Horst Tietzen

Born19 July 1912

Arnswalde, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia, German Empire
(today Poland)

Died18 August 1940 (aged 28)

over the Thames Estuary, England

Buried

Bourdon German war cemetery (Cimetière militaire allemand de Bourdon)

Allegiance

Nazi Germany

Horst Tietzen
Born	19 July 1912 Arnswalde, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia, German Empire (today Poland)
Died	18 August 1940(1940-08-18) (aged 28) over the Thames Estuary, England
Buried	Bourdon German war cemetery (Cimetière militaire allemand de Bourdon)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Service years	?–1940
Rank	Hauptmann (Posthumously)
Unit	Condor Legion JG 51
Conflicts	See battles Spanish Civil War World War II Battle of France Battle of Britain †
Awards	Spanish Cross In Gold with Swords Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Horst Tietzen (19 July 1912 – 18 August 1940) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.

Tietzen was born 19 July 1912 at Arnswalde (today Choszczno in Poland). As a Leutnant, Tietzen served with 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 of the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. He claimed his first air victory on 19 July 1938, downing a Republican I-16. On 1 August, Tietzen made a forced landing 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Gandesa.^[1] He claimed a further six victories and was awarded the Spanienkreuz in Gold. On 1 November 1939, Tietzen was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the newly created 5. Staffel (5th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing).^[2] The Staffel had been created in August 1939 as the Reservestaffel (reserve squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 71 (JG 71—71st Fighter Wing).^[3]

He shot down a French Bloch MB.174 bomber for his first victory of World War II on 20 April 1940. He recorded his 17th victory on 25 July 1940, a Spitfire near Dover. On 15 August Tietzen shot down three Hurricanes. He became the fourth German fighter pilot to record 20 victories on 18 August. However, on the same day, he was shot down in aerial combat with Royal Air Force Hurricane fighters over the Thames Estuary.^[4] His victors were Flying Officer Stefan Witorzenc and Pilot Officer Pawel Zenker from No. 501 Squadron who reported two Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters shot down between Canterbury and Westgate-on-Sea which crashed near the North Goodwin Lightship. His body later washed ashore at Calais in France. Tietzen now rests at the Bourdon German war cemetery.^[5] He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 20 August 1940.^[6] He was the second recipient of JG 51, after Hauptmann Walter Oesau, to receive this award.^[7]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Tietzen was credited with 27 aerial victories, seven in the Spanish Civil War and 20 on the Western Front of World War II.^[8] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 24 aerial victory claims, plus further three unconfirmed claims. This number of confirmed claims includes seven claims during the Spanish Civil War and 17 over the Western Allies.^[9]

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
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 –^[9] Spanish Civil War
1	19 July 1938	—	I-16^[10]
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 –^[9] Spanish Civil War
2	20 September 1938	—	I-16^[10]		5	27 September 1938	—	I-16^[10]
3	20 September 1938	—	I-16^[10]		6	21 December 1938	—	I-16^[10]
4	27 September 1938	—	I-16^[10]		7	29 December 1938	—	I-16^[10]
World War II
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –^[9] "Phoney War" — 1 November 1939 – 9 May 1940
1	20 April 1940	11:50	Potez 63	north of Saarburg^[11]
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –^[9] Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940
2	14 June 1940	20:15	Battle	Évreux^[12]
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –^[9] At the Channel and over England — 26 June – 18 August 1940
3	27 June 1940	20:10	Blenheim	south of Dover^[13]	12	31 July 1940	16:55	Spitfire	Dover^[14]
4	4 July 1940	14:45	Hurricane	northeast of Dover^[13]	13	11 August 1940	14:48	Hurricane	east of Colchester^[14]
5	9 July 1940	17:00	Spitfire	northeast of Margate^[13]	14	11 August 1940	14:50	Hurricane	Thames Estuary^[14]
6	13 July 1940	19:30	Hurricane	southeast of Dover^[14]	15	15 August 1940	12:40	Hurricane	Folkestone^[15]
7	14 July 1940	16:10	Hurricane	southeast of Dover^[14]	16	15 August 1940	12:41	Hurricane	Folkestone^[15]
8	18 July 1940	10:55	Spitfire	15 km (9.3 mi) north of Calais^[14]	17?^{[Note 1]}	15 August 1940	—	Hurricane	south of Harwich^[15]
9	20 July 1940	19:15	Hurricane	southeast of Dover^[14]	18	16 August 1940	13:25	Hurricane	east of Canterbury^[15]
10	25 July 1940	17:10	Spitfire	Dover^[14]	19?^{[Note 1]}	16 August 1940	—	Spitfire	southwest of Ramsgate^[15]
11	29 July 1940	08:35	Spitfire	5 km (3.1 mi) north of Dover^[14]	20?^{[Note 1]}	18 August 1940	—	Hurricane^[15]

Awards

Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (14 April 1939)^[9]
Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[16]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 August 1940 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of 5./Jagdgeschwader 51^[17]^[18]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Awards

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Related Articles

v t e German Spanish Civil War flying aces
Werner Mölders (14) Wolfgang Schellmann (12) Otto Bertram (9) Herbert Ihlefeld (9) Walter Oesau (9) Reinhard Seiler (9) Hans-Karl Mayer (8) Wilhelm Balthasar (7) Horst Tietzen (7) Walter Grabmann (7) Rolf Pingel (6) Herbert Schob (6) Gotthard Handrick (5) Wolfgang Lippert (5) Günther Lützow (5) Joachim Schlichting (5) Hannes Trautloft (5)
List of Spanish Civil War flying aces

v t e Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"
Heinrich Bär (Oak Leaves & Swords) Friedrich Beckh Franz-Josef Beerenbrock (Oak Leaves) Wolfgang Böwing-Treuding Adolf Borchers Joachim Brendel (Oak Leaves) Kurt Dombacher Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber Erwin Fleig Josef Fözö Herbert Friebel Otto Gaiser Bernd Gallowitsch Hartmann Grasser (Oak Leaves) Anton Hafner (Oak Leaves) Heinrich Höfemeier Heinrich Hoffmann (Oak Leaves) Erich Hohagen Wilhelm Hübner Herbert Huppertz¹ (Oak Leaves) Josef Jennewein Hermann-Friedrich Joppien (Oak Leaves) Günther Josten (Oak Leaves) Peter Kalden Heinrich Klöpper Kurt Knappe Hans Kolbow Heinrich Krafft Heinz Lange Heinz Leber Richard Leppla Anton Lindner Fritz Losigkeit Max-Hermann Lücke Fritz Lüddecke Heinz Marquardt Maximilian Mayerl Wilhelm Mink Werner Mölders² (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) Joachim Müncheberg³ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Karl-Gottfried Nordmann (Oak Leaves) Walter Oesau⁴ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Josef Priller⁵ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Herbert Puschmann Karl Rammelt Alfred Rauch Oskar Romm Günther Rübell Günther Schack (Oak Leaves) Karl-Heinz Schnell Helmut Schönfelder Otto Schultz Georg Seelmann Hermann Staiger Hubert Straßl Hans Strelow (Oak Leaves) Otto Tange Kurt Tanzer Edwin Thiel Horst Tietzen Bernhard Vechtel Edmund Wagner Rudolf Wagner Karl-Heinz Weber (Oak Leaves) Ernst Weismann Walther Wever Otto Würfel
¹ Oak Leaves with JG 2. ² Knight's Cross with JG 53. ³ Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves with JG 26. ⁴ Oak Leaves and Swords with JG 3. ⁵ Oak Leaves and Swords with JG 26.