German fighter pilot (1916–1944)
Gerhard Loos (21 August 1916 – 6 March 1944) was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he claimed 92 aerial victories, 14 of which were claimed in Defense of the Reich.
Born in Kommern within the Sudetenland, Loos served in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany. Following flight training, he served as an instructor before being posted to "Jagdgeschwader" 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in late 1942, operating on the Eastern Front. He claimed his first aerial victory on 19 February 1943. By late September 1943, his number of aerial victories had increased to 83 and was transferred to the Western Front. Here, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943 and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 February 1944. On 21 February, Loos was appointed "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) of 9. "Staffel" (9th squadron) of JG 54. He was killed in action on 6 March 1944 in aerial combat with United States Army Air Forces fighters near Oldenburg.
Career.
Loos was born on 21 August 1916 in Kommern, at the time part of Brüx within the Sudetenland, present-day Komořany which is part of Most in the Czech Republic. In early 1939, Loos entered the Luftwaffe and following completion of flight and fighter pilot training, he served as an instructor with a "Jagdfliegerschule" 5, the fighter pilot school in Wien-Schwechat. In late 1942, Loos was posted to I. "Gruppe" (1st group) of "Jagdgeschwader" 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) based on the Eastern Front.
War against the Soviet Union.
In early 1943, I. "Gruppe" of JG 54 was based at Krasnogvardeysk, present-day Gatchina, southwest of Leningrad, and fighting in the Siege of Leningrad in support of Army Group North. In February, the "Gruppe" converted from the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 to the radial engine powered Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 fighter aircraft. Loos claimed his first aerial victory on 19 February while fighting in the Demyansk Offensive. Assigned to 3. "Staffel" under command of "Hauptmann" Gerhard Koall, Loss shot down a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber.
In early July, I. "Gruppe" of JG 54 was ordered to move to Oryol, in the southern sector of Army Group Centre, where it fought in Operation Citadel which initiated the Battle of Kursk. Subordinated to "Luftflotte" 6 (Air Fleet 6), the "Gruppe" began relocating on 2 July and arrived at the airfield named Panikowo, a makeshift airfield created for the attack on the Kursk salient, on 4 July. The next day, the Wehrmacht launched Operation Citadel and I. "Gruppe" supported the attack of the 9th Army on the northern sector of the salient, escorting bombers of "Kampfgeschwader" 4, 51 and KG 53 (KG 4, KG 51—4th, 51st Bomber Wing), as well as Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers of "Sturzkampfgeschwader" 1 (StG 1—1st Dive Bomber Wing) to their target areas. That day, I. "Gruppe" claimed 59 aerial victories, including five aircraft, three Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighters and two Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, by Loos in the vicinity of Maloarkhangelsk. This achievement made him an "ace-in-a-day". Two days later, Loos claimed another Il-2 ground-attack aircraft shot down. The Il-2 belonged to 299 ShAD (—Ground Attack Air Division) piloted by "Leytenánt" A. S. Baranov.
On 20 July during the Soviet counteroffensive Operation Kutuzov, I. "Gruppe" relocated to Karachev. On 4 August, supporting German forces fighting at Oryol, the "Gruppe" claimed 25 aerial victories, including six by Loos, his second "ace-in-a-day" achievement. On 9 August, the "Gruppe" was ordered to an aifield named Bolschoje Rudka located near Poltava. Here the "Gruppe" supported German forces fighting against the Soviet Belgorod–Bogodukhov offensive operation. Here on 23 August on the final day of the Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation, Loos achieved his third "ace-in-a-day" achievement, claiming three Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers, also known as Boston, two Pe-2 bombers and a single Il-2 ground-attack aircraft shot down. On 20 September, Loos was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (). Eight days later, he was transferred to III. "Gruppe" of JG 54 which was fighting in Defense of the Reich.
Defense of the Reich and death.
In late September 1943, III. "Gruppe" of JG 54 was under command of "Hauptmann" Siegfried Schnell and was based at Schwerin. For his 83 aerial victories claimed, Loos was awarded the German Cross in Gold () on 17 October. On 2 December, the "Gruppe" was moved to Ludwigslust. Loos claimed his first aerial victory in Defense of the Reich on 20 December. That day, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) VIII Bomber Command targeted Bremen in northern Germany. III. "Gruppe" was scrambled at 11:10 and intercepted the bombers and their fighter escorts at 12:00 in the area of Bremen following their bomb run. In this encounter, Loos claimed a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber shot down.
Loos claimed his second B-17 bomber on 11 January 1944 when pilots of III. "Gruppe" claimed ten B-17 bombers and two escorting North American P-51 Mustang fighters. On 5 February, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (). Loos was promoted to "Oberleutnant" (first lieutenant) and appointed "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) of 9. "Staffel" of JG 54 on 21 February. He succeeded "Oberleutnant" Wilhelm Schilling who was transferred. On 6 March, Loos flying Bf 109 G-6 ("Werknummer" 411922—factory number) was shot down in aerial combat near Reinsehlen. His victor may have been Lieutenant John Howell of the 357th Fighter Group. Hanging on his parachute, he was drifting into a high voltage power line. Releasing the parachute at he fell to his death. Loos was briefly replaced by "Leutnant" Alfred Kromer, who was killed only two days later. Command of 9. "Staffel" was then passed to "Hauptmann" Emil Lang.
Summary of career.
Aerial victory claims.
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Loos was credited with 92 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 92 aerial victories, 78 of which on the Eastern Front and 14 on the Western Front, including two four-engined heavy bombers. Mathews and Foreman, authors of "Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims", researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 84 aerial victory claims, all but one four-engined heavy bomber on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = "Planquadrat"), for example "PQ 36 Ost 10473". The Luftwaffe grid map () 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 . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.
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