Major Werner Schröer (1918-1985)

Werner schröer was a german military aviator and fighter ace in the luftwaffe during the second world war. He was credited with one hundred fourteen aerial victories achieved in only one hundred ninety seven combat missions. The majority of his claims were scored against western allied aircraft including sixty one in north africa and twenty two over italy with an additional twelve victories claimed on the eastern front. Among his successes were twenty six four engined heavy bombers. He rose to the rank of major and ended the war as geschwaderkommodore of jagdgeschwader three udet. Schröer received the knight's cross of the iron cross with oak leaves and swords for his leadership and combat performance across multiple theaters.

Born on twelve february nineteen eighteen in mülheim an der ruhr in the rhine province schröer was the son of friedrich johann schröer and his wife maria née schmitz. He attended school from nineteen twenty four until nineteen thirty seven graduating with his abitur. After completing compulsory reichsarbeitsdienst service he joined the luftwaffe in nineteen thirty seven initially serving as ground personnel. His recruit training began on three november nineteen thirty seven with the fourth company of flieger ersatz abteilung twenty four in quakenbrück. He progressed through various ground and training units before beginning flight training and later fighter pilot instruction. Schröer was promoted to gefreiter in nineteen thirty eight and to unteroffizier in nineteen thirty nine eventually reaching feldwebel by december of that year.

Schröer joined jagdgeschwader twenty seven in nineteen forty and flew his first combat missions during the battle of britain though without confirmed victories at that stage. In march nineteen forty one his unit transferred to north africa to support the afrika korps under erwin rommel. On nineteen april nineteen forty one he claimed his first victory a hawker hurricane near tobruk but was himself shot down and forced to make an emergency landing with his messerschmitt bf one zero nine riddled by bullets. Early scoring proved slow as he adapted to the vast desert skies and skilled royal air force opponents. His progress accelerated dramatically after he was appointed staffelkapitän of the eighth staffel of the third group of jagdgeschwader twenty seven in june nineteen forty two. In july he recorded sixteen victories often in fierce dogfights over the gazala line and during the advance toward el alamein where swirling combats involved hurricanes curtiss p forty tomahawks and kittyhawks.

His most remarkable day came on fifteen september nineteen forty two during heavy air battles over el alamein when schröer claimed six royal air force fighters in a single mission bringing his total close to fifty. These intense engagements unfolded amid contrails and smoke trails as german bf one zero nine fighters clashed repeatedly with determined british and commonwealth squadrons attempting to regain air superiority. By twenty october nineteen forty two after adding fifteen more victories including a hurricane or p forty southwest of deir el tarfa he reached forty nine confirmed claims. For these achievements as leutnant and staffelführer he was awarded the knight's cross of the iron cross. On four november he intercepted us army air forces b twenty four liberators raiding benghazi downing one for his sixtieth victory. His sixty first and final north african claim came on sixteen november a p forty south of tecis just before the axis retreat. With sixty one victories in africa he ranked as the second highest scoring german ace in the desert campaign after hans joachim marseille.

Following the evacuation from north africa schröer continued operations over sicily and southern italy during the allied invasion of sicily. Promoted to hauptmann he assumed command of the second group of jagdgeschwader twenty seven in april nineteen forty three. Between april and july nineteen forty three his pilots faced overwhelming allied air power including large formations of boeing b seventeen flying fortresses and b twenty four liberators escorted by lockheed p thirty eight lightnings and other fighters. Schröer personally claimed around twenty two additional victories in this period including twelve four engined bombers. These high altitude intercepts over the mediterranean and italian coastline demanded precise head on attacks or diving passes to disrupt bomber boxes while evading escorts. For his continued success and steady leadership against superior numbers he received the oak leaves to the knight's cross on two august nineteen forty three as the two hundred sixty eighth recipient after approximately eighty four or eighty five victories.

In the final phase of the war schröer commanded the third group of jagdgeschwader fifty four before being appointed geschwaderkommodore of jagdgeschwader three udet on fourteen february nineteen forty five. Operating in the desperate defense of eastern germany during the soviet oder offensive he claimed twelve soviet aircraft including il two sturmoviks and yak fighters in low level highly dangerous missions amid intense anti aircraft fire and numerical inferiority. These actions pushed his total past one hundred ten victories. On nineteen april nineteen forty five following his one hundred tenth confirmed claim he was awarded the swords to the knight's cross with oak leaves as the one hundred forty fourth recipient. Schröer survived the war and was held in british captivity until seven february nineteen forty six.

After his release schröer initially worked as a taxi driver in frankfurt while studying to earn a diplom kaufmann degree in business administration. He later lived and worked in rome italy for eleven years with his family. Upon returning to germany he joined the aviation industry and served as head of the central protocol department at messerschmitt bölkow blohm in ottobrunn until retirement. In nineteen sixty eight he adjusted the spelling of his surname to schröer with the umlaut. Werner schröer died on ten february nineteen eighty five in ottobrunn two days before his sixty seventh birthday and was buried with military honors at the parkfriedhof cemetery there. His career exemplified the skill adaptability and resilience required of luftwaffe fighter pilots who operated across vastly different theaters under increasingly difficult conditions.

Source :
Obermaier, Ernst: Die ritterkreuzträger der luftwaffe 1939-1945, band i: jagdflieger  
Spick, Mike: Luftwaffe fighter aces  
Zabecki, David T. (editor): World war ii in europe, an encyclopedia  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/werner_schröer  
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/26616/schroer-werner.htm  
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/ (general luftwaffe officer references)  
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300  
https://aircrewremembered.com/krackerdatabase/  
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html  
https://aufhimmelzuhause.com/id240.htm  
https://luftwaffeinprofile.se/  
https://ww2gravestone.com/people/schroer-werner/  
https://forum.axishistory.com/  
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/  
https://www.geni.com/ (family name basics)  
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html

Hauptmann Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert (1919-2007)

Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was born 2 February 1919 in Cologne-Lindenthal, at the time in the Rhine Province of the Free State of Prussia. He was the son of an executive secretary with the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Reich Railway). After attending school in Leverkusen-Schlebusch, he completed his vocational education as a metalworker. With the beginning of his vocational education, Reinert learned to fly glider aircraft with the National Socialist Flyers Corps (NSFK), completing his A, B and C-license for glider aircraft.

Following the compulsory Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labour Service), Reinert volunteered for military service of Nazi Germany with the Luftwaffe in early 1938. Eight days after joining, he was discharged on medical grounds which required an operation. In January 1939, he was admitted to the Reichsschule für Motorflug (motor powered flight school of the Reich) at Bielefeld where he attained his A/2 license. On 14 April 1939, Reinert was called back into the Luftwaffe and received three months of recruit training. He was then trained as a fighter pilot at various flight and fighter pilot schools.

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. On 1 December 1940, Reinert was promoted to Unteroffizier (corporal). At the time he was based in Bordeaux, France with a supplementary training unit of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). This unit was tasked with patrolling the Atlantic coast.

On 14 June 1941, Reinert was transferred to II. Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 77 where he was assigned to 4. Staffel (4th squadron). With this unit, he participated in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 77, augmented by I.(J)./Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing), primary role in Operation Barbarossa was to support the German advance as part of Army Group South. During this campaign, Reinert was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) on 31 July 1941. A week later, at 13:42 on 8 August 1941, he was credited with his first aerial victory, a Polikarpov I-16 fighter. On 28 September 1941, he received the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Fighter Pilots in Gold, at the time he was credited with 16 aerial victories. One day later, he received the Iron Cross 1st Class.

II. Gruppe, which was scheduled for replenishment and conversion to the Bf 109 F-4 in Germany, flew its last mission of 1941 following the Battle of Rostov on 2 December northeast of Rostov. The next day, the unit began relocating to Germany, first to Schweidnitz, present-day Świdnica, and then to Vienna-Aspern. On 7 February 1942, Reinert was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe for 24 victories. Shortly after this, Reinert was transferred west in support of Operation Donnerkeil. The objective of this operation was to give the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fighter protection in the breakout from Brest to Germany. The Channel Dash operation (11–13 February 1942) by the Kriegsmarine was codenamed Operation Cerberus by the Germans. In support of this, the Luftwaffe, formulated an air superiority plan dubbed Operation Donnerkeil for the protection of the three German capital ships. Following this assignment, Reinert was transferred back to II. Gruppe still based at Vienna-Aspern. On 11 March 1942, II. Gruppe began transferring back to the Eastern Front, first stop was Proskurov, present-day Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. On 15 March, they reached Bukarest before they reached Sarabus, present-day Hwardijske, located 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north of Simferopol on the Crimean peninsula on 17 March 1942. At the time, 4. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) Heinrich Setz while II. Gruppe was led by Hauptmann Anton Mader.

On 19 March, Reinert claimed three Soviet aircraft including two Petlyakov Pe-2s. On 3 May, Reinert claimed two Polikarpov I-153 fighters belonging to 9 IAP/VVS-ChF (Black Sea Fleet). By June Reinert had become one of leading aces in JG 77 with Anton Hackl and Setz. Reinert was promoted to Feldwebel (staff sergeant) on 1 May 1942 and after 44 aerial victories, he received the German Cross in Gold on 18 May 1942.

On 9 June, Reinert claimed three victories for his 49th to 51st. On this day, JG 77 was involved in dogfights over the besieged city of Sevastopol. Reinert engaged the 3rd OAG (Special Aviation Group) ChF and 6 GIAP ChF. He claimed a Polikarpov I-16 for his 49th victory. On 1 July 1942, after 53 aerial victories, Reinert received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross which was presented to him by II. Gruppe's commander Mader. Reinert shot down 26 Soviet aircraft in July 1942. On 14 July 1942, the day Reinert claimed three Bell P-39 Airacobras shot down, he crashed his Bf 109 F-4 during the landing at Kastornoje. The aircraft was 70% destroyed and he sustained minor injuries. On 26 July, he was again wounded in a flying accident. His Bf 109 F-4 had technical problems, the engine caught fire. This forced Reinert to bail out over friendly territory and resulted in a broken arm. A period in hospital followed. Reinert returned to the front in September. On 16 September, 4./JG 77 bounced a formation of Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft south-east of Voronezh and Reinert claimed two shot down.

On 3 October 1942, Reinert passed the century mark with four claims. He was the 27th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. That day, the Rotte, a pair of aircraft, Reinert and his wingman Unteroffizier Rudolf Flindt had been ordered to fly from Stary Oskol to Kursk with the plan to intercept the daily Soviet reconnaissance aircraft. During the takeoff, the German airfield came under attack by a flight of Soviet Il-2 ground-attack aircraft escorted by Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 and Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter aircraft. Reinert shot down two Il-2s before his 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon jammed. This forced him to continue the fight with only his two MG 131 machine guns operationally. Reinert managed to shoot down two further aircraft, two MiG-3s claimed at 14:17 and 14:20. In this encounter, Flindt was credited with two aerial victories. At the time, Reinert was also credited with the destruction of 14 aircraft on the ground in addition to the 103 aerial victories. On 6 October, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Reinert, together with Alfred Druschel, Johannes Steinhoff, Günther Rall and Max Stotz received the Oak Leaves from Adolf Hitler personally on 4 November 1942. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Reinert was only the second Feldwebel in the Luftwaffe to receive the award, after Gerhard Köppen.

In early 1941, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW—Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) had sent an expeditionary force to North Africa to support the Royal Italian Army fighting in the North African Campaign. As intensity of combat increased, the OKW committed additional military forces to the Mediterranean theatre. First elements of JG 77 had already been committed to this theatre in February 1942. The Axis defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October—4 November 1942) and the 8 November 1942 Operation Torch landings had pushed the Axis out of Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Libya into Tunisia. On 10 November 1942, Reinert's II. Gruppe was also withdrawn from the Eastern Front and began relocating to North Africa. On 5 December 1942, the Gruppenstab (headquarters unit), 4. and 6. Staffel arrived at Zazur, 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) west of Tripoli, Libya. During the relocation, II. Gruppe stopped at Munich for two weeks. There, Reinert got in trouble with the authorities and was briefly confined to quarters for not properly saluting an elderly senior officer.

Reinert was thrust into aerial combat in this final phase of the North African Campaign—the Battle of Tunisia. On 2 January 1943 Reinert claimed two P-40s from No. 250 Squadron RAF while escorting Tactical Reconnaissance Hurricanes from 40 Squadron SAAF. His wingman Unteroffizier Weidlich claimed the other. Pilot Officer S. Holland, Flight Sergeant Graham and Sergeant J. H . Baron were the casualties—they were reported as prisoner of war, safe but wounded in action and killed in action respectively. Five days later on 7 January, II./JG 77 engaged and shot down three Spitfires while the RAF claimed two Bf 109s destroyed and damaged. Two of the No. 92 Squadron RAF pilots can be identified—Flight Sergeant Broomhall was killed and Sergeant Patterson parachuted to safety. On 11 January Reinert claimed four victories over Spitfires and a single P-40. In this battle Franz Hrdlicka also claimed a Spitfire. Reinert misidentified his first three opponents who were all P-40s from the 64th and 65th Fighter Squadrons of the US 57th Fighter Group. On 17 January B-17 Flying Fortress' from the US 97th Bombardment Group and escorted by P-38 Lightnings from the US 1st Fighter Group crossed into Tunisia from airfields in Algeria. JG 77 and Italian fighters intercepted. Reinert shot down the P-38 flown by Lieutenant Burton Weil. On 20 January 1943 Reinert shot down a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk piloted by Lieutenant Richard Kimball of the 65th Fighter Squadron who was taken prisoner of war. Reinert claimed again on 6 February. He attacked a formation of No. 112 Squadron RAF P-40s and claimed two as they attacked artillery and motor transport near Ras Agadir. Sergeant R. Le Cours was shot down and another P-40 was badly damaged. On 23 February Reinert claimed two Spitfires. The first was probably Sergeant S. G. T. Twine of No. 152 Squadron RAF.

The Axis won a series of offensive successes at Sidi Bou Zid and the Kasserine Pass in February 1943. A confident Erwin Rommel ordered the 5th Panzer Army under Hans-Jürgen von Arnim to begin operation Ochsenkopf on 26 February. The Royal Air Force (RAF) Desert Air Force responded by attacking all known German and Italian airfields in the region to deny the Axis air support for the offensive. JG 77 were involved in large-scale air battles and claimed 26 P-40s for nine losses and two pilots killed. Heinrich Bär claimed five and Reinert was credited with four in one mission. Their opponents were from the 7 SAAF Wing. The South African unit records confirm 14 losses. JG 77 claimed 13 of them. The following day II./JG 77 bounced 12 P-40s attacking German airfields and Reinert claimed two for his 123rd and 124th victories. A further three fell to other pilots. On 7 March JG 77 engaged Spitfires over the Mareth Line. Heinz-Edgar Berres, Bär and two other pilots shot down a Spitfire. In the afternoon, Reinert claimed a brace of Spitfires west of Medenine. The latter was probably over a No. 145 Squadron RAF pilot.

On 1 March B-26 Marauders and P-38 Lightnings attacked the bridge at La Hencha. Reinert claimed one Marauder and two of the escorting P-38s. Three B-26s were lost. In the morning of the 13 March Reinert claimed two P-39s. In actual fact they were P-40s from the 57th Fighter Group which lost four. The American unit involved in the air battles was the US 57th Fighter Group escorted by Spitfires from 244 Wing RAF. Among the losses were Major Robert F. Worley, commanding the 314th Fighter Squadron was shot down but evaded capture and reached American lines. Major Archie Knight, the 57th Fighter Group operations officer, was also shot down. He also evaded capture by swimming undercover of darkness and reaching British lines. Lieutenant William E. Jenks and Robert Douglas of the 314th Fighter Squadron were also shot down: the latter was captured and the former was killed. In the afternoon Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) Joachim Müncheberg led I./JG 77 over Gabes. On this sortie, Reinert claimed four victories, after Müncheberg ordered them to attack some low-flying United States Army Air Force (USAAF) P-39 Airacobras while returning to base. Eight of the P-39s were claimed shot down in 12 minutes. The claims were Reinert's 132nd–135th. The 81st Fighter Group confirmed the loss of seven P-39s, despite the escort of the 31st Fighter Group's Spitfires. The P-39s were from the 91st and 93rd Squadrons. The Spitfires were from 307 and 308 Squadron. Nine American fighters were lost in total: Lieutenants Murray, Turkington, Smith, Leech, McCreight and Lewis from the 93rd and Lyons from the 91st. Another pilot was captured. Only Murray returned alive from the group.

On 26 March Reinert accounted for Sergeant J. H. D. Herberte. Herberte had been flying with Spitfire Vs and IXs of No. 145 Squadron RAF when they were attacked by II./JG 77. It appears this was the only loss. The Germans lost one pilot killed also. Three days later, on 29 March 1943, Reinert claimed two USAAF P-40s and his wingman Unteroffizier Funke claimed another. II./JG 51's Oberleutnant Rammelt claimed his 20th victory. JG 77 lost three pilots over the airfield when P-40s attacked low-flying Bf 109s—Rudolf Fischer, Ewald Bleul and Gunter Schimmelpfennig were killed. Reinert's victims were from the US 79th Fighter Group. Captain Kenneth D. Boggs was killed, Lieutenant Harlan E. Highfield was captured and the third pilot escaped to Allied lines. On 30 March Siegfried Freytag led I./JG 77 against USAAF bombing raids. The Bf 109s engaged the US 52nd Fighter Group, which was escorting 18 A-20 Havoc bombers from the 47th Bombardment Group en route to attacking La Fauconnerie. Reinert claimed two bombers before the P-40s claimed two German fighters. Reinert became an officer when he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 April 1943.

On 1 April Reinert became an "ace in a day". In the morning he claimed three Spitfires from the US 31st Fighter Group, specifically the 308th and 309th Fighter Squadrons. Lieutenant O'Brien, Juhnke and Strole were killed. Three Bf 109s were damaged. A further two claims were made against the US 52nd Fighter Group. Lieutenant Edwin Boughton was killed. Other Spitfires may have force-landed but American records generally list only those that caused the death of a pilot. On 4 April, JG 77 engaged in a day of heavy air combat with the new commanding officer Johannes Steinhoff and lost three pilots. Steinhoff and Reinert claimed one and three respectively: Steinhoff's claim was against a Spitfire in the afternoon. Reinert's opponents were P-40s from the US 33rd Fighter Group. Fredrick W. Mayo Jr, James H. Raddin and Alfred J. Schmidt were captured on this date. Mayo and Schmidt were shot down by Reinert. The next day Operation Flax began an intensive aerial offensive against Axis transport aircraft and airfields. On 16 April Reinert's 4 Staffel with 2 and 3./JG 77 formed a 15-strong fighter escort for 13 Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 transports. No. 145 Squadron RAF led by Wing Commander Ian Gleed intercepted the mixed Axis force over Cap Bon. The Germans failed to protect the Italians and seven transports were shot down along with Bf 109 (Werknummer 16 485), "White 9" and its pilot Leutnant Rüdiger. JG 77 claimed four Spitfires—one for Bär and Berres. Reinert also claimed a victory, recorded as a P-51 Mustang. Gleed, who was killed in action that day along with his wingman, flew a clipped-wing Spitfire LF. Vb coded IR-G and Reinert mistook the unusual Spitfire for a Mustang.

Three days later, on 19 April, Reinert claimed another P-51. Once more, this was probably misidentified as a clipped-wing Spitfire. The identity of this victory was either Lieutenant Maurice Langberg who was killed or Second Lieutenant Edwin C. Smithers who was captured. The pilots belonged to the 2nd and 4th Fighter Squadrons of the 52nd Fighter Group which claimed four German fighters. It may have also been Warrant Officer Williams of No. 608 Squadron RAF. The victory was Reinert's 150th of the war. By the 25 April 1943 the Axis front was collapsing. On this day Reinert led an attack on USAAF P-39s from the 350th Fighter Group. Reinert claimed one and the Americans lost five. Captain Howes and Lieutenant O'Connor were killed. In the afternoon he claimed the Spitfire J17616 flown by Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Warrant Officer Bruce Edward Anderson, with 145 Squadron. Anderson died of wounds.

On 6 May Axis forces held a narrow strip of territory on the coast near Tunis. The acute fuel shortages forced German fighters to operate in pairs. JG 77 lost two pilots killed. At 10:55 Reinert claimed his 153rd victory over a Spitfire. Only III./JG 77 claimed a further victory. On 8 May JG 77 decided to evacuate its headquarters from Korobus airfield. Reinert took off in a Bf 109 sitting on the lap of Leutnant Zeno Bäumel and carrying 4 Staffel's chief mechanic Oberfeldwebel Walter inside the fuselage. On the flight to Sicily Reinert spotted and attacked a Grumman F4F Wildcat "Martlet" which crashed into the sea.

On 8 May 1943, JG 77 evacuated from Tunisia to various airfields in Sicily while I. Gruppe was sent to Munich. The original intent was to give the Geschwader a period of rest. On 11 May, II. Gruppe moved from Trapani to the Italian mainland at Foggia for replenishment. After a month of rest, on 19 June 1943, the Gruppe relocated back to Trapani. In June and early July the USAAF and British and Commonwealth Air Forces, after initial resistance, attained air superiority. At this time the Mediterranean Air Command had 146 American and 121 British and Commonwealth squadrons available and in range of Sicily. The Axis had 838 operational aircraft including 434 Sicily-based fighter and fighter bomber–aircraft.

By 15 June 1943, some 19 main airfields with 12 minor airstrips were available. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder ordered all-out attacks to destroy Axis aviation in and over Sicily. On 10 July 1943 Operation Husky began and by 18 July only 25 German fighters remained. Allied air power had completely bombed-out the Axis air forces. JG 77, which formed part of the ad hoc Jagdgruppe Vibo Valentia, lost the last of its fighters when 80 German and Italian aircraft were destroyed in one attack on 16 July, eliminating the fighter group. By 20 July I. and II./JG 77 had been pulled out of Sicily to Calabria, on the mainland, where Reinert continued to fly combat sorties over Sicily.

Reinert claimed his first aerial victory in Sicily on 7 August. Two P-40s shot down at 11:45 and 11:54 respectively, took his total of aerial victories to 156. On 13 August 1943, a flight of six Bf 109s from I. Gruppe and nine Bf 109s from II. Gruppe took off at 09:45 on an escort mission for five Dornier Do 217 from Kampfgeschwader 100 which were on an anti-shipping mission. On this mission, the flight encountered 25 to 30 P-40s north coast of Sicily. Reinert shot down three P-40's and his Bf 109 G-6 was hit in the radiator forcing him to ditch in the sea north of Milazzo. Reinert nearly drowned and was shot at by Italian soldiers before he returned to his unit on 14 August. The campaign ended with the Axis withdrawal on 17 August. Reinert claimed two P-40s the following day.

On 7 September 1943, I. Gruppe lost the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3./JG 77 Oberleutnant Gerhard Strasen who was wounded in combat. In consequence, Reinert was transferred from II. Gruppe to I. Gruppe, replacing Strasen as Staffelführer, acting squadron leader. Reinert served in this position until 1 December 1943, when he was officially appointed as Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 77.

Reinert was then appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1./JG 77. In December he shot down a Supermarine Spitfire over Monte Cassino for his 165th claim. Early in 1944 Reinert was ill with malaria.

In April 1944, Reinert was posted to Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing), at first flying with 1. Staffel from an airfield at Fels am Wagram in Defence of the Reich. At 13:39 on 24 April, he claimed the final destruction of an already damaged Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. That day, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) with a force of 754 heavy bombers, escorted by 867 fighter aircraft, targeted German aircraft manufacturing and airfields in Southern Germany. On 13 May 1944, Reinert was appointed Staffelkapitän of 12. Staffel of JG 27. Command had been transferred from Oberleutnant Franz Stigler who took command of 8. Staffel of JG 27. On 1 August 1944, Reinert was promoted to Oberleutnant.

JG 27 was transferred in June to the invasion front, flying over Caen and claiming a P-47 Thunderbolt on 27 June. Two further victories over Normandy followed, although Reinert was injured on 17 June and 5 July. Reinert's 12./JG 27 was redesignated as 14 Staffel in August and was withdrawn to Germany for refitting.

On 1 January 1945, JG 27 participated in Operation Bodenplatte, a Luftwaffe mass attack against Allied airfields in the Benelux area. The operation resulted in hundreds of aircraft losses on both sides and was an operational failure of the Luftwaffe. JG 27, augmented by VI. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54, was ordered to attack the airfield at Brussels-Melsbroek. IV. Gruppe of JG 27, led by Hauptmann Heinz Dudeck, took off from Achmer shortly before 08:30. During the attack, IV./JG 27 made five strafing attacks on Brussels-Melsbroek, claiming multiple aircraft destroyed. IV./JG 27 did not suffer any casualties over the target area. However, on the return flight to Achmer, three aircraft were shot down, including Dudeck who was taken prisoner of war. On 5 January 1945, Reinert succeeded Dudeck as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of VI. Gruppe.

In Reinert's first month of command, VI. Gruppe saw little action in January 1945, largely due to the relatively bad weather conditions in Germany. On 23 January, one Bf 109 was lost in combat with P-51s near Lengerich, otherwise no claims nor losses were recorded. Reinert, together with Erich Hartmann, Werner Schröer, Günther Rall and others, was posted to a group commanders training course at Königsberg, present-day Chojna in western Poland. On 1 February 1945, he received a telegram announcing that he had been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The presentation was made by the commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring at the Ministry of Aviation in Berlin on 23 February 1945. At the same time, Reinert was promoted to Hauptmann, the promotion backdated to 1 January 1945.

In March 1945, the increasing Allied air superiority forced JG 27 to abandon its bases at Achmer and Rheine. On 18 March, it was decided to relocate JG 27 further east, to airfields in the vicinity of Lippstadt. On 21 March and prior to its relocation, VI. Gruppe was annihilated at Achmer by an attack of 180 Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers of the USAAF Eighth Air Force which destroyed 37 of the 38 remaining Bf 109 on the ground. On 31 March, it was decided to disband VI. Gruppe. It was not possible to replenish the unit with new aircraft. The majority of its personnel were assigned to various Fallschirmjäger and infantry units destined to fight in the Battle of Berlin.

On 23 March 1945, Reinert had been transferred to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing) for conversion training to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. The Gruppe was commanded by Major Wolfgang Späte and at the time based at Brandenburg-Briest. Reinert did not fly any combat missions on the Me 262. Before the end of World War II in Europe, the unit relocated multiple times, from Berlin to Prague, to Lagerlechfeld, to Munich–Holzkirchen, Plattling and to Mühldorf. There, on 8 May 1945, he was taken prisoner of war by US forces.

In September 1945, Reinert was released from US captivity and pursued a career in business as an industrial sales representative. On 1 April 1956, he reentered military service in the Bundeswehr as an Hauptmann in the West German Air Force. Following various training courses, he was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 2. Staffel of Jagdbombergeschwader 31 "Boelcke" (JaBoG 31—Fighter-Bomber Wing 31), and at the time under the command of Oberstleutnant Gerhard Barkhorn. The unit was initially equipped with the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak and based at the Nörvenich Air Base. On 19 January 1959, JaBoG 31 became the first German Air Force wing to be assigned to NATO. On 1 March 1959, Reinert was promoted to Major.

For the next four years, Reinert commanded the flying elements of Jagdbombergeschwader 35 (JaBoG 35—Fighter-Bomber Wing 35), at the time under the command of Oberstleutnant Karl Henze. JaBoG 35 existed from 1959 to 1966 and was then reformed as Leichtes Kampfgeschwader 41 (LeKG 41—Light-Bomber Wing 41). Reinert then served as staff officer with the 3rd Luftwaffe Division and as chief of the air-ground firing range at the Sylt Air Base near Westerland. On 1 March 1971, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant. His final posting was to the Air Force Forces Command at Köln-Wahn where he served as a staff officer. Reinert retired from military service on 30 September 1972.

Reinert then became a certified healing practitioner in Bad Pyrmont. Until his deteriorating health prohibited otherwise, he continued to fly civil aircraft as hobby. He died on 5 September 2007 in Bad Pyrmont.

Reinert was credited with 174 enemy aircraft shot down in 715 combat missions, of which 103 were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 51 in the Mediterranean theatre and 20 over the Western Front. On 60 ground attack missions, he was also credited with the destruction of 16 aircraft, 10 tanks and 6 locomotives.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst-Wilhelm_Reinert
http://militaryauction.org/s/wwii-knights-cross
Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://grokipedia.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.geni.com/
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/R/ReinertEW.htm

Major Erich Rudorffer (1917-2016)

Erich Rudorffer was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace who served continuously from the outbreak of World War II until its end in 1945 and claimed 222 confirmed aerial victories over more than 1,000 combat missions while engaging in over 300 aerial combats. One of only a handful of pilots to fight in every major theater including the Battle of France the Battle of Britain North Africa and the Eastern Front he flew primarily with Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen and later Jagdgeschwader 54 Grünherz before finishing the war with Jagdgeschwader 7 on the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Rudorffer was shot down 16 times by flak or enemy aircraft and forced to bail out nine times yet he survived the conflict and rose to the rank of major while commanding various fighter groups. His extraordinary record of multiple victory sorties in a single engagement earned him a reputation as a master of rapid successive kills particularly in the rugged Focke-Wulf Fw 190 which became his signature mount on the Eastern Front. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords one of the highest decorations for bravery in the German armed forces and at the time of his death he remained the last surviving recipient of that distinction.

Born on 1 November 1917 in Zwochau Saxony in the German Empire Rudorffer completed vocational training as an automobile metalsmith specializing in coachbuilding before enlisting in the Luftwaffe on 16 April 1936 with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 61 in Oschatz. He began his service as a mechanic with bomber units including Kampfgeschwader 253 and Kampfgeschwader 153 while undergoing technical training at the Technische Schule Adlershof in Berlin and later transferred to flight school with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 51 in Liegnitz where he trained first as a bomber pilot and then as a heavy fighter or Zerstörer pilot. During this period he also gained experience as an airline pilot with Deutsche Luft Hansa flying civilian routes. By late 1939 after completing advanced fighter training at Jagdfliegerschule 2 in Schleißheim and postings to supplementary fighter groups he was assigned as an Oberfeldwebel to 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen at Frankfurt-Rebstock airfield just in time for the opening campaigns of the war.

Rudorffer's combat debut came during the Battle of France in May 1940 when his group supported the rapid advance of Army Group A through the Ardennes. On 14 May he claimed his first victory a French Curtiss Hawk 75 southwest of Les Sees-la-Gresn at 15:08 after diving on the enemy fighter during a low-level attack near the Maas bridges. Over the next weeks he added claims against LeO 451 bombers Morane 406 fighters and Blenheims while operating from forward fields such as Bastogne scoring nine victories before the French armistice on 22 June. Transitioning into the Battle of Britain and the ongoing Channel Front offensive he flew relentless sorties against the Royal Air Force claiming Spitfires and Hurricanes in dogfights over southern England and the Thames Estuary. One particularly harrowing incident occurred when a Hawker Hurricane pursued him at rooftop level down Croydon High Street in a high-speed chase through the London suburbs forcing him to weave between buildings and evade ground fire before breaking free and escaping across the Channel. By 1 May 1941 after 145 combat missions and 19 confirmed victories he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross becoming the 184th Luftwaffe recipient of the decoration.

In November 1942 Rudorffer's unit II./JG 2 was withdrawn from the Channel coast and redeployed to Sicily and later Tunisia to counter Operation Torch equipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Operating from bases such as Bizerte and Kairouan he adapted quickly to the harsh desert conditions and the new fighter's rugged firepower. On 9 February 1943 during a chaotic 32-minute battle south of Ousseltia he achieved his first ace-in-a-day downing six P-40 Warhawks and two P-38 Lightnings in rapid succession through aggressive diving passes and precise deflection shooting as the American formation attempted to protect B-17 bombers. Six days later on 15 February he claimed seven more Allied fighters including four P-38s and three Spitfires in another frenzied low-altitude melee near Pichon and Sbeitla. Promoted to Hauptmann and appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 2 on 17 April he amassed 26 victories in the Mediterranean theater before the Axis withdrawal demonstrating exceptional skill in outnumbered defensive scrambles.

Transferred east in July 1943 to command II./JG 54 on the Eastern Front Rudorffer switched exclusively to the Fw 190 and immediately excelled in the low- and medium-altitude brawls against massed Soviet formations of Yaks LaGGs Il-2 Sturmoviks and Pe-2 bombers. His first sortie on 24 August 1943 yielded five Soviet aircraft downed in just four minutes including DB-3 bombers an Il-2 and La-5 fighters during a head-on attack near Karachev. On 11 October he reached his 100th victory with a burst of seven kills in quick succession near Teremky and Glychow. The pinnacle of his multi-victory exploits came on 6 November 1943 when he tore into a large formation near Vitebsk claiming 13 Soviet fighters eight Yak-7s and five Yak-9s in only 17 minutes through successive high-speed passes that shredded the enemy amid intense defensive fire. These actions along with consistent scoring that included dozens of heavily armored Il-2 Sturmoviks pushed his total past 130 by early 1944. On 7 April 1944 he added six more victories in a single sortie primarily Il-2s and P-39 Airacobras earning the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross days later as the 447th recipient.

By late 1944 with II./JG 54 defending the Courland Pocket in Latvia Rudorffer earned the nickname Fighter of Libau during a dramatic solo action on 28 October. Spotting a formation of approximately 60 Soviet close-support aircraft approaching German airfields near Grobin while preparing to land he aborted his approach climbed rapidly and single-handedly engaged the enemy. In under 10 minutes he shot down nine heavily armored Il-2 Sturmoviks with cannon and machine-gun fire in aggressive passes exploiting the Fw 190's toughness against the storm of return fire from gunners and escorts before the surviving aircraft scattered in disarray. He added two more victories later that day for 11 total bringing his score to 206 and prompting a mention in the Wehrmachtbericht. This and subsequent scoring to over 210 victories led to the award of the Swords on 26 January 1945 as the 126th presentation. In the final months of the war he trained on the Me 262 and commanded I./JG 7 claiming 12 additional victories including 10 heavy bombers while defending the Reich from northern bases such as Kaltenkirchen.

After Germany's surrender Rudorffer briefly emigrated to Australia where he flew commercial routes before returning to civilian life in Germany. He worked for Pan American World Airways and later joined the German civil aviation authority contributing his expertise to postwar aviation. He lived quietly until his death on 8 April 2016 in Bad Schwartau at the age of 98 having outlived all other recipients of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. His career exemplified not only remarkable marksmanship and tactical aggression in outnumbered fights but also extraordinary resilience having survived the full span of the air war across four continents.

Source :
https://www.alexautographs.com/auction-lot/erich-rudorffer_EFB4D768A9
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?yearfrom=&yearto=&query=rudorffer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Rudorffer
https://www.luftwaffe.cz/rudorffer.html
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/26122/Rudorffer-Erich.htm
https://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2022/02/bio-of-luftwaffe-ace-erich-rudorffer.html

Major Josef Wurmheller (1917-1944)

Josef Sepp Wurmheller was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II who was credited with 102 confirmed aerial victories achieved in more than 300 combat missions on both the Eastern and Western fronts. Rising from the enlisted ranks to the command of a fighter group he became one of the most accomplished pilots in Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen earning successive high decorations for bravery including the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords awarded posthumously. Known for his aggressive close range tactics resilience after multiple bailouts and wounds and ability to score multiple victories in single engagements Wurmheller specialized in combat against Royal Air Force Spitfires and later United States Army Air Forces heavy bombers and escort fighters. He was killed in action on 22 June 1944 near Alençon in Normandy when his Focke Wulf Fw 190 collided mid air with his own wingman during a desperate defensive scramble against Allied fighters leaving behind a combat record that included at least fifty six Spitfires and eighteen to twenty four engined bombers.

Born on 4 May 1917 in the Bavarian village of Hausham to a miner father named Joseph Wurmheller the young Josef developed a passion for aviation through gliding before volunteering for the Luftwaffe in 1937. After completing pilot training he was posted as an Unteroffizier to Jagdgeschwader 53 Pik As in 1939 where he flew his first combat sorties claiming an early victory over a Fairey Battle west of Saarbrücken on 30 September 1939. He spent several months as a fighter instructor at Jagdfliegerschule Werneuchen before returning to front line duty with 5 Staffel of JG 53 during the Battle of Britain in which he was shot down four times including a ditching in the English Channel on 23 November 1940. These early experiences honed his skills in high speed dogfights amid flak and superior numbers of enemy fighters while he married Lydia Pauline Lucie Boltz during this period of service though details of their family life remain sparse.

In June 1941 Wurmheller participated briefly in Operation Barbarossa with JG 53 on the Eastern Front before transferring to Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen where he joined the staff of II Gruppe on the Channel Front in July 1941. Flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 F 2 from bases such as St Pol Bryas he plunged into relentless engagements with RAF Spitfire squadrons exploiting the German fighter's superior climb rate and diving speed to outmaneuver opponents in tight turning battles that often ended in head on passes or spiraling descents toward the sea. Within less than four weeks he claimed thirteen Spitfires including an ace in a day performance of five victories in one mission amid swirling contrails and anti aircraft fire. These successes brought his total to thirty two victories and on 4 September 1941 he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as the three hundred and twelfth recipient while still serving as an Oberfeldwebel demonstrating the Luftwaffe's recognition of exceptional skill under constant pressure.

After another instructional posting Wurmheller returned to combat in May 1942 with 1 Staffel of JG 2 and quickly added more victories building toward his most celebrated day during the Allied Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942. Despite flying with his right foot in a plaster cast from a prior domestic injury he completed four sorties in his Focke Wulf Fw 190 A 3 over the smoke choked beaches and harbor. On the first mission he downed two Spitfires before taking defensive fire from a British Boston bomber which he credited as a Blenheim forcing an emergency landing that inflicted slight concussion and sixty five percent damage to his aircraft. Undeterred he immediately took off again in a fresh machine and in the following missions claimed three more Spitfires on one sortie followed by additional fighters and the bomber for a total of seven or eight victories in a single day amid masses of Allied aircraft naval flak and chaotic close quarter combat. This exploit which raised his score to around sixty victories earned him promotion to Leutnant and on 14 November 1942 the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves as the one hundred and forty sixth recipient.

Wurmheller continued to distinguish himself through 1943 after being appointed Staffelkapitän of 9 Staffel of JG 2 in April. He added steadily to his tally including his seventieth victory a Hawker Typhoon east of Caen in May while leading defensive operations against growing Allied air offensives over occupied France. On 23 September 1943 he was wounded by bomb splinters during an emergency landing in his Fw 190 A 6 near Vannes Meucon but recovered to reach his ninetieth victory by March 1944. Promoted to Hauptmann in November 1943 he specialized increasingly in intercepts of United States four engined bombers and their escorts contributing to the Luftwaffe's costly but determined defense of the Reich. His leadership and personal score of over ninety victories reflected not only individual prowess but also the mounting strain on experienced pilots facing superior numbers and resources.

On 8 June 1944 two days after the Allied invasion of Normandy Wurmheller assumed command of III Gruppe of JG 2 succeeding the fallen Hauptmann Herbert Huppertz and immediately led his outnumbered pilots in fierce defensive battles over Caen and Lisieux. In the chaotic skies filled with Republic P 47 Thunderbolts and Spitfires he claimed critical victories including two Thunderbolts near Caen on 12 June that brought his total to one hundred and one. His final three confirmed claims came on 16 June 1944 near Lisieux and Caen as the Luftwaffe contested overwhelming Allied air superiority. On 22 June while pressing an attack in his Fw 190 A 8 Werknummer 171053 during a melee with United States P 47s and Royal Canadian Air Force Spitfires near Alençon Wurmheller collided mid air with his wingman Feldwebel Kurt Franzke. Both pilots were killed instantly and Wurmheller was buried at the German war cemetery in Champigny Saint André. For his leadership during the Normandy campaign and lifetime total of 102 victories he was posthumously promoted to Major effective 1 June 1944 and awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords as the one hundred and eighth recipient on 24 October 1944.

Source:  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Wurmheller  
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/27921/Wurmheller-Josef.htm  
https://ww2gravestone.com/people/wurmheller-josef-sepp/  
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/  
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300  
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html  
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html  
https://forum.axishistory.com/  
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/  
https://www.geni.com/  
https://www.historisches-marinearchiv.de/ (cross-referenced for Luftwaffe context)  
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units  
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html  

Oberstleutnant Kurt Bühligen (1917-1985)

Kurt Bühligen was a Luftwaffe wing commander and fighter ace of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was credited with 112 enemy aircraft shot down in over 700 combat missions. His victories were all claimed over the Western Front and included 24 four-engine bombers and 47 Supermarine Spitfire fighters. He rose from an aircraft mechanic to Geschwaderkommodore of the elite Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen, earning the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords while leading intense defensive operations against the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces in the skies over France, the English Channel, and North Africa.

Born on 13 December 1917 in Granschütz in the Province of Saxony of the German Empire, Bühligen was the son of a pipefitter. After completing an apprenticeship as a locksmith he volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe on 13 March 1936 with the Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung in Oschatz. He first served as an aircraft mechanic with Kampfgeschwader 153 from September 1937 until February 1938 and then with Kampfgeschwader 4 until April 1939. When World War II broke out he began pilot training and was posted on 15 June 1940 as an Unteroffizier to the 2. Staffel of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen, flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109. His first aerial victory came on 4 September 1940 when he shot down a Hawker Hurricane over Dover during the Battle of Britain. He was soon transferred to 6. Staffel of II. Gruppe where he often flew as wingman and claimed additional Hurricanes and Spitfires in September and October.

In the summer of 1941 II. Gruppe moved to Abbeville-Drucat and faced the RAF Fighter Command's relentless Circus operations over northern France. On 21 June 1941 alone Bühligen claimed three Spitfires in a single afternoon of furious combat over Boulogne and Hardelot, diving through British formations at high speed and using precise cannon bursts to send the fighters spinning down in flames or trailing smoke. He added seven more Spitfires in July and August while flying with 4. Staffel and then six further victories with the Geschwaderstab, including a Hurricane and five Spitfires. These successes, together with fifteen tethered balloons destroyed, brought his total to twenty-one confirmed aerial victories and earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 September 1941 while still an Oberfeldwebel. He was also awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 10 September 1940, the Iron Cross 1st Class on 29 October 1940, and the Luftwaffe Honour Goblet on 1 August 1941.

Promoted to Leutnant on 1 January 1942, Bühligen took command of 4. Staffel of II. Gruppe in April 1942 after the unit converted to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. During the Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942 he claimed four Spitfires in one day as the Gruppe scored twenty-six victories overall, weaving through flak and fighter screens at low altitude over the French coast. In November 1942 II. Gruppe was rushed to the Mediterranean Theatre following Operation Torch. Operating from Sicily and Tunisia with the Fw 190 A-3 and A-4, Bühligen claimed his first victory there on 3 December 1942 south of Tebourba and two Lockheed P-38 Lightnings on 26 December during an interception of Boeing B-17 bombers attacking Bizerte. His acting Gruppenkommandeur recommended him for preferential promotion, and on 1 February 1943 he became Oberleutnant after approval by General der Flieger Bruno Loerzer and Field Marshal Albert Kesselring.

In the bitter fighting over Tunisia Bühligen achieved ace-in-a-day status on 2 February 1943 by downing four Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and one Bell P-39 Airacobra near Kairouan in rapid succession, followed by four more Spitfires on 3 February alone. By early February he reached his fiftieth victory amid swirling dogfights against Allied fighter-bombers protecting ground advances. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 25 June 1943 as Leutnant and promoted to Hauptmann on 1 May 1943. Returning to the Channel Front in March 1943 he was appointed Kommandeur of II. Gruppe in April 1943. Flying high-altitude intercepts against massive USAAF bomber streams protected by P-47 Thunderbolts, he claimed a series of Herausschuss victories including B-17s and B-24 Liberators, reaching ninety-six confirmed kills by 18 March 1944 when he destroyed a straggling B-24 south-southwest of Forges. This milestone brought him the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944, the 413th such award.

On 28 April 1944 Bühligen succeeded Major Kurt Ubben as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 2, initially as Major and soon promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 October 1944. The Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944 plunged the Geschwader into desperate low-level combat. At 11:57 that day he opened the unit's account by shooting down a P-47 Thunderbolt over the Orne Estuary. On 7 June he claimed two more P-47s north of Caen, the second marking his 100th victory. In the smoke-filled skies over the bocage he added three kills on 5 July near Bernay and Dreux, two Thunderbolts and a North American P-51 Mustang, pushing his score to 104. These actions in swirling, treetop-height dogfights against overwhelming Allied fighter-bombers earned him the Swords to the Knight's Cross on 14 August 1944, the 88th award overall. He was later transferred toward the Eastern Front where engine failure forced an emergency landing behind Soviet lines in May 1945. Taken prisoner, he remained in Soviet captivity until his release in 1950.

After the war Bühligen settled in Nidda, Hesse, where he worked in automotive sales until his death on 11 August 1985. Throughout his career he had been shot down three times and had flown more than 700 missions, ending as one of the last commanders of the legendary Richthofen Geschwader. His record of 112 victories, achieved entirely on the Western and Mediterranean fronts without any claims on the Eastern Front, stood as a testament to his skill in both the Bf 109 and Fw 190 against ever-improving Allied opposition.

Sources:
W. P. Fellgiebel, Elite of the Third Reich, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003.
F. Kurowski, Knight's Cross Holders of the Afrikakorps, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, 1996.
E. Obermaier, Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe, Hoffmann, 1989.
K. Patzwall & V. Scherzer, Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Band II, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001.
A. Kwasny & G. Kwasny, Die Eichenlaubträger 1940-1945 (CD), Deutsches Wehrkundearchiv, Lage-Waddenhausen, 2001.
F. Berger, Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern, Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges, Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006.
Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002.
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://grokipedia.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://books.google.com/

Oberst Johannes Steinhoff (1913-1994)

Johannes Steinhoff was a Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II, a German general in the postwar Bundeswehr, and a senior NATO official. Born on 15 September 1913 in Bottendorf, Thuringia, then part of the Province of Saxony in Prussia within the German Empire, he rose to become one of the highest-scoring pilots of the conflict with 176 confirmed aerial victories achieved over 993 operational sorties. Steinhoff flew combat missions from the first day of the war in September 1939 until April 1945 and was among the very few Luftwaffe pilots to operate the revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in action as a member of Jagdverband 44 under Adolf Galland. He survived twelve shoot-downs himself and endured severe burns in a fiery crash during the final weeks of the war. Decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, Steinhoff later received high civilian honors including the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the American Legion of Merit, and the French Legion of Honour. After the conflict he played a pivotal role in rebuilding West Germany's air force and served as Inspector of the Luftwaffe and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, while also participating in the late-war Fighter Pilots' Revolt against Hermann Göring's leadership.

The son of an agricultural mill-worker father and a traditional housewife mother, Steinhoff grew up with two brothers named Bernd and Wolf and two sisters named Greta and Charlotte. One sister, Charlotte, later married Ludwig Hahn, who commanded the Security Police and Security Service in occupied Warsaw and was involved in the Warsaw Ghetto operations. After attending the Klosterschule Roßleben convent school where he studied classics and languages including French, English, Latin, and Greek, Steinhoff enrolled at the University of Jena from 1932 to 1934 to study philology. There he joined the Landsmannschaft Suevia academic fencing fraternity. Financial difficulties forced him to leave university, leading him to enlist in the Kriegsmarine in 1934 as a naval flying cadet alongside his friend Dietrich Hrabak. In 1936 he transferred to the newly reestablished Luftwaffe, where he was promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1936 and to Oberleutnant on 1 January 1939. On 29 April 1939 he married Ursula, with whom he had a son named Wolf and a daughter also named Ursula, the latter later marrying an American economics professor and Colorado state senator.

In the summer of 1939 the Luftwaffe experimented with single-engine night fighter tactics, and Steinhoff was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 11th Night Fighter Squadron of Lehrgeschwader 2 at Greifswald, initially equipped with Arado Ar 68 biplanes before switching to Messerschmitt Bf 109 D variants. With the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939 he moved to Jagdgeschwader 26 and took command of its newly formed 10th Night Fighter Squadron at Bonn-Hangelar. During the Battle of the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939 he claimed two Vickers Wellington bombers from RAF Bomber Command shot down south-southwest of the island. In early 1940 his unit became the 11th Night Fighter Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 2, and he participated in Operation Weserübung in Norway before supporting the Battle of France, where he downed two Bristol Blenheim bombers on 10 May 1940 near The Hague and Düsseldorf. Transferred in August 1940 to the 4th Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 52, he scored his fifth victory, a Supermarine Spitfire over Dorking during the Battle of Britain on 30 September 1940, and continued claiming additional Spitfires along the English Channel coast into 1941.

Steinhoff's career accelerated dramatically after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 when II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 moved east to support Army Group North. Operating from forward airfields such as Suwałki, Varėna, and later Spasskaya Polist on the Polist River south of Chudovo, the unit engaged Soviet fighters and bombers amid dense forests and river lines near Lake Ladoga. Steinhoff opened his Eastern Front tally on the first day of Operation Barbarossa by downing a Polikarpov I-153 biplane near Varėna in Lithuania, followed quickly by an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. By late August the Gruppe was heavily engaged supporting the 18th Army's advance, and on 29 August 1941 southeast of Kolpino he spotted a lone I-15 fighter low over the battlefield. Diving through patchy cloud and ground haze in his Bf 109, Steinhoff closed rapidly and raked the Soviet biplane with cannon and machine-gun fire, sending it spiraling down in flames to crash near enemy lines. This 35th victory secured him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 August 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän.

By early 1942 Steinhoff had assumed command of II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52, which redeployed to the Stalingrad sector and operated from Tusov airfield southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the Don River's western bank amid ferocious air battles protecting German advances and countering dense Soviet formations of LaGG-3 fighters and Il-2 Sturmoviks. On the hot afternoon of 31 August 1942 he led his squadrons into a swirling melee above the river. First engaging a LaGG-3 in a tight turning fight at medium altitude, he exploited the Bf 109 G's superior climb and roll to outmaneuver the heavier opponent and disintegrate it with close-range fire, pieces tumbling toward the Volga. Moments later he pursued a second LaGG-3 attempting to escape at low level through scattered clouds and flak, finishing it with precise bursts into the cockpit. These two kills brought his total to 101 and earned him the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 2 September 1942 as the 115th recipient, presented personally by Adolf Hitler in November alongside other leading aces.

Transferred in April 1943 to become Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 77 in the Mediterranean theater, Steinhoff led defensive operations over Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy against overwhelming Allied bomber streams. On 25 June 1943 northwest of Trapani in Sicily, amid hazy weather and confused intelligence after USAAF B-17s bombed Messina, he pressed through thick contrails at high altitude with only a handful of fighters and closed on a straggling Flying Fortress from astern. Targeting the left wing engines and fuselage with cannon fire, he ignited flames at the wing root; the B-17 rolled onto its back and plunged into the Mediterranean in a long fiery arc. This four-engine victory, achieved under extreme pressure, contributed to his promotion to Oberstleutnant and the award of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 28 July 1944 after 168 victories. Steinhoff later commanded the first Me 262-equipped Jagdgeschwader 7 before joining Jagdverband 44 in early 1945, where he scored additional jet kills. His flying ended abruptly on 18 April 1945 at München-Riem when, during takeoff in formation against American raids, his left wheel struck debris, causing the jet to veer wildly, nearly collide with another aircraft, run off the runway, and explode in flames. Pulled from the burning wreckage, he suffered disfiguring burns requiring two years of hospitalization and sixty-nine operations, including eyelid reconstruction by a British surgeon.

After the war Steinhoff served as a consultant on military aviation during West Germany's rearmament and joined the Bundeswehr in 1955. He rose rapidly, becoming Inspector of the Luftwaffe from September 1966 to December 1970 and then Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1971 to 1974. He authored several books drawing on his experiences, including accounts of operations over Sicily and reflections on the final hours of the war. Steinhoff died on 21 February 1994 in Wachtberg-Pech near Bonn at the age of eighty, remembered as both a brilliant combat leader who fought through every theater of the air war and a key architect of postwar German and Allied air power.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Steinhoff
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/34548/Steinhoff-Johannes.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/S/SteinhoffJ.htm
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://grokipedia.com/
Steinhoff, Johannes: Messerschmitts Over Sicily (via books.google.com)
Steinhoff, Johannes: In letzter Stunde (via books.google.com)
Spick, Mike: Luftwaffe Fighter Aces (via books.google.com)
Mathews, Andrew J. & Foreman, John: Luftwaffe Aces (via books.google.com)

Oberst Josef Priller (1915-1961)

Josef "Pips" Priller was a German military aviator and wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 101 enemy aircraft shot down in 307 combat missions, all of them claimed over the Western Front against British and American forces, including at least 68 Supermarine Spitfires and 11 four-engine bombers such as B-17s and B-24s. Born on 27 July 1915 in Ingolstadt in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Priller earned the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for his exceptional leadership and aerial successes, rising to command Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" and becoming one of the most recognizable Luftwaffe pilots of the conflict. His career spanned the invasions of France and the Low Countries, the intense air battles over Britain and the English Channel, the defense of occupied France against American daylight raids, and the chaotic final months of the war, all while flying Messerschmitt Bf 109s early on and transitioning to the more rugged Focke-Wulf Fw 190. After the war he returned to civilian life managing a family brewery, but his exploits, particularly a lone low-level attack on the Normandy beaches on D-Day, cemented his place in aviation history until his death in 1961.

Priller, nicknamed "Pips" from his early youth, graduated with his Abitur before entering military service in the Wehrmacht as a Fahnenjunker with Infantry Regiment 20 in Amberg on 1 April 1935. Defying his battalion commander's wishes, he transferred to the Luftwaffe as an Oberfähnrich on 1 October 1936 and underwent pilot training at the flight school in Salzwedel, where he proved a natural in the cockpit. Promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1937, he served initially with Jagdgruppe Wiesbaden, which evolved into elements of Jagdgeschwader 334 and later Jagdgeschwader 51, acting as communications officer for I. Gruppe under Major Max Ibel. By July 1939 he had moved through several fighter groups, including a stint with Jagdgeschwader 71 that became II./JG 51, and was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 September 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland. These formative years honed his skills in formation flying and tactical intercepts, preparing him for the rapid expansion of the Luftwaffe as Europe edged toward total war.

World War II thrust Priller into combat almost immediately upon his appointment as Staffelkapitän of 6. Staffel in II./JG 51 on 20 October 1939. During the Battle of France in May and June 1940, his squadron operated from bases supporting the German advance, moving to Dinant on 26 May amid the evacuation at Dunkirk. On 28 May 1940, Priller achieved his first two confirmed victories by downing two RAF fighters over the Dunkirk perimeter in swirling dogfights against Hurricanes and Spitfires protecting the retreating British Expeditionary Force; German pilots claimed 26 British aircraft that day amid heavy losses on both sides. He followed with additional kills, including a Curtiss P-36 Hawk on 2 June, two Bristol Blenheims on 8 June near Abbeville, and another Spitfire on 25 June, bringing his French campaign total to six. These successes earned him the Iron Cross Second Class on 30 May 1940 and the First Class on 10 July 1940, marking him as one of JG 51's rising stars in the campaign that shattered French and British air defenses.

The Battle of Britain in the summer and autumn of 1940 tested Priller's endurance as JG 51 engaged in the Kanalkampf and Adlertag operations over southern England. Flying Bf 109E fighters from bases in northern France, he claimed a Hurricane southeast of Dover on 14 July, another off the English coast on 20 July that contributed to No. 32 Squadron's losses, and a Spitfire on 29 July near Dover where British pilots force-landed or were killed. His scoring accelerated through August and October amid massive RAF intercepts, including two fighters on 24 August west of Boulogne and further Hurricanes over Canterbury and during large-scale raids on 15 August, known to the Germans as "Black Thursday." Priller's 20th victory came on 17 October 1940 when he shot down a Hurricane of No. 66 Squadron over Kent, sending Pilot Officer H. W. Reilly to his death in a smoking spiral; this milestone, achieved in just months of intense combat against superior numbers of Spitfires and Hurricanes, resulted in the award of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 October 1940, making him the fourth pilot in JG 51 to receive the honor and solidifying his reputation for precise, aggressive attacks in high-speed merges.

Transferred to Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" in November 1940 at the request of Geschwaderkommodore Adolf Galland, Priller took command of 1. Staffel and quickly adapted to the Channel front's grueling routine of RAF Circus raids. In June and July 1941 he exploded in a scoring spree, claiming 20 more victories including a Spitfire and Blenheim on 16 June during Circus No. 13, two Spitfires on 7 July, and his 40th—a Spitfire of No. 72 Squadron shot down head-on south of Dunkirk on 14 July during Circus No. 48, where he bored straight into the escort formation at over 600 km/h and stitched the British fighter's nose with cannon fire until it rolled inverted and plunged trailing glycol. This run brought his total to 41 by 19 July, earning the Oak Leaves on 19 October 1941 as the 28th recipient overall. Promoted to Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26 on 6 December 1941 and later Geschwaderkommodore on 11 January 1943, Priller reached his 70th victory on 5 May 1942 and led the wing through escalating American bomber streams, always emphasizing head-on attacks and tight formations in his yellow-nosed Fw 190s.

Priller's most legendary exploit occurred on 6 June 1944 during the Allied invasion of Normandy, when he and his wingman Unteroffizier Heinz Wodarczyk became two of the only Luftwaffe fighters to attack the beaches in daylight. Despite orders grounding most aircraft and overwhelming Allied air superiority, the pair in their Fw 190A-8s roared at treetop level across Sword Beach, machine guns and cannons blazing at landing craft, troops, and vehicles amid a storm of anti-aircraft fire from ships and shore batteries; they completed the daring strafing run unscathed before racing back to base, an act of defiance that symbolized the Luftwaffe's desperate last stands and later featured prominently in accounts of the Longest Day. Just nine days later, on 15 June 1944 near L'Aigle west of Dreux, Priller claimed his 100th victory by leading a head-on charge with Wodarczyk against a box of B-24 Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group, hammering the lead bomber's cockpit and engines with 20 mm cannon shells until flames engulfed three powerplants and the massive aircraft spiraled down in a fiery trail across the French countryside; this feat, achieved while deliberately bypassing P-51 escorts, brought him the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 2 July 1944 as the 77th recipient. He participated in Operation Bodenplatte on 1 January 1945, personally leading JG 26's strike on Brussels-Evere and Grimbergen airfields, and on 31 January 1945 was appointed Inspekteur der Jagdflieger West, ending his operational flying after 307 missions.

Following Germany's surrender in May 1945, Priller avoided prosecution and returned to Bavaria, where he took over management of the family brewery and farming interests near Augsburg, living quietly with his wife Johanna. He remained a respected figure among former comrades for his charismatic leadership and survival against overwhelming odds on the Western Front. Priller suffered a fatal heart attack on 20 May 1961 in Böbing, Upper Bavaria, at the age of 45, and was buried in Augsburg's Westfriedhof cemetery alongside his wife. His legacy endures through detailed postwar analyses of his 101 victories, his bold D-Day sortie, and his unwavering commitment to aggressive fighter tactics in the face of ever-increasing Allied numerical and technological superiority.

Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Priller
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/25685/Priller-Josef-Pips.htm
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Mike Spick, Luftwaffe Fighter Aces
Johannes Steinhoff et al., The Luftwaffe Fighter Force in World War II

Major Wilhelm Batz (1916-1988): Luftwaffe Fighter Ace with 237 Kills

Wilhelm Batz (21 May 1916 – 11 September 1988) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II credited with 237 aerial victories in 445 combat missions. Of these 234 were achieved over the Eastern Front including at least 46 Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and three against Western Allied aircraft including one four-engine bomber over the Ploiești oil fields. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords one of the highest decorations for bravery awarded by Nazi Germany. After the war he served in the Bundesluftwaffe the air force of West Germany reaching the rank of Oberstleutnant before retiring in 1972.

Batz was born on 21 May 1916 in Bamberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria part of the German Empire as the son of a civil servant Beamter. Little is recorded about his mother or any siblings. Growing up in the interwar period he idolized Manfred von Richthofen the Red Baron as the archetype of a fighter pilot. After completing his Abitur he volunteered for the newly formed Luftwaffe on 1 November 1935. He underwent basic training at Neubiberg followed by flight training beginning 1 February 1936 at Kaufbeuren Airfield. For much of the pre-war and early war period he served as a flight instructor with Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 23 at Kaufbeuren later at Jüterbog-Damm and Reinsdorf logging over 5000 flying hours. Despite repeated requests for combat duty he was retained in training roles. He attended officers training at Luftkriegsschule 2 in Berlin-Gatow and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 November 1940. He continued as an instructor until 31 October 1942 then briefly trained at Jagdfliegerschule in Bad Aibling before joining 2. Staffel Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost at Saint-Jean-d'Angély France on 20 December 1942.

His operational career began on 1 February 1943 with a transfer to II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on the Eastern Front initially serving briefly as adjutant to Johannes Steinhoff. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 he claimed his first victory a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 on 11 March 1943 near Rostov-on-Don followed by a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber two days later during a relocation flight to the Kuban bridgehead. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1943 he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on 26 May succeeding Josef Zwernemann. He received the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 24 April 1943 and the Iron Cross 1st Class on 3 July 1943. By the end of October 1943 he had 36 victories rising to 50 by November and exactly 75 by 7 December including three ace-in-a-day tallies on 1 2 and 5 December. On 7 December while strafing Soviet vessels near Eltigen his Bf 109 was hit by flak forcing a landing; he sustained shoulder wounds and was sent on convalescent leave receiving the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 December 1943 and the German Cross in Gold on 28 January 1944.

Returning to combat in February 1944 he claimed three victories on 10 February reaching 88 by the end of the month. On 22 March 1944 near Sovietskyi he achieved his 100th victory a Yak-9 and a Bell P-39 Airacobra becoming the 67th Luftwaffe pilot to reach triple figures. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän for his 75th victory with his score at around 101 shortly after. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1944 he assumed command of III. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on 19 April succeeding Günther Rall during the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. He claimed six victories on 8 April five on 10 April reaching 120 by 13 April before being lightly wounded by bomb splinters at Cape Chersonesus. On 2 May he scored another ace-in-a-day with three P-39 Airacobras one Yak-1 and one Il-2. His most spectacular performance occurred on 31 May 1944 over Romania in seven missions when he claimed 15 Soviet aircraft six Il-2 Sturmoviks five P-39s and four Lavochkin La-5s raising his total to 155. After the unit relocated to defend the Ploiești oil fields he claimed two P-51 Mustangs on 23 June a Consolidated B-24 Liberator on 24 June and reached approximately 170 by early June. On 17 August near Sandomierz during the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive he achieved another ace-in-a-day with six victories to reach his 200th confirmed kill. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 20 July 1944 for around 188 victories the 526th such award presented personally by Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair in Rastenburg on 25 August 1944 after which he attended Erich Hartmann's wedding during home leave. By the end of October 1944 his total stood at 226 placing him second in III. Gruppe behind Hartmann.

On 1 February 1945 he transferred to command II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 at Veszprém Hungary succeeding Gerhard Barkhorn. He continued claiming victories including eight between 13 and 19 March 1945 over Hungary several corroborated by matching Soviet loss reports. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 21 April 1945 the 145th recipient as Major and Gruppenkommandeur though original documentation was lost in the war's final weeks the award was confirmed postwar by the Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger. In the collapsing final phase of the Eastern Front he led his Gruppe to Zeltweg Air Base in Austria by 4 May then to American lines at Unterbiberg near Munich on 8 May to surrender and avoid Soviet captivity. He was briefly a prisoner of war and released in June 1945. He was wounded three times overall and shot down four times including once in summer 1943 over Soviet territory where he was captured for two days before escaping during transport and returning to German lines.

After the war Batz married Aenne whose maiden name and exact wedding date are unknown; she died in 1999. They had one son Lothar born in 1950 who died in 1971. In 1956 he joined the newly formed Bundesluftwaffe as a Major. Following training including in the United States he commanded a training squadron at Flugzeugführerschule S from 1958 then Ausbildungsgruppe A at Diepholz from 1959 to 1961. Promoted to Oberstleutnant in 1964 he served as Kommodore of Lufttransportgeschwader 63 from 1 October 1961 to 31 January 1964 then as a staff officer in Lufttransport-Kommando Köln-Wahn involved in planning for the Transall C-160 until his retirement on 30 September 1972. He died on 11 September 1988 in Mauschendorf Bavaria at age 72 and is buried in the family grave at Quettingen cemetery in Leverkusen-Opladen alongside his wife and son.



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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Batz  
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BatzW-R.htm  
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/28243/Batz-Wilhelm-Willi.htm  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aerial_victories_claimed_by_Wilhelm_Batz
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-a-b/#&gid=1&pid=24