Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin

Eckart-Wilhelm Max Bogislaw Fürchtegott von Bonin (14 November 1919 – 11 January 1992) was a German World War II night fighter pilot who served in the Luftwaffe. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He is credited with shooting down 37 enemy aircraft claimed during 150 combat missions.

Early life and career Von Bonin was born on 14 November 1919 in Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg of the Weimar Republic. He was the son of Bogislav Gerhard Wilhelm Fürchtegott von Bonin, Major in WWI, later Oberst (Colonel) of the Luftwaffe in WWII, and his wife Pauline Emilie Mathilde, née von Bülow (1885–1968), a daughter of General der Kavallerie Adolf von Bülow.

His older brother, Bogislaw von Bonin served in the Army and later in the Amt Blank, a predecessor of the Federal Ministry of Defence. Two of his brothers also served in the Luftwaffe, 1st Lieutenant Jürgen-Oskar Bogislaw Adolf Fürchtegott von Bonin was killed in action on 8 February 1942 while serving as an observer in a Transportgeschwader (air transport wing). Another brother, Hubertus Bogislav Oskar Adolf Fürchtegott von Bonin, became a fighter pilot and wing commander with 77 aerial victories and was also killed in the war. Von Bonin entered military service with the Luftwaffe in 1937 and was trained as a night fighter pilot.

Night fighter career A map of part of the Kammhuber Line. The 'belt' and night fighter 'boxes' are shown. Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks 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.

In October 1940, von Bonin was posted to 6. Staffel (6th squadron) of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing). This squadron was part of II. Gruppe (2nd group) of NJG 1 commanded by Major Walter Ehle.

"Wheels Down" incident The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) targeted the German aircraft industry on 17 August 1943 in the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission. Two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from the 4th Bombardment Wing had been forced to leave their formation on their way to Regensburg. The B-17 "Picklepuss" piloted by Captain Robert M. Knox from the 100th Bomb Group headed back to England when it came under attack by three Messerschmitt Bf 110 night fighters south of Aachen. Von Bonin, accompanied by Oberleutnant Walter Barte and Leutnant Hans Witzke had taken off from Sint-Truiden—Saint-Trond in the French pronunciation—to intercept any stragglers to and from the target area. Von Bonin shot down the B-17 on his first attack but one of his engines was also hit be the left waist gunner. While six of the ten crew members of the B-17 were killed in action, von Bonin landed safely on one engine at Saint-Trond.

Following this engagement, controversy arose whether Knox had lowered his landing gear to signal surrender. Apparently, a B-17 had lowered its landing gears and had then shot down one of the escorting Luftwaffe fighters, becoming the "Wheels Down" incident.

Group commander On 18 November 1943, von Bonin was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of NJG 1. He succeeded Major Walter Ehle who was killed in action. He was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 December 1943 and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 February 1944 after 31 aerial victories. On 1 August 1944, he was promoted to Major. In October 1944, he became Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 102 (NJG 102—102nd Night Fighter Wing).

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims According to Obermaier, von Bonin was credited with 37 aerial victories claimed in roughly 150 combat missions. Two of his claims were over four-engined bombers during daytime operations, the other 35 were claimed during nocturnal missions. Aders and Spick list him with 39 aerial victories claimed in approximately 150 combat missions. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 37 nocturnal victory claims. Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Von Bonin with 33 aerial victories, plus four further unconfirmed claims.

Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Serial No./Squadron No. – 6. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 1 11 May 1941 02:20 Wellington Tönningen 2 12 May 1941 02:20 Blenheim west of Sankt Peter-Ording 3 15 July 1941 01:40 Wellington east of Zwolle R1613/No. 214 Squadron RAF 4 7 April 1942 02:38 Manchester Manchester L7470/No. 61 Squadron RAF 5 3 June 1942 02:41 Wellington north-northwest of Brussels Wellington DV786/No. 156 Squadron RAF 6 9 June 1942 02:38 Halifax northeast of Brussels 7 26 June 1942 01:38 Blenheim north of Tirlemont Blenheim Z6084/No. 13 Squadron RAF 8 30 July 1942 03:17 Wellington east of Antwerp Wellington Z1316/No. 142 Squadron RAF 9 5 October 1942 22:38 Wellington northeast of Maastricht Wellington BJ729/No. 419 Squadron RCAF 10 12 March 1943 21:40 Halifax north-northwest of Amerika 13 26 May 1943 01:36 Wellington north of Maastricht Wellington HF488/No. 199 Squadron RAF 14 30 May 1943 00:43 Wellington 15 12 June 1943 01:47 Halifax Oye-Plage, northeast of Liège 16 22 June 1943 01:50 Stirling southeast of Eindhoven 17 31 July 1943 00:57 Halifax Mariaweiler 18! 17 August 1943 11:45 B-17 southwest of Aachen 19! 17 August 1943 15:07 B-17 northeast of Aachen 20 31 August 1943 00:45 Halifax 21 7 September 1943 00:45 Halifax southwest of Munich 22 7 September 1943 00:47 Halifax southwest of Munich 23 3 November 1943 19:30 Lancaster southwest of Gangelt 24 19 November 1943 19:30 Lancaster northeast of Ronse 25♠ 26 November 1943 02:20 Halifax north of Prüm 26♠ 26 November 1943 02:42 Halifax southeast of Darmstadt 27♠ 26 November 1943 02:45 Lancaster Brandau, south of Darmstadt Lancaster JB221/No. 97 Squadron RAF 28♠ 26 November 1943 19:24 Lancaster south-southwest of Liège Lancaster DV285/No. 101 Squadron RAF 29♠ 26 November 1943 19:30 Halifax Hermeskeil 30 20 December 1943 19:26 Halifax Mayen 31 20 December 1943 19:45 Halifax Dachsenhausen 32 20 February 1944 05:40 Lancaster north of Dessau 33 24 February 1944 21:36 four-engined bomber Brieg 34 24 February 1944 21:48 four-engined bomber Marling 35 15 March 1944 22:10 four-engined bomber southeast of Saint-Dizier 36 15 March 1944 22:41 four-engined bomber northeast of Lure 37 22 June 1944 01:14 Lancaster east-southeast of Turnhout Lancaster ME782/No. 630 Squadron RAF

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 8 May 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän German Cross in Gold on 1 August 1943 as Hauptmann in the 6./Nachtjagdgeschweder 1 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 February 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Nachtjagdgeschweder 1