Born at the ski-resort of St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria Josef Jennewein was before the war a world-class downhill ski racer, winning the World Ski Championships in 1938 and again in February 1939. However, after the war started he joined the Luftwaffe and JFS 5 for pilot training in 1940.

In July of 1941, he was posted to the newly created Einsatzstaffel 4./JFS 5 tasked with protecting the area of Le Havre. On 20 September 1941, Uffz. Jennewein, flying only his fourth combat mission, claimed his first three victories, all of them Spitfires downed near Fécamp. Close to a month later on 15 October, he claimed another multiple score, this time a Spitfire and a Blenheim over Le Havre.

On 28 January 1942, Jennewein was transferred to 2./JG 51 based at Staraya Russa on the Eastern Front. He filed his first claim in the East, a MiG-3, three weeks later. After adding another nine VVS aircraft he was promoted to Feldwebel and transferred to Jesau for a retraining course on the Focke Wulf 190.

After the I. Gruppe's conversion was completed, it then relocated to Lyurban on 10 September. Here they came under the control of Army Group North fighting in the area south of Lake Ladoga. And before the end of the year, Fw. "Pepi" Jennewein starting a surprising sequence of multiple victories.

As on 18 January 1943, shooting down five Pe-2s, then on 22 February, another three victories, one La-5 and two Il-2s. Over the next two days he downed five Pe-2s (23rd) followed by seven more including six Il-2s and one La-5 (24th).

With 41 confirmed victories under his belt Jennewein was promoted to Oberfeldwebel and awarded the Ehrenpokal on 1 March 1943. When the Battle of the Kursk salient commenced on 5 July, Jennewein's score stood at 63 kills. His first Abschuss during this offensive was claimed on 13 July when he shot down two La-5s within 15 minutes.

This battle would represent JG 51's most gruelling commitment, with I./JG 51 operating from forward bases near Orel to contest Soviet dominance in the salient. On 21 July, during intensified Red Army assaults following the main tank clashes, JG 51 engaged VVS fighters and bombers. They employed hit-and-run tactics exploiting altitude advantage.

However the numerical superiority of the VVS strained pilot endurance and aircraft availability. Obfw. Josef "Pepi" Jennewein added another 20 confirmed victories during these hard fought battles, the last on 27 July 1943, an Il-2 downed 15 km northwest of Bolkov.

His Fw 190 A-6 'Black 7' was then hit by return fire from the Il-2 and he force-landed his crate behind Soviet lines northwest of Mtsens. He was never seen again. He was promoted in absentia to Leutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross posthumously on 5 December 1943.

All together Jennewein flew 271 combat missions claiming 86 victories, including 29 Il-2 Sturmoviks.

It also interesting to note that Josef Jennewein participated in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships held in 1941 in Italy and won gold medals in downhill and the combined event. However in 1946 these results were cancelled by the FIS because only participants from Italy, the German Reich, Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Yugoslavia, Romania, Switzerland and Hungary had attended.

This Fw 190 A-6 'Black 7' W.Nr. 550182 was an AGO-manufactured aircraft built sometime in June-July 1943. It was camouflaged in the grey scheme and marked with yellow recognition and theatre markings. Note the red-tipped spinner identifying this machine as being with the 2. Staffel.

This profie was published in my Profile book No 16 as profile No 70.