Paul Semrau

Paul Semrau
Born	12 November 1915 Deutsch Eylau, West Prussia
Died	8 February 1945 (aged 29) near Twente, Netherlands
Buried at	Ysselsteyn German war cemetery, Netherlands (Block G—Row 2—Grave 38)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Major
Unit	KG 30, NJG 2, NJG 6
Commands held	3./NJG 2, V./NJG 6, III./NJG 2, NJG 2
Battles/wars	World War II Norwegian Campaign Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Paul Semrau (12 November 1915 – 8 February 1945) was a Luftwaffe night fighter flying ace of World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Semrau was credited with 46 nocturnal aerial victories, claimed in 350 combat missions.^{[Notes 1][1]}

Career

Paul Semrau joined the long distance night fighter service (Fernnachtjagd) as a former destroyer pilot (Zerstörer) of Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30—30th Bomber Wing) in July 1940. He took command of the 3rd Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2—2nd Night Fighter Wing) in the fall of 1940. He fought in the Battle of Britain and in the Siege of Malta. Hauptmann Semrau received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after 160 missions on 7 October 1942. Promoted to Major, he took command of the 4th Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 6 (NJG 6—6th Night Fighter Wing) in June 1943. After two months he was transferred again, taking command of the 3rd Gruppe of NJG 2. In November 1944 he became the Geschwaderkommodore of NJG 2. He was shot down on 8th of feb. 1945 and killed in action on factory flight with his crew, Oberfeldwebel Hantusch and Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel Behrens, of Junkers Ju 88 G-6 (Werknummer 620 562 — factory number) when he was intercepted during the landing approach at Fliegerhorst Twente by F/Lt K.S. Sleep of No. 402 Squadron RCAF on 8 February 1945.^[1] The aircraft of Semrau came down between Fliegerhorst Twente and Oldenzaal (Holland)

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (17 May 1941)^[2]
  • 1st Class (12 June 1941)^[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 24 April 1942 as Oberleutnant in the 3./NJG 2^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 7 October 1942 as Staffelkapitän and Hauptmann of the 3./NJG 2^[4]
  • 841st Oak Leaves on 17 April 1945 (posthumously) as Major and 'Gruppenkommandeur of the I./NJG 2^[4][5]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht

Notes

1. For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces

References

Citations

1. Obermaier 1989, p. 77.
2. Thomas 1998, p. 314.
3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 442.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 702.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 102.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 1, 1 September 1939 to 31 December 1941] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.