Werner Husemann

Werner Husemann (10 November 1919 – 2 February 2014) was a German Luftwaffe night fighter ace and 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. Husemann claimed 34 aerial victories—that is, 34 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—during World War II.

Husemann was born on 10 November 1919 in Schötmar/Lippe. He enlisted in the Luftwaffe in 1941 and served with a weather reconnaissance squadron.

Night fighter career

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.

In late 1942, Husemann transferred to the Stab (staff) of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (the 1st Night Fighter Wing). He claimed his first aerial victory on the night of 17 to 18 August 1942. His victories had increased to 17 by the end of 1943, among them three British Avro Lancaster bombers shot down on the night of 25/26 June 1943. He was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron commander) of the 7th squadron of NJG 1 on 1 October 1943. Husemann was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 24 October 1943, and the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 1 November 1943. The following January, he became commander of the I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3—3rd Night Fighter Wing). Husemann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes)) on 30 September 1944 after he had been credited with 30 aerial victories. By the war's end he had scored 34 victories in over 250 night combat missions. His last 13 victories were claimed with Oberfeldwebel Hans-Georg Schierholz as his wireless/radio operator.

On 14 November 1944, Husemann, flying a Junkers Ju 88 G6 attacked a Short Stirling bomber near Ringkøbing. During the attack, the Ju 88 was hit by the defensive fire of the Stirlings tail gunner. Too low to bail out, Husemann made a forced landing in the fields of Tværmosegaard, a farm 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) northeast of Herning.

Aerial victory claims

Husemann was credited with 30 nocturnal aerial victories claimed in over 250 combat missions. Foreman, Parry and Matthews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 32 nocturnal victory claims Matthews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Husemann with 31 claims.

In some instances, aerial victories were claimed and logged in a Planquadrat (PQ—grid reference). The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) map was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km).

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 1 November 1943 as Oberleutnant and pilot
• German Cross in Gold on 24 October 1943 as Oberleutnant in the 7./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 September 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of I./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3