Johann Badum

Johann Badum (2 March 1921 – 12 January 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 54 enemy aircraft shot down in approximately 300 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with three claims over the Western Allies in North Africa.

Born in Ruthweiler, Badum joined the military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany and was trained as a fighter pilot. He was then posted to Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) in late 1941. JG 77 was based on the southern sector of the Eastern Front where he claimed his first aerial victory on 26 February 1942. Following his 51st aerial victory he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 October 1942. In December, JG 77 was withdrawn from Eastern Front and sent to Libya fighting in the North African campaign. There he was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 6. Staffel (6th squadron) of JG 77. Badum claimed three more aerial victories before he was killed in action on 12 January 1943.

Career

Badum was born on 2 March 1921 at Ruthweiler in the Rhine Province of the Weimar Republic.Template:Sfn By January 1942 Badum was serving with the Ergängzungsstaffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) on the south area of the Eastern Front. The official designation of the Ergängzungsstaffel was 1. (Einsatzstaffel) Ergängzungsgruppe of JG 77. It was a single supplementary training Staffel (squadron) commanded by Hauptmann Erich Friedrich and subordinated to the Stab (headquarters unit) of JG 77 at the time commanded by Major Gotthard Handrick.Template:Sfn

On 26 February 1942, Badum claimed his first aerial victory. At the time, the Ergängzungsstaffel was based at Mariupol on the north coast of the Sea of Azov. That day, he flew a ground attack mission to a Soviet airfield at Yeysk, his sixth combat mission in total. Following the attack, his flight intercepted a single Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber which exploded in midair follow his attack on the aircraft.Template:Sfn On 15 March, Badum successfully attacked two locomotives near the Mius-Front.Template:Sfn Patrolling along the Mius, he claimed his second aerial victory on 22 March when he shot down a Polikarpov I-16 fighter.Template:Sfn Flying four combat air patrols along the Mius on 31 March, he claimed a R-10 aircraft, referring to either a light bomber, biplane or a Seversky aircraft.Template:Sfn The next day, the Ergängzungsstaffel was disbanded and the pilots transferred to the three Gruppen (groups) of JG 77.Template:Sfn In consequence, Badum initially ending up in 5. Staffel of JG 77 led by Oberleutnant Anton Hackl, a squadron of II. Gruppe under command of Hauptmann Anton Mader.Template:Sfn

Crimean campaign

Badum claimed his first aerial victory with II. Gruppe on 21 April over a Polikarpov I-153 fighter in combat along the Parpach Narrows during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula.Template:Sfn At the time, members of JG 77 where involved in Bandenbekämpfung, referring to anti-partisan warfare, including Badum.Template:Sfn On 10 May, Badum made a forced landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 due to engine failure.Template:Sfn On 8 June, on his 100th combat mission, Badum shot down a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter during the Siege of Sevastopol, it was his eleventh aerial victory.Template:Sfn

Author Prien, who has analyzed letters sent by Badum to his family at the time, states that Badum's thinking was firmly rooted in Nazi ideology and mislead by the Nazi propaganda. In these letters, observations made by Badum were misinterpreted due to the teachings of the racial supremacy of the Aryan race.Template:Sfn

1942 summer offensive

On 28 June, German forces launched its strategic summer offensive in southern Russia named Case Blue. In support of this operation, II. Gruppe of JG 77 was ordered to relocate and moved to the area near Kursk.Template:Sfn The Gruppe arrived at the airfield near Kastornoye, approximately west of Voronezh, on 5 July. There, the Gruppe supported the northern flank of Army Group South advance towards the Don.Template:Sfn Fighting over the combat area between Voronezh and Yelets on 12 July, Badum claimed three LaGG-3 fighters shot down.Template:Sfn

Badum became an "ace-in-a-day" on 13 August. That day II. Gruppe flew combat missions in the area of Voronezh where Badum claimed six LaGG-3 fighters shot down.Template:Sfn On 15 September, he claimed two LaGG-3 fighters and an Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft, taking his total to 51 aerial victories. For this, Badum was nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ().Template:Sfn He was awarded the German Cross in Gold () on 3 October and the Knight's Cross on 15 October for 51 aerial victories claimed.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The presentation of the Knight's Cross was made by Generalmajor Alfred Bülowius on 28 October.Template:Sfn

North Africa, squadron leader and death

On 5 December, II. Gruppe of JG 77 was transferred to the North African theater, arriving at an airfield near Janzur, located west of Tripoli. The Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 6. Staffel, Hauptmann Erwin Clausen stayed in Europe because he had become ill with Malaria. During his absence, Badum was given command of 6. Staffel.Template:Sfn Badum claimed his first two aerial victories in this theater of operations on 21 December. On a combat air patrol over the coast near Sirte, a Schwarm, a flight of four aircraft, encountered 12 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters. In this aerial battle, Badum claimed two P-40 fighters shot down southeast of Sirte.Template:Sfn

On 1 January 1943, Badum claimed his final aerial victory. In aerial combat near Buerat, he claimed a P-40 shot down. The aircraft may have belonged to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 3 Squadron which lost two P-40s that day.Template:Sfn On 12 January 1943, Badum was shot down and killed in action by USAAF Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters. His Bf 109 G-2 trop (Werknummer 10727—factory number) crashed southwest of Giordani, west of Tripoli.Template:Sfn That day, the USAAF sent a formation of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers to the Castel Benito Airfield escorted by P-38 fighters. Badum was killed while defending against this attack.Template:Sfn His victor may have been Captain Darrel G. Welch from the 27th Fighter Squadron.Template:Sfn

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Badum was credited with 54 aerial victories claimed in approximately 300 combat missions. This figure includes 51 claims on the Eastern Front and three over the Western Allies in North Africa.Template:Sfn Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and states that Badum was credited with over 50 victory claims, possibly three further in Tunisia and one unconfirmed claim. All of his confirmed aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.Template:Sfn

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 35391". 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.Template:Sfn

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Badum an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.   This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Badum 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	Unit	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Unit
– Claims with Jagdgeschwader 77 on the Eastern Front –Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 6 December 1941 – 31 March 1942
1	26 February 1942	—	Pe-2Template:Sfn		1. Egr./JG 77	3	31 March 1942	—	R-10 (Seversky)Template:Sfn		1. Egr./JG 77
2	21 March 1942	—	I-16Template:Sfn		1. Egr./JG 77
– Claims with Jagdgeschwader 77 on the Eastern Front –Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn April 1942
4	20 April 1942?Template:Refn	11:55	I-153Template:Sfn		5./JG 77
– Claims with Jagdgeschwader 77 on the Eastern Front –Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Kerch, Sevastopol, Izium — May/June 1942
5	1 May 1942	11:50	MiG-1Template:Sfn?Template:Refn		5./JG 77	9	3 June 1942	13:35	Yak-1Template:Sfn		5./JG 77
6	7 May 1942	15:05	I-153Template:Sfn		5./JG 77	10?Template:Refn	5 June 1942	—	I-153Template:Sfn		5./JG 77
7	8 May 1942	11:32	I-153Template:Sfn		5./JG 77	11	8 June 1942	12:39	LaGG-3	PQ 35391Template:Sfn	6./JG 77
8	13 May 1942	14:20	Il-2Template:Sfn		5./JG 77	12	10 June 1942	08:23	Yak-1Template:Sfn		6./JG 77
– Claims with Jagdgeschwader 77 on the Eastern Front –Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Summer offensive — 28 June – 7 November 1942
13	2 July 1942	10:30	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	33	12 August 1942	16:37	P-40	PQ 92382Template:Sfn south-southeast of Voronezh	6./JG 77
14	12 July 1942	06:42	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	34♠	13 August 1942	08:52	LaGG-3	PQ 92122Template:Sfn north of Voronezh	6./JG 77
15	12 July 1942	10:42	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	35♠	13 August 1942	09:15	LaGG-3	PQ 82233Template:Sfn north-northwest of Voronezh	6./JG 77
16	12 July 1942	10:43	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	36♠	13 August 1942	13:36	LaGG-3	PQ 83891Template:Sfn north-northwest of Voronezh	6./JG 77
17	22 July 1942	14:37	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	37♠	13 August 1942	13:48?Template:Refn	LaGG-3	PQ 93543Template:Sfn south of Voronezh	6./JG 77
18	22 July 1942	18:31	Il-2Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	38♠	13 August 1942	13:50	LaGG-3	PQ 83631Template:Sfn southeast of Yelets	6./JG 77
19	22 July 1942	18:34	Il-2Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	39♠	13 August 1942	17:22	LaGG-3	PQ 92352Template:Sfn	6./JG 77
20	24 July 1942	05:31	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	40	14 August 1942	14:03	Il-2Template:Sfn east of Voronezh		6./JG 77
21	24 July 1942	11:08	HurricaneTemplate:Sfn		6./JG 77	41	18 August 1942	17:23	LaGG-3	PQ 92143Template:Sfn north of Voronezh	6./JG 77
22	24 July 1942	11:27	Pe-2Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	42	18 August 1942	17:23?Template:Refn	LaGG-3	PQ 92143Template:Sfn north of Voronezh	6./JG 77
23	24 July 1942	18:10	Pe-2Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	43	25 August 1942	17:36	Il-2?Template:Refn	PQ 72263Template:Sfn south-southeast of Livny	6./JG 77
24	25 July 1942?Template:Refn	13:57	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	— ??Template:Refn	25 August 1942	—	Il-2Template:Sfn		6./JG 77
25	25 July 1942?	14:25	MiG-3Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	44	3 September 1942	04:48	LaGG-3	PQ 92124, KastornoyeTemplate:Sfn north of Voronezh	6./JG 77
26	28 July 1942	19:00	Il-2	PQ 92133Template:Sfn north-northeast of Voronezh	6./JG 77	45	3 September 1942	04:52	LaGG-3	PQ 92132, KastornoyeTemplate:Sfn north-northeast of Voronezh	6./JG 77
27	28 July 1942	19:02	Il-2	PQ 92131Template:Sfn north-northeast of Voronezh	6./JG 77	46	5 September 1942	17:14	Il-2	PQ 82141Template:Sfn east-northeast of Tim	6./JG 77
28	28 July 1942	19:04	Il-2	PQ 93791Template:Sfn north-northeast of Voronezh	6./JG 77	47	5 September 1942	17:21	Il-2	PQ 82143Template:Sfn northwest of Voronezh	6./JG 77
29	29 July 1942	06:54	Pe-2	PQ 92112Template:Sfn north-northwest of Voronezh	6./JG 77	48	14 September 1942	12:05	P-39	PQ 92661Template:Sfn north-northeast of Sloboda	6./JG 77
30	6 August 1942	12:10	Pe-2	PQ 92163Template:Sfn northeast of Voronezh	6./JG 77	49	15 September 1942	06:50	Il-2	PQ 92143Template:Sfn north of Voronezh	6./JG 77
31	6 August 1942	18:05	Boston	PQ 82144Template:Sfn east-northeast of Tim	6./JG 77	50	15 September 1942	06:53	LaGG-3	PQ 92183Template:Sfn north of Voronezh	6./JG 77
32	12 August 1942	07:58	P-40	PQ 83831Template:Sfn south-southeast of Yelets	6./JG 77	51	15 September 1942	07:10	LaGG-3	PQ 82281Template:Sfn north-northwest of Voronezh	6./JG 77
– Claims with Jagdgeschwader 77 in North Africa –Template:Sfn
— ?	21 December 1942	—	P-40Template:Sfn		6./JG 77	— ?	2 January 1943	—	P-40Template:Sfn		6./JG 77
— ?	21 December 1942	—	P-40Template:Sfn		6./JG 77

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st ClassTemplate:Sfn
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 September 1942 as Leutnant and pilotTemplate:Sfn
• German Cross in Gold on 3 October 1942 as Leutnant in the II./Jagdgeschwader 77Template:Sfn
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 October 1942 as Leutnant and pilot in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 77Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn