Messerschmitt Me 262A

This list of German World War II jet aces has a sortable table of notable German jet ace pilots during World War II.

Background

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat (The Germans traditionally set the threshold at 10 victories.). During World War II, hundreds of German Luftwaffe fighter pilots achieved this feat flying contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft.[1] However, only 28 pilots are credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft while flying a jet-powered aircraft.

Jet aircraft first engaged in air combat on 26 July 1944, when Leutnant Alfred Schreiber, flying Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a W.Nr. 130 017 (German language: Werknummer – factory serial number), attacked an unarmed photo-reconnaissance De Havilland Mosquito PR Mk XVI, of No. 540 Squadron RAF, over the Alps. Some sources refer to this as the first victory in air combat by a pilot of a jet fighter,[2] although the crew of the damaged Mosquito managed to return to an Allied airfield in Italy.

The first confirmed destruction of an enemy aircraft by an Me 262 pilot occurred on 8 August 1944, when Leutnant Joachim Weber shot down a Mosquito PR XVI from No. 540 Squadron, over Ohlstadt, in Bavaria.[3]

On 15 August 1944, Schreiber took off to intercept a Mosquito PR XVI (NS520) of 60 Squadron, South African Air Force crewed by Captain S. Pienaar and Lieutenant A. Lockhart-Ross, who were tasked with photographing airfields in the Black Forest area. Schreiber caused severe damage in his first attack and made more than 10 passes at the Mosquito before low fuel levels cause him to break off. Pienaar and Lockhart-Ross survived a crash landing at San Severo in Italy; their reconnaissance film and debriefing provided the Allies with valuable intelligence on the Me 262.

During 1944–45, the Luftwaffe committed two other jet- or rocket-powered fighters to combat operations. In addition to the Me 262, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and the Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger both become operational. Few claims were made by pilots of the Me 163 and He 162, and none achieved ace status on either of these types.[4]

German jet aces

  This along with the * (asterisk), indicates that the pilot was either killed in action or killed in a flying accident.
  This and the ! (exclamation mark) indicates those aerial victories listed by Hinchliffe, Morgan, and Weal.
  This and the # (hash mark) indicates those aerial victories listed by Mathews and Foreman.
The list is initially sorted by the number of jet victories claimed.[5]

Name Rank Claims flying jets! Claims flying jets# Jet fighter unit(s) Total wartime claims Notes
Kurt Welter Oberleutnant 20+[Note 1] 16[7] Kdo Welter, 10./NJG 11 63 Possible all-time leading jet ace.[8]
Heinrich Bär Oberstleutnant 16 18[7] EJG 2, JV 44 220 Started jet combat in 1945; flew the only Me 262 A-1a/U5 with 6-30mm MK108's
Franz Schall* Hauptmann 14 16[7] Kdo Nowotny, JG 7 137 Killed in flying accident 10 April 1945[5]
Hermann Buchner Oberfeldwebel 12 12[7] Kdo Nowotny
JG 7		 58
Georg-Peter Eder Major 12 Kdo Nowotny
JG 7		 78 Wounded 16 February 1945[5]
Erich Rudorffer Major 12 12[7] JG 7 222
Karl Schnörrer Leutnant 11 11[7] EKdo 262
Kdo Nowotny
JG 7		 46 Wounded 30 March 1945[5]
Erich Büttner* Oberfeldwebel 8 7[7] EKdo 262
Kdo Nowotny
JG 7		 8 Killed in action 20 March 1945[5]
Helmut Lennartz Feldwebel 8 7+[7] EKdo 262
Kdo Nowotny
JG 7		 13 First aerial victory over a B-17 Flying Fortress by a jet fighter on 15 August 1944.[9]
Rudolf Rademacher Leutnant 8 16[7] JG 7 126
Walter Schuck Oberleutnant 8 8[7] JG 7 206
Günther Wegmann Oberleutnant 8 8[7] EKdo 262
JG 7		 14 Wounded 18 March 1945[5]
Hans-Dieter Weihs Leutnant 8 JG 7 8 Midair collision with Hans Waldmann on 18 March 1945, killing Waldmann.[10]
Theodor Weissenberger Major 8 8[7] JG 7 208
Alfred Ambs Leutnant 7 7[7] JG 7 7
Heinz Arnold* Oberfeldwebel 7 7[7] JG 7 49 Killed in action 17 April 1945[5]
Arnold's Me 262 A-1a W.Nr.500491 "Yellow 7" of II./JG 7 bearing his personal victory marks is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.[11]
Karl-Heinz Becker Feldwebel 7 7[7] 10./NJG 11 7
Adolf Galland Generalleutnant 7 6[7] JV 44 104 Assigned to create JV44 in March 1945. Wounded 26 April 1945[5]
Franz Köster Unteroffizier 7 EJG 2
JG 7
JV 44		 7
Fritz Müller Leutnant 6 7[7] JG 7 22
Johannes Steinhoff Oberst 6 6[7] JG 7
JV 44		 176 Wounded 18 April 1945[5]
Helmut Baudach* Oberfeldwebel 5 7[7] Kdo Nowotny
JG 7		 20 Killed in action 22 February 1945[5]
Heinrich Ehrler* Major 5 8[7] JG 7 206 Killed in action 4 April 1945[5]
Hans Grünberg Oberleutnant 5 5[7] JG 7
JV 44		 82
Joseph Heim* Gefreiter 5 5[7] JG 7 5 Killed in action 10 April 1945[5]
Klaus Neumann Leutnant 5 JG 7
JV 44		 37
Alfred Schreiber* Leutnant 5 Kdo Nowotny
JG 7		 5 First jet ace in aviation history[12]
Killed in flying accident 26 November 1944[5]
Wolfgang Späte Major 5 5[7] (JG 400)
JV 44		 99

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Hinchliffe, Kurt Welter is credited in excess of 20 aerial victories while flying the Me 262, but the exact number is disputed.[6]

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Boehme, Manfred (1992). JG 7 The World's First Jet Fighter Unit 1944/1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-395-8.
  • Boyne, Walter J. (1980). Messerschmitt Me 262 Arrow to the Future. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 978-0-87474-275-6.
  • Foreman, John; Harvey, S.E. (1995). Messerschmitt Combat Diary Me.262. Crecy Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-871187-30-4.
  • Hinchliffe, Peter (1998). Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939–1945 [Air War at Night]. Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-01861-7.
  • Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-21-9.
  • Morgan, Hugh; Weal, John (1998). German Jet Aces of World War II. Osprey Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 17. London: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-85532-634-7.
  • Radinger, Willy; Schick, Walther (1993). Messerschmitt Me 262 Development Testing Production. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-516-7.
  • Samuel, Wolfgang W.E. (2004). American Raiders – The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-649-0.
  • Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
  • Weal, John (2003). Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 37. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-084-1.

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