Heinrich-Wilhelm Ahnert

Heinrich-Wilhelm Ahnert (29 April 1915 – 23 August 1942) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 57 aerial victories, 4 over the Western Front and 53 over the Eastern Front, in an unknown number combat missions.

Heinrich-Wilhelm Ahnert
Ahnert as an Oberfeldwebel
Note that the Knight's Cross at his neck is a photomontage
Born29 April 1915
Altenburg
Died23 August 1942(1942-08-23) (aged 27)
Koptevo, northeast of Oryol
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchBalkenkreuz (Iron Cross) Luftwaffe
RankOberfeldwebel (staff sergeant)
UnitJG 52
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Born in Altenburg, Ahnert served as an aerial reconnaissance pilot during the Invasion of Poland and during the Battle of France. He was then trained as a fighter pilot and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in early 1941. He claimed his first aerial victory on 15 February 1941 on the Western Front. Following four further aerial victories in the west, his unit was transferred to the Eastern Front in late September 1941. He claimed his first aerial victories in this theater on 6 October during the Battle of Vyazma. Ahnert was killed in action on 23 August 1942 and posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 57 aerial victories.

Career

Ahnert was born on 29 April 1915 in Ziegelheim near Altenburg in Thuringia of the German Empire. He originally served as an intelligence officer and aerial reconnaissance pilot and flew missions during the Invasion of Poland and during the Battle of France.[Note 1] Ahnert was retrained as a fighter pilot and was posted to 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52–52nd Fighter Wing) in early 1941.[2] At the time the Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Helmut Kühle who was replaced by Oberleutnant Helmut Bennemann on 27 April.[3] I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 52 to which 3. Staffel was subordinated was headed by Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald at the time.[4] Ahnert claimed his first aerial victory on 15 February 1941 when he shot down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Hurricane fighter near Ostend.[5]

Until 21 February, the entire I. Gruppe was based at an airfield at Katwijk in the Netherlands where it was tasked with patrolling the Dutch coast area and German Bight, the three Staffeln were then deployed at various airfields on the Dutch, German and Danish North Sea coast.[6] On 25 May, I. Gruppe was placed under the command of Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Leesmann.[4]

Ahnert claimed a Bristol Blenheim bomber shot down on 9 June 1941 and another on 26 August, and two Supermarine Spitfire fighters were claimed on 12 September 1941.[7] The Blenheim bomber shot down 9 June belonged to force of six aircraft from No. 18 Squadron on mission to look for German shipping off the coast of Ameland.[8] On 23 September, I. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Western Front and was sent to the Eastern Front where it would be based at an airfield at Ponyatovka, located approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Roslavl.[9]

War against the Soviet Union

On 22 June 1941, German forces had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Prior to its deployment on the Eastern Front, I. Gruppe was fully equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2. The Gruppe reached Orsha on 27 September before heading to Ponyatovka on 2 October. There, the Gruppe was initially subordinated to the Stab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) and supported German forces fighting in the Battle of Vyazma as part of Operation Typhoon, the code name of the German offensive on Moscow.[10][11]

I./JG 52 insignia

Ahnert claimed his first aerial victories on the Eastern Front on 5 October 1941 when he shot down two Polikarpov I-16 fighters northeast of Bely and later that day a Polikarpov I-153 fighter.[12] Ahnert and his wingman Leutnant Otto Schlauch had shot down three I-16 fighters from 29 IAP (Fighter Aviation Regiment—Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk), one of which was piloted by Leytenant Vasily Migunov who was wounded in this combat.[13] On 20 October, the Gruppe moved to an airfield named Kalinin-Southwest, present-day Tver, and located on the Volga, and to Staritsa on 31 October and then to Ruza located approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Moscow on 3 November.[14] Here Ahnert claimed two I-18 fighters, an early German designation for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1, on 14 November, an I-16 fighter on 27 November, a DJ-6 aircraft on 30 November. On 2 December, he claimed an aerial victory over a I-61 fighter, a reference to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3.[15] The failed assault on Moscow forced I. Gruppe to retreat to an airfield at Dugino, present-day Novodugino, on 15 December where they stayed until 31 January 1942.[16] He filed his last claim of 1941, his 15th in total, on 24 December over an I-16 fighter. Ahnert made his first claim in 1942 on 3 January over a Tupolev SB bomber. On 20 January, he claimed two Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers followed by an I-61 fighter on 26 January.[17]

On 1 February 1942. I Gruppe was withdrawn from combat operations and was moved to Smolensk and then further west to Orsha. From 8 to 12 February the Gruppe took a train to Jesau near Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad in Russia, for a period of recuperation and replenishment where they received new Bf 109 F-4 aircraft. The Gruppe was ordered to Olmütz, present-day Olomouc in Czech Republic, on 11 April. On 17 May, I. Gruppe relocated to Artyomovsk, present-day Bakhmut.[18] From Artyomovsk, JG 52 supported the German forces fighting in the Second Battle of Kharkov.[19] Operating from Artyomovsk, Ahnert claimed his 20th aerial victory, an I-61 fighter shot down on 22 May.[20] On 24 May, the Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Barvinkove located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Sloviansk.[19] In May, Ahnert claimed eight further aerial victories, taking his total to 28 claims.[21]

On 1 June, the Gruppe then moved to an airfield at Grakowo, located approximately halfway between Kharkov and Kupiansk.[22] On 14 June, Bennemann replaced Leesmann, who was transferred, as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of JG 52. In consequence, command of 3. Staffel was passed on to Leutnant Karl Rüttger.[23] Fyling from Grakowo, Ahnert claimed nine aerial victories.[24] On 26 June, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Bilyi Kolodyaz, approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southeast of Vovchansk.[25] Two days later, German forces had launched Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia.[26] Ahnert claimed a Hurricane fighter shot down on 29 June.[27]

On 1 July, I. Gruppe flew missions from Shchigry located 50 kilometers (31 miles) east-northeast from Kursk.[28] That day, Ahnert claimed a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter shot down.[27] The next day, Rüttger became a prisoner of war and command of 3. Staffel transferred to Oberleutnant Rudolf Miethig.[29] On 3 July, the Gruppe moved to a forward airfield near the village Novy Grinev located approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) south-southwest from Novy Oskol and to Artyomovsk on 9 July.[30] On 9 July, Ahnert claimed his 50th enemy aircraft destroyed when he shot down a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter.[28][31] For this, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 27 July.[32]

On 2 August 1942, I. Gruppe was ordered to Kerch on the Kerch Peninsula. At the time, the Gruppe was moved around as a kind of fire brigade, deployed in areas where the Soviet Air Forces was particular active.[33] The Gruppe then moved to Oryol on 15 August.[34] On 23 August, Ahnert engaged Pe-2 twin-engine bombers in combat over Koptevo, approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Oryol. His Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13508—factory number) "Yellow 9" was hit by return fire from the bomber gunners and he was killed in action.[35][34][36] Ahnert was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) that day.[37][38]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Ahnert was credited with 57 aerial victories.[39] Obermaier also lists Ahnert with 57 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number combat missions. This figure includes 53 claims on the Eastern Front and four over the Western Allies.[2] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 57 aerial victory claims, 52 of which on the Eastern Front and five on the Western Front.[40]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 7051". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.[41]

Chronicle of aerial victories
  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[32]
On the Western Front — 27 December 1940 – 23 September 1941
1 15 February 1941 13:45?[Note 2] Hurricane Ostend[5]
north of Schiermonnikoog		 4 12 September 1941 14:14 Spitfire Den Helder[42]
2 9 June 1941 17:54?[Note 3] Blenheim north of Ameland[5]
80 km (50 mi) northwest of Texel		 5 12 September 1941 14:16 Spitfire Den Helder[42]
3 26 August 1941 14:15 Blenheim north of Juist[42]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[43]
Operation Barbarossa — 2 October – 5 December 1941
6 5 October 1941 12:10 I-16 northeast of Bely[12] 11 14 November 1941 15:12 I-18 (MiG-1)[12]
7 5 October 1941 12:11 I-16 northeast of Bely[12] 12 27 November 1941 10:45 I-16[44]
8 5 October 1941 16:20 I-153[12] 13 30 November 1941 13:03 DJ-6[44]
9 13 October 1941 14:47 DB-3[12] 14 2 December 1941 12:07 I-61 (MiG-3)[44]
10 14 November 1941 15:05 I-18 (MiG-1)[12]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[32]
On the Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 5 February 1942
15 24 December 1941 09:27 I-16[17] 18 20 January 1942 08:49 Pe-2[17]
16 3 January 1942 11:33 SB-2[17] 19 26 January 1942 11:26 I-61 (MiG-3)[17]
17 20 January 1942 08:48 Pe-2[17]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –[40]
On the Eastern Front — 19 May – 23 August 1942
20 22 May 1942 09:56 I-61 (Mig-3)[20] 39 1 July 1942 11:10 P-40[27]
21 24 May 1942 17:52?[Note 4] I-61 (Mig-3) PQ 7051[20] 40 3 July 1942 18:30 Hurricane[27]
22 25 May 1942 09:23 SB-2 PQ 6082[20] 41 3 July 1942 18:31 Hurricane[27]
23 27 May 1942 14:58 I-26 (Yak-1)[45] 42 3 July 1942 18:35 Hurricane[27]
24 27 May 1942 15:43 Pe-2 PQ 7057[45] 43 4 July 1942 15:25 R-5[31]
25 27 May 1942 15:45 Pe-2 1 km (0.62 mi) west of Izium[45] 44 4 July 1942 18:27 Hurricane[31]
26 28 May 1942 09:55 I-26 (Yak-1)[45] 45 4 July 1942 18:35 Hurricane[31]
27 28 May 1942 09:57 I-61 (MiG-3)[45] 46 5 July 1942 10:18 Hurricane[31]
28 12 June 1942 10:58 R-10 (Seversky)[46] 47 6 July 1942 10:47 Pe-2[31]
29 12 June 1942 17:21 LaGG-3[46] 48 7 July 1942 10:51 R-5[31]
30 13 June 1942 11:45 LaGG-3[46] 49 9 July 1942 09:27 I-16[31]
31 22 June 1942 12:58 LaGG-3[46] 50 9 July 1942 16:33 MiG-1[31]
32 22 June 1942 12:59 LaGG-3[46] 51 2 August 1942 05:13 LaGG-3 PQ 66664[47]
east of Saporoshskaja
33 23 June 1942 15:12 LaGG-3[27] 52 4 August 1942 05:20 LaGG-3 PQ 66651[47]
vicinity of Malikut
34 23 June 1942 15:46 U-2[27] 53 8 August 1942 12:52 LaGG-3 PQ 76763[47]
vicinity of Utasch
35 24 June 1942 06:40 LaGG-3[27] 54 8 August 1942 13:05 LaGG-3 PQ 76743[47]
vicinity of Utasch
36 24 June 1942 07:25 R-5[27] 55 10 August 1942 16:37 LaGG-3 PQ 54192[47]
37 26 June 1942 09:18 R-5[27] 56 19 August 1942 08:16 LaGG-3 PQ 54192[47]
38 29 June 1942 18:35 Hurricane PQ 71481[27] 57 23 August 1942 06:45 Pe-2 PQ 64553[48]
vicinity of Zubkowo

Awards

Notes
  1. Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations.[1]
  2. According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 13:05.[32]
  3. According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 17:57.[32]
  4. According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 15:52.[32]
  5. According to Obermaier on 23 February 1942.[2]
  6. According to Scherzer in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 52.[52]

References

Citations
  1. Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 17.
  2. Obermaier 1989, p. 81.
  3. Prien et al. 2003a, p. 63.
  4. Schreier 1990, p. 186.
  5. Prien et al. 2003a, p. 68.
  6. Prien et al. 2003a, p. 60.
  7. Prien et al. 2003a, pp. 68–69.
  8. Bowman 2006, Chptr. Four.
  9. Prien et al. 2003a, p. 61.
  10. Prien et al. 2003b, p. 12.
  11. Schreier 1990, p. 59.
  12. Prien et al. 2003b, p. 20.
  13. Bergström 2007, p. 91.
  14. Schreier 1990, p. 63.
  15. Prien et al. 2003b, pp. 20–21.
  16. Schreier 1990, p. 69.
  17. Prien et al. 2005, p. 133.
  18. Schreier 1990, pp. 70, 75.
  19. Schreier 1990, p. 76.
  20. Prien et al. 2006, p. 427.
  21. Prien et al. 2006, pp. 427–428.
  22. Schreier 1990, pp. 76, 78.
  23. Prien et al. 2006, p. 423.
  24. Prien et al. 2006, pp. 429–430.
  25. Schreier 1990, p. 79.
  26. Schreier 1990, p. 80.
  27. Prien et al. 2006, p. 430.
  28. Schreier 1990, p. 82.
  29. Prien et al. 2006, pp. 423, 440.
  30. Schreier 1990, pp. 82–83.
  31. Prien et al. 2006, p. 431.
  32. Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 9.
  33. Schreier 1990, p. 84.
  34. Schreier 1990, p. 85.
  35. Prien et al. 2006, p. 441.
  36. Weal 2007, p. 27.
  37. Schreier 1990, p. 184.
  38. Weal 2004, p. 82.
  39. Zabecki 2014, p. 1618.
  40. Mathews & Foreman 2014, pp. 9–10.
  41. Planquadrat.
  42. Prien et al. 2003a, p. 69.
  43. Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 6.
  44. Prien et al. 2003b, p. 21.
  45. Prien et al. 2006, p. 428.
  46. Prien et al. 2006, p. 429.
  47. Prien et al. 2006, p. 433.
  48. Prien et al. 2006, p. 434.
  49. Patzwall 2008, p. 40.
  50. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 12.
  51. Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 114, 482.
  52. Scherzer 2007, p. 188.

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