Leopold "Poldi" Fellerer (7 June 1919 – 16 July 1968) was a

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

night fighter A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post-Second World War) is a largely historical term for a fighter aircraft, fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during pe ...

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

and recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Early life and career

Fellerer, the son of a ''

Beamter The German civil servants called ' (men, singular ', more commonly ') (women, singular ') have a privileged legal status compared to other German public employees (called '), who are generally subject to the same laws and regulations as employ ...

'', was born on 7 June 1919 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria. In 1937, he applied for service in the

Austrian Air Force The Austrian Air Force () is a component part of the Austrian Armed Forces. Aircraft Current inventory History The Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious Allies of World War II, Allied powers ...

but was rejected and joined the Army where he served with ''Infanterieregiment'' 3. Following the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'', the

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938, Fellerer applied for service in the

and was again rejected. As a member of ''Infanterieregiment'' 131, an infantry regiment of the 44th Infantry Division, he participated in the annexation of

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

. In November 1938, following two further applications, he was accepted for flight training. He was selected to become a bomber pilot and completed his training at a ''Kampffliegerschule'' (Combat pilot school). In April 1940, Fellerer was promoted to ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

'' (second lieutenant) and posted to the ''Kampffliegerschule-Ergänzungsgruppe'', a supplementary training unit for bomber pilots.

World War II

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, bombing missions by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the

Defence of the Reich The Defence of the Reich () is the name given to the military strategy, strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II against the Allied Strategic bombing ...

campaign. By mid-1940, ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' (Brigadier General)

Josef Kammhuber Josef Kammhuber (August 19, 1896 – January 25, 1986) was a career officer who served in the Imperial German Army, the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany and the post-World War II German Air Force. During World War II, he was the first general of night ...

had established a night

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

system dubbed the

Kammhuber Line The Kammhuber Line was the name given by the Allies to the German night-fighter air-defence system established in western Europe in July 1940 by Colonel Josef Kammhuber. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and se ...

. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s and

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a part ...

s 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.

Night fighting

Fellerer was posted to II. '' Gruppe'' (2nd group) of ''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing) as Technical Officer. He claimed his first victory on 11 February 1941, a

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

bomber ''X3001'' of No. 49 Squadron north of

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

. He was transferred to 4. ''Staffel'' of NJG 1 in June 1941. On 16 June, his

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engined (de ...

D-0 "G9+DM" was hit by the defensive gunfire from the RAF

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

''W5447'' from No. 218 Squadron. The combat took place over the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

west of

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

. Fellerer and his radio operator ''Oberfeldwebel'' Heinz Hätscher returned to Bergen airfield. On 10 October 1942, Fellerer was made ''

Staffelkapitän ''Staffelkapitän'' is a command appointment, rather than a military rank, in the air force units of German-speaking countries. The rank normally held by a ''Staffelkapitän'' has changed over time. In the present-day German ''Luftwaffe'' – p ...

'' (squadron leader) of 3. ''Staffel'' of NJG 1. Due to a redesignation, this squadron became the 5. ''Staffel'' of ''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 5 (NJG 5—5th Night Fighter Wing) on 1 December 1942. Promoted to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'', Fellerer became ''

Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major or ''Oberstleutnant'' (Lieutenant Colonel), and comman ...

'' (group commander) of II. ''Gruppe'' of NJG 5 in February 1944. During this period, Fellerer raised his score to 18 victories. In January 1944, Fellerer claimed two

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF)

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

s in daylight- a

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

on 4 January, and a

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

on 11 January. On the night of 20/21 January 1944 he claimed five

(RAF) bombers. He was then awarded the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold () on 5 February 1944. After 34 victories ''Hauptmann'' Fellerer was awarded the

() on 8 April 1944. On 10 May 1944, II. ''Gruppe'' of NJG 5 became the III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 6 (NJG 6—6th Night Fighter Wing), which continued to lead. During August–October 1944, Fellerer and III./NJG 6 also flew operations to counter supply operations from Italy to the Polish Home Army uprising in Warsaw. He claimed two

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

s and two Liberators during this time, his final aerial victory coming in October 1944. In 450 missions Leopold Fellerer claimed 41 aerial victories, 39 of them at night. 32 were four engine heavy bombers.For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see ''

List of German World War II night fighter aces A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. German day and night fighter pilots claimed roughly 70,000 aerial victories during World War II, 25,000 over British ...

''.

Later life

During the 1950s, he served with the Austrian Air Force, becoming Commander of the Langenlebarn Airbase in Tulln on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, retiring as an ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

''. Leopold Fellerer died on 15 July 1968 in an air crash, his Cessna L-19 coming down near Krems.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of ''Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 40 nocturnal victory claims. Mathews and Foreman also published ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', listing Fellerer with 36 claims, including one four-engined bomber by day, plus four further unconfirmed claims. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 75884". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 Minute of arc, 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.

Awards

* Aviator badge * Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class * Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'') on 16 November 1942 as ''Oberleutnant'' and pilot *

in Gold on 5 February 1944 as ''

'' in the 5./''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 5 *

on 8 April 1944 as ''Hauptmann'' and ''

'' of the II./''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 5

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fellerer, Leopold 1919 births 1968 deaths Military personnel from Vienna German World War II flying aces Austrian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1968 Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Austria