Wolfgang Späte

Wolfgang Späte (8 September 1911 – 30 April 1997) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II, with 99 victories claimed. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. For fighter pilots it was a quantifiable measure of skill and combat success. He used an early version of the speed to fly theory to win the 1938 Rhön gliding competition flying a DFS Reiher. Already a talented glider pilot before the war, he went on to become one of the Luftwaffe's foremost test pilots.

Early life and career Späte was born on 8 September 1911 in Dresden, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony of the German Empire. He studied at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and then became a test pilot with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight').

World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. During this invasion, Späte served with 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Heeres-Ergänzungs-Aufklärungsgruppe 23 (23rd army reconnaissance group), flying aerial reconnaissance missions, and received the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 8 November. Trained as a fighter pilot, he was posted to 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) on 1 January 1941. The Staffel was headed by Oberleutnant Hubert Mütherich and subordinated to II. Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 54 commanded by Hauptmann Dietrich Hrabak. At the time, the Gruppe was based at Bonn-Hangelar Airfield at Sankt Augustin for a period of rest and replenishment following the losses sustained during the Battle of Britain.

On 29 March 1941, II. Gruppe of JG 54 was withdrawn from the English Channel and was ordered to Graz-Thalerhof. There the various squadrons were split up with 4. Staffel being subordinated to III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and ordered to Deta in Romania, becoming an element of Fliegerführer Arad. On 6 April, 4. Staffel flew combat missions in the Invasion of Yugoslavia. The next day, the Staffel flew combat air patrols on the Hungarian-Yugoslavian border. On 9 April, II./JG 54 was united again at Kecskemét, Hungary and returned to Deta on 11 April. The Gruppe was withdrawn from this theater on 19 April and ordered to an airfield at Zemun near Belgrade. In this theater of operations, Späte claimed his first aerial victory, a Yugoslav Bristol Blenheim bomber near Pécs in Hungary, on 7 April 1941.

War against the Soviet Union Following the surrender of the Royal Yugoslav Army on 17 April 1941, JG 54 received orders on 3 May 1941 to turn over all Bf 109-Es so they could receive the new Bf 109-F variant. Transition training was completed at Airfield Stolp-Reitz in Pomerania. Following intensive training, the Geschwader was moved to airfields in Eastern Prussia. II. Gruppe under command of Hauptmann Hrabak was moved to Trakehnen on 20 June 1941. The Wehrmacht launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June with II. Gruppe supporting Army Group North in its strategic goal towards Leningrad.

Victories came frequently, and he was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 9 August. On 10 September, Späte was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel of JG 54. He succeeded Mütherich who was killed in action the day before. On 2 October, Späte claimed three aerial victories in combat near Lake Ilmen. His third claim of the day was JG 54s 1,000th aerial victory claimed since the launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June. Then on 5 October, he became the 10th member of JG 54 to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross , after reaching 45 victories.

His unit withdrew to the Reich at the end of the year for rest and refit, and Späte was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 January 1942. Success continued upon returning to the north of the Eastern Front as the Soviets desperately tried to raise the siege of Leningrad. This culminated with the award of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 23 April 1942 when he had 72 victories. The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in Rastenburg, present-day Kętrzyn in Poland. Also presented with awards that day by Hitler were Hauptmann Herbert Ihlefeld, who received the Swords to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, and Oberleutnant Wolf-Dietrich Huy who was also honored with the Oak Leaves. However, with the award, he was ordered back to the Reich to set up a top-secret unit: Erprobungskommando 16, (EKdo 16) to test-fly the revolutionary new rocket-fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 163 "Komet". In consequence, command of 5. Staffel of JG 54 was passed on to Hauptmann Joachim Wandel on 21 April.

Späte took his first flight in the Me 163 on 8 May 1942. Over the next year testing continued and slowly specially chosen pilots joined EKdo 16. Side by side with the rocket-fighter project, was the test program of the Me 262 jet-fighter (under EKdo 262). On 17 April 1943, Späte became the first Luftwaffe pilot to fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 (Werknummer 2620000002—factory number) jet fighter. He was one of a select few pilots to have flown both ground-breaking aircraft.

After another year, the Me 163 was deemed combat-ready, and the testing program was wound down. Before he left for his new posting though, on 14 May 1944 he flew the first combat sortie for the Me 163. According to some sources, his Me 163 PK+QL was painted red, either in the factory or by ground crew, resembling Manfred von Richthofen's Fokker Dr.I. Although he flew the mission (without success, twice unable to intercept the enemy when the rocket engine failed), Späte was not amused after seeing the plane and ordered it to be re-painted.

Group commander In May 1944, Späte was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of IV. Gruppe of JG 54. He replaced Hauptmann Gerhard Koall who had temporarily been leading the Gruppe after its former commander Hauptmann Siegfried Schnell was killed in action on 25 February 1944.

His new unit was quickly recalled to Germany in June to cover the transfer of all the squadrons sent west following the D-day landings. There it was converted onto the Fw 190A-8 and then sent to Poland against the great Russian summer offensive. But against vastly greater numbers of enemy aircraft the unit was butchered, losing nearly half its pilots killed or wounded - Späte himself was injured and forced two times to bail out of his aircraft. The unit was pulled back again to the Reich for refit and rebuild. On 17 September, the Allied forces staged their airborne operation at Arnhem. Again, IV./JG 54 was thrown into the fray, but for the second time in less than 3 months, against vastly superior opposition, it was destroyed in less than a fortnight.

On 16 October, Späte was transferred to JG 400, transferring command of IV./JG 54 Hauptmann Rudolf Klemm. In his 4-month absence from the Me 163 programme, the first combat unit (I./JG 400) had been set up and he joined that unit to come back up to speed on the interceptor's progress (some sources say as the unit's commander, although Hauptmann Robert Olejnik is also given as the unit commander at this time).

Flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 After JG 400 was disbanded, Späte joined the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing) in April 1945. On 15 April, JG 7 was ordered to relocate to airfields at Saaz, present-day Žatec, Eger and the Prague–Ruzyně Airport where it continued to fly missions in defense of Berlin. On 17 April, JG 7 was able to get 20 Me 262 airborne which intercepted Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers near Dresden. In this encounter, Späte claimed a B-17 bomber shot down.

Later life Following World War II, Späte joined the German Air Force in 1956, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe of the Bundeswehr. He retired in 1967 with the rank of Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) Späte died on 30 April 1997 at the age of in Edewecht, Germany. On the night of 15/16 May 2005, his military awards and decoration on display at the Militärhistorisches Museum Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow, were stolen.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Späte was credited with 99 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 99 aerial victories, claimed in over 600 combat missions, 90 of which on the Eastern Front and nine on the Western Front, including five four-engine bombers while flying the Me 262. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 99 aerial victory claims, plus four further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 91 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and eight on the Western Front, including five four-engine bombers with the Me 262 jet fighter.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 25 Ost 84859". 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 54 –Balkan Campaign — 29 March – 3 May 1941 1 7 April 1941 12:00 Blenheim Fünfkirchen – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 2 23 June 1941 10:07 SB-2 northeast of Insterburg 26 26 August 1941 05:45 I-16 east of Poretschje 3 23 June 1941 10:08 SB-2 northeast of Insterburg 27 26 August 1941 05:48 I-16 east of Poretschje 4 27 June 1941 13:35 SB-2 east of Dünaburg 28 3 September 1941 18:30 I-18 (MiG-1) north of Michałówka 5 27 June 1941 13:50 SB-2 east of Dünaburg 29 9 September 1941 16:45 I-18 (MiG-1) Leningrad 6 30 June 1941 06:47 DB-3 east of Kreuzburg 30 10 September 1941 11:20 I-18 (MiG-1) south of Leningrad 7 30 June 1941 12:30 DB-3 north of Dünaburg 31 12 September 1941 13:00 I-18 (MiG-1) north of Krasnoye Selo 8 30 June 1941 14:50 DB-3 west of Dünaburg 32 19 September 1941 09:20 I-18 (MiG-1) northeast of Leningrad 9 2 July 1941 18:30 DB-3 east of Tschalkino 33 21 September 1941 11:50 I-18 (MiG-1) south of Putilowo 10 6 July 1941 10:45 I-16 east-southeast of Pskov 34 21 September 1941 17:30 I-18 (MiG-1) north of Wswelowshski 11 7 July 1941 18:55 DB-3 northeast of Ostrov 35 23 September 1941 08:40 I-16 northeast of Leningrad 12 8 July 1941 11:15 I-18 (MiG-1) Porkhov 36 26 September 1941 08:35 I-18 (MiG-1) Shicharjewo 13 17 July 1941 06:30 I-153 northwest of Soltsy 37 26 September 1941 11:20 I-18 (MiG-1) north of Parogi 14 17 July 1941 20:30 DB-3 east of Lake Samra 38 27 September 1941 11:00 I-18 (MiG-1) Ljubnitza 15 19 July 1941 17:30 DB-3 southwest of Mshinskaya 39 1 October 1941 17:00 I-18 (MiG-1) Polnowo 16 19 July 1941 19:08 I-18 (MiG-1) northeast of Wloschowo 40 1 October 1941 17:02 I-18 (MiG-1) Polnowo 17 25 July 1941 07:58 DB-3 north of Werest 41 2 October 1941 08:00 I-18 (MiG-1) Ljubnitza 18 7 August 1941 19:48 I-18 (MiG-1) west of Korpowa 42 2 October 1941 08:12 I-18 (MiG-1) east of Valday 19 7 August 1941 19:51 I-18 (MiG-1) north of Korpowa 43 2 October 1941 14:30 I-18 (MiG-1) east of Lake Seliger 20 10 August 1941 10:11 I-18 (MiG-1) northeast of Poretschje 44 2 October 1941 14:35 I-18 (MiG-1) east of Lake Seliger 21 11 August 1941 06:07 I-16 northeast of Poretschje 45 5 October 1941 08:10 I-16 southeast of Valday 22 12 August 1941 17:50 I-18 (MiG-1) Kiepiek 46 7 October 1941 07:22 I-26 (Yak-1) southeast of Borowitschi 23 16 August 1941 19:00 I-18 (MiG-1) northeast of Krasnogvardeysky 47 7 October 1941 17:10 I-18 (MiG-1) northeast of Kresttsy 24 21 August 1941 12:57 I-18 (MiG-1) northeast of Pushkin 48 10 October 1941 10:17 I-26 (Yak-1) Jam Chotilowo 25 25 August 1941 13:40 I-153 Kuplja – 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 21 April 1942 49 3 February 1942 15:02 Pe-2 Ulyanovka 65 26 March 1942 13:25 P-40 50 7 February 1942 08:50 Pe-2 Szenaja Kjerjest 66 28 March 1942 15:30 I-301 (LaGG-3) 51 10 February 1942 16:40 R-5 south-southeast of Chudovo 67 1 April 1942 10:55 I-18 (MiG-1) 52 15 February 1942 15:05 I-26 (Yak-1) north of Wolchowstroj 68 1 April 1942 11:35 I-26 (Yak-1) 53 22 February 1942 10:45 biplane with skids (Seversky) Dubrovka 69 1 April 1942 15:15 Il-2 54 28 February 1942 08:30 Pe-2 southwest of Tikhvin 70♠ 5 April 1942 11:47 I-26 (Yak-1) north of Valday 55 7 March 1942 15:40 R-5 east of Kholm ♠ 5 April 1942 11:47 I-26 north of Valday 56 13 March 1942 14:10 I-18 (MiG-1) west of Malaya Vishera 71♠ 5 April 1942 13:10 I-18 (MiG-1) 57♠ 16 March 1942 06:33 biplane (Seversky) Bolotowo 72♠ 5 April 1942 13:41 I-18 (MiG-1) 58♠ 16 March 1942 06:45 biplane (Seversky) Narostynia 73♠ 5 April 1942 13:43 I-18 (MiG-1) 59♠ 16 March 1942 06:45 biplane (Seversky) Narostynia 74 15 April 1942 06:30 MiG-3 60♠ 16 March 1942 14:38 I-18 (MiG-1) Myasnoy Borsouthwest of Gladi 75 16 April 1942 06:35 LaGG-3 61♠ 16 March 1942 17:15 I-18 (MiG-1) Gremjatschewoforest, south of Lyubyan 76 16 April 1942 08:10 Pe-2 north of Maljutischij 62 17 March 1942 13:20 I-26 (Yak-1) Pogostje 77 16 April 1942 08:15 Pe-2 northwest of Dworjetz 63 18 March 1942 12:55? I-61 (MiG-3) east of Spasskaja Polist 78 17 April 1942 13:50 Yak-1 64 26 March 1942 13:22 P-40? – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — July 1942 7 July 1942 U-2 vicinity of Demyansk 7 July 1942 U-2 vicinity of Demyansk 7 July 1942 U-2 vicinity of Demyansk 79? 13 July 1942 15:20 R-5 east of Jam Simorgoje – Stab IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — June – August 1944 79 28 June 1944 19:15 La-5 PQ 25 Ost 84859 86 22 July 1944 15:25 Boston PQ 25 Ost 3259 80 8 July 1944 17:46 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 4275 87 26 July 1944 16:45 Il-2 Kholm 81 15 July 1944 13:40 La-5 PQ 26 Ost 5018 88 4 August 1944 18:25 unknown PQ 25 Ost 1233 82 15 July 1944 13:50 La-5 PQ 26 Ost 5014 89 9 August 1944 16:40 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 12156 east of Grojec 83 15 July 1944 14:00 La-5 PQ 26 Ost 5012 90 12 August 1944 11:00 La-5 PQ 25 Ost 12427 east-southeast of Grojec 84 16 July 1944 09:30 P-40 PQ 26 Ost 40292Gulf of Finland, north-northeast of Reval 91 26 August 1944 12:36 Yak-9 PQ 25 Ost 13385 east-southeast of Nasielsk 85 20 July 1944 15:30 Yak-9 PQ 25 Ost 32772 northwest of Kholm 92 26 August 1944 18:55 La-5 PQ 25 Ost 14848vicinity of Ostrołęka – Stab IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Western Front — September 1944 93 25 September 1944 18:02 B-25 Arnhem 94 26 September 1944 14:20 Spitfire east of Arnhem – Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 7 – 95 17 April 1945 B-17 vicinity of Dresden 98 25 April 1945 B-17 southwest of Prague 96 19 April 1945 12:15 B-17 vicinity of Aussig 99 25 April 1945 B-17 southwest of Prague 97 25 April 1945 B-17 southwest of Prague

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (8 November 1939) 1st Class (27 June 1940) Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (9 August 1941) German Cross in Gold on 9 December 1941 as Oberleutnant in the II./Jagdgeschwader 54 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 5 October 1941 as Oberleutnant of the Reserves and pilot in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 54 90th Oak Leaves on 23 April 1942 as Oberleutnant of the Reserves and Staffelkapitän of the 5./Jagdgeschwader 54