Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert

Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert (left) next to Maximilian Volke .

Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert (* 2. February 1919 in Cologne-Lindenthal , † 5. September 2007 in Bad Pyrmont ) was a German Luftwaffe officer , last lieutenant colonel of the Air Force of the Armed Forces , and, with 174 confirmed victories the most successful fighter pilots in World War II .

Military career

After his training as a pilot , Reinert joined the 4th Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 77 in June 1941 . There he achieved his first aerial victory after the start of the Eastern campaign on August 8, 1941. On April 30, 1942 he was promoted to lieutenant . On July 1, 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his 53rd victory in the air . Only about three months later he achieved his 100th aerial victory on October 3, 1942, for which he was awarded the oak leaf on October 6, 1942, meanwhile for 103 aerial victories. At the end of 1942, Jagdgeschwader 77 changed the theater of war with Reinert. The further deployment took place as part of the Africa campaign, initially in Tunisia , where Reinert achieved a total of 51 aerial victories from January to April 1943. This made him the most successful fighter pilot on this front. He achieved his 150th victory in the air as the tenth fighter pilot in the Air Force on April 19, 1943.

After the surrender of Army Group Africa , Reinert was appointed squadron captain of the 1st squadron of Jagdgeschwader 77 in August 1943 , with which he was deployed in the airspace over Sicily and southern Italy . Here he achieved his 165th aerial victory at Monte Cassino in December 1943 . Reinert then fell ill with malaria and was not used again until April 1944. After the start of the Allied landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944, Reinert was transferred to the 14th squadron of Jagdgeschwader 27 , where he served as the squadron's captain. In this function he was promoted to lieutenant in the summer of 1944 .

On January 1, 1945, while being promoted to captain at the same time , Reinert became the commander of Group IV of Jagdgeschwader 27 . Here he was awarded the Knight's Cross on February 1, 1945. In March 1945, he transferred to Jagdgeschwader 7 to be retrained on the Messerschmitt 262 . However, he did not achieve another aerial victory with this aircraft type until the end of the war. In total, Reinert achieved 174 victories on over 700 enemy flights, 71 of them on the Western Front, including the shooting down of two four-engine bombers. He also destroyed 16 aircraft and ten tanks on the ground.

After the war, Reinert worked in the private sector until 1955. In 1956 he joined the German Air Force . In 1972 he was retired there with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Awards

• Wound badge (1939) in silver
• Front flight clasp for day fighters in gold
• Pilot and observer badges
• Trophy of honor for special achievement in the air war on February 7, 1942
• German cross in gold on May 18, 1942
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
  • Knight's Cross on July 1, 1942
  • Oak leaves on October 7, 1942 (131st award)
  • Swords on February 1, 1945 (130th award)

See also

• List of German fighter pilots in World War II

literature

• Ernst Obermaier: The Luftwaffe Knight's Cross Carriers 1939–1945, Volume I, Fighter Pilot , Dieter Hoffmann Verlag 1966, p. 46.