Willi Nemitz

Willi Nemitz (1 November 1910 – 11 April 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He was one of the oldest operational fighter pilots and was credited with 81 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front, achieved in approximately 500 combat missions.

Born in Greifenhagen in Pomerania, Nemitz joined the military service in the Luftwaffe. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in 1940. During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he claimed his first aerial victory on 3 July 1941. In November 1942, he was made Staffelführer, temporary command position, of 5. Staffel (5th squadron) of JG 52. He then commanded 6. Staffel of JG 52 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 March 1943. He was shot down and killed in action on 11 April 1943 near Anapa during the Battle of the Caucasus.

Career Nemitz was born on 1 November 1910 in Greifenhagen in Pomerania, at the time in the Province of Pomerania, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia within the German Empire, present-day Gryfino in northwestern Poland. He was the son of a farmer. Following flight training, he was posted to 5. Staffel (5th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in 1940. The Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant August-Wilhelm Schumann and subordinated to II. Gruppe of JG 52 which was headed by Hauptmann Wilhelm Ensslen and fought in the Battle of Britain. On 2 November, Ensslen was killed in action and replaced by Hauptmann Erich Woitke.

Operation Barbarossa In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe of JG 52, without a period of replenishment in Germany, was ordered to airfields close to the German-Soviet demarcation line. While the Gruppenstab (group headquarters unit) and 4. Staffel were based at Suwałki in northeastern Poland, 5. and 6. Staffel were transferred to a forward airfield at Sobolewo. For the invasion, II. Gruppe of JG 52 was subordinated to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). The Geschwader was part of the VIII. Fliegerkorps commanded by Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen which supported the northern wing of Army Group Centre.

alt=A map of Eastern Europe depicting the movement of military units and formations. On 22 June, the German forces launched the attack on the Soviet Union which opened the Eastern Front. On 25 June, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Varėna in Lithuania which had previously been occupied by the Soviet Air Forces (VVS—Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily). Two days later, the Gruppe moved to Maladzyechna, supporting the advance Panzergruppe 3 near Barysaw. Flying from this airfield, Nemitz claimed his first aerial victories, two Ilyushin DB-3 bombers shot down on 3 July. The next day, II. Gruppe moved to Sloboda, east of Minsk, before moving to an airfield named Lepel-West at Lyepyel on 5 July. From this airfield, II. Gruppe flew combat air patrols and fighter escort missions to combat areas near Vitebsk and Haradok, supporting Panzergruppe 2 and 3 in their advance to Vitebsk and Polotsk. On 12 July, the Gruppe moved to Kamary, an airfield in the western parts of Vitebsk. Ten day later on 22 July, II. Gruppe advanced to the airfield Andrejewka near Smolensk where it stayed until 5 August. Operating from Andrejewka, Nemitz shot down a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber on 23 July, a DB-3 and Tupolev SB bomber on 26 July and another DB-3 bomber on 27 July.

II. Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Soltsy, west of Lake Ilmen, on 5 August in support of the 16th Army and Army Group North. Here, the Gruppe supported the fighting south of Lake Ilmen, and the German attacks on Shlisselburg, Leningrad and the Soviet fleet at Kronstadt. Operating from Soltsy, Nemitz claimed an I-18 fighter, referring to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter, shot down on 18 August near Chudovo. On 24 August, II. Gruppe was ordered to an airfield at Spasskaya Polist on the river Polist, south of Chudovo and north of Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, supporting the 18th Army in its advance towards the Neva and Lake Ladoga. Here on 30 August, Nemitz shot down another I-18 fighter. Since German forces had reached the proximity of Leningrad, II. Gruppe was ordered to Lyuban on 1 September, approximately to Leningrad and located on the road to Moscow. The Gruppe stayed at Lyuban until 30 September, flying missions to Shlisselburg, Leningrad and Mga. Fighting in this combat area, Nemitz claimed two aerial victories in September 1941. On 13 September, he was credited with the destruction of an DB-3 bomber, followed by an Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft on 23 September.

On 2 October, German forces launched Operation Typhoon, the failed strategic offensive to capture Moscow. In support of this offensive, II. Gruppe was moved to Stabna, located just north of Smolensk. On 5 October, Nemitz claimed a Pe-2 bomber shot down. On 4 November, II. Gruppe had moved to Ruza. Here, Nemitz claimed his last aerial victories of 1941 when on 14 November he was credited with the destruction of two I-18 fighters, taking his total to 13 aerial victories.

Eastern Front In late January 1942, II. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to Jesau near Königsberg for a period of recuperation and replenishment, arriving on 24 January 1942. In Jesau, the Gruppe received many factory new Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft. On 14 April, II. Gruppe received orders to move to Pilsen, present-day Plzeň in the Czech Republic, for relocation to the Eastern Front. The Gruppe had also received a new commander, Woitke had been transferred and was replaced by Hauptmann Johannes Steinhoff. The Gruppe then moved to Wien-Schwechat on 24 April before flying to Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement Kirovske in the Crimea. There, II. Gruppe participated in Operation Trappenjagd, a German counterattack during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, launched on 8 May. On 11 May, Nemitz claimed his first aerial victory of 1942 when he shot down a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber aircraft.

On 16 May, II. Gruppe relocated to Artyomovsk, present-day Bakhmut where JG 52 supported the German forces fighting in the Second Battle of Kharkov. Operating from Artyomovsk, the Gruppe flew combat missions in the combat area of Izium, flying fighter escort for bombers from Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27—27th Bomber Wing) and Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77—77th Dive Bomber Wing). On 19 May, Nemitz claimed a MiG-1 fighter shot down. Four days later, the Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Barvinkove where they stayed until 1 June. Flying from Barvinkove, Nemitz claimed an Il-2 ground-attack aircraft on 26 May and a MiG-1 fighter the next day.

On 1 June, II. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Grakowo, located approximately halfway between Kharkov and Kupiansk. The main German objectives in that combat area were, breakthrough to the upper Don and capture of Voronezh. Here, Nemitz claimed four aerial victories in June, including a MiG-1 fighter on 4 June, a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter 22 June, and a Yak-1 fighter on both 23 and 24 June. On 28 June, the Wehrmacht initiated Fall Blau (Case Blue), the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. The objective was to secure the oil fields of Baku as well as an advance in the direction of Stalingrad along the Volga River, to cover the flanks of the advance towards Baku. Tasked with aerial support of this offensive was Luftflotte 4 (Air Fleet 4) to which JG 52 was subordinated. On 22 July, II. Gruppe moved to an airfield named Nowy Cholan, approximately northeast of Rostov-on-Don. On 20 August, II. Gruppe reached the airfield at Tusov, approximately southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the western bank of the Don, from where the Gruppe operated in the combat area of Stalingrad. Flying from this airfield, Nemitz's number of aerial victories increased to 33 by end of August. On 27 October, he received the German Cross in Gold .

Squadron leader and death On 4 November 1942, Oberleutnant Siegfried Simsch, the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel of JG 52, was severely injured in a flight accident. In consequence, Nemitz then briefly led the Staffel before Oberleutnant Gustav Denk officially took command in January 1943. On 22 January 1943, II. Gruppe had to retreat further and moved to an airfield at Rostov-on-Don. Here, Nemitz reached his 56th aerial victory by end of January. On 10 February 1943, Hauptmann Rudolf Resch, the commander of 6. Staffel of JG 52, was transferred. In consequence, Denk was also transferred to take command of 6. Staffel. When Denk was killed in action on 13 February, Nemitz led 6. Staffel as well as 5. Staffel until Leutnant Helmut Haberda was given command. On 13 March, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Anapa. Here on 20 March, Nemitz was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . At the end of March 1943, his number of aerial victories had reached 80.

On 9 April, Nemetz claimed his 81st and last aerial victory when he shot down a Pe-2 bomber. Two days later on 11 April, Nemitz was killed in action in the area of Anapa. His Bf 109 G-4 (Werknummer 14898—factory number) crashed near the village Nishne Bakanskaja located approximately east-northeast of Anapa. According to Helmut Lipfert, who occasionally flew as his wingman, Nemitz Bf 109 crashed into a German infantry position. Command of 6. Staffel was then transferred to Oberleutnant Karl Ritzenberger. Posthumously, Nemitz was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant).

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Nemitz was credited with 81 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 81 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 82 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. All of his confirmed aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 7152". 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 – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 1 3 July 1941 18:43 DB-3 8 30 August 1941 06:05 I-18 (MiG-1) northwest of Dubrovka 2 3 July 1941 18:45 DB-3 9 13 September 1941 16:45 DB-3 east of Klemenka 3 23 July 1941 06:35 Pe-2 10 23 September 1941 13:55 Il-2 4 26 July 1941 04:35 DB-3 11? 5 October 1941 Pe-2 5 26 July 1941 04:45 SB-2 12 14 November 1941 08:35 I-18 (MiG-1) 6 27 July 1941 16:50 DB-3 13 14 November 1941 08:45 I-18 (MiG-1) 7 18 August 1941 13:40? I-18 (MiG-1) north of Chudovo – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 7 May 1942 – July 1942 14 11 May 1942 12:03 R-5 22 6 July 1942 15:15 Hurricane 15 19 May 1942 04:15 MiG-1 23 16 July 1942 17:55 LaGG-3 16 26 May 1942 10:21 Il-2 24 19 July 1942 06:03 LaGG-3 17 27 May 1942 04:43 MiG-1 25 19 July 1942 17:20 LaGG-3 18 4 June 1942 04:15 MiG-1 26 21 July 1942 12:20 R-5 19 22 June 1942 06:40 LaGG-3 PQ 7152 27 22 July 1942 06:35 LaGG-3 20 23 June 1942 14:15 Yak-1 28 23 July 1942 12:55 Il-2 21 24 June 1942 16:47 Yak-1 – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — July – August 1942 29 23 August 1942 16:02 LaGG-3 PQ 49242 northeast of Stalingrad 32 27 August 1942 10:10 LaGG-3 PQ 49231 east-northeast of Stalingrad 30 23 August 1942 16:03 LaGG-3 PQ 49242 northeast of Stalingrad 33 29 August 1942 06:08 LaGG-3 PQ 49213northeast of Grebenka 31 24 August 1942 17:25 LaGG-3 PQ 49233 east-northeast of Stalingrad – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — August 1942 – 3 February 1943 34 31 August 1942 10:50 LaGG-3 PQ 49282 east of Stalingrad 46 11 December 1942 09:28 LaGG-3 PQ 29632, northwest of Kulpinskij 35 31 August 1942 17:20 LaGG-3 PQ 59454 47 17 December 1942 11:18 La-5 PQ 38241, south of Shutow 2south of Shutow railroad 36 1 September 1942 16:45 LaGG-3 PQ 75272vicinity of Bakanskij 48 18 December 1942 09:16 La-5 PQ 49722 northeast of Aksay 37 7 September 1942 05:50 I-16 PQ 44664 49 18 December 1942 09:22 Il-2 PQ 49753 east-northeast of Aksay 38 8 September 1942 14:48 LaGG-3 PQ 54513 50 19 December 1942 14:08 LaGG-3 southeast of Dubowyi 39 29 October 1942 15:50 LaGG-3 PQ 94752 51 22 December 1942 13:18 La-5 PQ 39863 north of Aksay 40 26 November 1942 12:00 P-40 PQ 49271 east of Stalingrad 52 22 December 1942 13:25 La-5 PQ 49713 south-southeast of Stalingrad 41 28 November 1942 09:20 LaGG-3 PQ 49294 east of Stalingrad 53 28 December 1942 12:48 La-5 PQ 49473vicinity of Sarepka 42 28 November 1942 12:45 Il-2 PQ 49321vicinity of Bassargeno 54 22 January 1943 10:15 Il-2 PQ 08742 east-southeast of Rostov-on-Don 43 30 November 1942 08:52 LaGG-3 PQ 49443 southeast of Stalingrad 55 22 January 1943 10:22 Il-2 PQ 08761 southeast of Novocherkassk 44 1 December 1942 07:23 La-5 PQ 39384 north of Nizhnii Chir 56 30 January 1943 08:54 La-5 PQ 08813 ? 8 December 1942 10:50 Pe-2 57 2 February 1943 11:13 La-5 PQ 1854 ? 8 December 1942 12:10 Boston southwest of Kletskaya 58 2 February 1943 14:50 La-5 PQ 08692 45 11 December 1942 09:22 LaGG-3 PQ 39511, northwest of Kulpinskij west of Nizhnii Chir – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 4–13 February 1943 59 5 February 1943 10:35 La-5 PQ 44 Ost 08841 east of Szolnok 61 12 February 1943 13:10 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 86 483southwest of Timashyovsk 59 5 February 1943 10:40 La-5 PQ 44 Ost 08672 – 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 –Eastern Front — 13 February – 11 April 1943 62 22 February 1943 06:10 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 85371vicinity of Gelendzhik 72 17 March 1943 09:02 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 76881southeast of Warenikowskaja 63 25 February 1943 08:35 I-153 PQ 34 Ost 75261north of Nowo-Bakanskaja 73 17 March 1943 09:06 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 75261north of Nowo-Bakanskaja 64 5 March 1943 09:40 Boston PQ 34 Ost 86334vicinity of Barily 74 17 March 1943 09:10 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 75251vicinity of Natuchajewskaja 65 5 March 1943 14:02 I-153 PQ 34 Ost 75431 southeast of Novorossiysk 75 18 March 1943 09:45 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 86561vicinity of Staronishe-Steblijewskaja 66 9 March 1943 08:07 Pe-2 PQ 34 Ost 75194southeast of Anapa 76 18 March 1943 09:55 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 86584east of Slavyansk-on-Kuban 67 11 March 1943 08:13 DB-3 PQ 34 Ost 65214Black Sea, southeast of Cape Takyl 77 18 March 1943 09:58 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 86593 68 12 March 1943 10:19 I-16 PQ 34 Ost 76981 78 19 March 1943 09:05 P-39 PQ 34 Ost 86591northwest of Iwanowskaja 69 14 March 1943 06:40 Boston PQ 34 Ost 76773Black Sea, west of Blagoweschtschenskoje 79 20 March 1943 09:17 LaGG-3 PQ 34 Ost 86513east of Petrovskaya 70 14 March 1943 06:54 Boston PQ 34 Ost 76754vicinity of Utasch 80 29 March 1943 12:40 Il-2 m.H. PQ 34 Ost 66653over the Kerch Strait 71 16 March 1943 14:20 Il-2 PQ 34 Ost 76582vicinity of Fischer 81 9 April 1943 09:43 Pe-2 PQ 34 Ost 76833vicinity of Anaetasiwskaja

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 7 September 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot German Cross in Gold on 27 October 1942 as Feldwebel in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 52 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 March 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 52