Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer
File:Fichier Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer.jpg Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer
Nickname(s)	Night Ghost of Sint-Truiden
Allegiance	Germany
Service / branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1939 – 1945
Rank	Major
Unit	NJG 1, NJG 4
Commands	12./NJG 1, IV./NJG 1, NJG 4
Battles / wars	World War II Defense of the Reich
Awards	Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwerten und Brillanten
Other work	wine business

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (16 February 1922 – 15 July 1950) was a German Luftwaffe night fighter pilot and is the highest scoring night fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five (in some services, notably the WWI German air force, classification as an ace required ten) or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. All of his 121 aerial victories were claimed during World War II at night, mostly against British four-engine bombers. He was nicknamed "The Night Ghost Of St. Trond".

Biography

Early life

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer was born 16 February 1922 in Calw, Württemberg. He learned to fly gliders as a member of a National Political Institutes of Education in 1939.

Luftwaffe career

He entered the Luftwaffe as a trainee pilot in November 1939, and underwent flying training in 1940. In April 1941, Lt. Schnaufer was posted to Nachtjagdschule 1, to learn the rudiments of night-fighting . In November 1941 Schnaufer was posted to II./NJG 1. Schnaufer's first operation came in February, when II./NJG 1 flew escort for the German navy’s capital ships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen when they broke out from Brest in the Channel Dash. His first victory was claimed on the night 1/2 June 1942; a Handley Page Halifax over Belgium. However, while attacking a second enemy aircraft, his aircraft was hit by return fire and he was wounded in the leg. He successfully landed his damaged aircraft. By the end of the year, his total stood at 7, with 3 victories recorded on one night. Schnaufer was promoted to Oberleutnant in July 1943, when his total was 17.

Schnaufer was transferred to IV./NJG 1, based in Holland, where he was appointed Staffelkapitän in August 1943. Oberleutnant Schnaufer was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for 42 victories in December 1943. He recorded his 50th victory, (IV./NJG 1’s 500th victory) on the night of 24/25 February 1944.

Six men all wearing military uniforms and decorations standing in row. The third man from the far right is shaking hands with another man.

Friedrich Lang, Erich Hartmann and Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer receive the Oak Leaves with Swords, Horst Kaubisch, Eduard Skrzipek and Adolf Glunz the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross from Adolf Hitler

March 1944 saw Schnaufer appointed Gruppenkommandeur IV./NJG 1. He claimed five enemy aircraft on the night of 24/25 May. Hauptmann Schnaufer was awarded the Eichenlaub on 24 June for 84 victories and the Schwerter on 30 July, with his total at 89.

In September 1944, IV./NJG 1 retreated into Germany, Schnaufer achieved his 100th victory on 9 October 1944. He was awarded the Brillanten personally by Adolf Hitler. Schnaufer was then appointed Geschwaderkommodore of NJG 4 on 4 November 1944; the youngest Geschwaderkommodore in the Luftwaffe at 22. At the end of the year, his victory total stood at 106.

Schnaufer's greatest one-night success came on 21 February 1945, when he claimed nine Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers in the course of one day: two in the early hours of the morning and a further seven, in just 19 minutes, in the evening.

On 7 March, he claimed three RAF four-engine bombers as his last victories of the war. Schnaufer was taken prisoner by the British Army in Schleswig-Holstein in May 1945, but was released later that year when he took over the family wine business.

He died in 1950 as the result of an accident in which his open sports car collided with a truck near Bordeaux. Heavy gas cylinders from the truck fell on to Schnaufer's car, and at least one of them hit Schnaufer on the head. He died in a hospital on 15 July 1950.

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer was the top-scoring Nachtjäger of World War II. He was credited with 121 victories recorded in just 164 combat missions. His victory total includes 114 RAF four-engine bombers; arguably accounting for more RAF casualties than any other Luftwaffe ace and becoming the third highest Luftwaffe claimant against the Western Allied Air Forces.

His radar operator on his first 12 claims was Fw. Dr. Baro, while 100 of his claims were with Lt. Fritz Rumpelhardt. His air gunner on 98 claims was Oberfeldwebel Wilhelm Gansler. Both the latter received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes.

Schnaufer flew variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 110 exclusively.

The rudder from his Bf-110, tallying all his kills, is on display in the Imperial War Museum in London. In addition, there is a fin (vertical stabilizer) from a Bf-110 of Schnaufer's showing kills in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Awards

• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Night Fighters in Gold
• Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds
• Wound Badge in Black
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (2 June 1942)
  • 1st Class (August/September 1942)
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (26 July 1943)
• German Cross in Gold on 16 August 1943 as Oberleutnant in the II./NJG 1
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
  • Knight's Cross on 31 December 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelführer of 12./NJG 1
  • 507th Oak Leaves on 24 June 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of IV./NJG 1
  • 84th Swords on 30 July 1944 ) as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of IV./NJG 1
  • 21st Diamonds on 16 October 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of IV./NJG 1
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 10 October 1944

References in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
10 October 1944	Der vom Führer mit dem Eichenlaub mit Schwertern zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes ausgezeichnete Hauptmann Schnaufer, Gruppenkommandeur in einem Nachtjagdgeschwader, errang in der Nacht vom 9. zum 10. Oktober seinen 100. Nachtjagdsieg.	During the night of the 9th to the 10 October Haupmann Schnaufer, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) in a Nachtjagdgeschwader (night fighter wing), whom the Führer has decorated with the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, scored his 100th night aerial victory.

Dates of rank

1 April 1941:	Leutnant (Second Lieutenant)
July 1943:	Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant)
1 May 1944:	Hauptmann (Captain)
1 December 1944:	Major (Major)

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Fraschka, Günther (1994). Knights of the Reich. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military/Aviation History. ISBN 0-88740-580-0.
• Hagen, Hans-Peter (1998). Husaren des Himmels Berühmte deutsche Jagdflieger und die Geschichte ihrer Waffe (in German). Rastatt, Germany: Moewig. ISBN 3-8118-1456-7.
• Kurowski, Franz (1996). Luftwaffe Aces. Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing Inc. ISBN 0-921991-31-2.
• Kurowski, Franz (2007). Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer. Verlagshaus Würzburg. ISBN 978-3-88189-736-5.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 - 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 3-87341-065-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
• Price, Alfred (1967). "One of our planes is missing..." (a.k.a. "Schnaufer's 13th Kill"), History of the Second World War (Magazine series), Vol. 4, No. 15. London: Purnell and Sons.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2005). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe III Radusch - Zwernemann (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-22-X.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939 - 1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Scutts, Jerry (1998). German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-696-5.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2.
• Williamson, Gordon (2006). Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941-45. Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84176-644-5.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.
• Helden der Wehrmacht - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2004. ISBN 3-924309-53-1.

External links

• Template:PND
• Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer @ Aces of the Luftwaffe
• Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer @ Pilotenbunker
• Grave in Calw
• Captain Schnaufer Night-Fighter ace is decorated (Nov 1944) on YouTube