Flight Journal – August 2019

August 2019 27

amazing things to come. On June 8, Marseille

permanently replaced Homuth as 3./JG 27

Staffelkapitän but would not see a promotion

to the commensurate rank of Hauptmann for

another three months on September 1, 1942,

a date that has forever cemented the Marseille

legend. (Note: Marseille would not actually

“pin on” Hauptmann until September 16.)

June 8, 1942–June 17, 1942

During these 10 days, an interesting phe-

nomenon developed within 3./JG 27. As

the Battle of Gazala raged below, Marseille

claimed a staggering 24 kills, bringing his

total to 101. While 1./JG 27 claimed a total

of 54 victories, 3./JG 27 downed a total of

25 airplanes. In other words, Marseille is

credited with 96% of his squadron’s victories

(24 of 25) and 44% of the Gruppe’s total.

This dynamic, such a large disparity in pilot

contribution, appears to be unique to this

unit. Nobody could ever imagine men like

Francis Gabreski, David Schilling, Walker

Mahurin, or Robert Johnson of the 56th

His amazing skill in battle made Marseille a celebrity at home.
(Image courtesy the author)

The ace had an exuberant

personality that ran counter

to many of his superiors but

which endeared him to the

troops. (Photo courtesy of

EN-Archive)