Gustav Sprick

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Template other Gustav "Micky" Sprick (29 November 1917 – 28 June 1941) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace and squadron leader during World War II. He is credited with 31 victories in 192 missions. All his victories were claimed over the Western Front.

Born in Biemsen, Sprick was posted to Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) in September 1939 and claimed his first aerial victory on the first day of the Battle of France. In August 1940, Sprick was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 8. Staffel of JG 26. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 October after gaining his 20th aerial victory. On 28 June 1941, Sprick was killed in action when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 lost its wing due to structural failure.

Early life and career

Sprick, who was born on 29 November 1917 in Biemsen, at the time in the Principality of Lippe. After completing his pilot-training, Fähnrich Sprick was posted to Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) on 23 September 1939, and assigned to 8. Staffel (8th squadron), a squadron of III. Gruppe (3rd group).Template:Sfn JG 26 was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a martyr cultivated by the Nazi Party.Template:Sfn At the time, 8. Staffel was under the command of Oberleutnant Eduard Neumann and III. Gruppe was headed by Major Ernst Freiherr von Berg.Template:Sfn

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. During the campaign against France, JG 26 was controlled by Jagdfliegerführer 2, Oberst Kurt-Bertram von Döring, and was deployed on the right flank of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2), supporting the attack of Army Group B against the Netherlands.Template:Sfn On 10 May 1940, the opening day of Fall Gelb (the invasion of the West), the now Leutnant Sprick shot down his first enemy aircraft: a Dutch Fokker T.V twin-engined bomber, over Breda in the Netherlands.Template:Sfn The next day, III. Gruppe attacked a formation of Curtiss Hawk Model 75A fighters from Groupe de Chasse I/4 (GC—fighter group) over the Antwerp-Breda road. The Gruppe claimed five Curtiss fighters destroyed, including Sprick's second aerial victory.Template:Sfn On 17 May, III. Gruppe transferred to Saint-Trond and Sprick claimed a Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 near Grammont.Template:Sfn

Having scored nine victories by the fall of France, he had been promoted to Oberleutnant. He was shot down however, on 14 June near Évreux, by RAF (Royal Air Force) Hurricane fighters after claiming one of their number. But he managed to crash-land uninjured and was rescued by German troops.Template:Sfn

Squadron leader

On 8 August 1940, Sprick was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 8. Staffel of JG 26, replacing Oberleutnant Kuno Wendt.Template:Sfn His Gruppe, III./JG 26 had a formidable team of leaders during the Battle of Britain, with the experienced Kommandeur Adolf Galland and Gerhard Schöpfel (9. Staffel), with Sprick (8. Staffel) and Joachim Müncheberg (7. Staffel). These four pilots all had 10 or more victories and over the next 2 months claimed 50 aircraft between them.

Sprick himself scored 11 victories in the battle, including a pair of Hurricanes of 85 Sqn on 31 August (his 14th & 15th victories). He was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe () on 8 September,Template:Sfn and then the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 1 October after gaining his 20th victory on 28 September.Template:Sfn By the end of 1940, with the battle falling back into a relatively quiet period, his score had increased to 23. (Müncheberg had 23, Schöpfel had 22 and Galland with 58). On 27 November, Sprick claimed an aerial victory over a Spitfire in the vicinity of Deal. According to Mathews and Foreman, this claim is unconfirmed.Template:Sfn However, Sarkar states that Sprick shot down Keith Lawrence from No. 421 (Reconnaissance) Flight who was injured in the encounter that day.Template:Sfn

June 1941 marked the invasion of the Soviet Union in the east. With the majority of the Luftwaffe involved in Operation Barbarossa, it left just JG 26, JG 2 and JG 1 defending the west. Coinciding with this, the British started their own air offensive, taking the fight to the Germans over France. Now, however, the roles were reversed, and it was the RAF fighters that found themselves vulnerable, operating at the limit of their range.

On 16 June 1941, Sprick claimed his 24th aerial victory.Template:Sfn That day, the RAF had attacked Boulogne-sur-Mer with six Bristol Blenheim bombers in "Circus" No. 13. The bombers were escorted by six fighter squadrons from No. 11 Group.Template:Sfn

Death

On 28 June, the RAF flew "Circus" No. 26, with the objective to bomb the electrical power station at Comines.Template:Sfn III. Gruppe, led by Schöpfel, was ordered to intercept the "Circus" escorted by No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The 8 Staffel, which was flying the high cover, was jumped from above by Spitfires and in the ensuing melee, the right wing of Sprick's Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 5743—factory number) sheared off while he attempted an evasive Split S maneuver. He crashed to his death near Holque, inland from Calais.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Sprick is buried in the Bourdon German war cemetery, France in block 38, row 8, grave 305.Template:Sfn

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 more than 30 aerial victory claims, plus five further unconfirmed claims. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Western Front of World War II.Template:Sfn

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Sprick 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
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" –Template:Sfn Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940
1?Template:Refn	10 May 1940	—	Fokker T.V	BredaTemplate:Sfn	—	6 June 1940	—	MB.151Template:Sfn
2	11 May 1940	19:30	Curtiss	northwest of AntwerpTemplate:Sfn	—	6 June 1940	—	MB.151Template:Sfn
3	17 May 1940	18:30	M.S.406	GrammontTemplate:Sfn	—	6 June 1940	—	MB.151Template:Sfn
4	31 May 1940	15:40	Hurricane	FurnesTemplate:Sfn	6	13 June 1940	12:39	Defiant	vicinity of ParisTemplate:Sfn
5	2 June 1940	09:25	Spitfire	DunkirkTemplate:Sfn	7	14 Jun 1940	17:50	Hurricane	Poix/AbbevilleTemplate:Sfn
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" –Template:Sfn Action at the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 21 June 1941
8	12 August 1940	12:20	Hurricane	northwest of MargateTemplate:Sfn	20	28 September 1940	11:30	Spitfire	CanterburyTemplate:Sfn
9	15 August 1940	12:58	Spitfire	Dover, northwest of BoulogneTemplate:Sfn	21	15 October 1940	13:45	SpitfireTemplate:Sfn
10	18 August 1940	13:50	Hurricane	CanterburyTemplate:Sfn	22	25 October 1940	14:30	Spitfire	MaidstoneTemplate:Sfn
11	24 August 1940	12:20	Hurricane	AshfordTemplate:Sfn	23	17 November 1940	10:22	Spitfire	east of HarwichTemplate:Sfn
12	31 August 1940	19:05	Hurricane	FolkestoneTemplate:Sfn	— Template:Refn	27 November 1940	09:35	Spitfire	Deal
13	31 August 1940	19:15	Hurricane	FolkestoneTemplate:Sfn	24	16 June 1941	16:35	Spitfire	DungenessTemplate:Sfn
14	1 September 1940	15:05	Hurricane	LondonTemplate:Sfn	25	17 June 1941	19:42	HurricaneTemplate:Sfn	north Étaples
15	3 September 1940	11:10	Spitfire	RochesterTemplate:Sfn	26	17 June 1941	19:58	HurricaneTemplate:Sfn	Dover Strait
16	6 September 1940	10:10	Spitfire	southwest of DungenessTemplate:Sfn	27	18 June 1941	18:20?Template:Refn	SpitfireTemplate:Sfn	Pas-de-Calais
17	11 September 1940	19:30	Hurricane	Canterbury/AshfordTemplate:Sfn	28	21 June 1941	16:42	HurricaneTemplate:Sfn	west of Boulogne
18	17 September 1940	16:35	Spitfire	GravesendTemplate:Sfn	29	21 June 1941	16:55	SpitfireTemplate:Sfn	west-northwest of Boulogne
19	23 September 1940	10:35	Spitfire	Thames EstuaryTemplate:Sfn
– 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" –Template:Sfn Action at the Channel and over England — 22–28 June 1941
30	22 June 1941	16:20	SpitfireTemplate:Sfn	off Gravelines	31	24 June 1941	20:58	SpitfireTemplate:Sfn	off Gravelines

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (8 September 1940)Template:Sfn
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 October 1940 as Leutnant and pilot in the 8./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"Template:SfnTemplate:Refn