Alfred Grislawski (2 November 191919 September 2003) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 133 victories claimed in over 800 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 24 claims over the Western Front. Of his 24 victories over the Western Allies, 18 were four-engined bombers.
Born in Wanne-Eickel, Grislawski grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Following his compulsory Reich Labour Service (), he joined the military service of the Luftwaffe in 1937. He completed flight and fighter pilot training in 1940 and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). Flying with this wing, Grislawski on 1 September 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In July 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and claimed his 100th aerial victory in April 1943. In June 1943, Grislawski was wounded by a blast from a land mine.
Following his convalescence, he was posted to the Western Front where he was made Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the newly formed 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of Jagdgruppe Süd (JGr Süd—Fighter Group South) in August 1943. In November 1943, he was transferred and appointed Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1 "Udet" (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing). Here, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves in April 1944. Then transferred to 11. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing), Grislawski flew his last combat mission on 26 September 1944 when he was shot down and wounded, spending the rest of the war in hospitals and convalescence. After the war, Grislawski worked as a truck driver and later as a janitor. He died on 19 September 2003 in Herne.
Early life and career Grislawski was born on 2 November 1919 at Wanne-Eickel in the Ruhrgebiet, the son of Gustav Grislawski, a coal miner and member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and his wife Henriette. He was the second of four children, with an older brother, Walter, a younger sister, Herta, and the youngest brother Horst. His first years of his life were characterized by hardship and starvation caused by the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic in aftermaths of World War I. On leaving school in July 1934, Grislawski left his family home and worked on a farm in Pomerania. He applied to join the Kriegsmarine (navy) but was rejected and offered to join the infantry of the Army which he declined. Grislawski was then given the option of a career in naval aviation which he accepted.
From April to late October, Grislawki completed his compulsory Reich Labour Service (). On 1 November 1937, he joined the military service of the Luftwaffe with 2. Kompanie (2nd company) of Fliegerersatzabteilung 16 (16th Flier Replacement Unit) at Schleswig. In August 1939, he began his flight training at the flight training school in Delmenhorst. He then received further training as a fighter pilot at the Jagdfliegerschule, the fighter pilot school at Stolp-Reitz. At Stolp-Reitz, he befriended Helmut Bennemann, also from Wanne-Eickel, and Heinrich Füllgrabe.
On 25 April 1940, Grislawski made his maiden flight on the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Following 51 flights on the Bf 109, he received Pilot's Badge in early June. He was then posted to 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg, a supplementary training unit based at Merseburg. While based at Merseburg, he met his future wife Ilse Hartmeyer in the nearby town Leuna and befriended Hermann Graf. In July 1940, Grislawski was posted to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of III. Gruppe.
World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. At the time of Grislawski's posting to III. Gruppe of JG 52, the unit had just moved to Zerbst following a brief deployment to English Channel. The Gruppe was initially commanded by Hauptmann Alexander von Winterfeldt before command passed to Major Gotthard Handrick in October. The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) .
On 1 October 1940, Grislawski was promoted to Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer) and assigned to 9. Staffel. At the time, 9. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Franz Hörnig. III. Gruppe of JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Grislawski arrived at Pipera Airfield on 15 October where 9. Staffel stayed until 27 May 1941.
War against the Soviet Union Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III. Gruppe was back in Bucharest by mid-June. There, the unit was again subordinated to the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien and reequipped with the new, more powerful Bf 109 F-4 model. On 21 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești.
On 1 August during the Battle of Kiev, III. Gruppe flew to Iași and then to Bila Tserkva in Ukraine and also used an airfield at Yampil from 6 to 8 August. On 27 August, the Gruppe then moved to an airfield named Stschasliwaja, a makeshift airfield located east of Kirovohrad and approximately southeast of Aleksandriya, present-day Oleksandriia. There, Grislawski claimed his first aerial victory on 1 September, when he shot down a Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighter near Kremenchuk. For this, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 9 September.
On 24 September, III. Gruppe moved to the Poltava Air Base, supporting the 17th Army in the First Battle of Kharkov. There, Grislawski claimed an I-16 fighter shot down north of Kharkov on 3 October, an I-26 fighter aircraft, later referred to as Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter, northeast of Krasnohrad on 5 October, a Vultee V-11 ground attack aircraft, probably referring to the Ilyushin Il-2, near Kharkov the next day, and an I-16 fighter and an Il-2 ground attack aircraft on 14 October.
On 23 October, Grislawski made an emergency landing in his Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 7038—factory number) near the Poltava Air Base. The same day, III. Gruppe relocated to Chaplynka in the Crimea. On 29 October, Grislawski awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (). Flying from Chaplynka, he claimed two further aerial victories on 30 October, the Polikarpov I-153 fighter shot down near Simferopol was confirmed while the Polikarpov R-Z aircraft was not confirmed.
The Gruppe then moved to an airfield at Taganrog on 2 November where they stayed until 1 January 1942. In November the Red Army regrouped and conducted a well-orchestrated recapture of Rostov. Here, Grislawski received the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Fighter Pilots in Gold () on 5 December. The following day, he claimed two I-16 fighters shot down followed by another I-16 fighter and a R-Z reconnaissance bomber two days later. On 1 January 1942, III. Gruppe relocated to Kharkov where they fought in the Barvenkovo–Lozovaya offensive and remained until 29 April.
Grislawski claimed his first aerial victory of 1942 and 12th overall on 4 January when he shot down a Kharkiv KhAI-5 reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft, also referred to as the R-10, near Kotschetowka, located approximately north of Dobrinka. Three days later, Grislawski was promoted to Feldwebel (technical sergeant) and in mid-January, he was given home leave. He returned to his unit in late February which was still based at Kharkov. On 8 March, Grislawski claimed his next aerial victory on his sixteenth combat mission following his return from home leave. That day, he was credited with the destruction of a Yak-1 fighter.
On 29 April, III. Gruppe had relocated to Zürichtal, a small village at the Inhul in the former German settlement west of Feodosia in the Crimea during the Crimean campaign. On 1 May, the Gruppe was subordinated to VIII. Fliegerkorps and was supporting the 11th Army in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula and the Siege of Sevastopol. Here, Grislawski claimed his 20th aerial victory on 30 April, when he shot down two Polikarpov I-15 fighters, one northeast of Feodosia and the second south of Kerch. On 5 May, Leutnant Gerhard Köppen was shot down over the Sea of Azov and was posted as missing in action. He was last seen swimming when two Soviet boats approached the area. In an attempt to save Köppen from capture, Grislawski made a strafing attack on the boats.
On 12 May, German forces launched Operation Fredericus, also referred to as the Second Battle of Kharkov, with the objective to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets. That day, III. Gruppe was moved to the Kharkov-Rogan airfield, southeast of Kharkov, and subordinated to the Stab (headquarters unit) of JG 52. Two days later, III. Gruppe predominantly flew fighter escort missions for Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers from VIII. Fliegerkorps attacking Soviet ground forces on the northern pincer, and claimed 52 aerial victories for the loss of one aircraft damaged. That day, Grislawski claimed two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighters shot down. On 15 May, during two separate missions to Staryi Saltiv, he claimed another MiG-1 fighter and a Sukhoi Su-2 light bomber.
On 12 June, the Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Belgorod. Here, Grislawski flew his 250th combat mission, escorting a Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft to Kozinka. On 1 July, Grislawski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (). The presentation was made by Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin, commander of III. Gruppe. Grislawski was one of four JG 52 pilots presented with the Knight's Cross that day. The other three pilots to receive the distinction that day were Feldwebel Karl Steffen, Oberleutnant Siegfried Simsch and Unteroffizier Karl Gratz.
Combat in the Caucasus Following his return from home leave in late August, Grislawski was assigned to 7. Staffel of JG 52 which was then fighting in the Battle of the Caucasus. At the time, III. Gruppe was based at Gonschtakowka located north-northeast of Mozdok on the Terek in the Caucasus. Grislawski, who had arrived with his unit on 2 September, claimed his 43rd aerial when he shot down an I-16 fighter. Operating from Gonschtakowka over the Kuban bridgehead, he claimed a Douglas A-20 Havoc, also referred to DB-7 or Boston, on 5 September, a Boston bomber and a Yak-1 fighter on 6 September, four Boston bombers on 8 September, a MiG-1 and LaGG-3 fighter the next day. He filed further claims on 13, 14, 16 and 17 September, increasing his total to 58 aerial victories.
On 19 September 1942, III. Gruppe had relocated to an airfield named Soldatskaja, located approximately halfway between Mozdok and Pyatigorsk. The Gruppe stayed at this airfield until 1 January 1943. During this period, the pilots occasionally also operated from airfields at Mozdok (15, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 23 October) and from Digora (5 to 17 November 1942), supporting Army Group A in the Battle of the Caucasus. Here, Grislawski increased his number of aerial victories to 84 including four Il-2 ground attack aircraft claimed on 5 November. He was then shot down in his Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 14216) by anti-aircraft artillery resulting in a forced landing at Digora.