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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 83763". 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 ? (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 –Template:Sfn Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941
1	26 June 1941	14:25	SB-3Template:Sfn
– 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –Template:Sfn On the Eastern Front — 17 March – 30 April 1942
2	19 March 1942	12:45	DB-3Template:Sfn		3	23 April 1942	13:14	Pe-2Template:Sfn
– 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –Template:Sfn On the Eastern Front — 1 May – 7 November 1942
4	13 May 1942	15:24	LaGG-3Template:Sfn		16	6 August 1942	18:10	Douglas DB-7 (Boston)	PQ 83763Template:Sfn south-southwest of Yelets
5	15 May 1942	15:00	Il-2Template:Sfn		17	7 August 1942	11:12	LaGG-3	PQ 92471Template:Sfn southeast of Voronezh
6	16 July 1942	18:02	Yak-1Template:Sfn		18	11 August 1942	11:37	LaGG-3	PQ 92364Template:Sfn east of Voronezh
7	17 July 1942	18:34	Il-2Template:Sfn		19	11 August 1942	11:38	LaGG-3	PQ 92353Template:Sfn east of Voronezh
8	19 July 1942	06:22	Pe-2Template:Sfn		20	12 August 1942	07:15	Douglas DB-7 (Boston)	PQ 92424Template:Sfn east of Voronezh
9	19 July 1942	06:23	Pe-2Template:Sfn		21	12 August 1942	07:20	Pe-2	PQ 92324Template:Sfn north of Voronezh
10	19 July 1942	06:36	Il-2Template:Sfn		22	13 August 1942	10:50	Il-2	PQ 83811Template:Sfn south of Yelets
11	23 July 1942	04:06	Pe-2Template:Sfn		23	13 August 1942	18:14	LaGG-3	PQ 83871, SemljanskTemplate:Sfn northwest of Voronezh
12	25 July 1942?Template:Refn	05:06	HurricaneTemplate:Sfn		24	21 August 1942	11:06	Yak-1	PQ 92783Template:Sfn west-northwest of Sloboda
13	28 July 1942	07:40	Hurricane	PQ 82231Template:Sfn north-northwest of Voronezh	25	26 August 1942	05:55	Pe-2	PQ 82274Template:Sfn west-northwest of Voronezh
14	28 July 1942	15:15?Template:Refn	Douglas DB-7 (Boston)	PQ 92353Template:Sfn east of Voronezh	26	13 September 1942	10:22	Hurricane	PQ 92594Template:Sfn north-northwest of Sloboda
15	28 July 1942	15:20	Douglas DB-7 (Boston)	PQ 92354, VoronezhTemplate:Sfn east of Voronezh	27	13 September 1942	10:27	Yak-1	PQ 92653Template:Sfn north-northeast of Sloboda
– 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –Template:Sfn Mediterranean Theater, North Africa — 1 January – May 1943
28	7 March 1943	12:35	Spitfire	southeast of MedenineTemplate:Sfn	31	12 March 1943	14:26	P-38	northwest of KairouanTemplate:Sfn
29	10 March 1943	16:37	P-40	PQ 03 Ost 94652, southwest of GabèsTemplate:Sfn	32	13 March 1943	17:52	P-39	southeast of La FauconnerieTemplate:Sfn
30	10 March 1943	16:45	P-40	PQ 03 Ost 94663, southwest of GabèsTemplate:Sfn south-southwest of Gabès	33	7 April 1943	09:00	Spitfire	southeast of SkhiraTemplate:Sfn
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 –Template:Sfn Mediterranean Theater, Italy — May – 31 December 1943
34	4 July 1943	11:30	B-17	east of SyracuseTemplate:Sfn	36	16 July 1943	13:28	B-24	southwest of Santeramo in ColleTemplate:Sfn south-southwest of Palazzo San Gervasio
35	8 July 1943	12:40	B-17	southwest of Capo ScaramiaTemplate:Sfn

Awards

• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 5 June 1943 as Feldwebel and pilotTemplate:Sfn
• German Cross in Gold on 10 July 1944 as Feldwebel in the II./Jagdgeschwader 77Template:Sfn