Horst Carganico

Horst Carganico (27 September 1917 – 27 May 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 60 aerial victories achieved in over 600 combat missions. This figure includes 54 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and further six victories over the Western Allies.
Born in Breslau, Carganico grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He joined the military service in the Luftwaffe in 1937. Following flight training, he was posted to "Jagdgeschwader" 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing). In April 1940, he became Adjutant of II. "Gruppe" (2nd group) of "Jagdgeschwader" 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), serving in Norway. He claimed his initial victory on 21 June 1940. Following his 27th aerial victory, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 25 September 1941. Carganico commanded the II. "Gruppe" of "Jagdgeschwader" 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) and later I. "Gruppe" of JG 5 fighting in Defense of the Reich. On 27 May 1944, he was killed in action when his aircraft hit high tension cables while attempting a forced landing.
Career.
Carganico, the son of a Luftwaffe officer, was born on 27 September 1917 in Breslau in the Kingdom of Prussia of the German Empire, present-day Wrocław in western Poland. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 and attended pilot school at Berlin-Johannisthal. At the outbreak of World War II Carganico was Technical Officer with the staff of "Jagdgeschwader" 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing). In April 1940, he served with II. "Gruppe" (2nd group) of "Jagdgeschwader" 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). During Operation Weserübung (9 April – 10 June 1940), the German assault on Denmark and Norway, Carganico served as adjutant to "Hauptmann" Karl Hentschel, the commanding officer of II. "Gruppe". 
On 8 June, the German battleship was damaged in combat with the British aircraft carrier and the two escorting destroyers and . "Scharnhorst" was taken to Trondheim for temporary repairs. Preliminary repairs were completed by 20 June, which permitted the ship to return to Germany. The following day, the Royal Air Force (RAF) launched an aerial attack on "Scharnhorst". In defense of attacks against "Scharnhorst", II. "Gruppe" flew multiple escort missions from Stavanger-Sola. Between 16:00 and 18:00, the "Gruppe" engaged RAF bombers and torpedo bombers over the German ships. In this encounter, Carganico claimed the destruction of a Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber, his first aerial victory. On 9 July, RAF bombers attacked Stavanger-Sola. The bombers were intercepted by fighters from II. "Gruppe" and Carganico shot down two Bristol Blenheim bombers. 
Carganico was promoted to "Oberleutnant" (first lieutenant) on 1 September. He claimed his fourth aerial victory on 14 October over a Lockheed Hudson aircraft. On 9 November, II. "Gruppe" of JG 77 left Norway and headed to Aalborg Airfield and then to the airfield Brest-Süd, present-day , at the Roadstead of Brest in northwestern France by 23 November. Patrolling the French coast, Carganico claimed his fifth victory on 30 November over a Blenheim bomber.
Squadron leader.
On 1 February 1941, a new I. "Gruppe" of JG 77 was created under the command of "Hauptmann" Walter Grommes. This unit was based at Stavanger-Sola and was tasked with providing fighter escort for German shipping on the southern and western Norwegian coast. Command of 1. "Staffel" (1st squadron) of JG 77 was given to "Oberleutnant" Carganico who had been transferred. As a commander, authors Bergström and Mikhailov characterize Carganico as a hard-core Nazi, unsympathetic and ambitious. On 24 May, Carganico claimed his sixth aerial victory when he shot down Blenheim bomber "L9267" from No. 114 Squadron. On 4 June 1941, 1. Staffel was detached from the Gruppe and relocated to Kirkenes Airfield in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In northern Norway, 1. "Staffel" became part of IV. "Gruppe" of JG 77 which in September was referred to as "Jagdgruppe" z.b.V. Petsamo ("zur besonderen Verwendung"—for special deployment) and headed by "Major" Henning Strümpell.
German forces launched Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941. On 25 June, the "Staffel" moved to Petsamo-Luostari as part of Operation Silver Fox. During the following weeks, Carganico claimed further aerial victories, not all of which can be exactly dated. On 29 June, a flight from 1. "Staffel" intercepted eight Beriev MBR-2 flying boats from 118 RAP (Radzvedyvatel'nyy Aviatsionnyy Polk—Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment). They were returning from a bombing mission to Liinakhamari. Three MBR-2 flying boats were shot down, two by Carganico. The 2. "Gebirgs Division" (2nd Mountain Division) attempted to cross the Zapadnaya Litsa on 13 July. In support of this attack, JG 77 flew a number of combat air patrols. Attacking the Soviet airfield at Shonguy, Carganico claimed the destruction of a Polikarpov I-16 fighter. Following his 27th aerial victory claimed, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 25 September 1941. The presentation was made by "Generaloberst" Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, the commander of "Luftflotte" 5 (5th Air Fleet), at Petsamo.
In January 1942, "Jagdgeschwader" 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) was newly created and placed under the command of "Oberst" Carl-Alfred Schumacher. On 3 January, I. "Gruppe" of JG 77 was renamed and became the I. "Gruppe" of JG 5. In consequence, Carganico's 1. "Staffel" became the newly created 1. "Staffel" of JG 5. On 21 March, 1. "Staffel" was subordinated to II. "Gruppe" of JG 5, commanded by Strümpell, and became the 6. "Staffel" of JG 5. On 26 April, seven Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers, escorted by fighters from the 95 IAP ("Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk"—Fighter Aviation Regiment), attacked the Kirkenes Airfield. The attack force failed to inflict any damage to the airfield as five of the attackers were shot down, including two by Carganico and two by "Unteroffizier" Rudolf Müller. Two days later, 6. "Staffel" encountered Hurricane fighters from 2 GvSAP ("Gvardeyskiy Smeshannyy Aviatsionnyy Polk"—Guards Composite Aviation Regiment) over the Motovsky Gulf. 2 GvSAP lost three fighters in this engagement plus two further Hurricanes were severely damaged. German pilots claimed nine aerial victories, including two by Carganico.
Group commander.
Carganico was appointed "Gruppenkommandeur" (group commander) of II. "Gruppe" of JG 5 on 1 June 1942, succeeding Strümpell who had been transferred. Command of 6. "Staffel" was passed to "Oberleutnant" Dieter Hartwein. On 26 July, Stumpff wrote to the "Luftwaffenpersonalamt", the personnel department within the Ministry of Aviation (RLM—"Reichsluftfahrtministerium"), requesting a preferential promotion for Carganico to "Hauptmann" (captain). Stumpff also requested that Carganico's command of II. "Gruppe" be made permanently. Apparently, Carganico appointment to "Gruppencommandeur" had been temporary.
In summer 1942, he claimed 23 victories in six weeks and was awarded the German Cross in Gold () on 18 May. On 12 August, Carganico was part of a "Schwarm" intercepted by Soviet fighters and Carganico's Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4/Z ("Werknummer" 10132—factory number) was damaged sufficiently to force an emergency landing south of the Motovsky Gulf. This aircraft is currently on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. He evaded capture, headed west and reached a German infantry position the next day where he was picked up by a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch and flown back to Petsamo.
Defense of the Reich.
On 16 March 1944, the commander of I. "Gruppe" of JG 5, "Major" Erich Gerlitz, was killed in action. At the time, I. "Gruppe" was based in Herzogenaurach Airfield and was fighting the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in Defense of the Reich. Carganico succeeded Gerlitz as commander of I. "Gruppe" and at the same time was promoted to "Major" (major). Carganico's successor as commander of II. "Gruppe" of JG 5 was "Hauptmann" Theodor Weissenberger, initially as acting commander until he was officially appointed on 16 April. On 10 May, Carganico shot down the RAF de Havilland Mosquito PR.IX "LR421" from the aerial reconnaissance No. 540 Squadron. The Mosquito was shot down approximately southwest of the Wiener Neustadt over Sankt Corona am Wechsel.
On 27 May, five Luftwaffe "Gruppen" joined up around Karlsruhe to defend against an attack on southern Germany. The fighters were then vectored to a point of intercept southwest of Strasbourg were they were to engage USAAF bombers. On the approach, the German fighters were intercepted by USAAF fighters. Carganico lost his adjutant and wingman, "Hauptmann" Heinz Deuschle, early in the encounter, shot down by North American P-51 Mustang fighters. Attempting to evade the fighters, Carganico was killed when his Bf 109 G-5 ("Werknummer" 110087) hit high tension cables while attempting a forced landing near Chevry, southwest of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, France. Carganico was the son of Luftwaffe general "Generalleutnant" . He was buried in the military section of the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf on 6 June 1944. Command of I. "Gruppe" was given to Weissenberger, who took control of the "Gruppe" in early June 1944.
Summary of career.
Aerial victory claims.
According to Obermaier, Carganico was credited with 60 victories in over 600 combat missions, including six victories over the Western Allies. Matthews and Foreman, authors of "Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims", researched the German Federal Archives and states that Carganico was credited with approximately 60 aerial victories. This figure includes 54 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and six over the Western Allies.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = "Planquadrat"), for example "PQ 25 Ost 96216". 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.