Heinz Marquardt
Marquardt as anOberfeldwebel
Nickname(s)	"Negus"
Born	(1922-12-29)29 December 1922 Braunsberg,East Prussia, (now Poland)
Died	19 December 2003(2003-12-19) (aged 80) Hammersbach
Buried	New cemetery in Marköbel, suburb of Hammersbach
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945)  West Germany
Service/ branch	Luftwaffe German Air Force
Years of service	1939–1945 1956–1973
Rank	Leutnant (Wehrmacht) Oberstleutnant (Bundeswehr)
Unit	Jagdgeschwader 51 Jagdgeschwader 73
Battles / wars	World War II Eastern Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Condor

Heinz "Negus" Marquardt (29 December 1922 – 19 December 2003) was a GermanLuftwaffefighter ace and recipient of theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Marquardt was credited with 121 aerial victories—that is, 121 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—with a further 16 unconfirmed victories in 320 combat missions. All but one of his victories were claimed over theEastern Front.

Marquardt was born on 29 December 1922 inBraunsberg, present-day Braniewo in Poland, at the time inEast Prussia a province of theWeimar Republic'sFree State of Prussia.^[1] On 15 September 1941, he was posted to theJagdfliegerschule 5 (JFS 5—5th fighter pilot school), stationed at theLe Havre – Octeville airfield in France. As of 1 February 1942, he served as a fighter pilot instructor and flew a number of operational sorties on the Channel Front with the operational squadron of JFS 5.^[2]

On 1 August 1943, Marquard was transferred to the 11.Staffel (11th squadron) ofJagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) operating on theEastern Front.^[3] His transfer to JG 51 occurred during the SovietBelgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation where it supported the8th Army.^[4] TheStaffel was commanded byHauptmannAdolf Borchers and subordinated to IV.Gruppe of JG 51 headed byMajorHans-Ekkehard Bob.^[5] According to Obermaier, Marquardt claimed his first aerial victory on 2 October, shooting down anIlyushin Il-2ground-attack aircraft.^[2]

On 22 June 1944, Soviet forces launchedOperation Bagration, the strategic offensive operation againstArmy Group Centre. In consequence, IV.Gruppe was moved toMogilev that day and to an airfield named Bayary located 92 kilometers (57 miles) northeast ofMinsk and 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) east ofBarysaw.^[6] Following the German retreat, theGruppe moved to an airfield atLida, which is 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Minsk, on 3 July.^[7] On 14 August, Marquardt claimed aYakovlev Yak-9 fighter nearOsowiec Fortress. Later that day, IV.Gruppe retreated to an airfield atTilsit, present-day Sovetsk located on the south bank of theNeman River. The next day, as part of the group expansion from threeStaffeln perGruppe to fourStaffeln perGruppe, 10.Staffel was re-designated and became the 13.Staffel while 11.Staffel became the 14.Staffel of JG 51.^[8] Marquardt was then transferred and served with 13.Staffel which was commanded byLeutnantPeter Kalden.^[9] On 28 August, IV.Gruppe moved toModlin Airfield located approximately 35 kilometers (22 miles) northwest ofWarsaw. Here, theGruppe predominately flew combat missions to the area north and northeast of Warsaw. The next day, Marquardt claimed a Yak-9 fighter shot down northeast of Warsaw.^[10] On 10 September, Marquardt was awardedGerman Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold).^[3] Following a brief period of little combat in central Poland, Marquardt became an "ace-in-a-day" on 7 October, claiming two Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and aDouglas A-20 Havoc bomber, also known as Boston, on the first mission of the day.^[11]

Marquard and hisGruppenkommandeur (group commander),HauptmannHeinz Lange, both received theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 18 November for 89 and 70 aerial victories respectively.^[12] On 14 April 1945, Marquardt was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 102nd Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.^[13] On a transfer flight of newFocke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 to his unit, he was credited with four aerial victories overYakovlev Yak-3 on 25 April 1945.^[14] On 30 April, Marquardt accidentally ran his Fw 190 D-9 into a drainage ditch on a transfer flight. Due to lack of spare parts, the damage was not reparable and the aircraft was blown up to prevent it from falling to the enemy.^[15]

On 1 May 1945 Marquardt becameJagdgeschwader 51's last casualty of the war when he was shot down byRoyal Air ForceSpitfires north of Berlin.^[16] Marquardt had led a flight of sixFocke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 on an escort mission of 12 Fw 190 F-8 ground attack aircraft fromRedlin on a mission to Berlin. After completing the mission the aircraft returned toSchwerin. During the landing approach the flight came under attack of 6Spitfire Mk XIV fromNo. 41 Squadron. Marquardt ordered his flight to cover the landing of the ground attack fighters while he and hiswingman,Feldwebel Radlauer, attacked the Spitfires from below. Marquardt claimed one of the attackers but was shot down as well along with two other Fw 190s. Radlauer saw Marquardt's Fw 190 crash in flames but did not observe any sign of life. Marquardt was initially reported askilled in action but he had bailed out injured and was taken to a hospital in Schwerin, where he was taken prisoner of war shortly after.^[14]

Following World War II, Marquardt served in the newly establishedGerman Air Force ofWest Germany with the rank ofLeutnant (Second Lieutenant) on 16 August 1956. He served withJagdgeschwader 73 (JG 73—73rd Fighter Wing) andLeichtes Kampfgeschwader 42 (LeKG 42—42nd Light Combat Wing). Marquardt retired on 30 September 1973, having risen to the rank ofOberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel). Following his retirement, he became good friends with former Flight Lieutenant Peter Cowell who had shot him down on 1 May 1945. Marquardt died on 19 December 2003 inHammersbach.^[17]

According to US historianDavid T. Zabecki, Marquardt was credited with 121 aerial victories.^[18] His aerial victories were claimed on 320 combat missions.^[19] Mathews and Foreman, authors ofLuftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched theGerman Federal Archives and state that Marquardt was credited with more than 121 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.^[20]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ =Planquadrat), for example "PQ 34 Ost 39551". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15minutes oflatitude by 30 minutes oflongitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[21]

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[35]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (26 July 1944)^[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 10 September 1944 asOberfeldwebel in the 10./Jagdgeschwader 51^[36]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 November 1944 asFahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 13./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"^{[37][Note 6]}

• 1922 births
• 2003 deaths
• People from Braniewo
• Military personnel from East Prussia
• Luftwaffe pilots
• German Air Force pilots
• German World War II flying aces
• Recipients of the Gold German Cross
• Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

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