Operation Barbarossa and Malta

On 22 June, the Geschwader crossed into Soviet airspace in support of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front. I. Gruppe took off on its first mission at 3:40 am, escorting Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers.^[10] On 24 June 1941, Tonne who had been appointed adjutant in I. Gruppe of JG 53, claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Tupolev SB bomber.^[11] On 5 July, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Dubno.^[12] On 11 July, Tonne was wounded in aerial combat when a shell casing entered the cockpit of his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 6728—factory number), hitting him in the face. Following the injury, he crash landed his aircraft near Berdychiv.^[13] On 1 October 1941, Tonne was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant).^[1] Flying combat air patrol the next day, Tonne claimed two aerial victories.^[14]

In August 1941, I. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and were equipped with the Bf 109 F-4 at Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield. On 20 September, the Gruppe relocated to the Netherlands where they were based at airfields at Katwijk and Haamstede where they were tasked with patrolling the Dutch airspace.^[15] In December 1941, I. Gruppe was moved to Mediterranean air bases at Gela in Sicily where they fought in the aerial battles of the Siege of Malta.^[16] On 24 January 1942, Tonne was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 53. He succeeded Oberleutnant Ulrich Wollschläger.^[17] Tonne flew 116 combat missions over Malta, without claiming aerial victories.^[1] On 29 April, I. Gruppe flew its last mission over Malta before returning to Germany. In early May, the Gruppe transferred to Schwäbisch Hall for preparations to redeploy on the Eastern Front.^[18]

Eastern Front

In early May 1942, I. Gruppe was transferred back to the Eastern Front. Prior to the relocation, the Gruppe received a full complement of 41 factory new Bf 109 F-4 aircraft at Schwäbisch Hall before heading for Prague Ruzyne Airfield on 28 May. The following day, I. Gruppe flew to Kursk. There, the Gruppe supported the German 4th Panzer Army in its advance towards Voronezh during Case Blue, the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942.^[19]

From 31 May 1942 to 29 September 1942, Tonne flew 155 combat missions and shot down 88 aircraft on the Eastern Front. He received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 21 August.^[20] Tonne was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 6 September 1942 following his 54th aerial victory.^[21][22] The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) were awarded on 24 September for 101 victories.^[23] The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler in October at the Führerhauptquartier Werwolf, Hitler's headquarters located in a pine forest about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of Vinnytsia, in Ukraine. Three other Luftwaffe officers were presented with the Oak Leaves that day by Hitler, Oberleutnant Friedrich-Karl Müller, Leutant Hans Beißwenger and Feldwebel Wilhelm Crinius.^[24] Following the presentation, Tonne, Müller and Crinius were ordered to Berlin where they made a propaganda appearance at the "House of the Press".^[25] At the same time, I. Gruppe of JG 53 relocated from the Eastern Front to Comiso Airfiled in Sicily where they arrived on 10 October.^[26]

North Africa and death

When British forces launched the Second Battle of El Alamein on 23 October, elements of I. Gruppe of JG 53 were ordered to North Africa.^[27] He claimed his first victory in this theater on 26 December 1942 shooting down a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) P-38 Lightning twin-engine fighter. On 28 December leading a flight of six Bf 109 to the Souk-el-Arba Airfield, Tonne shot down a Supermarine Spitfire fighter near the airfield.^[28] On 1 January 1943, I. Gruppe flew many missions to Bône harbor, escorting Ju 87 dive bombers. That day, Tonne claimed two Spitfire fighters shot down. The next day, I. Gruppe again escorted Ju 87 dive bombers from II. Gruppe Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 (StG 3—3rd Dive Bomber Wing) and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 ground attack aircraft from III. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) to Bône. During this mission, Tonne claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down.^[29]

Tonne flew 82 combat missions and claimed 21 victories over Tunisia. On 6 March, Tonne was credited with shooting down the RAF No. 93 Squadron Spitfire fighter piloted by Sergeant W.F. Hockey.^[30] On 2 April, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Protville located approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northwest of Raoued and 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) southwest of Kalâat el-Andalous.^[31]

On 20 April 1943, Tonne claimed his 122nd aerial victory.^[32] Returning from that mission, he was killed in a flying accident over the airfield at Protville in his Bf 109 G-6 /R1 (Werknummer 16523).^[33] Tonne had waggled his wings to signal an aerial victory claimed. He then pulled his Bf 109 into a steep climb, while turning the aircraft, extending the undercarriage, and sideslipping the excess altitude before touching down. He had executed this risky maneuver many times before but apparently had misjudged his height and crashed at the edge of the airfield.^[34] Tonne was posthumously promoted to Major (major).^[35] He was temporarily succeeded by Leutnant Rupert Weninger before Oberleutnant Walter Seiz took command of 3. Staffel.^[36]

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Tonne was credited with 122 aerial victories.^[37] Spick also lists him with 122 aerial victories claimed in 641 combat missions, of which 5 victories were claimed during the Battle of France and Britain, 96 on the Eastern Front and 21 over North Africa.^[38] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 120 aerial victory claims, plus six further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 95 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 25 on the Western Front.^[39]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 49293". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[40]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (18 April 1940)^[70]
  • 1st Class (23 May 1940)^[70]
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for fighter pilots in Gold (5 May 1941)^[1]
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (6 August 1941)^[1]
• German Cross in Gold on 21 August 1942 as Oberleutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 53^[71]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 6 September 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 3./Jagdgeschwader 53^[72][73]
  • 128th Oak Leaves on 24 September 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 3./Jagdgeschwader 53^[72][74]