Josef Kociok

Josef Kociok (26 April 1918 – 26 September 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. which was awarded for extreme battlefield bravery or military leadership. Kociok was credited with 33 confirmed aerial victories in more than 200 combat missions. He was killed after a collision in the dark, when he bailed out and his parachute did not open.

Career
Josef Kociok began his military career in the fall of 1940 to be designated to serve in 7./ZG 76 (7th Staffel of Zerstörergeschwader 76), headquartered in Norway. On 24 April 1941, he was transferred to 4./SKG 210 - later redesignated 4./ZG 1. This unit was soon engaged in the invasion of the USSR, where he obtained his first aerial victory on 30 June 1941, when he shot down a Tupolev SB bomber. In this squad, Kociok executed attack missions against airfields, vehicles, trains, tanks, field artillery positions and antiaircraft artillery, and infantry attacks against the Soviets. For his performance in these missions, Kociok was awarded the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 1 June 1942 and the German Cross in Gold on 2 December 1942. In February 1943, integrated into 10.(Nachtjagd)/ZG 1, Kociok already accumulated 12 aerial victories, 15 aircraft destroyed on the ground, four tanks, four cannons, 141 freight cars, 80 different vehicles, 4 locomotives, two bridges and an anti-aircraft battery. In the night, he obtained several victories multiple, especially three Russian bombers killed on the night of 9/10 May 1943, followed by four others on 15/16 May 1943. When he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 31 July 1943, he had achieved 15 wins in the night. However, on the night of 26/27 September 1943, after downing a DB-3 bomber in a fight over the location Kerch, (Crimea), his Bf 110 G-2 broke down (according to some sources, when he collided with a crashing Russian DB-3), forcing the crew to jump. But Kociok's parachute did not open, although his radio operator Feldwebel, Alexander Wegerhoff, survived. When he died in combat, Josef Kociok had executed a total of 200 combat missions during which he earned 33 victories (all on the Eastern Front), of which 21 were at night. Posthumously, he was promoted to Leutnant.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class
 * 1st Class
 * Wound Badge in Black
 * Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Destroyer & Night Fighter in Gold
 * Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (1 June 1942)
 * German Cross in Gold (2 December 1942)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 31 July 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 10.(NJ)/Zerstörergeschwader 1