Richard Leppla

Richard Leppla (9 June 1914 – 4 August 1988) was a German fighter ace in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Leppla claimed 68 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Career Leppla was born on 9 June 1914 in Matzenbach, joining the army as a cadet in 1934, he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935 and was an Oberleutnant with 3 Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st fighter wing) when the war started.

On 15 March 1940, Leppla was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 51, replacing Hauptmann Erich Gerlitz who was transferred. He claimed his first aerial victory on 10 May, a Dutch Fokker D.XXI. By July he had claimed five victories, and during the Battle of Britain.

On 10 November 1940, Leppla was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 51. He succeeded Hauptmann Walter Oesau who was transferred. In consequence, command of 3. Staffel was past on to Oberleutnant Heinrich Krafft.

On 26 May 1941, III. Gruppe was withdrawn from the English Channel and relocated to Düsseldorf Airfield for a brief period of rest and replenishment. On 15 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Halászi, at the time in the General Government.

Operation Barbarossa On 22 June, German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 51 was subordinated to II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), which as part of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2). JG 51 area of operation during Operation Barbarossa was over the right flank of Army Group Center in the combat area of the 2nd Panzer Group as well as the 4th Army. That day, III. Gruppe intercepted a large formation of Soviet bombers, claiming 19 aerial victories and further destroying 23 aircraft on the ground, including three aerial victories by Leppla.

On 12 July, he was credited with claiming JG 51s 1,200 aerial victory. On 27 July 1941, Leppla was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 27 aerial victories claimed. He received this distinction the same day and fellow JG 51 pilot Oberleutnant Hans Kolbow was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross.

His 40th victim fell 10 October 1941 and his 50th came on 9 February 1942. On 4 January 1942, Leppla was wounded in a takeoff accident at Yukhnov when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8185—factory number) collided with a Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft. On 2 August, Leppla was wounded in aerial combat resulting in a forced landing of his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8144) in a location west of Teschertolino. His injuries were so severe that he was temporarily replaced by Oberleutnant Herbert Wehnelt before Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Schnell officially took command of the Gruppe on 24 September.

After a period of hospitalization in December 1942 Leppla was assigned to command Jagdfliegerschule 5 (later renamed JG 105), a position he held until August 1943.

In April 1945 Leppla was then appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 6. When the war ended, Leppla was interned by Soviet forces, remaining in captivity until 1950.

He then served in the West German Air Force, reaching the rank of Oberst before retiring from active service in 1972.

Leppla flew over 500 combat missions and claimed 68 victories (13 on the western front and the 55 on the Russian front).

Later life Following World War II, Leppla reentered military service in the West German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe. He retired in September 1972 holding the rank of Oberst (colonel) and died on 4 August 1988 at the age of in Matzenbach, West Germany.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Leppla was credited with 68 aerial victories. Spik also lists him with 68 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 59 aerial victory claims, plus five further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes seven aerial victories on the Western Front and 52 on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 47581". The Luftwaffe grid map 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 . 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 Claim Date Time Type Location – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940 1 10 May 1940 06:30 Fokker D.XXI Zevenbergen 3? 21 May 1940 M.S.406 Abbeville 2 21 May 1940 08:05 M.S.406 Abbeville 4? 22 May 1940 Hurricane Abbeville – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 –At the Channel and over England — 26 June – 9 November 1940 5? 28 July 1940 15:30 Spitfire Dover 8 31 August 1940 14:08 Hurricane 6? 24 August 1940 Spitfire 9 4 September 1940 10:30 Spitfire 7 26 August 1940 12:57 Spitfire 10 4 September 1940 13:20 Spitfire According to Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock, Leplpa claimed his eleventh and undocumented aerial victory in September 1940. 12? 4 October 1940 Hurricane west of Dover – Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –At the Channel and over England — 10 November 1940 – 26 May 1941 13 1 December 1940 11:45 Hurricane – Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 14 22 June 1941 07:20 I-153 31 6 August 1941 09:50 Pe-2 15 22 June 1941 12:20 SB-2 32 8 August 1941 15:25 DB-3 west of Yelnya 16 22 June 1941 12:25 SB-2 33 8 August 1941 15:26 DB-3 17 29 June 1941 18:30 SB-2 34 18 August 1941 08:35 DB-3 18 30 June 1941 11:50 V-11 35 18 August 1941 08:38 DB-3 19 30 June 1941 16:25 DB-3 west of Bobruysk 36 9 September 1941 16:13 Pe-2 20 30 June 1941 16:32 DB-3 northeast of Bobruysk 37 25 September 1941 06:55 I-18 21 8 July 1941 19:25 DB-3 38 4 October 1941 Pe-2 22 11 July 1941 16:10 DB-3 39 6 October 1941 Pe-2 23 12 July 1941 16:10 Pe-2 40 10 October 1941 08:00 Pe-2 24 12 July 1941 19:25 V-11 41 23 October 1941 16:55 I-61 25 12 July 1941 19:30 V-11 42 25 October 1941 08:35 DB-3 26 16 July 1941 18:25 V-11 43 25 October 1941 12:12 I-61 27 26 July 1941 11:35 DB-3 44 29 October 1941 15:50 DB-3 west of Podolsk 28 26 July 1941 18:05 DB-3 45 6 November 1941 unknown 29 2 August 1941 16:24 I-18 46 28 November 1941 11:00 R-10 30 2 August 1941 16:25 Pe-2 – Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" –Eastern Front — 5 December 1941 – 30 April 1942 47 15 December 1941 10:10 I-61 northwest of Kubinka 54 5 March 1942 14:40 unknown 48 4 February 1942 13:15 U-2 Ssawaje 55 8 March 1942 10:00 unknown 49 10 February 1942 13:15 I-61 Mosskressenskaja 56 12 March 1942 09:48 unknown 50 18 February 1942 12:10 unknown 57 8 March 1942 17:45 unknown 51 18 February 1942 15:35 unknown 58 1 April 1942 12:50 unknown 52 18 February 1942 16:10 unknown 59 5 April 1942 13:55 unknown 53 3 March 1942 09:40 I-26 northwest of Rzhev – Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" –Eastern Front — 1 May – 2 August 1943 60 10 May 1942 10:40 unknown 65 13 July 1942 15:50 unknown 61 10 May 1942 12:30 Il-2 66 13 July 1942 16:05 unknown 62 2 July 1942 19:30 unknown 67 1 August 1942 11:45 Il-2 PQ 47581 63 9 July 1942 11:25 unknown 68 1 August 1942 17:30 Il-2 PQ 47813 64 10 July 1942 10:32 unknown

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class German Cross in Gold on 9 December 1941 as Hauptmann in the III./Jagdgeschwader 51 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 July 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 51