Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein is Germany's third-ranked night battle ace, shooting down 83 Allied aircraft. Because of his origins as a noble family, Wittgenstein was once called the "Prince of Night".
On the night of January 21, 1944, Wittgenstein drove the Ju-88C-6 to shoot down five bombers in a row, but was then killed by a British "mosquito" sneak attack. His sudden death in battle left a huge secret buried in history.
The night battle ace, which is a famous family,
Among the German night fighter pilots, there is a super ace named Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein. Ranked third among the Night Battle Ace, with a total of 83 Allied aircraft shot down, and most of them were very difficult night battle results.
Wittgenstein's combat method is very strange - after he takes off at night, he will call all German aircraft on the radio: "Hier Wittgenstein — geh weg!" (Wittgenstein is here, all walk away!) In this way, all the German fighters present will retreat, leaving Wittgenstein alone on the battlefield.
Wittgenstein did not deliberately show off, but it was difficult to identify the enemy and us at night air combat, keeping friendly forces away from him, but instead exerting his strong combat power. Although he often fights alone, he can basically shoot down more than three aircraft on every night of battle!
You should know that most of the British four-engine heavy bombers encountered at night were British four-engine heavy bombers, which had strong firepower and good protection, and it was very difficult for others to shoot down one. But on the night of July 20, 1943, he shot down six heavy bombers in just 47 minutes (he shot down a total of seven at night that day)!
Wittgenstein's full name is Heinrich Alexander Ludwig Peter Sain Wittgenstein. Judging from the name, you can tell that he was born into a noble family. Wittgenstein family originated in the 13th century and its name "Sein Wittgenstein" comes from the fief of the earl in Sauerland in the eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein himself was born in Copenhagen , and his father was Prince Gustav Alexander Serne Wittgenstein, a German diplomat. He received the best aristocratic education since childhood, so he was called "Prince Wittgenstein" in , Luftwaffe .
Wittgenstein joined the Hitler Youth League and then joined the Luftwaffe. He first served as a Ju-88 or He-111 bomber navigator and later became a bomber pilot. After the outbreak of World War II , he participated in French Battle and Battle of Britain . In August 1941, he changed his career path and became a night fighter pilot. On November 1, 1941, Wittgenstein was appointed as the squadron leader of the 9th Squadron of the 2nd Night Fighter Wing.
In fact, despite being transferred from a bomber pilot to a fighter pilot, Wittgenstein's landline is still a Junkers Ju-88. As the main German bomber, the Ju-88 was also converted into a night fighter at this time to deal with the increasingly fierce night bombing of the Royal Air Force . On May 6, 1942, he achieved his first nighttime victory over , the Netherlands, .
After becoming a night battle pilot, Wittgenstein showed amazing talent. Faced with British bombers deployed at night, Wittgenstein not only has night vision capabilities that are higher than ordinary people, but also seems to have a "sixth sense", which makes him almost unable to find British bombers in the dark night sky without the radar . Wittgenstein's talent, even his colleagues, could not explain it, and soon became the biggest ace of German night air battles.
Ju-88C Night Fighter
On December 1, 1942, Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein was appointed as the captain of the 4th Battalion of the 5th Night Fighter Wing of Germany. By August 31, 1943, Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein had achieved 54 aerial shooting down records, becoming the 290th recipient of the Oak Leaf Iron Cross Knights Medal, and was awarded by Hitler himself on September 22.
By the end of December, Wittgenstein's record increased to 68.On the night of January 1, 1944, he achieved great results again and shot down six bombers in a row. On this day, Wittgenstein was promoted again to become the commander of the 2nd Night Fighter Wing.
As his fame grew, he used his reputation and influence to select the best crew for himself, and managed to get his superiors to arrange himself to the most active base for intercepting British bombers. He is able to prioritize the selection of the latest technologies and radar detection equipment. In the air, he is also able to gain battlefield priority, thereby leveraging these advantages to ensure the best and most targets to be hunted.
Wittgenstein's favorite is the Junkers Ju-88C night fighter. The aircraft is based on the Ju-88A bomber, with crews reduced from 4 to 3 people, with a maximum speed of 510 km/h, which enhances the nose firepower and is equipped with UHF band airborne interception radar. Wittgenstein also tried to fly Me-110, but he was not interested in this orthodox fighter and soon changed it back to Ju-88C.
In the first three weeks of 1944, the Allies stepped up their strategic bombing of Germany, and the "Night Battle Prince" Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein also ushered in his last glorious moment.
"Night Fight Prince" fell on a glorious night
On the night of January 20, 1944, the British Royal Air Force bombed Berlin again. Major Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein waited on the ground, and when the target was clearly identified, he quickly took off and entered the center of the British bomber fleet. In a short period of time, he shot down three "Lancaster" bombers , bringing his personal record to 78.
However, the last "Lancaster" shot down lost control and collided with Wittgenstein's Ju-88C-6 night fighter, and the British aircraft propeller cut off the wings of the Ju-88 about two meters. Fortunately, Ju-88 barely recovered after spinning for a while. Wittgenstein used his belly to make a crash landing at Erfort Airport, and none of the three crew members were injured.
Despite returning alive without any danger, Wittgenstein continued to take off the air to fight the next night. On the night of January 21, British bombers bombed Berlin again, and Wittgenstein and the crew took off in another Juncker Ju-88C-6. As usual, Wittgenstein once again demonstrated the style of "efficient combat".
At 22 o'clock that night that day, Wittgenstein tracked a "Lancaster" through radar, and then shot it down accurately five minutes later. Wittgenstein then drilled into the middle of the British bomber flow. At 22:15, he captured and shot down the second Lancaster. At 22:30, the third aircraft was shot down. At 22:40, the fourth aircraft was shot down. In just 40 minutes, he had shot down four heavy bombers.
It took a lot of time to find the fifth frame. At this time, the moonlight in the sky gradually weakened, and there was almost no light to help him find his target. At 23:18 half an hour later, Wittgenstein finally aimed at another "Lancaster" and turned on the fire after entering the range. "Lancaster" instantly caught fire, lit up the entire night sky. Unexpectedly, this turned out to be the destruction of Wittgenstein.
Just for a moment, Wittgenstein's Ju-88C-6 was illuminated by the burning light of the bomber. Coincidentally, a de Havilland Mosquito-type F.II night fighter from the RAF 141st Squadron is nearby, driven by Lieutenant Desmond Snape and Lt. Fowler. The two discovered Wittgenstein and started hunting.
Compared with Ju-88C, the "Mosquito" type is a faster light fighter bomber with a speed of about 100 kilometers per hour. Desmon Snape and L. Fowler's "Mosquito" styles carry the latest serrated radar detectors that can mimic the appearance of the German radar "Lancaster". So, this "mosquito" type plays a bait role to attract German night fighters to hook and then hit a counterattack.
That night, this "mosquito" serrated detector found a Ju-88C approaching them, but unexpectedly, the German aircraft was targeting the "Lancaster" next to it. The "Mosquito" style followed the set counterattack procedure and made a sharp turn of 360 degrees and turned to the rear end of Ju-88C-6.At this time, Wittgenstein just hit "Lancaster", and the burning fire also exposed himself to "mosquito".
Desmond Snape and L. Fowler did not hesitate and drove the "mosquito" style and fired decisively. At 23:18, while Wittgenstein shot down the fifth "Lancaster", the landline was also hit by a "mosquito". Ju-88C-6 swooped down from under the burning "Lancaster" and disappeared into the darkness.
Due to uncertain results, the "Mosquito" patrols the bomber stream and fights all the way back to England. After landing, Desmon Snape and L. Fowler reported that the German fighter they hit was simply "damaged". However, it was the only engagement reported by British night fighters that night.
Two British pilots did not know that they had shot down a famous German night ace. Wittgenstein's landline caught fire and burned. He asked two crew members to parachute and , and both of them successfully landed and escaped. However, when Wittgenstein left the plane, he might have hit vertical tail wing , and the parachute failed to open and fell straight to the ground from a height of 6,000 meters.
After dawn on January 22, Major Wittgenstein's body was found in a small wood. Wittgenstein was only 27 years old when he died in battle.
Germany's third-ranked night battle ace fell on a glorious night. At that time, the two British pilots not only did not know that they had achieved great results, but also did not know that they might have changed the direction of history by inadvertently - "Night Prince" Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein, who was preparing to assassinate Hitler at that time!
Assassination Hitler Plan buried by history
Heinrich Serne Wittgenstein shot down a total of 83 aircraft, often creating the results of shooting down more than three aircraft in one night, especially in the last 21 days before his death, he actually shot down 15 aircraft! This crazy move hides a purpose - Wittgenstein hopes to make more military achievements to obtain the more advanced Oak Leaf Sword Iron Cross Knight Medal , from getting the opportunity to get close to Hitler.
On September 22, 1943, Hitler personally awarded the Oak Leaf Iron Cross Knight Medal to Wittgenstein, Hartman Glaser (103 Sky Battle Ace with 103 results) and others at the award ceremony in Rustenburg. It was this meeting that gave Wittgenstein the opportunity: due to trust in these "great war heroes", Wittgenstein and others were allowed to carry pistols and swords! The security measures for the meeting were very relaxed.
As a once loyal Nazi believer, Wittgenstein and some German officers' worship of Hitler has been disillusioned. He realized that the war was futile and began to question the Nazi practices. As a descendant of a German nobleman, Wittgenstein thought he should do something, even at the cost of his life.
He made a plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler on the spot when his next medal was awarded--he believed it would be awarded again soon--he would be able to assassinate Adolf Hitler on the spot. He just needs to pull out his pistol and shoot Hitler in the chest and head while Hitler awarded him a medal!
This assassination plan is known only by few people, including Wittgenstein's mother, Baroness Walbuga, and Madame Tatiana von Metternich, a member of the anti-Nazi group. Madame Metternier, who also came from a noble family, recalled after the war that Wittgenstein told her: "I am not married and have no children, so that I can sacrifice... He will receive me personally. Who among us can get closer to him?"
Because of this, after Wittgenstein first approached Hitler on September 22, 1943, he began to fight more frantically to increase his military achievements and thus to win the qualification of the Oak Leaf Sword Iron Cross Knight Medal.
In fact, he did finally get the Oak Leaf Sword Iron Cross Knight Medal, but he was awarded posthumously after his death. The perfect plan to assassinate Hitler was accidentally destroyed by two British pilots.
Half a year later, another German officer, Colonel Klaus von Stauffenberg, finally exploited the security breach and detonated the bomb at a meeting where Hitler participated on July 20, 1944.However, the assassination only injured Hitler. (Author: Tao Mujian)
