Hans Philipp (17 March 1917 – 8 October 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II.

Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 76 (JG 76—76th Fighter Wing) of the Luftwaffe and participated in the invasion of Poland and as a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) in the Battle of France.

He then fought in the aerial battles of the Balkans Campaign and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Johannes "Hans" Fritz Philipp was born on 17 March 1917 at 22:45 at Gustav-Graf-Straße 5 in Meissen, in the Kingdom of Saxony, part of the German Empire.

Gushurst had studied medicine at the universities in Erlangen (1912–14) and Freiburg (1914–16) and served as battalion doctor with the heavy artillery on the Western and Eastern Fronts of World War I.

She worked very hard to raise the funds to pay for higher education in order to send Philipp to a Gymnasium (secondary school).

[6] Philipp participated in various sporting events organized by the Christlicher Verein Junger Männer (CVJM—the German equivalent of YMCA) such as hiking, bicycling, skiing, paddling and rowing.

He passed his physical examination to become a pilot, observer, aircraft mechanic and or radio operator on 6 September 1935 in Dresden.

He was released early and started his military training as a Fahnenjunker (cadet) on 6 April 1936 at the 2nd Air Warfare School (Luftkriegsschule 2) at Gatow, on the south-western outskirts of Berlin.

Philipp was promoted to the officer rank of Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 24 February 1938, with the effective date was backdated to 1 January 1938.

With this car he went on a tour through Italy where he met his future fiancée Katharina Egger from South Tyrol.

[13] The German invasion of Poland began on 1 September 1939, and marked the beginning of World War II in Europe.

Philipp's unit was tasked with bomber escort and ground attack as well as combat air patrol missions.

Philipp claimed four victories in the early phase of the campaign which earned him the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1.

His unit was tasked with bomber escort missions against the British Expeditionary Force in the Battle of Dunkirk and was relocated to airbases in the vicinity of Paris on 3 June.

Philipp made a public propaganda appearance at his Franziskaneum home school on 16 December, speaking of his actions as fighter pilot.

Philipp claimed two JKRV Bf 109s shot down during a Stuka escort mission on the second day of operations on 7 April, taking his total to 25 aerial victories.

Philipp, like many other German fighter pilots, enjoyed superiority over his Soviet adversaries in the early phase of Barbarossa, both in terms of the training he had received and the aircraft that he flew.

The presentation was made on 27 August 1941 by Hitler at the Führer Headquarter Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) in Rastenburg (now Kętrzyn in Poland).

[31][32] On 23 February, Philipp shot down his 82nd opponent, the 158 IAP's (158th Fighter Aviation Regiment) Leytenant Mikhail Satalkin, who was posted as missing in action.

Among other officials, present were the NSDAP-Kreisleiter (county leader) Helmut Böhme and the mayor of Meissen, Walter Kaule.

He quickly accumulated further victories, and on 17 March 1943, his 26th birthday, he claimed his 200th to 203rd enemy aircraft shot down, recognized by his fourth mention in the Wehrmachtbericht.

[38][40][41] In April 1943, Philipp was transferred to Defense of the Reich duties as Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing), flying high altitude interception operations against the USAAF Eighth Air Force over the North Sea and northern Germany.

[47][48] The report filed by Reinhardt on 10 October 1943 stated that he and Philipp had taken off at 14:11 on a mission against enemy bombers in the vicinity of Bremen.

The group led by Y-Verfahren (Y-Control) had sighted a formation of about 30 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses southwest of Bremen at 15:12.

[49] More recent research has suggested that Philipp may also have been hit by a P-47 "Thunderbolt" piloted by Robert S. Johnson of the 61st Fighter Squadron.

The post mortem examination revealed extensive burns, particularly to the face, a laceration on the back of his head, multiple broken bones and flesh wounds as well as a particularly deep injury to his upper abdomen and inner organs.

[52] The funeral at the Trinitatisfriedhof (Trinitatis Cemetery) in Meissen, on 14 October 1943, was dominated by military, public and Nazi officials.

[49] His coffin, which was draped in the national flag of Nazi Germany along with his honors and decorations on a velvet cushion, was put on display on the entry steps of the town hall in Meissen.

[53] Present at the funeral along with his mother, his fiancée and other members of the family, were Oberstleutnant Hannes Trautloft and Generaloberst Alfred Keller, who delivered the eulogy.