Helmut Wick's Battle of Britain

The 2nd Air Force of the Netherlands, Belgium and France is under the command of General Kesselring, and its headquarters is in Brussels, and its forward headquarters is in Cape Grey Nose. Jurisdiction: JG 26, JG 3, JG5 1, JG52, JG 54, 5 fighter wings, KG 1, KG2, KG3, KG4, KG53.

Under the command of General Bull, the headquarters of the Third Air Force in northern and northwestern France is located in Paris, and its forward headquarters is located in Deauville. It has three fighter wings, namely JG27, KG40, KG5 1, KG54 and KG55, namely, St.G2, St.G3 and St.

These two aviation teams are the main force, with a total of 929 fighters, 875 bombers and 3 16 dive bombers.

The 5th Air Force of Norway and Denmark, under the command of General Stepford, has jurisdiction over JG77 fighter wing, KG26, KG30, 2 bomber wings and other combat units. It is smaller than the 2 nd and 3 rd air forces, and only some troops participate. There are 123 bombers and 34 ME- 1 10 fighters, attacking northern England and.

At the beginning of August, the German Air Force assembled 2669 combat aircraft in the Strait, including 10 15 bomber, 346 dive bombers, 933 fighter Ju88 BF- 109 * *, ME-10 * * 33.

The fighter command of the Royal Air Force is under the overall command of Air Force Admiral hugh dowding, and has four flying brigades: 10 Brigade, which is responsible for defending the southwest of England. 1 1 brigade is led by Keith Rodney Parker, a New Zealander, and its headquarters is in North Holt, a suburb of London. The mission of the brigade is to defend the southern coast of England, from the west of the Isle of Wight across the Dover Strait, along the Thames to the city of London. 12 brigade is commanded by Trafford Leigh Mallory, deputy commander of the air force, and its headquarters is in Nottingham, England. The brigade is responsible for defending areas from England, where British industry is concentrated, to the North Sea coast and Yorkshire. 13 brigade's mission is to defend the north of England.

In addition, Britain has established a national radar early warning system. Although the technology was not perfect at that time, it was able to provide the British Air Force with the whereabouts of the German Air Force.

At that time, the three main fighters of the German army all had certain shortcomings and could not meet the requirements of air combat. Bf 109E, compared with the main fighters of the British army at that time, had some advantages over hurricanes and fire breathing, but it was comparable to fire breathing. However, the overall output of Bf 109 is too small, which has a fatal weakness: voyage. F 109, which takes off from the European continent, can only fly over Britain for 20 minutes at most, otherwise it can only land at sea. BF 1 10 is relatively heavy. Once you see the fire, you will only be beaten and will not provide effective escort for the bombers. There will even be fighter escorts later. In the western European continent, the well-known "Stuka" Ju87 is vulnerable to attack when diving, and it is impossible to carry out effective bombing without absolute air superiority. Nevertheless, the Germans performed well at the beginning of the campaign.

From1July 940 10 to1August 940 12, the Germans flew 5376 sorties, dropped 1473 tons of bombs, sank four British destroyers and 18 transport ships. The British lost 148 planes. 10 August 10, Captain Vic became the squadron leader of No.3 Squadron. /JG2。

1940 August 13 The "Eagle Day" attack began. The Germans put in 1486 sorties all day, attacking seven airports in southern England during the day and attacking the British aircraft factory at night. British troops made 727 sorties, especially in Portland and Southampton, where 47 German planes were shot down and more than 80 were injured. The British only lost 12 hurricanes and 1 spitfire, and the losses suffered by the airport were negligible.

1August 4, 940, due to the weather, the Germans only carried out sporadic attacks in small formations.

1On August 5th, 940, the weather suddenly cleared up, and the 2nd, 3rd and 5th air teams sent planes to participate in the war, which made the Germans attack from both north and south directions at the same time. Due to the limited voyage, the No.5 Air Force in the North dispatched only 34 Bf 1 10 to cover 63 He11and 50 Ju88, which were intercepted by 84 fighters from 7 squadrons of the British 13 Brigade. A total of 7 Bf 1 10, 16 He 1 1 and 6 Ju88 were shot down, and the battle damage rate exceeded 20%. Since then, the 5th Air Force has withdrawn from the British War.

In southern England, the German army invested 975 fighter planes and 622 bombers, launched four waves of air strikes, and violently bombed five British airports and four aircraft factories. The British army successively invested 22 fighter squadrons. Throughout the day, the Germans dispatched about 2,000 sorties, shot down 75 planes, and the British dispatched 974 sorties, 34 of which were lost in air combat. The ground destroyed 2/KLOC-0 bombers, and the Siam and Lini airports in Malte were destroyed. This day is the fiercest day since the start of the Battle of Britain, and it is called "Black Thursday".

In August 1940 and 16, the Germans launched again on a large scale, but hardly achieved any results.

In August 1940, 17, only sporadic small German aircraft groups carried out harassing air strikes.

On August 1940 and 18, the German army launched a powerful offensive, which met with strong resistance from the British army, and 7/KLOC-0 planes were shot down, while the British army only lost 27.

1940 August19, Goering held a meeting of chiefs of staff at Karin Hall Manor, summed up the previous stage of operations, and decided to concentrate on attacking the base of the main force of the British Air Force 1 1 brigade, and stop dispatching Ju87, which suffered heavy losses in the battle.

1940 August19 to 23, air combat was suspended for five days due to weather. This is the end of the first stage of the Battle of Britain. At this stage, 367 German planes were shot down, and the British 12 airport and seven aircraft factories were damaged to varying degrees. Six radar stations once failed, 1 command center was bombed, and 1 ammunition depot and 10 oil depot were destroyed. However, the targets chosen by the Germans were not concentrated, which dispersed the troops to some extent and reduced the surprise attack effect. Loss of British troops at this stage 183.

From1August 24th, 940 to1September 6th, 940, the Battle of Britain entered a critical second stage. According to Goering's decision, the Germans carried out a large-scale air raid on the main base of the British 1 1 brigade and the aircraft factory in southern England. During these two weeks, the Germans dispatched planes at 100 every day. In which August 30th 1940, August 30th 1940, 3 1, and daily average 1600.

At this decisive stage, British pilots have been in a state of high tension for more than a month, and sometimes they have to go out several times a day, which is already very tired. Since the beginning of air combat, 103 British pilots have been killed and 128 have been seriously injured, accounting for a quarter of all pilots! The British air force began to face the dilemma of personnel shortage, especially the experienced flight backbone suffered a large number of casualties.

In the two weeks from1August 24th, 940 to1September 6th, 940, 295 British planes were shot down and 17 1 was seriously damaged. At the same time, the total number of new aircraft produced and maintained in Britain is only 269, and the five most important airports in southern England are seriously damaged, and seven underground airports in the southern region and near London. During these two weeks, the Germans lost 2 14 fighters and 138 bombers, but they still had enough strength to continue the attack.

Throughout August, JG2 and Vic performed well. 1On August 27th, 940, JG2' s total record reached 250, and Captain Vic's personal record reached 20, which made JG2 the second pilot to win the Knight's Cross after Colonel von Buello-Boskamp.

At this rate, it is entirely possible for the German Air Force to gain absolute initiative over the British Isles, but an accidental bombing incident on August 24, 1940 changed the war situation.

1On August 24th, 940, the mistaken German bombers bombed London by mistake. On March 25th, 28th and 30th, 2003, the British Air Force retaliated by bombing Berlin. To this end, on the evening of September 6, the Germans bombed London for the first time in a planned way.

From September 7, 65438 to September 7, 0940, the Germans attacked London on a large scale for seven consecutive days. Although London suffered huge losses of people and property, this action greatly changed the outcome of the whole campaign and even affected the outcome of the war. The British Air Force quickly regained its vitality in these short seven days.

1940 On September 5th, the British Air Force dispatched more than 300 fighters from the 19 squadron and intercepted a huge fleet of 200 German bombers and 600 fighters that bombed London. The two sides fought fiercely all day. During the whole day, 56 German planes were shot down, including 34 bombers, and another 12 crashed due to injuries on the way back and landing, and 80 were seriously injured. The British army lost 20 hurricanes and 6 flamethrowers in the air battle, and 7 were seriously injured and scrapped. This day was a turning point in British air combat. Prime Minister Churchill personally went to 1 1 brigade command center to supervise the war. He called this day an unprecedented fierce day in the history of world air combat! After the war, Britain designated September 15 as the British Air Combat Day to commemorate this brilliant victory! The Germans' bad luck began.

1940 On September 9th, Vic became the captain of I./JG2 and was promoted to captain.

On September 1940, 16 and 1940, 17, the British Air Force, with the victory of Yu Wei, launched bombers to violently attack German ships and troops assembled on the coast to land, sinking and injuring nearly 100 ships, which caused heavy losses to the Germans and forced Hitler to land on September 18. In the following days, the air combat over Britain was in full swing. Major Werner Mo Deer of JG5 1, Major Adolf Galland of JG26 Schlageter' and Captain Helmut Vic of JG2' Richthofen' became the three best fighter pilots of the German Air Force at that time.

1940 On September 20th, Major Werner Mo Deer shot down the 40th enemy plane and became the second Oak Knight Cross winner.

1940 On September 24th, Major Grande became the third winner of the Oak Knight Cross, followed by Captain Vic, who shot down three tornado fighters of the 607th Squadron of the Royal Air Force on the morning of June 5438+00 and two tornado fighters of the 238th Squadron in the afternoon, and was awarded the Oak Knight Cross with a record of 4 1.

In order to reduce the loss of aircraft, Goering ordered that the air raid on London be changed from 10 during the day to 1 at night.

1940 10 year 10 month, the Germans attacked London.

In view of the fact that the German Air Force did not gain air superiority, Hitler postponed the "Sea Lion Project" on June 1940+ 10/2, and actually gave up the plan to land in Britain.

/KOOC-0/940/KOOC-0/0/KOOC-0/0 On October 20th, Major Helmut Wick became the co-captain of JG2 after Major Wolfgang Sherman left the team, at the age of 25, and he was also the youngest co-captain of the German army at that time (Mo Deer was 27 years old and Grande was 28 years old). 101On October 25th, the Italian Air Force sent planes to join the air raid on Britain for the first time. It was not until165438+1October 10 that the British army shot down the Italian plane for the first time.

In the third stage, from September 7 to June 5438+00, Germany's plan to force Britain to submit through terrorist air strikes in London was a complete failure. During this period, the Germans lost 433 planes and the British lost 242. Announced that Germany had failed in the air raid.

In order to weaken Britain's military industry and create the illusion of attacking Britain, on the one hand, it can contain a large number of British naval, land and air forces at home, on the other hand, it can also cover the preparations for attacking the Soviet Union. The German Air Force began to carry out air strikes on British industrial cities.

1940165438+1October 14 On the night, the Germans attacked Coventry, the British aviation industrial base, with the code name "Moonlight Sonata". That night, the Germans * * * dispatched 449 He11. Because the Germans used the radio navigation technology code-named "X wax paste", the bombing was very accurate. 394 tons of blasting bombs and 56 tons of incendiary bombs fell in the center of Coventry, and the Germans also dropped 127 time-delay bombs to destroy them. 864 people were seriously injured, and 12 factories producing aircraft parts were seriously damaged, resulting in a 20% reduction in British aircraft production. The water and electricity supply in Coventry was interrupted for 35 days before it was restored, which caused heavy losses.

The British dispatched 120 night fighters to intercept, and the anti-aircraft artillery fired more than 1 2,000 shells, but shot down each1German plane. From a purely military point of view, this air raid was very successful, and because of its typical characteristics of strategic bombing, it was praised by many military strategists as the "embryonic form" of strategic bombing, which had far-reaching influence and significance in military history.

1940 165438+1October16, and JG2' s record reached 500.

1940165438+1October 28th, Major Vic won his 55th and 56th victories, surpassing Major Werner Mo Deer and becoming the number one killer of the German Air Force. Unfortunately, on the afternoon of 28th, Vic was shot down by Captain John Dundas (record 13), the top fighter of the British Air Force, over the southern part of the Isle of Wight, on his way back from escorting a group of Ju88, and was forced to skydive. His wingman, Captain Rudy Pflanz, shot down Dundas's fire again.

In order to rescue the co-pilot, Captain Pflanz flew around the sea where Vic parachuted and repeatedly called "a Spitfire fighter was shot down" with his own plane radio, in order to attract the attention of the British naval and air rescue team. He insisted on running out of fuel and had to return. Finally, Pflanz's plane forced to land at sea on the way back, but Major Vic disappeared.

At that time, the British combat diary was recorded like this: Robinson heard Captain Dundas shout "I hit one 109" on the intercom. Robinson replied, "Great, John, but then Dundas disappeared, even though Robinson tried to contact him more than once.

A few days later, news from the German Supreme Command confirmed the fate of the three pilots. Dundas shot down Major Helmut Wick's Me 109, and Vic's wingman shot down Dundas and his wingman Lt Byron.

In this way, Major Helmut Vic, the number one killer in the Battle of Britain, disappeared in the battle. He is an excellent pilot with typical brave and aggressive personality.

With the death of Major Vic, the top killer in the Battle of Britain, the German Air Force's offensive in the Battle of Britain began to slow down. 65438+At the beginning of February, the military evacuated most fighter wings to the interior of France, leaving only three fighter wings on the front line of the Straits, namely JG2' Richthofen', JG3 and JG26' Shi Lage'.

5438+1October In the most critical stage of the Battle of Britain from July to June, the Germans flew about 46,000 sorties, dropped about 60,000 tons of bombs, shot down various aircraft 1733, injured 943 aircraft, and lost about 6,000 air forces. The British Air Force lost 9 15 aircraft and 4 14 pilots. The aircraft loss rate of Yingde is 0.527: 1, and the pilot loss rate is 0.069: 1. In any case, the winner of this battle is the British, and the Germans lost the first battle.

Since Vic was killed in the position of JG2 co-captain, JG2 co-captains seem to be cursed, and they were killed in the position of co-captain one by one:

16 February 16, Vic's successor, Major Helmut balthasar, was killed.

On July 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Walter Osso left his post. On May 1944, Colonel Oesau, the co-captain of JG 1, was shot down and killed by the US P-38.

1on March 2, 944, the joint captain Major Egon Mayer was shot down and killed by the US P-47.

1On April 27th, 944, Major Kurt Ubon, the joint captain, was killed.

Only Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Bregan, the last co-captain of JG2, made it to the end of the war.