List of German World War II jet aces

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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

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

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

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]
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]
JG 7
 137 Killed in flying accident 10 April 1945[5]
Hermann Buchner Oberfeldwebel 12 12[7]
JG 7
 58
Georg-Peter Eder Major 12
JG 7
 78 Wounded 16 February 1945[5]
Erich Rudorffer Major 12 12[7]
JG 7
 222
Karl Schnörrer Leutnant 11 11[7]
JG 7
 46 Wounded 30 March 1945[5]
Erich Büttner
* 		Oberfeldwebel 8 7[7]
JG 7
 8 Killed in action 20 March 1945[5]
Helmut Lennartz
 		Feldwebel 8 7+[7]
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]
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
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
JV 44
 7
Fritz Müller
 		Leutnant 6 7[7]
JG 7
 22
Johannes Steinhoff Oberst 6 6[7]
JV 44
 176 Wounded 18 April 1945[5]
Helmut Baudach
* 		Oberfeldwebel 5 7[7]
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]
JV 44
 82
Joseph Heim
* 		Gefreiter 5 5[7]
JG 7
 5 Killed in action 10 April 1945[5]
Klaus Neumann Leutnant 5
JV 44
 37
Alfred Schreiber
* 		Leutnant 5
JG 7
 5 First jet ace in aviation history[12]
Killed in flying accident 26 November 1944[5]
Wolfgang Späte Major 5 5[7] (
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

  1. ^ Spick 1996, pp. 2–3.
  2. ^ Radinger & Schick 1993, p. 51.
  3. ^ Morgan & Weal 1998, pp. 16–17.
  4. ^ Spick 1996, p. 204.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Morgan & Weal 1998, p. 88.
  6. ^ Hinchliffe 1998, pp. 210, 294.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1541.
  8. ^ Samuel 2004, p. 46.
  9. ^ Morgan & Weal 1998, p. 17.
  10. ^ Weal 2003, p. 92.
  11. ^ Radinger & Schick 1993, p. 60.
  12. ^ Foreman & Harvey 1995, p. 81.

Bibliography

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