Lützow, Günther “Franzl”. born 04-09-1912 at Kiel,
to an illustrious German naval family. He was descended from an old Prussian family of the same name. In 1931, he learned to fly at the Deutschen Verkehrsfliegerschule at Schliessheim.
Later, he underwent fighter pilot training at the clandestine German base at Lipetsk in Russia.
1934 saw Lützow serving as a Leutnant with an Infantry Regiment before transferring to the newly formed Luftwaffe. Initially, he served with I./Jagdgeschwader 132, under command of Major (later General) Johann Raithel
, the First Group was named in honour of the WW1 flying ace Manfred von Richthofen
“Richthofen”
. General Raithel survived the war and died 29-01-1961, age 63.







Lützow commenced his operational career as a fighter pilot as Staffelkapitän of 2./Jagdgeschwader 88 of the Condor Legion
under command of Generalfieldmarshal Hugo Otto Sperrle,
during the Spanish Civil War. Between March and September 1937, Oberleutnant Lützow accumulated five victories, including the first ever recorded by the Bf 109, and was awarded the Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwerten und Brillanten.
From November 1938, Lützow undertook instructing duties at Jagdfliegerschule 1, based at Werneuchen, before being appointed on 03-11-1939 to Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 3
“Udet”named after the Generaloberst der Luftwaffe Ernst Udet
who committed suicide. The ever grumpy looking but adorable Günther Lützow with his wife Gisela and his son Ulrich, late 1940,
led the Gruppe through the French campaign recording nine victories, including his first in World War II, on 14-05-1940, when he shot down two French Curtiss Hawk 75
fighters near Dinant. Lützow led I./JG 3 into the Battle of Britain.
On 21-08-1940, Oberstleutnant Lützow was appointed Kommodore of JG 3, succeeding Oberst Karl Vieck. He recorded eight further victories during the aerial battles over England. Lützow was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 18 September. In spring 1941, Stab/JG 3 was relocated to Mannheim-Sandhofen in Germany for rest and refit. Here the unit received new Bf 109 F-2 fighters before again being relocated to the Channel front on 04-05-1941. Sculptor Günther Martin, with the portrait of Oberst Lützow.
Lützow led JG 3 during the invasion of Russia. On 17-07-1941, he recorded his 40th victory.
He was awarded the Eichenlaub (Nr 27)
on 20 July.
On 17 September, he shot down his 72nd victim. He was shot down by flak on 23 September, force-landing behind enemy lines. He successfully returned unhurt. In October, he recorded 29 victories, including five Russian twin-engine bombers shot down on 8 October. He was awarded the Schwerten (Nr 4)
on 11-10-1941, after his 92nd victory. He became the second Experte to achieve 100 victories
























Death and burial ground of Lützow, Günther “Franzl”.





Lützow recorded two additional victories flying the Me 262 jet fighter, but then went missing on 24-4-1945, age 32, near Donauworth attempting to intercept a USAAF B-26 twin-engine bomber raid. He crashed into the river Danube and his body was never recovered and his aircraft never found…
