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Quick Facts
Biography
Heinz Wernicke (17 October 1920 – 27 December 1944) was a Luftwaffe World War II fighter ace and was credited with 117 aerial victories—that is, 117 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Wernicke was killed in a mid-air collision with his wingman on 27 December 1944.
Career
Wernicke was born on 17 October 1920 in Berlin of the Weimar Republic. He joined the 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in early 1942 as an Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer). JG 54 at the time was stationed at the Eastern Front. In the fall of 1942, he was transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group East) and then to 6. Staffel (6th squadron) of JG 54 in early 1943. There, he claimed his first aerial victory on 7 March 1943 over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft in aerial combat south of Lake Ilmen. At the time, II. Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 54 was based at Rjelbitzi, an airfield south of Leningrad. On 11 March, II. Gruppe under the command of Hauptmann (Captain) Heinrich Jung, relocated to Gatchina for combat in the Siege of Leningrad and east in the vicinity of the Volkhov River. In this combat area, Wernicke claimed a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter on 19 March, a Yakovlev Yak-4 light bomber one day later, and another LaGG-3 plus a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter on 27 March, taking his total to five aerial victories.
Following five further victories in June 1943, Wernicke became a fighter pilot instructor and underwent officer training courses. On 4 July 1943, Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Horst Ademeit, his Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 6. Staffel, assessed Wernicke concluding that at the time Wernicke required further training to become an officer.
In October 1943, he was back to front line service and claimed his 88th aerial victory on 3 August 1944, and surpassed the century mark—100 aerial victories—in mid-September 1944. He was the 91st Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century-mark. Wernicke was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 30 September 1944 after 112 victories. The presentation was made by General Kurt Pflugbeil. Wernicke, now Staffelkapitän of the 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of JG 54, was killed in a midair collision with his wingman Unteroffizier Wollien on 27 December 1944.
Summary of career
Aerial victory claims
According to authors Obermaier and Spick, Wernicke claimed 117 aerial victories, all of which on the Eastern Front. Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 118 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 35 Ost 18382". 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 km). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.
Chronicle of aerial victories | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Wernicke an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day. | |||||||||
Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – | |||||||||
1 | 7 March 1943 | 11:47 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 18382 45 km (28 mi) north of Chełm | 26 | 14 December 1943 | 17:05 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 00154 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Leningrad |
2 | 19 March 1943 | 13:30 | LaGG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 00421 Pushkin-Mga | 27 | 15 December 1943 | 12:40 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 01794 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Leningrad |
3 | 20 March 1943 | 07:30 | Yak-4 | PQ 36 Ost 20363 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mga | 28 | 15 December 1943 | 12:45 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 01761 20 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Leningrad |
4 | 27 May 1943 | 16:43 | LaGG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 00274 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Pushkin | 29 | 9 January 1944 | 10:15 | La-5 | over the Gulf of Finland, northeast of Hungerburg |
5 | 27 May 1943 | 19:53 | P-40 | PQ 36 Ost 20211 west of Volkhov | 30 | 13 January 1944 | 15:28 | Yak-7 | 30 km (19 mi) east-southeast of Narva |
6 | 1 June 1943 | 04:57 | LaGG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 20163 south of Volkhov | 31 | 14 January 1944 | 09:30 | Il-2 | 30 km (19 mi) east-southeast of Narva |
7 | 8 June 1943 | 15:59 | P-40 | PQ 36 Ost 20152 southwest of Volkhov | 32 | 14 January 1944 | 09:32 | Il-2 | 30 km (19 mi) east of Narva |
8 | 17 June 1943 | 09:23 | LaGG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 10252 30 km (19 mi) west-southwest of Schlüsselburg | 33 | 15 January 1944 | 12:15 | Il-2 | 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Lissino |
9 | 18 June 1943 | 05:59 | La-5 | PQ 36 Ost 20213 vicinity of Volkhov | 34 | 15 January 1944 | 12:20 | Il-2 | 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Lissino |
10 | 24 June 1943 | 07:07 | La-5 | PQ 36 Ost 21793 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Volkhov | 35 | 15 January 1944 | 12:24 | Il-2 | 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Lissino |
11 | 20 October 1943 | 14:10 | Yak-9 | southeast of Glebowka | 36 | 22 January 1944 | 11:56 | La-5 | 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Lissino |
12 | 21 October 1943 | 09:43 | Pe-2 | east of Gussenoje? | 37 | 24 January 1944 | 13:56 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 01682 40 km (25 mi) east of Narva |
13♠ | 5 November 1943 | 11:53 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 01682? | 38 | 24 January 1944 | 07:17 | Il-2 | 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Lissino |
14♠ | 5 November 1943 | 11:59 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 01684? | 39 | 4 February 1944 | 07:17 | Il-2 | 30 km (19 mi) south of Siverskij |
15♠ | 5 November 1943 | 14:25 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 01564? | 40 | 4 February 1944 | 07:20 | La-5 | 30 km (19 mi) south of Siverskij |
16♠ | 5 November 1943 | 14:28 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 01674? | 41 | 9 February 1944 | 06:32 | Pe-2 | |
17♠ | 5 November 1943 | 14:34 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 01642? | 42 | 9 February 1944 | 12:25 | R-5 | 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Siverskij |
18 | 22 November 1943 | 09:00 | Pe-2 | PQ 25 Ost 91591? | 43 | 12 February 1944 | 15:25 | Yak-9 | vicinity of Lyuban |
19 | 28 November 1943 | 10:45 | Il-2 | PQ 25 Ost 91534? | 44♠ | 16 February 1944 | 07:11 | U-2 | 25 km (16 mi) south of Tosno |
20 | 28 November 1943 | 10:48 | Il-2 | PQ 25 Ost 91614? | 45♠ | 16 February 1944 | 07:12 | U-2 | 25 km (16 mi) south of Tosno |
21 | 28 November 1943 | 14:53 | Il-2 | PQ 25 Ost 91591? | 46♠ | 16 February 1944 | 07:13 | U-2 | 25 km (16 mi) south of Tosno |
22 | 29 November 1943 | 14:30 | Il-2 | PQ 25 Ost 91534? | 47♠ | 16 February 1944 | 07:15 | U-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Lyuban |
23 | 29 November 1943 | 14:32 | Il-2 | PQ 25 Ost 91614? | 48♠ | 16 February 1944 | 07:18 | U-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Lyuban |
24 | 29 November 1943 | 14:33 | Il-2 | PQ 25 Ost 91621? | 49♠ | 16 February 1944 | 14:56 | Il-2 | 25 km (16 mi) south of Tosno |
25 | 12 December 1943 | 13:34 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 00171 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Selo | 50 | 21 February 1944 | 11:20 | La-5 | 20 km (12 mi) east of Siverskij |
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – | |||||||||
51 | 17 June 1944 | 17:55 | P-39 | 55 km (34 mi) northeast of Zelenogorsk | 59 | 26 June 1944 | 18:45 | Yak-9 | 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Vupuri |
52 | 18 June 1944 | 08:28 | La-5 | 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Vyborg | 60 | 28 June 1944 | 09:25 | Yak-9 | 20 km (12 mi) east of Vyborg |
53 | 19 June 1944 | 18:45 | Yak-9 | 30 km (19 mi) north of Zelenogorsk | 61 | 28 June 1944 | 20:45 | La-5 | 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Vyborg |
54 | 20 June 1944 | 15:40 | P-39 | 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Zelenogorsk | 62 | 29 June 1944 | 08:05 | DB-3 | 65 km (40 mi) east-northeast of Vyborg |
55 | 21 June 1944 | 09:20 | La-5 | over the Baltic Sea, northeast of Hungerburg | 63 | 30 June 1944 | 09:43 | Boston | 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of Vyborg |
56 | 23 June 1944 | 12:28 | Yak-9 | 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Vyborg | 64 | 30 June 1944 | 20:44 | Yak-9 | 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Vyborg |
57 | 26 June 1944 | 13:42 | La-5 | 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Vupuri | 65 | 2 July 1944 | 06:51 | P-39 | 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Vyborg |
58 | 26 June 1944 | 13:47 | La-5 | ||||||
– Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 – | |||||||||
66 | 4 July 1944 | 08:25 | P-39 | 69 | 9 July 1944 | 12:12 | Yak-9 | 45 km (28 mi) east of Vyborg | |
67 | 6 July 1944 | 15:40 | Yak-9 | vicinity of Vyborg | 70 | 9 July 1944 | 21:03 | Yak-9 | 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Vyborg |
68 | 8 July 1944 | 06:30 | Yak-9 | 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Vyborg | 71 | 14 July 1944 | 10:32 | Yak-9 | 45 km (28 mi) east of Vyborg |
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – | |||||||||
72 | 21 July 1944 | 20:52 | Yak-9 | over the Baltic Sea, near Kunda | 82 | 27 July 1944 | 11:23 | La-5 | 45 km (28 mi) west of Ostrov |
73 | 22 July 1944 | 17:52 | Yak-9 | 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Ostrov | 83 | 27 July 1944 | 14:30 | Yak-9 | 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Schwanenburg |
74 | 23 July 1944 | 08:28 | La-5 | vicinity of Pskov | 84 | 27 July 1944 | 18:45 | Yak-9 | 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Schwanenburg |
75 | 23 July 1944 | 15:19 | Pe-2 | 85 | 27 July 1944 | 19:02 | Il-2 | 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Selo | |
76 | 23 July 1944 | 15:21 | Pe-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Pskov | 86 | 2 August 1944 | 13:05 | La-5 | over the Baltic Sea, north-northwest of Hungerburg |
77 | 24 July 1944 | 16:03 | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Narva | 87 | 2 August 1944 | 13:09 | La-5 | over the Baltic Sea, northwest of Hungerburg |
78 | 26 July 1944 | 16:36 | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Narva | 88 | 3 August 1944 | 15:24 | Il-2 | southwest of Narva |
79 | 26 July 1944 | 17:02 | Pe-2 | over the Gulf of Finland | 89 | 3 August 1944 | 15:31 | La-5 | southeast of Narva |
80 | 26 July 1944 | 17:03 | Pe-2 | over the Gulf of Finland | 90 | 20 August 1944 | 13:59 | Yak-9 | 50 km (31 mi) north-northwest of Kreuzburg |
81 | 26 July 1944 | 17:05 | Pe-2 | 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Narva | 91 | 20 August 1944 | 16:09 | Yak-9 | 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Kreuzburg |
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – | |||||||||
92 | 26 August 1944 | 15:21 | P-39 | 106 | 17 September 1944 | 16:26 | Yak-9 | 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Mitau | |
93 | 26 August 1944 | 15:22 | Pe-2 | 107 | 19 September 1944 | 15:57 | La-5 | 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Mitau | |
94 | 26 August 1944 | 15:24 | Pe-2 | 108 | 19 September 1944 | 15:59 | Il-2 | 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Mitau | |
95 | 3 September 1944 | 10:18 | Pe-2 | 45 km (28 mi) southeast of Wenden | 109 | 20 September 1944 | 14:09 | Yak-9 | 45 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Riga |
96 | 6 September 1944 | 07:35 | Yak-9 | 15 km (9.3 mi) west-southwest of Mitau | 110 | 20 September 1944 | 14:10 | Yak-9 | 45 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Riga |
97 | 6 September 1944 | 07:45 | Yak-9 | 20 km (12 mi) south of Mitau | 111 | 27 September 1944 | 15:30 | Yak-9 | 25 km (16 mi) south-southeast of Mālpils |
98 | 14 September 1944 | 14:52 | Il-2 | 45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Mālpils | 112 | 28 September 1944 | 13:54 | Yak-9 | 20 km (12 mi) north-northwest of Mālpils |
99 | 14 September 1944 | 14:53 | Il-2 | 45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Mālpils | 113 | 1 October 1944 | 16:09 | Yak-9 | over the Baltic Sea, north-northeast of Riga |
100 | 14 September 1944 | 16:50 | P-39 | 20 km (12 mi) east of Riga | 114 | 7 October 1944 | 15:56 | Il-2 | west of Malpins |
101 | 15 September 1944 | 13:35 | Pe-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Mitau | 115 | 7 October 1944 | 15:57 | Il-2 | 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Valmiera |
102 | 15 September 1944 | 18:20 | La-5 | 45 km (28 mi) south of Riga | 116 | 9 October 1944 | 09:56 | Yak-9 | 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Riga |
103 | 16 September 1944 | 09:18 | La-5 | 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mitau | 117 | 12 October 1944 | 10:45 | Pe-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Riga |
104 | 16 September 1944 | 12:44 | La-5 | 45 km (28 mi) northeast of Pasewalk | 118 | 27 December 1944 | Yak-9 | Dobele | |
105 | 26 June 1944 | 16:24 | P-39 | 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Mitau |
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
- German Cross in Gold on 20 March 1944 as Fahnenjunker-Feldwebel in the II./Jagdgeschwader 54
- Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 24 April 1944 as Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel and pilot
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 September 1944 as Leutnant and pilot in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 54