Wilhelm Herget

Wilhelm Herget
Born	(1910-06-30)30 June 1910 Stuttgart, Germany
Died	Stuttgart, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	Major
Unit	ZG 76, NJG 3, NJG 1, NJG 4, JV 44
Commands held	I./NJG 4
Battles/wars	World War II Anglo-Iraqi War Battle of Britain Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Wilhelm Herget (30 June 1910 – 27 March 1974) was a night fighter flying ace in the German Luftwaffe during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Born in Stuttgart, Herget trained as a pilot prior to the outbreak of war, and was serving with II./Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76—76th Destroyer Wing) flying the twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 with 6 Staffel. In intensive operations during the 1940 campaign in Western Europe he scored his first air victories, with three Spitfires downed during May and a Curtiss Hawk in June; he was also awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class.

During the Battle of Britain he claimed two Hurricanes on 30 August, and a Spitfire the following day. Three more Spitfires were claimed on 1 September and another on 2 September. By the end of 1940, he had amassed 14 air victories.

In 1941, Herget converted to the night fighter role with Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 and in September 1942 became Commander of I gruppe, Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 until December 1944. On 20 June 1943 Herget had claimed some 30 victories and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). He was awarded the Oak Leaves in June 1944, after 63 victories. On the 15 June 1944 he was shot down by British ace, Branse Burbridge. Herget and his crew bailed out and the Junkers Ju 88 G-1 (Werknummer—factory number 710833) crashed south-west of Nivelles. The crash site was initially excavated in the summer of 2008.

In January 1945 he underwent training to fly the new Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. After service with Sonderkommision Kleinrath, an experimental operations unit, he joined Adolf Galland's Jagdverband 44 (JV 44) in April 1945. His last missions of World War II were flown with JV 44, claiming one victory (a P-47 Thunderbolt) before the war's end.

Herget is credited with 73 aerial victories (57 at night and 16 during daylight missions) in 700 combat sorties. This included eight RAF bombers claimed in just 50 minutes during a raid against Frankfurt on the night of 20 December 1943.

Awards

• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for night fighter pilots in Gold with pennant
• German Cross in Gold on 7 February 1942 as Oberleutnant in the III./NJG 3
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 20 June 1943 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of I./NJG 4
  • 451st Oak Leaves on 11 April 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of I./NJG 4

External links

• Wilhelm Herget @ Ritterkreuzträger 1939–45