Lieutenant Hugo Broch, one of the last recipients of the Knight's Cross... At the age of 104, he embarked on his final flight. Hugo, may you rest in peace. He always advocated for peace and reconciliation over the graves, harboring no hatred or hostility toward his former adversaries—a knight of the skies. He died on May 31 in his hometown. 324 combat sorties, 81 aerial victories, including 18 IL-2 “Sturmoviks” Hugo Broch was born on January 6, 1922, in Leichlingen near Bergisch-Gladbach and joined the Luftwaffe in 1940, where he was initially assigned to Luftwaffe Construction Company 42/XII. Broch then volunteered for the Flying Corps and received pilot training. On January 6, 1943, he arrived at the II. Group of Fighter Wing 54 on the Eastern Front and was assigned there as a private to the 6th Squadron. He gained his first experience in aerial combat as a wingman to the successful fighter pilots Horst Ademeit and Heinrich “Bazi” Sterr. During this time, he shot down his first enemy on March 13, 1943. He had already scored an aerial victory on March 7, 1943, but it was not officially recognized. By the end of July 1943, he had increased his tally to a total of 7 aerial victories and scored his 20th success on August 28, 1943. As early as November 6, 1943, Broch had already scored his 44th aerial victory, until he was transferred to the Eastern Reserve Fighter Group in the winter of 1943–44 to serve as an instructor, where he trained the next generation of fighter pilots. In early August 1944, he returned to the Eastern Front and rejoined his 6th Squadron, where he increased his tally to 71 aerial victories by the end of 1944, although he had already been transferred to the 8th Squadron in the Courland Pocket in November 1944, where he remained in service until the end of the war. After his 79th aerial victory, Hugo Broch, as a sergeant and pilot in the 8th Squadron of Fighter Wing 54, was awarded the Knight’s Cross on March 12, 1945. Hugo Broch scored a total of 81 aerial victories in 324 combat sorties, all on the Eastern Front, including 18 against IL-2 “Sturmoviks.” Among his successes were 12 double victories and three triple victories. After the war, Broch found employment as a technical clerk at AGFA.
Source: Against Oblivion—German Soldiers in the Wars 1813–1945
