page_title: Hans Philipp
section_title: Wing commander of JG 1 and death
hierarchical_section_title: Hans Philipp / World War II / Wing commander of JG 1 and death
caption_attribution_description: English: Robert S. Johnson, American World War II flying ace. Photo received 22 May 1944 from Signal Corps, released to public 26 May 1945 Čeština: Robert S. Johnson, americké letecké eso 2. světové války
context_page_description: Hans Philipp was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He is credited with 206 enemy aircraft shot down in over 500 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 29 claims over the Western Front.
  Born in Meissen, Philipp grew up in the Weimar Republic and Third Reich as the only child of a single parent, Alma Philipp. He was raised under challenging financial circumstances, and volunteered for military service in the Wehrmacht in 1936. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 76 of the Luftwaffe and participated in the invasion of Poland and as a Staffelkapitän in the Battle of France. His unit was reformed as II./Jagdgeschwader 54 in June 1940. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 October 1940 during the Battle of Britain. He then fought in the aerial battles of the Balkans Campaign and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
context_section_description: In April 1943, Philipp was transferred to Defense of the Reich duties as Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing), flying high altitude interception operations against the USAAF Eighth Air Force over the North Sea and northern Germany. He claimed his 204th victory on 2 May, and his 205th on 18 May before falling ill with appendicitis. This required hospitalization in Meissen. On 4 October 1943, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring is said to have issued the following instructions after another attack by the Eighth Air Force.
  There are no meteorological conditions which would prevent fighters from taking off and engaging in combat.
  Every fighter pilot returning in a machine not showing any sign of combat, or without having recorded a victory will be prosecuted by a court-martial.
  In the case of where a pilot uses up his ammunition, or if his weapons are unusable, he should ram the enemy bomber.
  Philipp's response was "As far as I'm concerned, I categorically refuse to allow myself to be held to such advice; I know what I have to do!"
  On 8 October 1943, the US Eighth Air Force attacked targets in Bremen and Vegesack with 156 bombers. The bombers were escorted by more than 250 Thunderbolts from six different fighter groups. Phillipp's flight was intercepted by P-47s of the 56th Fighter Group. The Stab Flight of the Geschwader heard Philipp announce a victory over a Thunderbolt. The last transmission from him was, "Reinhardt, attack!", Feldwebel Hans-Günther Reinhardt was Philipp's wingman on this day. He last saw the Kommodore's aircraft disappear in a cloud. Reinhardt was wounded after colliding with an enemy aircraft, but made a successful forced landing. Later that evening, the Geschwader learned that their Geschwaderkommodore had been shot down and killed in his Fw 190 A-6 "Red 6" (Werknummer 530407—factory number).
  The report filed by Reinhardt on 10 October 1943 stated that he and Philipp had taken off at 14:11 on a mission against enemy bombers in the vicinity of Bremen. The group led by Y-Verfahren (Y-Control) had sighted a formation of about 30 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses southwest of Bremen at 15:12. The bombers had already completed their bomb run and were returning to England. Philipp started his attack from the right, driving the attack to pointblank range, flaming one of the B-17s which crashed at 15:32. Philipp then flew under the formation to the left when he was hit from the defensive fire of a rear gunner on one of the B-17s which was lagging behind. Philipp then went into a dive and Rheinhardt asked by radio "what has happened?" His response was "Reinhardt, attack". Reinhardt, who had seen that Philipp had been hit, followed Philipp down until he disappeared in a lower cloud layer. More recent research has suggested that Philipp may also have been hit by a P-47 "Thunderbolt" piloted by Robert S. Johnson of the 61st Fighter Squadron. Philipp tried to return to his airfield, but was forced to bail out at low altitude at 15:45 between Hardenberg and Itterbeck, near Wielen (52°31′44″N 06°43′08″E). His parachute failed to open and the jump from an altitude of about 50 meters (160 ft) mortally wounded him. His body was recovered and examined in the field hospital in Rheine the next day. The post mortem examination revealed extensive burns, particularly to the face, a laceration on the back of his head, multiple broken bones and flesh wounds as well as a particularly deep injury to his upper abdomen and inner organs.
  From Rheine, on 10 October 1943 Philipp's body was transported to Meissen by train  where it arrived the next day. The Wehrmachtbericht announced his death on 12 October. The funeral at the Trinitatisfriedhof (Trinitatis Cemetery) in Meissen, on 14 October 1943, was dominated by military, public and Nazi officials. His coffin, which was draped in the national flag of the Third Reich along with his honors and decorations on a velvet cushion, was put on display on the entry steps of the town hall in Meissen. Present at the funeral along with his mother, his fiancée 
caption: Robert S. Johnson in his P-47 Thunderbolt, 13 April 1944.
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