 14:26 | P-38 | 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Kairouan |
| 29 | 10 March 1943 | 16:37 | P-40 | PQ 03 Ost 94652, 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Gabès | 32 | 13 March 1943 | 17:52 | P-39 | 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of La Fauconnerie |
| 30 | 10 March 1943 | 16:45 | P-40 | PQ 03 Ost 94663, 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Gabès 60 km (37 mi) south-southwest of Gabès | 33 | 7 April 1943 | 09:00 | Spitfire | 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Skhira |
| – 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Mediterranean Theater, Italy — May – 31 December 1943 ||||||||||
| 34 | 4 July 1943 | 11:30 | B-17 | 110 km (68 mi) east of Syracuse | 36 | 16 July 1943 | 13:28 | B-24 | 2 km (1.2 mi) southwest of Santeramo in Colle 15 km (9.3 mi) south-southwest of Palazzo San Gervasio |
| 35 | 8 July 1943 | 12:40 | B-17 | 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Capo Scaramia | | | | | |

### Awards

* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 5 June 1943 as Feldwebel and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 10 July 1944 as Feldwebel in the II./Jagdgeschwader 77