Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke

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Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke , nickname Fürst (born March 11, 1913 in Schrimm , Province of Posen ; †  March 23, 1944 near Schöppenstedt ) was a German Air Force officer , most recently a colonel and, with 162 confirmed aerial victories, is one of the most successful fighter pilots in World War II .

Military career

In 1934 Wilcke joined the army , but switched to the air force the following year . There he completed a pilot training course. After serving in the Condor Legion , Wilcke returned to Germany in the spring of 1939. In September 1939 he served as a squadron captain in the 7th squadron of Jagdgeschwader 53 . During the western campaign , Wilcke was shot down on May 18, 1940 and was temporarily taken prisoner by the French. After his return to the Luftwaffe in August 1940 he was commander of the III. Group of the same fighter squadron. With this he took part in the Battle of Britain . In this context, he had to make an emergency landing in the North Sea with his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 on August 12, 1940 , but was rescued by an air force rescue boat. At this point, Wilcke had scored his 13th kill.

Wilckes grave (right) in the municipal cemetery in Mönchengladbach-Holt

After the start of the Barbarossa company , Wilcke was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the 25th victory in the air . From December 1941 to May 1942 it was deployed in North Africa , Malta and Sicily , where it achieved four more aerial victories. He then returned to Russia and transferred to the squadron staff of Jagdgeschwader 3 (Udet). There Wilcke achieved his 100th victory in the air on September 6, 1942, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross. A few days later, on September 12, 1942, Wilcke was promoted to Commodore within his squadron. On December 17, 1942, he was the fourth fighter pilot to be shot down at 150. On December 23, 1942, Wilcke was awarded the Knight's Cross in the rank of major for 155 air victories.

On March 23, 1944, Wilcke was shot down by a P-51 Mustang in an air battle near Schöppenstedt as part of the Reich air defense and died in an impact fire . By then he had achieved a total of 162 victories on 732 enemy flights, 25 of them in the west. These included four B-17s .

Awards

See also

literature

  • Ernst Obermaier: The Luftwaffe Knight's Cross Carriers 1939–1945, Volume I: Jagdflieger , Dieter Hoffmann Verlag 1966, p. 41.

Remarks


personal data
SURNAME Wilcke, Wolf-Dietrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German major and fighter pilot
DATE OF BIRTH March 11, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Schrimm , Poznan Province
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1944
Place of death at Schöppenstedt