World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces
invaded Poland. Kirschner joined the
Ergänzungsgruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) on 9 May 1941. The
Ergänzungsgruppe of JG 3, a supplementary training group, was formed in April 1941 in
Krakau, present-day Kraków, under the command of
Major Alfred Müller. The
Gruppe was made up of two
Staffeln (squadrons): The first squadron, designated 1. (
Ergänzungsstaffel) or 1. Erg./JG 3, under the command of
Haupmann Hans-Curt Graf von Sponeck, son of
Hans Graf von Sponeck, was detached in January 1942 and a new created in February 1942 under command of
Oberleuntnant Heinz Bohatsch. The second squadron, designated 2. (
Ergänzungsstaffel) or 2. Erg./JG 3, was placed under the command of
Oberleutnant Erwin Neuerburg. In July, the
Ergänzungsgruppe was ordered to the Netherlands, providing fighter escort for German shipping on the
English Channel. While the
Stab (headquarters unit) and 2.
Staffel were based at
Amsterdam-Schiphol Airfield, 1.
Staffel operated from an airfield at
Bergen aan Zee near
Alkmaar. On 20 August, ten
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Bristol Blenheim bombers, escorted by
Supermarine Spitfire fighters, attacked 1.
Staffels airfield at Bergen aan Zee. Defending against this attack, Kirschner claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down one of the escorting Spitfire fighters. In total, he flew 27 combat missions while assigned to the
Ergänzungsgruppe. On 22 December, he was transferred to 5.
Staffel of JG 3. At the time, this squadron was headed by
Oberleutnant Harald Moldenhauer and subordinated to II.
Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 3 commanded by
Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Krahl. At the time of Kirschner's posting to II.
Gruppe, the unit was based at
Wiesbaden-Erbenheim Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment after it had returned to Germany from the
Eastern Front. In January 1942, II.
Gruppe was ordered to move to
Sicily. The Luftwaffe concentrated many units in Sicily, placed them under the command of
II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), in order to defeat the RAF in the
Siege of Malta. Equipped with the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 trop, the
Gruppe and their equipment travelled by train to
Bari in southern Italy. There the aircraft were reassembled and flown to
Comiso Airfield, Sicily. The transfer was completed on 24 January and the
Gruppe was then placed under the command of the
Geschwaderstab of
Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) which was already stationed there. On 26 March, II.
Gruppe escorted
Junkers Ju 87 to Malta. On this mission, Kirschner shot down a Spitfire fighter northwest of
La Valetta. This aerial victory was claimed during the action which resulted in the sinking the British submarine . II.
Gruppe flew its last combat mission over Malta on 25 April. The following day, the unit began its relocation to
Pilsen where they arrived on 27 April.
Eastern Front II.
Gruppe had been ordered to the Eastern Front in preparation for
Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in
southern Russia. While based at Pilsen,
Hauptmann Kurt Brändle took over command of the
Gruppe after Krahl had been
killed in action over Malta. The
Gruppe was then deployed on the left wing of
Army Group South where it was based at
Chuhuiv near the
Donets on 19 May. On 21 May, II.
Gruppe fought over the combat area of the
6th Army northeast of
Kharkov. There, Kirschner claimed a
Ilyushin DB-3 bomber shot down, his first aerial victory on the Eastern Front.
Squadron leader In late August 1942, II.
Gruppe was withdrawn from the front and ordered to
Neuhausen near
Königsberg, present-day Guryevsk, for reequipment with the Bf 109 G-2. There, Moldenhauer, the commander of 5.
Staffel was transferred. In consequence, Kirschner became the designated
Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5.
Staffel. On 9 September, the
Gruppe was ordered to Smolensk where it was subordinated to
Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). He received the
Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe () and the
German Cross in Gold () after claiming 51 aerial victories. On 27 April 1943, Kirschner was credited with his 100th aerial victory over a
Douglas A-20 Havoc named "Boston". He was the 37th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. In early May, II.
Gruppe was moved to Kharkiv, from where they operated over the combat area east of
Belgorod, operating in this area from 2 to 6 May. On 6 May, the
Gruppe claimed twelve aerial victories, including four by Kirschner, taking his total to 113. Kirschner claimed his 150th aerial victory on 5 July 1943, the first day of
Operation Citadel, the German offensive phase of the
Battle of Kursk. Preempting the German attack, Soviet aircraft attacked the German airfields in the early morning. Fighting in the aerial battles that day, Kirschner claimed nine aerial victories, his third "
ace-in-a-day" achievement. That day, II.
Gruppe intercepted Il-2 ground attack aircraft from 66 ShAP (
Shturmovoy Aviatsionnyy Polk—Ground-attack Aviation Regiment) and 735 ShAP. Following his 170th aerial victory he received the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 2 August 1943. The presentation was made by
Adolf Hitler at the
Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in
Rastenburg, present-day Kętrzyn in Poland. Five other Luftwaffe officers were presented with awards that day by Hitler,
Hauptmann Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld,
Hauptmann Heinrich Ehrler,
Hauptmann Manfred Meurer,
Hauptmann Werner Schröer,
Oberleutnant Theodor Weissenberger were also awarded the Oak Leaves, and
Major Helmut Lent received the Swords to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.
Defense of the Reich In early August 1943, II.
Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front for service in
Defense of the Reich on the Western Front. The
Gruppe spent one-month training in northern Germany before they arrived at the Schiphol Airfield near
Amsterdam in the Netherlands on 12 September. While based at
Uetersen Airfield, the
Gruppe received the Bf 109 G-6 which was equipped with
Y-Control for fighters, a system used to control groups of fighters intercepting
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bomber formations. On 24 September, II.
Gruppe for the first time engaged in combat with USAAF bombers. Guided by Y-Control, the
Gruppe intercepted approximately 80 to 100
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over sea. During this encounter, Kirschner shot down one of the B-17 bombers. On 27 September, the USAAF
VIII Bomber Command attacked the industrial areas and shipyards of
Emden.
Drop tank equipped
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt for the first time escorted the bombers all the way to the target in Germany. The attack force was detected at 10:20 west of
Terschelling heading east. At 10:33, II.
Gruppe was
scrambled. In the following encounter, Kirschner claimed a P-47 fighter shot down. On 2 October, VIII Bomber Command again headed for Emden. Defending against this attack, Kirschner claimed a B-17 bomber shot down. The following day, 140
Martin B-26 Marauder bombers, escorted by P-47 and Spitfire fighters, attacked the German airfields at Schiphol,
Woensdrecht and
Haamstede. II.
Gruppe was unable to reach the bombers as they were engaged by the P-47 and Spitfire fighters. During this
dogfight, Kirschner shot down one of the Spitfire fighters. On 4 October, VIII Bomber Command attacked
Frankfurt am Main. German defenses failed to prevent the bombing. Luftwaffe pilots only claimed 14 aerial victories that day, including a B-17 bomber shot down by Kirschner. This was also Kirschner's last aerial victory in Defense of the Reich. He was transferred on 18 October, command of 5.
Staffel was then passed on to
Hauptmann Heinrich Sannemann.
Group commander and death On 18 October, Kirschner was made
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of IV.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) after the former commander
Hauptmann Rudolf Sinner had been transferred on 13 September. In the intermediate period, two officers had led the
Gruppe, Oberleutnant Dietrich Boesler, who was killed on 10 October, and by
Oberleutnant Alfred Buk. At the time, IV.
Gruppe was based at the
Kalamaki Airfield in
Athens, Greece and operated in the
Mediterranean theatre. Kirschner claimed his first aerial victories in this theater of operations on 23 October. In two combat missions, he claimed the destruction of a
Lockheed P-38 Lightning and two Spitfires. Two days later, he was credited with shooting down a P-38 fighter northwest of
Cape of Rodon. On 17 December 1943, Kirschner was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (
Werknummer 20618—factory number), east of
Metković over the
Independent State of Croatia. According to Bernstein, his victors were either
Lieutenant Warren Shaw, who was credited with the destruction of one Bf 109 or by the Lieutenants Charles Leaf and Hugh Barlow, who were credited with a shared victory from the USAAF
57th Fighter Group. Kirschner
bailed out safely and landed by parachute between the villages of Bjelojevići and Donje Hrasno. He was killed by a firing squad from the
Yugoslav Partisan 29th Hercegovina Division at Metković. The Germans sent out search parties from Mostar airfield immediately after his downing, with one being ambushed by the Partisans on 19 December. As late as mid-February 1944, a battalion of the
7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen was fruitlessly searching for Kirschner. According to a report filed by SS-
Sturmbannführer Walter Moreth of the SS-
Gebirgs-Flak-Abteilung 7 (7th SS Mountain Anti-Aircraft Battalion), Kirscher was found with his throat slit and gouged out eyes. He was buried near Bjelojevići, approximately south of
Stolac. ==Summary of career==