Otto Fönnekold was a pilot in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. A flying ace, Fönnekold was credited with 136 aerial victories—that is, 136 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft. All but three of his victories were claimed over the Soviet Air Forces in about 600 combat missions.
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Fönnekold, who was born on 15 February 1920 in Hamburg of the Weimar Republic, was posted to the 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 in the fall of 1942. At the time, this squadron was officially commanded by OberleutnantSiegfried Simsch who was on home leave recovering from wounds sustained on 29 May. 5. Staffel was a squadron of II. Gruppe of JG 52 commanded by Hauptmann Johannes Steinhoff. In August 1942, II. Gruppe was subordinated to VIII. Fliegerkorps and supported the 6th Army offensive to capture Stalingrad. Based at Gonschtakowka, Fönnekold claimed his first aerial victory on 7 September when he shot down a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter. Fönnekold often flew as wingman of Wilhelm Batz. On 12 January 1944, Fönnekold was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 62nd Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. Fönnekold was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 9 August 1943, the German Cross in Gold on 16 August 1943, and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944.
On 19 April 1944, Fönnekold was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel of JG 52 when its former commander, Batz, was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe of JG 52. He became an "ace-in-a-day" on 30 May. That day, Fönnekold shot down seven P-39 fighters in combat near Tudora and Iași in Romania. Fönnekold claimed three United States Army Air ForcesNorth American P-51 Mustang's on 31 August 1944. Later that day, he was bounced during his landing approach at Ssaß-Budak by P-51's. One of the.50 caliber projectiles penetrated his heart while taxiing his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 "black 9". He was succeeded by Heinrich Sturm as commander of 5. Staffel.
Summary of career
Aerial victory claims
Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 134 confirmed and three unconfirmed aerial victories. All these victories were claimed on the Eastern Front. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 54512". 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 3 × 4 km in size.
