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Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick W.Nr 5344 France 1940 00 Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick W.Nr 5344 France 1940 01-05 Bf-109E JG2.1 $Helmut Wick tail showing 28 kills France 1940 01 Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick W.Nr 5344 France 1940 06 Pilots JG2.1 $Helmut Wick 01 Pilots JG2.1 $Helmut Wick July 1940 01 Pilots JG2.1 $Helmut Wick and Adolf Hitler Oct 1940 01 Pilots JG2.1 $Helmut Wick documents 1940 01-02 Pilots JG2.1 $Helmut Wick with Goring, and Jeschonnek 1940 01 Pilots JG2.1 $Erich Leie was his Rottenflieger Nov 28 1940 01 Pilots RAF 609Sqn $John Charles Dundas who may have shot down Wick Nov1940 01 Pilots JG2.1 $Helmut Wick signed 01 Pilots JG2.1 $Helmut Wick signed 02 Skins Compatibility: IL2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles (FB), Ace Expansion Pack (AEP), Pacific Fighters (PF), 1946, Storm of War. AB Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 CN Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 CF Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 GF Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 GRAF HS Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 JP Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 SC Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 TF Bf-109E JG2.1 (-+- $Helmut Wick Nov 1940 Asisbiz Free Virtual High Resolution Images for Screensavers and Wallpaper: Helmut Wick Siegfried Line, and during the so-called 'Phoney War', was engaged daily in long patrol flights over the Franco-German border. It was during one such flight, on 22 November that Wick claimed his first victory. As the French were reluctant to cross the border, Wick's formation flew to the Nancy area where they became involved in a fight with some Curtiss Hawk 75A-1s and Wick succeeded in shooting down the aircraft flown by Sgt. Pierre Saillard of GC II/4 which crashed near Phalsbourg. Further border patrol flights continued, but during the winter months there were fewer encounters although on 30 April 1940, Lt. Wick, together with Lt. Rudolf Pflanz and Oblt. Jobst Hauenschild became involved in a combat with a Potez 63.11 east of Merzig. The three pilots put in a joint claim but it was apparently awarded to Lt. Pflanz.It was during the campaign in the West that Wick began his career as one of the Luftwaffe's greatest aces, though only after a slow start. Although his Staffel comrades had scored victories, Wick was unlucky and found himself unable to manoeuvre into a sufficiently favourable position. It seems his luck might have changed on 17 May when Wick claimed three LeO-451 bombers, but in fact none of his claims was confirmed. Wick's next large battle came on IS May when his Staffel claimed six Blenheims, but again Wick himself was unable to score. Finally, on the 20th, 3./JG2 again became involved in a battle with LeO 451 bombers in the Laon-St.Quentin-Peronne area and two of the Staffel's seven claims were awarded to Wick.At the end of May, Wick claimed two Fairey Swordfish in the Calais area and although one forced landed at Calais-Marck and the other crashed into the sea in flames, these were not confirmed due to a lack of witnesses. However, any disappointment was soon forgotten in the events of 5 June. Wick was flying with Oblt. Hauenschild when they attacked some 15 to 20 Bloch 151s.The first kill went to Oblt. Hauenschild who shot one down at 17.10 hrs, but within a few minutes Wick had shot down another three. Five minutes later, on the way home, Wick accounted for a Morane-Saulnier 406 and was welcomed as a hero. Never since the war began had anyone claimed four victories in a single flight.Thereafter, Wick's score increased regularly. On 6 June he shot down two Bloch I5Is near Compiegnes and on the evening of the 8th Wick destroyed another Bloch 151’s and a Morane 406 in the Soissons-Reims area. His 12th confirmed victory, a Blenheim near Soissons on 9 June made Wick the leading ace in the 'Richthofen' Geschwader and brought the award of the EK 1. Wick's last confirmed victory of the campaign, a Fairey Battle shot down near Montdidier-Provins, occurred at 21.10 hrs on 13 June. A Spitfire claimed on 17 June was not confirmed and Wick therefore ended the French campaign with 13 confirmed victories, placing him fourth on the list of highest-scoring German pilots.At the same time, 1./JG2, which then had a total of 123 Abschusse, was restructured. In the 3.Staffel, Hptm. Hennig Striimpell became Gruppenkommandeur, Hptm. Alexander von WinteRGeldt became Staffelkapitan of 8./JG2, Oblt. Hauenschild was transferred to another unit and, on 23 June 1940, Wick became Staffelfuhrer of 3./JG2.After a short rest following the fighting in France, Wick and his pilots were looking forward to increasing the Staffel's score, but although the Geschwaderstab and I.Staffel claimed two Spitfires on 9 July, most missions were convoy protection sorties and the situation was generally quiet. Then, on 17 July, Wick took off with his wingman, Lt. Franz Fiby, to intercept a Blenheim returning to England after a mission over France. Despite a chase, the two pilots were unable to catch the Blenheim and broke off to establish where they were. Through a hole in the clouds, they saw that, although at that time forbidden, they had flown over the English coast. Nevertheless, Wick decided he would try to find something to shoot down before returning and after a search, Wick and Fiby saw below them the 14 Spitfires of 64Sqn. with one aircraft flying some distance behind acting as 'Holzauge' 1. Wick attacked and shot down this lone Spitfire leaving its wounded pilot, F/O Donald Taylor, to crash-land at Hailsham.With the start of the Battle of Britain, victories followed quickly and 11 July proved to be a very successful day for I. and III./JG2 which claimed 20 victories, Wick claiming a Hawk 752 and two Spitfires. On 21 July, Wick was promoted Oberleutnant and on 1 August was officially appointed Staffelkapitan of 3./JG2. After claiming two apparently unconfirmed Hurricanes on 16th and 24 August, Wick then claimed a Hurricane and a Spitfire near Portland on 25 August and two Hurricanes near Portsmouth on 26th. This brought Wick's total to 21 victories, and on the 27th he was awarded the Ritterkreuz, this being presented on the 29th at Karinhall by Reichsmarschall Goring who also granted Wick four days' leave to spend with his wife and family.Returning to the front, Wick claimed two Hurricanes on 4 September and by the 7th he had claimed a further five victories although only four were confirmed. On the same day, Wick was promoted to Hauptmann and became Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG2. Hptm.Wick's predecessor, Hptm. Strumpell recalled:"I was assigned to fafu Osterkamp and turned the Gruppe over to Hptm. Wick. He was a nice man and 1 knew him well. He flew on every operation and was aggressive in combat. This could not be sustained and one day 1 told him that he would mentally or physically collapse or that he would be shot down. He always fought at full throttle to get the most speed from his aircraft and once I told Wick's mechanics to change his engine because of this." A Meeting with the Fuhrer "Despite all his awards and honours, Wick remained a modest and considerate superior and wasrespected and admired by all his pilots. One day, a General, the commander of the Fliegerschule at Dresden, hoping to profit from the experiences of his former pupil, visited the 'Richthofen' Geschwader on the Channel coast with some of his staff. Engaging the young Kommodore in conversation, the General boasted, "My dear Wick, of course I knew at Dresden that you would become someone special", to which Wick replied, 'Herr General, I suppose that's why you failed me on the first officer candidate test.'' Even as Kommodore, Wick continued to fly and lead his men. On 29 October near Portsmouth, he claimed a Hurricane at 15.29 hrs and a Spitfire four minutes later. Three more claims followed on 5 November, five on the 6th, one of the 7th, one on the 8th and another, apparently unconfirmed, on the 10th. By the morning of 28 November 1940, Major Helmut Wick had 54 victories, the same number as the Kommodore ofJG51, Obstlt. Molders, and close behind the 56 of Obstlt. Adolf Galland. At 14.20 hrs that afternoon, Wick ledJG2 in a sweep over Southern England and 50 minutes later claimed his 55th victory, a Spitfire north-east of the Isle of Wight.After returning to its base, JG2 took off at 16.30 hrs on the second mission of the day, destined to be the Kommodore's last. Visibility was good as the Jagdgeschwader Richthofen climbed in the direction of the Isle of Wight with Major Wick, his wingman Oblt. Pflanz and the Stab flight in the lead. After about 40 minutes, JG2 was again near the Isle of Wight where the Stab became involved in a large air battle and Wick shot down a Spitfire of 609Sqn. killing the pilot, P/O Paul Baillon. It was the Kommodore's last victory and his last flight. The accompanying accounts, one by Lt. Julius Meimberg of 4./JG2 and the other an official Luftwaffe report (opposite), describe in detail what is known of Major Wick's last flight, but it seems almost certain that after shooting down P/O Baillon, Wick was shot down by 609Squadron's F/Lt John Dundas, and that almost immediately afterwards Dundas himself was attacked and shot down by Wick's wingman, Oblt. Pflanz.Subsequently, the Luftwaffe did everything possible to locate Wick. Many search flights were made and even the British authorities were contacted 3 to enquire if they had a certain Major Helmut Wick among their PoWs, but no trace of him, his dinghy or his aircraft have ever been found. The next day, Wick's closest friends, Oblt. Pflanz and Oblt. Erich Leie, traveled to Berlin to inform Wick's wife and parents of the tragedy.Many theories have been put forward to account for Wick's death. Hptm. Strumpell was convinced that Wick was an easier target because his engine was suffering from wear and tear and was not giving him top peRGormance, while some historians believe he may have collided with debris from Baillon's Spitfire. Equally possible is that Wick was by now suffering from severe nervous strain, a view perhaps supported by the errors of judgement he displayed during the flight to Brest on 17 October and his diary entry of 6 November 1940 in which he wondered if he was not well or if his nerves were frayed. Certainly Hptm. Strumpell thought that if it was not a poorly peRGorming engine which led to his death then it may have been the pressure he was under to become the Luftwaffe's leading ace 4. The fame and hero-worship the Third Reich meted out to its warriors and the rivalry that the news media fostered between them may well have raised public morale and enhanced the general esprit de corps of fellow fighter pilots but, equally, such exploitation also cruelly encouraged young men to exert themselves beyond their capabilities. Although Major Wick did not acquire the same reputation as Galland or Molders and although some of his contemporaries doubted the accuracy of his score, he is fondly remembered by the few surviving members of JG2 for his humanitarian qualities, his kind manner and enthusiasm for life.F/Lt John Charles Dundas of 609Sqn., the pilot who is believed to have shot down Wick and who was himself then shot down by Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz. LOSS OF MAJOR WICKCopy, telex Here, Oblt. Leie was able to get into firing position behind a solitary Englishman but he thereby lost sight of the other two aircraft of the staff flight. Oblt. Pflanz and Lt. Fiby escaped the English attack by diving away and lost sight of each other. At about 2,000 metres Oblt. Pflanz saw two aircraft in front of him which were flying south. He contemplated joining these two aircraft but recognised one as an English aircraft which was turning left and followed him. At this moment Oblt. Pflanz noticed a parachute* at about 1,500 metres. Oblt. Pflanz positioned himself behind the Englishman and shot him down from a short distance. He observed the aircraft hit the sea at tremendous speed and saw both wings break off.Flying home immediately afterwards, Oblt. Pflanz called the Sea Rescue Service which responded after several calls. He gave the position as: "40-50 km SSW western tip Isle of Wight, one German baled out, one Englishman in immediate vicinity." As the Rescue Service acknowledged the position, there developed a radio communication between another department and the rescue boat which stated it was 60 nautical miles from the scene and that the rescue centre at Cherbourg-West had been asked to send another boat to assist. Afterwards, since he was running short of fuel, Oblt. Pflanz had to land (at Bonneborg, 18 km. NW of Lisieux), and he returned to his unit two hours later. After landing, Oblt. Leie determined by communicating with other commands that the Kommodore was the only one from the mission who had not returned and that he had not landed at any other airfield on the Channel coast. This was reported to Jafu 3 (Major Beck) and the la (Operations Officer) of the command of the V. Fliegerkorps with the most urgent request to set into operation all possible assistance in the search for Major Wick.JGRichthofen No.2* There is no evidence that the parachute - if one was observed - was Wick's. Indeed, Kurt Buhligen and other pilots have stated that they saw Wick dead in his cockpit. 1. German term equivalent to 'Tail End Charlie'. 'We Waited in vain until late into the night' Julius Meimberg, STAFFELKAPITAN OF 4./JG2In the late aternoon of 28 November 1940, we took off from Beaumont.le-Roger for our second, mission of the day. It was a brigh, clear, late-Autumn day and Jagdgescbwader 'Richthofen' climbed in the direction of the Isle of Wight with the Kommodore, Major Wick, his wingman Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz and the rest of the stab fight in the lead.I was leading the two flights of the 4.Staffel behind the Geschwader Stab. We reached 7000 metres and visibility was excellent. Diagonally, below us lay the Isle of Wight and beyond, the green fields of England began to appear. Above us, a large number of contrails flew towards us1. It was a beautiful sight, but we had no time to enjoy it as the straight, white plumes arced straight towards us and then dissolved into nothing as they lost height and turned into, small, flashing specks. It was a formation of Spitfires. They had the advantage of height and they were attacking from a favourable position.Major Wick had the habit of flying at full throttle while in combat. The Stab flight tried to follow, climbing at full power, but it was impossible and the flight became spread out. I climbed, with the 4. Staffel somewhat staggered to one side, trying to achieve a good position yet at the same time hold the formation together. I had no way of knowing whether there were more Spitfires closing with us from below the contrail height and which would be difficult to see. Then we were attacked, the aircraft of the Staffel separated and the dogfight began. I saw a single Spitfire to one side and became involved in a turning contest but I was unable to position myself behind him. To allow sufficient lead I had to pull back on the stick so that the Spitfire disappeared under my nose, then I fired. When the Spitfire appeared again, I saw no visible evidence that I bad hit it but the aircraft made a steep Climbing turn and immediately went into a spin. I followed, thinking that this was some trick and that the pilot wanted me to think he'd been hit and would soon pull out, but he kept on spinning.If this had not been such a life and-death situation, I would have said that the sight before me was almost picturesque. It seemed that the red glow of the evening sun was reflecting off his canopy as the apparently undamaged green and brown camouflaged Spitfire spun towards the smooth, dark surface of the sea below. It spun lower and lower, and I waited for the pilot to bale out but nothing happened. Then it occurred to me that even when the spinning Spitfire's canopy was in shadow, the cockpit still glowed red. Falling lower and lower towards the sparkling, blue-green mirror of the sea, the Spitfire finally disappeared in a white splash. I think the aircraft was burning inside and maintain that this is, possible when the oxygen cylinder is hit. I experienced something similar in 1943 'when I was shot down in Tunisia, but I never experienced another air combat such as this.Once we had landed, Rudolf Pfanz reported that Helmut Wick had shot down one Spitfire but had then been attacked by another which he, Pflanz, had shot down. No one was able to see what had happened to Wick's aircraft but we all hoped he had baled put and would return.We waited in vien until late into the night and he has been missing ever since.1 It should be noted that most accounts including the report submitted by JG2 on the loss of Wick state that the Spitfires were below the German aircraft. Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean!" Siegfried Bethke JG2.1On October 1940, the I./JG2 ‘Richthofen' was based at Beaumont-le-Roger, about 40 km South-West of Rouen in Normandy. Shortly after noon we received orders to transfer to Brest for a special mission to be carried out the next day. This surprised us, since we had been expecting a fighter sweep or to escort bombers to the south, coast of England, We had flown three months of hard, relentless missions, during which we had suffered extremely high casualties from British fighters, those in the past two weeks being especially nerve-wracking. Flying over the Channel was particularly telling on the nerves and quite a number of comrades had been lost after parachuting or ditching into the Channel, perhaps after only receiving a minor hit in the radiator. Despite the container of yellow dye attached to the life jacket and the one-man dinghy we all carried, the Seenotdienst had been unable to find them in the rough seas.But now we were in a cheeRGul mood. We had almost perfect weather with just a little haze, and it would be a pleasure to fly the 100km to Brest. The life jackets we had worn for the last three months could be discarded and we wouldn't even need our maps; we only had to fly westwards to the coast and there would be Brest. The whole thing was splendid and no one gave a thought to what the next day's special mission might entail.Although we had excellent service, personnel, our aircraft had recently been worked so hard that, from an establishment of 40 aircraft, the Gruppe assembled just 12 Bf-109s. We took off at 16.30 hrs with ourGruppenkommandeur, Hptm. Helmut Wick, in the lead. Wick had had a meteoric career and, three, days earlier, on the 14th, had returned from Germany where he had been presented with the Oak Leaves by the Fuhrer himself that evening; he told us about the meetings and the discussions he'd had with Hitler while they travelled from Berchtesgaden to Berlin in the Fuhrer’s special train. The Fuhrer, who contrary to rumors ate meat, and drank wine, spoke of many things; the U-boat war, aircraft production and the Italians, who were supposed to have relieved us but lost their way and wrote off half their aircraft in emergency landings. Hitler referred to "Bloodhound Stalin" and said that sooner or later there would be a clash with Russia. England was to be smashed by the Luftwaffe alone but the weather conditions were never favorable enough. Next spring we would have the Bf-109F and, later, the Fw190. Meanwhile, 'Hptm. Wick was to be given command of aGeschwader, but at just 25 years of age the responsibility concerned him greatly.Because of the distance involved we flew in a long, loose formation. There were no Spitfires or Hurricanes to worry about and with theKommandeurleading, we felt we could relax. For a long time we flew at 1,500 metres with nothing to do but follow Wick and occasionally check our instruments: water, oil temperature, pressures, revolutions, etc. For the old hands this was habitual and automatic. On we flew in complete radio silence. Some pilots in the formation hadn't even switched on their radios, and I had time to reflect on other matters. Three days earlier I had scored my ninth victory, a Hurricane over Southampton. After my first burst of fire from very close behind, the Hurricane exploded and I had to swerve sharply to avoid the debris. But on the same mission I had lost one of my best pilots, the Staffel's seventh loss since the French campaign in May, and I hoped he was a prisoner and had not come down in the water. Weeks later, however, his naked body was washed ashore on the coast of the Cotentin peninsular. He could only be identified by his teeth.After the months of operations over England, this flight was a real pleasure, almost like a pre-war Sunday afternoon stroll. Occasionally I checked our course or the position of my Staffel in relation to the Stab flight. It soon became obvious that orientation over the western part of Normandy was very difficult as there were no prominent landmarks, a situation made worse by the hazy conditions. But we all had complete faith in Hptm. Wick, holder of the Oak Leaves and the third-most successful fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe after Molders and Galland.After half an hour on the same course I began to think that we should have reached Brest and wondered if Wick was taking us south, which would explain why we wouldn't see the water before we reached our objective. Below, the countryside was confusing. There were no features which would allow us to orient ourselves, but I expected to see a landmark soon. When a large town, a city with railways, roads, a river and even a small airfield appeared, I wondered where it could be. No sign of the sea anywhere. We had then been flying for about three-quarters of an hour and soon the city disappeared behind us. Damn! We had learned to find our way about over England so we should have found out which city that was.Then it occurred to me that it might have been Rennes, in which case we were much further south than I thought. Wick must be flying to the south coast of Brittany so we could go sightseeing! Then the coast appeared beneath us and, expecting the Kommandeur to alter course, I was ready, waiting to increase speed in order to stay with him as he turned to the right. But I waited in vain. We had been flying for an hour on the same heading, and now there was nothing below but water. Ahead, in the haze, an island appeared. I looked at my map and wondered if this was Belle Ile, and whether Wick would use it as a turning point, but we continued to fly on. Now there was only the sea below us. Where were we going? What was Wick up to? This was completely incomprehensible. We had complete faith in him, of course especially since his meeting with the Fuhrer, but I grew increasingly anxious until the fear of the water and the fixed course caused me to think the unthinkable; perhaps the Kommandeur didn't realize where we were. My eyes moved again to the map on my knee and to the endless water ahead. My mind raced and I realized beyond doubt that we were straight out into the Bay of Biscay! Once we reached the point of no return, none of us would regain land even if we did turn around. Fear for myself and my comrades finally overcame all misgivings and I became very calm. I estimated we had fuel left for only another five minutes' flight. Regardless of whether I'd embarrass myself or have to face disciplinary action, something had to be done, and with firm determination I pressed the transmit button on the radio."Amboss from Wanne, Amboss from Wanne”1. We're flying out to sea. I'm turning round. No reaction. I repeated my message. Again nothing, either from the radio or in the movement of Wick's aircraft. No one had heard. They all had their radios turned off. I opened the throttle to close up with the Stab flight, drew alongside the Kommandeur and again found the courage to transmit: "Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean! I'm turning back!" At the same time, I rocked my wings twice, right in front of his nose, and then banked tightly to the left and flew in the opposite direction. In order to reach land as soon as possible, I turned exactly through 180 degrees and, once on my new course, I looked around and, seeing that my own Schwarm had followed, closed the throttle again. Our lives now depended on saving every drop of fuel. Once we four were together again, I glanced backwards and with enormous relief, saw the others turning steeply to follow us. Already I felt as if a huge weight had lifted from my mind, though I was still by no means certain that we would find anywhere to land, and the responsibility of leading the Gruppe to safety was a heavy burden. Belle Ile came into sight again and behind it, land. I made a left turn to fly north along the coast where conditions for an emergency landing were better.Slowly, for safety and better visibility, I gained height and soon spotted a landing field, but it turned out to have been ploughed up and had wire stretched in every direction to prevent it being used. It had probably been like that since the war with France in May and June. Then, further inland, ahead and to the right, I saw a larger town. This was probably Quimper, but did it have an airfield? I turned towards the town and there was an airfield. It was in good condition, too, with the landing cross perfectly situated and the wind blowing from the west, so we came straight in. Wheels down, flaps down, side-slip to lose height and we're bumping over the grass, first myself and my wingman, then my other pair. We rolled out to the end of the field to make way for the others who were close behind. One actually landed with his engine stopped and two more ran out of fuel as soon as they'd touched down. We'd had a lucky escape. Wick came up to me and thanked me profusely for preventing the flight ending in disaster.In the event, the mission from Brest was cancelled because of poor weather conditions. The plan had been for our destroyers to attack convoys in the Bristol Channel in order to draw out the Royal Navy, which was then to be attacked by Stuka’s while we provided protective cover against English fighters. Due to the bad weather we transferred back to Beaumont in pairs, but three pilots had to make emergency landings during which one was injured and another killed. My wingman and myself were flying low - not a wise thing to do considering the terrain in Normandy - and ran into a bank of low cloud. When pulling up, I somehow became disorientated and came out of the cloud almost on my back, righting the aircraft just in time. Another lucky escape!Wick was unable to explain exactly what had happened but like everyone else, probably believed, that with no enemy fighters or weather problems, the flight would just be a routine hour in the air. However, he was exhausted from the recent months of combat and I believe he was so preoccupied with what he had learned while visiting the Fuhrer, that he allowed his thoughts, to wander. He therefore failed to notice he was a few degrees off course and, not realizing we had exceeded our intended flight time, continued to fly onwards while he pondered recent events and, perhaps, what the future held for him. Only two months earlier he had been a mere Leutnant but his successes had brought rapid promotion. Now the prospect of taking command of a Geschwader worried and he felt too young for such a responsibility.Nevertheless, a few days later, Wick was promoted to Major and became Kommodore of the jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen'. On 29 November, I wrote in my diary, 'Kommodore hit by an Englishman yesterday, baled out near Isle of Wight. Search resumed this morning. Heavy sea - found nothing. Hopefully the English picked him up'. But on 7 December I wrote, 'Major Wick definitely missing - not in captivity. Goring has made enquiries in England... Wick is lost’.Out of respect for Wick, his exceptional career and his recent decoration by Hitler, we all arrived at an unspoken agreement and no word of our near fatal flight into the ocean ever trickled out. For myself, I was just satisfied with the outcome of this experience and pleased to receive the heart felt gratitude of the other pilots. Major Helmut Wick On 4 September 1940, Wick received promotion to the rank of Hauptmann and took command of 6./JG2.He added six further victories with this unit to raise his victory total to 28. Wick was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG2 on 9 September. On 5 October, he shot down five RAF fighters in the Isle of Wight area (37-41). This gained him the immediate award of the Eichenlaub (Nr 4). Further promotion followed and, at 25 years of age, Wick was the youngest Major in the Wehrmacht. Wick was appointed Kommodore of JG2 on 20 October 1940, succeeding Major Wolfgang Schellmann (25 victories, RK) who had left to command JG27. On 6 November, Wick claimed five RAF fighters shot down (48-52). On 28 November 1940, Wick achieved his 55th victory during an early sortie to become the leading fighter ace in the world. Later in the day, on a "Freie Jagd" over the English Channel, Wick scored his 56th victory, a Spitfire. In turn, his aircraft was shot down by British ace Flight Lieutenant John Dundas (13.333 confirmed, 2 probable and 4.5 damaged victories) of 609 Squadron, RAF. Wick was seen to bale out of Bf-109E-4 (W.Nr. 5344) “Black <-+-“ over the Channel, his “Geschwaderstab Schwarm” mate Hauptmann “Rudi” Pflanz (52 victories, RK, killed in action 31 July 1942) circled the area calling over the radio that a “Spitfire was down” hoping to attract the British air/sea rescue. Pflanz continued to circle until his fuel was almost empty, crash-landing at landfall on his return over the Channel but Wick was never found.Helmut Wick was credited with 56 victories achieved flying 168 combat missions.
Victories : 56
CC-Jagdwaffe Vol.2 Section 1:Battle of Britain Phase 1 - Jul 1940 - Aug 1940 SERVICE:
REMARKS: -Helmut Wick(source;http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/wick.html) Helmut Wick was born on August 5th 1915 in Mannheim, Germany, and after his education he joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and by 1938 had been promoted with the rank of a Commissioned Leutnant. He learnt much during this period as his advanced training as a fighter pilot was under the instruction of the famous pilot, Werner Mölders, who himself achieved much success in combat over the coming years Wick’s first posting was flying the Arado Ar 68 biplane with II/JG134 before finally converting to the Messerschmitt Bf-109 in January 1939 when he was posted to I/JG53. He remained with this unit until September that year when Germany invaded Poland and he was subsequently posted to I/JG2, a unit tasked with the defence of Berlin During the period known as the “Phoney-War” Wick claimed his first victory and also that of the fighter wing, I/JG2, when he shot down a French Curtiss Hawk on November 22nd 1939. Remaining with the unit he was moved to the western front where the Battle of France was underway, during May 1940. On May 17th he engaged and shot down three Curtiss Hawk’s after he and 3 other Bf-109’s were attacked by a large formation of the French fighters. By the end of the Battle of France in June 1940, Wick had achieved 14 confirmed kills and 2 unconfirmed. He was awarded the Eiserne Kreuz I (Iron Cross, 1st class) along with promotion to Staffelkapitan.Throughout the Battle of Britain Wick rose quickly in rank and in profile as a public figure back home in Germany. This was due to his outstanding qualities in leadership as a fighter pilot and his continual success in combat. During his first combat over England, he claimed 3 Spitfires on the same sortie and on August 27th he received the Ritterkreuz (Knights Cross) for achieving 20 victories. He shot down 2 Hurricanes on August 30th, the first of No: 253 Squadron flown by Pilot Officer Jenkins, over Surrey and the second of No: 43 Squadron flown by Sergeant Noble over Sussex. Both the RAF pilots were killed On September 9th he was promoted to Gruppenkommandeur of I Gruppe/JG2 and on October 6th was awarded the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub (Knights Cross with Oak Leaves) after claiming his 42nd combat victory of the war. By now Helmut Wick had become the most successful fighter pilot of the Luftwaffe. At the end of the Battle of Britain he had been made a Major and Kommodore of JG2 As the battles over southern England continued into November 1940, so did his victories and his 55th came on November 28th to make him the highest scoring “fighter-ace” in the world, at that time. It was later that same day, on another sortie, that Wick not only claimed his last victory but also lost his life During combat over the Solent and the Isle of Wight with Spitfires of No: 609 Squadron, Wick had claimed the Spitfire of Pilot Officer Baillon, who was killed, when two Spitfires subsequently attacked him. One was flown by Flight Lieutenant John Dundas of No: 609 Squadron (already an ace with 16 victories) and the other by the Polish pilot Sergeant Zygmunt Klein of No: 152 Squadron. To this day it is unclear as to which of these pilots fired the fatal shots as both were shot down and killed moments later With his aircraft stricken with damage, Wick baled out just south of the Isle of Wight and into the English Channel. His body was never recovered. (source:http://www.jacksonharrison.co.uk/BoB2/Battle personnel/Profiles/Luftwaffe/wick.htm) The Messerschmitt Bf-109EThe lessons of the Spanish Civil War led, as we have seen, to the development of more powerful and better armed versions of which the Bf-109E-1 "Emil" was but the first.The E-1 model which came out of the Augsburg factory at the beginning of February was in fact the mass production of the E-O type. During 1939, more than 1500 Bf-109Es were produced and at the time of the invasion of Poland, no less than 1056 Bf-109s of all types, including 850 Bf-109E-1 and E-1Bs, equipped Luftwaffe units.Armament consisted of two MG-17 engine-mounted machine guns and two of the same calibre mounted in the wings. Trials were carried out on the following E-3 version with a cannon mounted to fire through the propeller hub, but were unsuccessful due to overheating and jamming; firing also produced vibrations.The engine was a Daimler-Benz DB610A producing 1175hp at take off and 1100hp at 14,500ft, driving a threeblade metal variable pitch VDM9-11081A propeller. This engine had been tested on ten pre-production Bf-109D-0 and E-0 before being accepted.The Bf-109E-1 did not have armor plating protecting the pilot and the fuel tank and the frames of the cockpit canopy were the same as the D version.The Battle of Britain showed that the cockpit needed 36 more protection, and the surviving Bf-109E-1s were brought up to E-3 standard with a more resistant canopy. Fighting revealed also that the machine could be more efficient if it was equipped with an underbelly pylon for an electrically launched bomb. This gave rise to the Bf-109E-1/B with an ETC50 pylon for SC50 bombs, tested successfully with the Bf-110Cs from the Erprobungsgruppe 210 over the Channel against English shipping. The German High Command demanded that all Bf-109 Jagdgeschwader include in their number an extra squadron of fighter-bombers, whilst the Bf-109E-4 in production where directly converted in the factory. Bf-109E-1s were also delivered to Spain and Switzerland.The E-4 version came out in May 1940. This was heavier than the E-3. Armor plating weighing about 50 kilos had been installed in the cockpit and behind the pilot whose head and shoulders, were now well-protected. These modifications had turned out to be indispensable following the first fights against the English. If some E-1 sand E-3s were thus equipped later, the armor plating was installed on the E-4s directly on the production lines. The cockpit canopy was changed also (some aircraft at the beginning of the series were still equipped with that of the E-3); an upright appeared higher up joining the side to the top frames, whereas the two little uprights on the windshield disappeared.The two wing-mounted 20 mm cannon were kept. These were MGFF "M" s capable of firing shells called Minen-Geschosspatronen; these had a better penetrating capability and their explosive charge contained within a thinner metal envelope was larger. The number of shells remained the same, 60 per cannon.The engine was also modified. Whereas the first E-4s received the DB601A, in the middle of 1940, they were equipped with the new DB601N with a 15% higher compression rate, giving 1200hp at take-off and 50hp more at altitude thanks to flattened pistons in place of the older more concave ones.From the outside there was nothing to differentiate the DB601N from the DB601A; only the higher octane number, 96 or 100 (or even C-3 petrol) instead of 88, showing on a little yellow and white triangle placed under the tank filler cap behind the cockpit differentiated them. Thus equipped, the aircraft became a Bf-109E-4/N.Following the success of the E-1 fitted with an underbelly bomb, this more powerful version was transformed for fighter-bomber missions (Bf-109E-4/B) by installing ETC 500 and ETC 50 pylons, taking either one 250 kg bomb or four smaller 50 kg ones. For this a little console was fitted at the bottom of the instrument panel controlling the bomb release. The first E-4 fighter-bombers were delivered to the Erprobungsgruppe 210 which was evaluating the Me210, and to the II(Schact)/LG2. These were used against Britain from July 1940. The intervention of the Luftwaffe in North Africa in February 1940 made the engineers adapt a tropical filter to prevent wear and tear from sand. The machines thus modified were indicated by the suffix 'Trap." and arrived with the I/JG27 at Ain el Gazala, in Libya in April 1941.The following models were the Bf-109E-5 and E-6 used for reconnaissance. The former, still with the old DB601A engine and the E-4 canopy, lost its wing-mounted cannon and carried an electrically controlled Rb21/18 camera. The latter was very similar to the E-5 except for the camera, an Rb50/30, which changed. The Messerschmitt Bf-109E-7 was a long-range fighter, carrying a 66 gallon ventral tank in place of the 550lb bomb and appeared in August 1940. It could be distinguished form the E-4, of which it kept the engine and the canopy, by the propeller boss which now had a little cone closing off the hole for the cannon. It was used for fighter-bombing (E-7/B) or tropicalised with a special filter (E-7/Trop) with the I/JG27. Experiments were carried out on the E-7/Z (Z for Zusatzgerat, or additional system); a power-boosting system, the GM1, used nitrous oxide (N20), injecting oxygen into the engine and giving extra power of around 250-280hp at 24,000ft. 80 aircraft received this system in February 1941 which was adopted by the other Luftwaffe fighters later on. The last sub-variant was the E-7/U2, fitted with 5 mm thick metal plates protecting the engine and radiator from anti aircraft shots.Finally, the Bf-109E-8 and E-9 extrapolated from the E-1 and the E-7, of which they kept the engine and the canopy, appeared in August and September 1940 and were used as long distance fighters and for armed reconnaissance. History Training to fly the Messerschmitt Me-109E/G-2: Web References: Specifications: Major Variants |
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