Hans “Specker” Grünberg was born on 8 July 1917 at Gross-Fahlenwerder in the Soldin area of Neumark/Pommern. Grünberg was serving with JG 3, based on the Eastern front, in August 1942. Unteroffizier Grünberg was assigned to 5./JG 3. He gained his first victory on 19 August 1942, when he shot down a Russian DB-3 twin-engine bomber. By the end of 1942, Grünberg had amassed 11 victories. He achieved his 20th victory on 23 April 1943, when he shot down a  Russian I-16 fighter, and his 30th on 31 May, when he shot down a Russian Yak-4 twin-engine fighter. Grünberg’s most successful day on the Eastern front came on 5 July, when he downed seven Russian Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft in three missions to record his 37th through 43rd victories. His 50th victory was recorded on 12 July 1943 and his 61st and last victory on the Eastern Front was achieved on 1 August 1943. He had baled out four times during his time in Russia, including when he suffered engine failure following aerial combat with Russian Yak-1 fighters on 16 July. Grünberg then flew with 5./JG 3 on Reichsverteidigung duties based in Germany. He was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 27 September 1943. FahnenjunkerOberfeldwebel Grünberg recorded his first four-engine bomber shot down on 24 February 1944, when he claimed a USAAF B-24 near Bad Hersfeld for his 64th victory. On 9 May 1944, Grünberg was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 3, when Oberleutnant Leopold “Poldi” Münster (95 victories, RK-EL) was shot down and killed in action the day before. He claimed his 70th victory on 29 May, when he shot down a USAAF B-17 four-engine bomber near Stettin. Leutnant Grünberg was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 9 June 1944 for 77 victories.

    At the end of 1944, Grünberg was transferred to I./JG 7 flying Me 262 jet fighters. On 21 November, he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 7, based at Lechfeld. On 17 April 1945, while returning from a combat mission against USAAF bombers, he was surprised by USAAF P-51 fighters and shot down over Plzen-Bory. The American fighters downed a total of four Me 262A-1a of I/JG 7, but only Grünberg survived having taken to his parachute. His last victory was claimed on 19 April, when he shot down a USAAF B-17 over Bohemia, but he again had to bale out of his Me 262 near Prague. On 17 April 1945, Grünberg was ordered to report to Reim for duty with Jagdverband 44 commanded by Generalleutnant Adolf Galland (104 victories, RK-Br). He served out the remainder of the war with this unit.
    “Specker” Grünberg was credited with 82 victories in 550 missions. He recorded 61 victories over the Eastern Front, including 27 Il-2 Sturmoviks. Of his 21 victories recorded over the Western Front, at least 11 were four-engine bombers. He recorded five victories with the Me-262 jet fighter, all four-engine bombers.
 

No	Date	Time	A/c Type	Unit	Location / Comments
1	19.8.1942	12:35	DB-3	5./JG 3	40 783
2	15.10.1942	9:27	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	38 363
3	17.10.1942	15:50	Pe-2	5./JG 3	38 381
4	29.10.1942	9:37	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	29 784
5	30.10.1942	8:55	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	28 141
6	30.11.1942	14:00	Il-2	5./JG 3	26 232
7	17.12.1942	12:22	Yak-1	5./JG 3	29 152
8	17.12.1942	12:25	Yak-1	5./JG 3	29 173
9	20.12.1942	12:36	Il-2	5./JG 3	-
10	22.12.1942	12:05	Yak-1	5./JG 3	39 282
11	27.12.1942	13:32	Il-2	5./JG 3	49 191
12	11.4.1943	5:18	I-16	5./JG 3	86 774
13	11.4.1943	5:28	I-16	5./JG 3	76 764
14	16.4.1943	14:44	P-40	5./JG 3	-
15	19.4.1943	17:10	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	85 541
16	20.4.1943	11:56	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	75 462
17	20.4.1943	11:57	Il-2	5./JG 3	75 462
18	21.4.1943	11:02	Il-2	5./JG 3	75 459
19	21.4.1943	11:07	Il-2	5./JG 3	75 461
20	23.4.1943	14:42	I-16	5./JG 3	85 341
21	24.4.1943	5:40	Il-2	5./JG 3	85 123
22	27.4.1943	13:06	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	85 312
23	27.4.1943	17:23	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	86 793
24	28.4.1943	16:22	Yak-1	5./JG 3	85 122
25	29.4.1943	5:32	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	85 111
26	29.4.1943	10:16	Yak-1	5./JG 3	85 151
27	8.5.1943	14:20	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	85 113
28	8.5.1943	18:03	LaGG-3	5./JG 3	75 261
29	23.5.1943	6:57	LaGG-5	5./JG 3	62 674
30	31.5.1943	6:41	Yak-4	5./JG 3	70 593
31	4.6.1943	17:50	Yak-1	5./JG 3	70 316
32	8.6.1943	18:20	Yak-1	5./JG 3	70 316
33	10.6.1943	5:25	Yak-1	5./JG 3	70 318
34	16.6.1943	3:54	Il-2	5./JG 3	70 147
35	19.6.1943	13:41	LaGG-5	5./JG 3	60 434
36	30.6.1943	17:34	Il-2	5./JG 3	70 176
37	5.7.1943	3:30	Il-2	5./JG 3	60 237
38	5.7.1943	3:37	Il-2	5./JG 3	60 135
39	5.7.1943	3:52	Il-2	5./JG 3	60 165
40	5.7.1943	4:05	Il-2	5./JG 3	60 334
41	5.7.1943	14:05	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 362
42	5.7.1943	18:50	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 618
43	5.7.1943	18:55	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 618
44	6.7.1943	15:10	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 486
45	7.7.1943	3:42	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 473
46	7.7.1943	3:45	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 417
47	7.7.1943	19:43	LaGG-5	5./JG 3	61 732
48	9.7.1943	6:18	LaGG-5	5./JG 3	62 795
49	11.7.1943	16:32	Pe-2	5./JG 3	62 761
50	12.7.1943	5:30	LaGG-5	5./JG 3	62 561
51	14.7.1943	4:56	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 428
52	14.7.1943	4:57	Il-2	5./JG 3	61 492
53	15.7.1943	18:50	Il-7	5./JG 3	61 882
54	16.7.1943	6:15	Yak-1	5./JG 3	62 856
55	16.7.1943	8:50	Yak-1	5./JG 3	61 223
56	23.7.1943	12:30	Il-7	5./JG 3	88 286
57	31.7.1943	5:39	Il-2	5./JG 3	88 283
58	31.7.1943	5:56	Il-2	5./JG 3	88 262
59	31.7.1943	11:21	Yak-1	5./JG 3	88 221
60	31.7.1943	11:26	Il-2	5./JG 3	88 253
61	1.8.1943	18:53	Il-2	5./JG 3	88 235
62	30.11.1943	11:25	P-47	5./JG 3	Neerpelt / P-47 of 352 FG, USAAF
63	20.12.1943	-	Spitfire	5./JG 3	-
64	24.2.1944	13:50	B-24	5./JG 3	40km W Bad Hersfeld
65	23.3.1944	11:20	B-17 HSS	5./JG 3	Soest
66	5.4.1944	15:38	P-51	5./JG 3	NNE Konigslütter
67	8.4.1944	-	B-24	5./JG 3	-
68	11.4.1944	11:08	B-17	5./JG 3	Gardelegen area
69	18.4.1944	14:33	B-17	5./JG 3	Nauen area
70	29.5.1944	12:27	B-24	5./JG 3	N Stettin
71	7.8.1944	18:28	P-47	5./JG 3	NW Chartres
72	14.8.1944	7:26	P-38	5./JG 3	Montmirail
73	16.8.1944	17:15	P-47	5./JG 3	NE Chartres
74	18.8.1944	19:30	P-51	5./JG 3	Beauvais
75	20.8.1944	15:49	P-47	5./JG 3	Houdan
76	VIII.44	-	E/a	5./JG 3	-
77	VIII.44	-	E/a	5./JG 3	-
78	31.3.1945	-	Lancaster	I./JG7	Hamburg
79	31.3.1945	-	Lancaster	I./JG7	Hamburg
80	10.4.1945	-	B-17	I./JG7	-
81	10.4.1945	-	B-17	I./JG7	-
82	19.4.1945	12:15-50	B-17	I./JG7	SW Prague

Victories : 82
Awards : Ehrenpokal (9 August 1943)
                Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (31 August 1943)
                Ritterkreuz (9 June 1944)
Units : JG 3, JG 7, JV 44