Екінші дүниежүзілік соғысындағы неміс түндегі ұшқышы

German officer and fighter pilot during World War II

Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein Sayn (14 August 1916 – 21 January 1944) was a German night fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. At the time of his death, Sayn Wittgenstein was the highest scoring night fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe and still the third highest by the end of World War II, with 83 aerial victories to his credit. Born on 14 August 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein Sayn joined the cavalry of the German Wehrmacht in spring of 1937. He was accepted for flight training and transferred to the emerging Luftwaffe. He initially served as an observer and then as a pilot in Kampfgeschwader 1 (KG 1) Hindenburg and Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51) Edelweiss. He saw action with these units in the Battle of France, Battle of Britain, and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, before he transferred to the night fighter force. He claimed his first aerial victory on the night of 6/7 May 1942. By October 1942, he had accumulated 22 aerial victories, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 7 October 1942. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 31 August 1943, for 54 aerial victories. Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein was appointed to command Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2) in January 1944, and was killed in action on the night of 21 January 1944. Posthumously he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein Sayn was born on 14 August 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark, as a member of the aristocratic family Sayn Wittgenstein. He was the second of three sons of Prince Gustav Alexander zu Sayn Wittgenstein Sayn (1880–1953), a diplomat at the German embassy in Copenhagen, and his wife, Walburga, Baroness von Friesen (1885–1970). His brother Ludwig was older and Alexander younger. Sayn Wittgenstein was a descendant of German officer and Russian field marshal Prince Ludwig Adolph Peter, Prince zu Sayn Wittgenstein Berleburg Ludwigsburg, a prominent commander in the Imperial Russian Army during the German campaign at the Battle of Leipzig. Sayn Wittgenstein attended numerous schools in various locations, including a private tutor at Lake Geneva, a boarding school in Neubeuern in Upper Bavaria, a brief stay at Davos in Switzerland, and a private school in Montreux. He received his Abitur from the Realgymnasium, a higher education facility, in Freiburg im Breisgau on 17 December 1935. He joined the Hitler Youth on 12 April 1932 in Freiburg. On 15 January 1933, he became a Kameradschaftsführer (group leader). From Easter 1933 until fall of 1933 he led the group's military sports activities as a Wehrsportleiter. He then became head of the instruction unit until May 1934. From June 1934 he led the work unit 2/1/113 and received further pre military sports training at the different camps of the unit 113 and at the Regional Leaders' School.

In April 1937, Sayn Wittgenstein decided on a military career and joined the 17. Kavallerie Regiment (17th Cavalry Regiment) in Bamberg. He transferred to the Luftwaffe in the summer of 1937 and, in October, he was accepted at the flight training school in Braunschweig. He received his officer's commission and was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) in June 1938. Sayn Wittgenstein served on various air bases from where he flew the Junkers Ju 88 and the Heinkel He 111. In the winter of 1938–39 he served as a Kampfbeobachter (combat observer or navigator) in Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54—54th Bomber Wing) based at Fritzlar.

After the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, Sayn Wittgenstein experienced his first combat action on the Western Front in the Battle of France and, later, during the Battle of Britain. Initially he served as an observer on the He 111 H 3 from Kampfgeschwader 1 "Hindenburg," piloted by Gerhard Baeker, with whom he flew high altitude missions against the Royal Air Force (RAF) airfield at Biggin Hill. In the winter of 1940–41, Sayn Wittgenstein returned to pilot school and took his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate 2 (Erweiterter Luftwaffen Flugzeugführerschein 2), also known as 'C2' Certificate, confirming proficiency for blind flying, a prerequisite for night duty, and returned to a combat unit in March 1941. In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, his unit moved to Eichwalde in East Prussia. In support of Heeresgruppe Nord (Army Group North), KG 1 flew its first missions against Liepāja and then Jelgava and Riga, targeting the heavily occupied enemy airfields. In August 1941, Sayn Wittgenstein transferred to the night fighter force. By this time, he had flown 150 combat missions and was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz), Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) and the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber crews in Gold (Frontflugspange für Kampfflieger in Gold).

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, bombing missions by the RAF 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. Sayn Wittgenstein had left KG 51 by January 1942, after he had volunteered for the night fighter force and been appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 9./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (9./NJG 2—9th Squadron of the 2nd Night Fighter Wing) on 1 November 1941. He claimed his first nocturnal victory—a Bristol Blenheim west of Walcheren—on the night of 6 May 1942, while serving with the Ergänzungsgruppe (Supplementary Group) of NJG 2. He shot down three aircraft in both the nights of 31 July 1942 (victories 15–17) and 10 September 1942 (victories 19–21). Sayn Wittgenstein received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 7 October 1942, after 22 aerial victories. The award was presented by General Josef Kammhuber, after which they both inspected the personnel of 9./NJG 2. Hauptmann (captain) Sayn Wittgenstein was moved to the Eastern Front in February 1943 after he had been appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the IV./Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 (IV./NJG 5—4th Squadron of the 5th Night Fighter Wing) on 1 December 1942. Here Unteroffizier Herbert Kümmritz joined Sayn Wittgenstein's crew as his radio and wireless operator (Bordfunker). Kümmritz at this time already had six months of operation experience on board a Messerschmitt Bf 110 serving with the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (II./NJG 3—2nd Squadron of the 3rd Night Fighter Wing) stationed at Stade. Kümmeritz had studied high frequency technology at the Telefunken Company in Berlin before World War II. Prior to Kümmeritz, Sayn Wittgenstein had rejected all his previous radio operators after only a few missions. In March and April 1943, Kammhuber ordered IV./NJG 5 to relocate to Rennes, France in defense of the German U boat bases. Stationed at Gilze Rijen the order was issued to convert to the Bf 110 night fighter. Sayn Wittgenstein flew the Bf 110 for one short flight only, but on the night of 24 June 1943, the aircraft had technical problems and was considered unserviceable. Kümmeritz and Sayn Wittgenstein took off in their usual Ju 88 C and shot down four Avro Lancaster bombers (victories 32–35). Sayn Wittgenstein never flew another Bf 110 again, preferring his Ju 88 to the Bf 110. The group was relocated to the Eastern Front again and redesignated as I./Nachtjagdgeschwader 100 (I./NJG 100—1st Squadron of the 100th Night Fighter Wing) on 1 August 1943. While stationed at Insterburg, East Prussia, Sayn Wittgenstein shot down seven aircraft on one day, six of them within 47 minutes (victories 36–41), in the area north east of Oryol on 20 July 1943, making him an "ace in a day". Sayn Wittgenstein claimed three more victories on 1 August 1943 (victories 44–46) and three more on the night of 3 August 1943 (victories 48–50). He was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of the II./NJG 3 on 15 August 1943. Sayn Wittgenstein became the 290th recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) after 54 aerial victories on 31 August 1943. The award was presented at the Führerhauptquartier in East Prussia on 22 September 1943. Three other Luftwaffe officers were presented with awards that day by Hitler, Hauptmann Günther Rall and Hauptmann Walter Nowotny were awarded the Swords to their Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, and Major Hartmann Grasser also received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. For these achievements he also received a letter from the commanding general of the 4. Jagd Division (4th Fighter Division) Generalleutnant (lieutenant general) Joachim Friedrich Huth. On 1 December 1943, Sayn Wittgenstein was ordered to take over command of the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (II./NJG 2—2nd Group of the 2nd Night Fighter Wing). In consequence, he was replaced by Hauptmann Paul Szameitat as commander II./NJG 3. On 1 January 1944, Sayn Wittgenstein was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of NJG 2 he had already reached 68 aerial victories. He claimed six four engined bombers shot down on the same night (victories 69–74). In late 1943, his wireless operator Kümmeritz went on study leave and was replaced by Feldwebel (warrant officer) Friedrich Ostheimer, who flew with Sayn Wittgenstein from October 1943 until January 1944. He was succeeded by Major Paul Semrau as command of the II./NJG 2. On the night of 20 January 1944 Sayn Wittgenstein claimed three enemy aircraft shot down in the Berlin area (victories 76–78). He almost collided with the third burning Lancaster which went into a dive and came very close to his own Ju 88. The Ju 88 went out of control and Sayn Wittgenstein regained control of his just flyable aircraft. His radio operator on this mission, Feldwebel Friedrich Ostheimer, established contact with the airfield at Erfurt. Since the aircraft began stalling after the wheels and flaps went down the crew decided to belly land the aircraft. They discovered that about of the wing had been cut off by the Lancaster's propeller.

The next day, 21 January 1944, Sayn Wittgenstein, wireless operator Ostheimer and board mechanic Unteroffizier Kurt Matzuleit took off on a Zahme Sau (Tame Boar), a combination of ground controlled and airborne radar, night fighter intercept mission flying the Ju 88 R4+XM (Werknummer 750 467—factory number), which normally was assigned to the Technical Officer of NJG 2. At 22:00 contact with the first of five Lancasters was established and shot down which was observed to explode at 22:05. Between 22:10 and 22:15 the second Lancaster was shot down. Observers reported the third Lancaster exploded at approximately 22:30, followed shortly by number four, which hit the ground at 22:40. During the fifth and final attack, the four engined bomber was burning when their Ju 88 came under attack, presumably from British fighter escorts. In the attack, their left wing caught fire. Sayn Wittgenstein ordered his crew to jump, and Ostheimer and Matzuleit parachuted to safety from the damaged aircraft. The next day, Sayn Wittgenstein's body was found near the wreckage of the Ju 88 in a forest area belonging to the municipality of Lübars by Stendal. His parachute was discovered unopened and it was deduced that he may have hit his head on the vertical stabilizer of his aircraft when trying to escape. The death certificate listed "closed fracture of the skull and facial bone" as his cause of death. He was posthumously awarded the 44th Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on 23 January 1944. Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein had flown 320 combat missions, 150 of which as a bomber pilot or observer. At the time of his death he was the leading night fighter pilot with 83 aerial victories, with 33 of them claimed on the Eastern and 50 on the Western Front. On 25 January 1944, Sayn Wittgenstein's death was announced in the Wehrmachtbericht, an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht. He was buried on 29 January 1944 in the Geschwader cemetery at the Deelen Air Base. His remains were re interred in 1948. He is now resting next to Prinz Egmont zur Lippe Weißenfeld at the Ysselsteyn German war cemetery in the Netherlands.

The question of who shot down Sayn Wittgenstein is unanswered. Friedrich Ostheimer remained convinced that they were shot down by a long range intruder de Havilland Mosquito night fighter. However, no Mosquito pilot claimed an aerial victory that night. A closer analysis reveals that three Mosquitos, two Serrate equipped aircraft from No. 141 Squadron RAF and one from No. 239 Squadron RAF, participated in the attacks on Magdeburg. Only one Mosquito had enemy contact: No. 141 Squadron's Mosquito F. II, DZ303, piloted by Pilot Officer Desmond Snape with Flying Officer L. Fowler as his radar operator reported radar contact at 23:15 south of Brandenburg. After three to four minutes of pursuit they encountered a Ju 88 with its position lights on. They attacked the Ju 88 and believed to have damaged it behind its cockpit, but they did not claim a victory. This encounter, according to the author Peter Hinchliffe and Martin Bowman, exactly matches the time and area in which Sayn Wittgenstein was killed. The wreck location at Stendal, and the site of Ostheimer's parachute landing at Schönhausen, which both lie on the bombers' approach route to Magdeburg, are more than 30 mile (48 km) from the area where Snape and Fowler reported their contact. It is also likely that Sayn Wittgenstein was shot down only a few minutes after his last victory at 22:40, while Snape and Fowler claimed their Ju 88 damaged (not destroyed) over half an hour later. Sayn Wittgenstein was in the bomber stream, where Mosquito fighters did not venture because the bombers would fire on any twin engined aircraft, and he would not have had his navigation lights illuminated. Historians Alfred Price and Martin Middlebrook have both suggested that Sayn Wittgenstein was shot down by a bomber. Three RAF bomber crews returning from the raid filed claims for German night fighters shot down. Two claimed Ju 88s in the vicinity of Magdeburg and one claimed a Bf 110. These claims appear to be in line with German records which show the Luftwaffe lost two Ju 88s, one Bf 110 and one Heinkel He 219 that night. The He 219 was that of Hauptmann Manfred Meurer, credited with 65 victories, who apparently collided with his final victim, a Lancaster. The wrecks of the two aircraft were found locked together and there were no survivors from either crew. One of the bomber crews claiming a Ju 88 shot down near Magdeburg was a Pathfinder Lancaster crew from No. 156 Squadron RAF. Their tail gunner, Flight Lieutenant T. R. Thomson from Edinburgh, fired on a Ju 88 at close range during its second approach and saw it go down. Ostheimer's account states that Sayn Wittgenstein was attacking a Lancaster at the time and was shot down on his second approach.

Night fighter pilot Wilhelm Johnen commented on the arrival of Sayn Wittgenstein at his unit: " A madman, I thought, as I took my leave. Once outside I got into conversation with the Prince's crew. Among other things they told me that their princely coachman had recently made his radio operator stand to attention in the plane and confined him to his quarters for three days because he (the radio operator) had lost his screen [radar contact with the enemy] during a mission." Herbert Kümmeritz recalled that Sayn Wittgenstein often used his seniority and rank to ensure that he would get the best initial contact with the incoming bombers. He would often wait on the ground until the best contact was established. If another fighter had already engaged the enemy before Wittgenstein arrived, the prince would announce on the radio "Hier Wittgenstein—geh weg!" (Wittgenstein here, clear off!) Wolfgang Falck felt that Sayn Wittgenstein was not officer material. Falck described him as: " not the type to be a leader of a unit. He was not a teacher, educator or instructor. But he was an outstanding personality, magnificent fighter and great operational pilot. He had an astonishing sixth sense—an intuition that permitted him to see and even feel where other aircraft were. It was like a personal radar system. He was an excellent air to air shot." His mother, Princess Walburga, commented that: " he was boundlessly disillusioned and boundlessly disappointed. In 1943 he contemplated the thought of shooting Hitler. It was only out of sense of honor and duty that Heinrich went on fighting, carried along by the ambition to overtake Major Lent in his score of enemy aircraft shot down". In her memoirs, Tatiana von Metternich reported that Wittgenstein planned to kill Hitler after the ceremony at which he received his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in 1943. He said, "I am not married, I have no children—I am expendable. He will receive me personally. Who else among us can ever get as near to him?"

Sayn Wittgenstein was credited with 83 nocturnal aerial victories, claimed in 320 combat missions, including 150 with bomber arm. His 83 aerial victories include 33 shot down on the Eastern Front. Spick also list him with 83 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of aerial victories. Foreman, Mathews and Parry, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, list 79 nocturnal victory claims, numerically ranging from 1 to 75, 81, 82, and 79. Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, also listing Sayn Wittgenstein with 79 claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 33 aerial victories on the Eastern Front. Victory claims were logged to a map reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ HJ 44". 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 (932 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size. Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Serial No./Squadron No. – Ergänzungsgruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – 1 7 May 1942 01:20 Blenheim west of Walcheren Blenheim V6382/No. 18 Squadron RAF 2 31 May 1942 01:16 Wellington North Sea 3 31 May 1942 01:36 Manchester North Sea 4 2 June 1942 00:43 Halifax Bossut/Grez Doiceau 5 6 June 1942 01:16 Wellington 6 6 June 1942 01:50 Wellington 7 9 June 1942 03:05 Wellington Anna Jacobapolder Wellington Z1573/No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron RAF 8 17 June 1942 03:09 B 24 northwest of Leiden 9 17 June 1942 03:23 Wellington north northwest of Leiden Wellington X3723/No. 419 Bomber Squadron RCAF 10 26 June 1942 03:07 Wellington 11 30 June 1942 03:26 Wellington – 9. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – 12 3 July 1942 03:05 Stirling over sea, west of Rotterdam 13 24 July 1942 03:10 Lancaster over sea, west of Scheveningen 14 29 July 1942 01:11 Fulmar North Sea 15 1 August 1942 03:17 Hampden Oisterwijk/Moergestel Hampden N9062/No. 14 Operational Training Unit RAF 16 1 August 1942 03:30 Halifax Scheldt Estuary 17 1 August 1942 04:42 Wellington 18 7 August 1942 04:15 Halifax over sea, west of Hook of Holland Halifax W1237/No. 78 Squadron RAF 19 10 September 1942 23:15 Stirling south of Rotterdam 20 10 September 1942 23:50 Halifax Ooltgensplaat 21 10 September 1942 23:54 B 24 east of Schouwen Duiveland 22 16 September 1942 22:52 Stirling over sea, west of Noordwijk/Katwijk aan den Rijn – Stab IV. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 – 23 16 April 1943 23:13 DB 3 Eastern Front 24 16 April 1943 23:15 DB 3 Eastern Front 25 22 April 1943 23:25 DB 3 Eastern Front 26 23 April 1943 00:30 B 25 Eastern Front 27 2 May 1943 22:37 DB 3 southwest of Eydtkau, present day Chernyshevskoye – 1. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 28 23 June 1943 02:09 Stirling over sea, northwest of Hook of Holland Stirling BF572/No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF 29 25 June 1943 02:25 Lancaster west of Katwijk aan Zee Lancaster LM327/No. 97 Squadron RAF 30 25 June 1943 02:50 Stirling west of Scheveningen Stirling EF392/No. 7 Squadron RAF 31 25 June 1943 03:09 Stirling west of Katwijk aan Zee 32 25 June 1943 03:35 Wellington PQ HJ 44 – Stab IV. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 – 33 11 July 1943 21:50 DB 3 Eastern Front 34 14 July 1943 21:47 DB 3 east of Etrada 35 14 July 1943 22:05 TB 7 west of Poldsow 36 17 July 1943 21:26? DB 3 northeast of Oryol 37 18 July 1943 21:39 B 25 Eastern Front 38 18 July 1943 21:47 DB 3 Eastern Front 39 19 July 1943 21:10 DB 3 north of Oryol 40 19 July 1943 21:20 Boston north of Oryol 41 19 July 1943 22:10 DB 3 north of Oryol 42♠ 20 July 1943 01:30 DB 3 north of Oryol 43♠ 20 July 1943 21:08 DB 3 northeast of Oryol 44♠ 20 July 1943 21:15 B 25 northeast of Oryol 45♠ 20 July 1943 21:20 B 25 Eastern Front 46♠ 20 July 1943 21:38 TB 7 northeast of Oryol 47♠ 20 July 1943 21:50 TB 7 northeast of Oryol 48♠ 20 July 1943 21:55 TB 7 northeast of Oryol 49 21 July 1943 01:30 B 25 Oryol 50 21 July 1943 22:25 TB 7 Oryol 51 31 July 1943 21:13 PS 84 Eastern Front 52 1 August 1943 21:40 R 5 Eastern Front 53 1 August 1943 21:47 PS 84 Eastern Front 54 1 August 1943 23:01 R 5 Eastern Front 55 2 August 1943 21:27 R 5 north northwest of Djatkovo 56 3 August 1943 20:58 DB 3 Sossnewka 57 3 August 1943 21:12 DB 3 north of Karachev 58 3 August 1943 22:09 DB 3 northwest of Star 59 5 August 1943 22:44 B 25 Manjeschino 60 8 August 1943 21:50 DB 3 northeast of Star — 8 August 1943 22:11 SB Eastern Front – Stab II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 – 61 24 August 1943 00:18 Halifax north northwest of Neuhaldensleben 62 18 October 1943 20:35 Lancaster Hanover 63 22 October 1943 21:10 Lancaster north northwest of Kassel 64 22 October 1943 21:35 Lancaster Paderborn – Stab of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – 65♠ 2 January 1944 02:00 Lancaster near Berlin Lancaster LM377/No. 61 Squadron RAF 66♠ 2 January 1944 02:18 Lancaster near Berlin Lancaster JB548/No. 57 Squadron RAF 67♠ 2 January 1944 02:20 Lancaster near Berlin Lancaster LM372/No. 467 Squadron RAF 68♠ 2 January 1944 03:00 Lancaster near Berlin 69♠ 2 January 1944 03:10 Lancaster near Berlin Lancaster JA711/No. 9 Squadron RAF 70♠ 2 January 1944 03:12 Lancaster near Berlin 71 14 January 1944 20:00 Lancaster 72 20 January 1944 19:10 Halifax near Berlin 73 20 January 1944 19:15? Halifax near Berlin 74 20 January 1944 19:25? Halifax near Berlin 75♠ 21 January 1944 22:00? Lancaster near Magdeburg 76♠ 21 January 1944 22:10 Lancaster near Magdeburg 77♠ 21 January 1944 22:30 Lancaster near Magdeburg 78♠ 21 January 1944 22:45 Halifax near Magdeburg 79♠ 21 January 1944 23:15 Halifax near Magdeburg