Kurt Welter
Encyclopedia
Kurt Welter was a German
Luftwaffe
fighter ace
and the most successful Jet Expert of World War II
.For a list of Luftwaffe jet aces see List of German World War II jet aces A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator
credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft
during aerial combat. He claimed a total of 63 victories achieved in only 93 combat missions. He recorded 56 victories at night, including 33 Mosquitos
,For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces and scored more aerial victories from a jet fighter aircraft
than anyone else in World War II and potentially in aviation history.Nikolay Sutyagin
, believed to be the top jet ace in "jet-against-jet" aerial combat
Welter was born in Cologne-Lindenthal (Köln-Lindenthal) on 25 February 1916. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe in 1934 and was trained as a pilot. He showed a strong natural ability as a pilot and was subsequently selected for flight instructor
training and served many years as a flight instructor. In 1943 Welter transferred to an operational night fighter unit flying contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft. On 18 October 1944, after 40 combat mission, Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). In early 1945, Welter transferred to an experimental jet night fighter unit flying the Messerschmitt Me 262
. On 11 March 1945 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) for 48 aerial victories. Welter survived the war and was killed in an accident at a railroad crossing on 7 March 1949.
, Welter was promoted to Feldwebel
on 1 August 1940 and transferred to flight training school Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 63 and later on to the flight instructor school at Quedlinburg
. Here Welter served as a flight instructor until 10 August 1943 when he was transferred to Blindflugschule 10 (school for instrument flight training) in Altenburg
with the rank of Oberfeldwebel as a night fighter instructor.
On 2 September 1943, Welter was transferred to 5./Jagdgeschwader 301
(JG 301), a night fighter unit that experimented with the use of largely radar-less single-seat Fw 190A-5 and Fw 190A-6 fighter aircraft by night, often equipped with the FuG 350 Naxos device
, used in the form of German night-fighter operations without AI radar dubbed Wilde Sau
(wild boar). On his first Wilde Sau intercept mission against Allied bombers on the night of 22 September 1943, Welter shot down two Allied four-engine bombers. He shot down a further two on his third mission on the night of 3 October 1943. By the beginning of April, he had accumulated 17 victories in only 15 missions. Subsequently on 10 May 1944 Welter was awarded the German Cross
in Gold. Leutnant Welter was transferred to 5./Jagdgeschwader 300
(JG 300) on 7 July 1944.
In July, Welter claimed two United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) B-17 four-engined bombers and three P-51 fighters
shot down by day. From 25 July 1944, Welter served with 1./Nachtjagdgruppe 10
(NJGr 10) performing further Wilde Sau missions. He claimed four Royal Air Force
(RAF) Lancaster
four-engine bombers shot down on the night of 29 August 1944 to record his 24th through 27th victories.
Welter transferred to 10./JG 300 on 4 September 1944. 10./JG 300 was established to counter intrusions by RAF Mosquito
twin-engined bombers, flying specially optimized for speed Bf 109G-6/AS
fighters. In September, Welter claimed seven Mosquitos downed, including one by ramming
. It is thought that during his service with 1./NJG 10 and 10./JG 300, Welter recorded 12 victories in only 18 missions. On the night of 19 September 1944, Welter may have shot down Wing Commander
Guy Gibson
who was leading a 300-bomber attack on Mönchengladbach
and Rheydt
. Gibson's Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen
in the Netherlands
. Welter was the only German pilot to have claimed a Mosquito shot down that night and Gibson's Mosquito the only Mosquito lost. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
on 18 October 1944 for 33 victories in just 40 missions.
On 2 November 1944, Welter was transferred to II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 11
(NJG 11), a reformation of his former unit. Here he was given command of a special Kommando subordinate to II./NJG11, set up on 11 November 1944 at Rechlin
-Lärz (2 November 1944 – 28 January 1945), and dedicated to the nocturnal interception with the Messerschmitt Me 262
jet fighter of RAF Mosquitos attacking the Berlin area. According to some sources, Oberleutnant
Welter added a Lancaster to his growing list of Mosquitos on the night of 12 December 1944, the first night victory by a jet fighter. Other sources state that his first aerial victory flying the Me 262 was claimed either on the night of 2 January 1945 or 5 January 1945. On 28 January 1945, the unit initially known as Sonderkommando Stamp, named after its founder Major
Gerhard Stamp and then Sonderkommando Welter, was re-designated 10./NJG 11 and transferred to the airfield at Burg near Magdeburg
(28 January 1945 – 12 April 1945). The unit was equipped with radar-less Me 262 jet fighters, and tasked with intercepting Mosquito bomber aircraft of 8 Group, RAF, in the Berlin area, with the aid of ground control and the searchlight defences. Welter had claimed three aerial victories while flying the Me 262 by early February 1945. Thereafter, Welter made a string of questionable air combat claims against Mosquito aircraft in the Berlin area - three on the night of 21 February 1945 (no Mosquitoes lost),According to a comprehensive documentary survey by Boiten and Mackenzie 2008, the losses described in this section relate only to Mosquitos tasked with attacking Berlin or Magdeburg, and exclude attrition due to non-combat accidents, aircraft known to have crashed well outside of the Berlin area of operations, or attrition due to causes other than fighter attack and another three on the night of 2 March 1945 (one Mosquito damaged in aerial combat). 10./NJG11 made further claims against Mosquito aircraft attacking Berlin on the nights of 21 March 1945 (three claims; one Mosquito lost), 23 March 1945 (three claims; one Mosquito lost, another damaged in aerial combat), 24 March 1945 (two claims; one Mosquito damaged in aerial combat), 27 March 1945 (two claims; two Mosquitos lost), 30 March 1945 (four claims; one Mosquito lost and another damaged in aerial combat), 2 April 1945 (one claim; one Mosquito lost), 3 April 1945 (two claims; one Mosquito lost and another damaged in aerial combat), and 19 April 1945 (two claims, no Mosquitos lost). The last known aerial combat claim by Welter occurred on the night of 3 April 1945, when a Mosquito of 139 Squadron, RAF, was shot down over Berlin. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 11 March 1945 for 48 victories.
Much of the controversy and myth surrounding Welter's claims for success in nocturnal aerial combat with the Me 262 stems from a memorandum written by Welter on 29 May 1945 for the benefit of his British captors. In this memorandum Welter stated that between December 1944 and the end of January 1945, as the sole pilot of Kommando Welter, he flew seven Me 262 sorties and achieved three victories against Mosquito aircraft and two victories against Lancaster aircraft. Welter further stated that from the formation of 10./NJG11 on 28 January 1945 to the end of the war, 10./NJG11 flew around another 63 operational sorties and claimed a further 38 victories against Mosquito aircraft at night and five victories against Mosquito aircraft by day; his share being 20 Mosquitos at night and two during the day. Thus, according to the memo, a total of 25 Mosquitoes and two Lancasters were claimed in aerial combat by Welter, flying the Me 262 with the Kommando/Staffel, while other pilots of the Staffel claimed a further 21 kills (of which three were achieved with the two-seater Me 262). Official Luftwaffe documents show that by the 4 April 1945, 10./NJG11 had claimed 34 aerial victories, of which only one was claimed in a two-seater Me262.According to Boiten and Mackenzie 2008, a radar-equipped Me 262B-1a/U1 two-seater night fighter, flown by Lt. Herbert Altner and his radar operator Uffz. Lommatsch, was first used operationally on the night of 27 March 1945, and was never flown in combat by Welter Research of RAF records show that only a maximum of 15 Mosquitoes could have been possibly destroyed by Kommando Welter-10./NJG11.
Officially Kurt Welter was credited with 63 victories in 93 missions, of which 56 victories were achieved at night and seven by day. Among his claimed 63 victories are up to 33 Mosquitos. Thus, there remains some controversy about the exact number of victories achieved while flying the Me 262, with only three of the Mosquito kills coinciding with RAF records: Welter may have been guilty of overclaiming
Welter survived the war and was killed on 7 March 1949 in Leck in Schleswig-Holstein
waiting at a level crossing, when logs falling from an improperly loaded passing train crushed his car.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
fighter ace
Fighter Ace
Fighter Ace was a massively multiplayer online computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots...
and the most successful Jet Expert of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.For a list of Luftwaffe jet aces see List of German World War II jet aces A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
during aerial combat. He claimed a total of 63 victories achieved in only 93 combat missions. He recorded 56 victories at night, including 33 Mosquitos
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
,For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces and scored more aerial victories from a jet fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
than anyone else in World War II and potentially in aviation history.Nikolay Sutyagin
Nikolay Sutyagin
Captain Nikolay Sutyagin was a Russian fighter pilot in the Second World War and the Korean War.Nikolay Vasil'yevich Sutyagin was born in 1923 near Nizhniy Novgord. His parents were actors, and eventually they moved to the city of Gor'kiy when Nikolay was 11...
, believed to be the top jet ace in "jet-against-jet" aerial combat
Welter was born in Cologne-Lindenthal (Köln-Lindenthal) on 25 February 1916. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe in 1934 and was trained as a pilot. He showed a strong natural ability as a pilot and was subsequently selected for flight instructor
Flight instructor
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...
training and served many years as a flight instructor. In 1943 Welter transferred to an operational night fighter unit flying contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft. On 18 October 1944, after 40 combat mission, Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
(Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). In early 1945, Welter transferred to an experimental jet night fighter unit flying the Messerschmitt Me 262
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
. On 11 March 1945 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) for 48 aerial victories. Welter survived the war and was killed in an accident at a railroad crossing on 7 March 1949.
Biography
Welter was born in Cologne-Lindenthal. He joined the Luftwaffe on 1 October 1934 and was trained as a pilot. Because of his skill as a pilot he was trained as a flight instructor. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Welter was promoted to Feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
on 1 August 1940 and transferred to flight training school Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 63 and later on to the flight instructor school at Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....
. Here Welter served as a flight instructor until 10 August 1943 when he was transferred to Blindflugschule 10 (school for instrument flight training) in Altenburg
Altenburg
Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
with the rank of Oberfeldwebel as a night fighter instructor.
On 2 September 1943, Welter was transferred to 5./Jagdgeschwader 301
Jagdgeschwader 301
Jagdgeschwader 301 was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The order to form JG 301 was issued on 26 September 1943 and formed on 1 October 1943 in Neubiberg with Stab and three Gruppen as a "Wilde Sau" single-seat night fighter unit.The Geschwader was equipped with the Bf 109G and was...
(JG 301), a night fighter unit that experimented with the use of largely radar-less single-seat Fw 190A-5 and Fw 190A-6 fighter aircraft by night, often equipped with the FuG 350 Naxos device
Naxos radar detector
The FuG 350 Naxos radar warning receiver was a World War II German countermeasure to SHF band centimetric wavelength radar produced by a cavity magnetron...
, used in the form of German night-fighter operations without AI radar dubbed Wilde Sau
Wilde Sau
Wilde Sau was the term given by the Luftwaffe, during World War II, to the technique by which British night bombers were mainly engaged by single-seat fighter planes.- Origins :...
(wild boar). On his first Wilde Sau intercept mission against Allied bombers on the night of 22 September 1943, Welter shot down two Allied four-engine bombers. He shot down a further two on his third mission on the night of 3 October 1943. By the beginning of April, he had accumulated 17 victories in only 15 missions. Subsequently on 10 May 1944 Welter was awarded the German Cross
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold. Leutnant Welter was transferred to 5./Jagdgeschwader 300
Jagdgeschwader 300
Jagdgeschwader 300 was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. JG 300 was formed on June 26, 1943 in Deelen as Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann, from July 18, 1943 as Stab/JG Herrmann, and then finally redesignated on August 20, 1943 to Stab/JG 300...
(JG 300) on 7 July 1944.
In July, Welter claimed two United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF) B-17 four-engined bombers and three P-51 fighters
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
shot down by day. From 25 July 1944, Welter served with 1./Nachtjagdgruppe 10
Nachtjagdgruppe 10
Nachtjagdgruppe 10 was a German Luftwaffe night fighter-Gruppe during World War II. NJG 10 was formed on 1 January 1944 at Werneuchen with 3 Staffel . It was subordinated to the 1. Jagd-Division , stationed at Döberitz. On 6 March 1945 NJGr 10 transferred to Liebenwalde and disbanded in April 1945...
(NJGr 10) performing further Wilde Sau missions. He claimed four Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
four-engine bombers shot down on the night of 29 August 1944 to record his 24th through 27th victories.
Welter transferred to 10./JG 300 on 4 September 1944. 10./JG 300 was established to counter intrusions by RAF Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
twin-engined bombers, flying specially optimized for speed Bf 109G-6/AS
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
fighters. In September, Welter claimed seven Mosquitos downed, including one by ramming
Aerial ramming
Aerial ramming or air ramming is a last-ditch tactic in air combat, sometimes used when all else has failed. Long before the invention of aircraft, ramming tactics in naval warfare and ground warfare were common...
. It is thought that during his service with 1./NJG 10 and 10./JG 300, Welter recorded 12 victories in only 18 missions. On the night of 19 September 1944, Welter may have shot down Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
Guy Gibson
Guy Gibson
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RAF , was the first CO of the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area...
who was leading a 300-bomber attack on Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach , formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border....
and Rheydt
Rheydt
Rheydt is a borough of the German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 through 1975 it was an independent city....
. Gibson's Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen
Steenbergen
Steenbergen can mean:*Steenbergen, a town and municipality in North Brabant, the Netherlands*Steenbergen , a hamlet in the south of Drenthe, the Netherlands*Steenbergen , a hamlet in the north of Drenthe, the Netherlands...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Welter was the only German pilot to have claimed a Mosquito shot down that night and Gibson's Mosquito the only Mosquito lost. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
on 18 October 1944 for 33 victories in just 40 missions.
Nachtjagdgeschwader 11
Nachtjagdgeschwader 11 was a Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 11 was formed on 20 August 1944 with one Gruppe consisting of 2 Staffeln.-Formation:...
(NJG 11), a reformation of his former unit. Here he was given command of a special Kommando subordinate to II./NJG11, set up on 11 November 1944 at Rechlin
Rechlin
Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs during the Third Reich....
-Lärz (2 November 1944 – 28 January 1945), and dedicated to the nocturnal interception with the Messerschmitt Me 262
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
jet fighter of RAF Mosquitos attacking the Berlin area. According to some sources, Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Welter added a Lancaster to his growing list of Mosquitos on the night of 12 December 1944, the first night victory by a jet fighter. Other sources state that his first aerial victory flying the Me 262 was claimed either on the night of 2 January 1945 or 5 January 1945. On 28 January 1945, the unit initially known as Sonderkommando Stamp, named after its founder Major
Major (Germany)
Major is a rank of the German military which dates back to the Middle Ages.It equates to Major in the British and US Armies, and is rated OF-3 in NATO.During World War II, the SS equivalent was Sturmbannführer....
Gerhard Stamp and then Sonderkommando Welter, was re-designated 10./NJG 11 and transferred to the airfield at Burg near Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
(28 January 1945 – 12 April 1945). The unit was equipped with radar-less Me 262 jet fighters, and tasked with intercepting Mosquito bomber aircraft of 8 Group, RAF, in the Berlin area, with the aid of ground control and the searchlight defences. Welter had claimed three aerial victories while flying the Me 262 by early February 1945. Thereafter, Welter made a string of questionable air combat claims against Mosquito aircraft in the Berlin area - three on the night of 21 February 1945 (no Mosquitoes lost),According to a comprehensive documentary survey by Boiten and Mackenzie 2008, the losses described in this section relate only to Mosquitos tasked with attacking Berlin or Magdeburg, and exclude attrition due to non-combat accidents, aircraft known to have crashed well outside of the Berlin area of operations, or attrition due to causes other than fighter attack and another three on the night of 2 March 1945 (one Mosquito damaged in aerial combat). 10./NJG11 made further claims against Mosquito aircraft attacking Berlin on the nights of 21 March 1945 (three claims; one Mosquito lost), 23 March 1945 (three claims; one Mosquito lost, another damaged in aerial combat), 24 March 1945 (two claims; one Mosquito damaged in aerial combat), 27 March 1945 (two claims; two Mosquitos lost), 30 March 1945 (four claims; one Mosquito lost and another damaged in aerial combat), 2 April 1945 (one claim; one Mosquito lost), 3 April 1945 (two claims; one Mosquito lost and another damaged in aerial combat), and 19 April 1945 (two claims, no Mosquitos lost). The last known aerial combat claim by Welter occurred on the night of 3 April 1945, when a Mosquito of 139 Squadron, RAF, was shot down over Berlin. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 11 March 1945 for 48 victories.
Much of the controversy and myth surrounding Welter's claims for success in nocturnal aerial combat with the Me 262 stems from a memorandum written by Welter on 29 May 1945 for the benefit of his British captors. In this memorandum Welter stated that between December 1944 and the end of January 1945, as the sole pilot of Kommando Welter, he flew seven Me 262 sorties and achieved three victories against Mosquito aircraft and two victories against Lancaster aircraft. Welter further stated that from the formation of 10./NJG11 on 28 January 1945 to the end of the war, 10./NJG11 flew around another 63 operational sorties and claimed a further 38 victories against Mosquito aircraft at night and five victories against Mosquito aircraft by day; his share being 20 Mosquitos at night and two during the day. Thus, according to the memo, a total of 25 Mosquitoes and two Lancasters were claimed in aerial combat by Welter, flying the Me 262 with the Kommando/Staffel, while other pilots of the Staffel claimed a further 21 kills (of which three were achieved with the two-seater Me 262). Official Luftwaffe documents show that by the 4 April 1945, 10./NJG11 had claimed 34 aerial victories, of which only one was claimed in a two-seater Me262.According to Boiten and Mackenzie 2008, a radar-equipped Me 262B-1a/U1 two-seater night fighter, flown by Lt. Herbert Altner and his radar operator Uffz. Lommatsch, was first used operationally on the night of 27 March 1945, and was never flown in combat by Welter Research of RAF records show that only a maximum of 15 Mosquitoes could have been possibly destroyed by Kommando Welter-10./NJG11.
Officially Kurt Welter was credited with 63 victories in 93 missions, of which 56 victories were achieved at night and seven by day. Among his claimed 63 victories are up to 33 Mosquitos. Thus, there remains some controversy about the exact number of victories achieved while flying the Me 262, with only three of the Mosquito kills coinciding with RAF records: Welter may have been guilty of overclaiming
Confirmation and overclaiming of aerial victories
In aerial warfare, the term overclaiming describes a combatant that claims the destruction of more enemy aircraft than actually achieved...
Welter survived the war and was killed on 7 March 1949 in Leck in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
waiting at a level crossing, when logs falling from an improperly loaded passing train crushed his car.
Awards
- DienstauszeichnungWehrmacht Long Service AwardThe Wehrmacht Long Service Award was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a given years of military service...
4th Class (1938) - Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (20 March 1944)
- Front Flying Clasp of the LuftwaffeFront Flying Clasp of the LuftwaffeThe Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe was awarded in Bronze, Silver, and Gold with upgrade possible to include diamonds. Pennants suspended from the clasp indicated the number of missions obtained in a given type of aircraft...
for night fighter pilots in Gold - German CrossGerman CrossThe German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold on 10 May 1944 as Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel in the 5./JG 301 - Eisernes KreuzIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939)- 2nd Class (5 October 1943)
- 1st Class (28 October 1943)
- Knight's Cross with Oak LeavesKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
- Knight's Cross on 18 October 1944 as Leutnant and pilot in the 10./JG 300
- 769th Oak Leaves on 11 March 1945 as OberleutnantOberleutnantOberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
and StaffelkapitänStaffelkapitänStaffelkapitän is a position in flying units of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a Staffelkapitän is of Oberstleutnant or Major rank....
of the 10./NJG 10