Walther Wever (pilot)

Walther Wever (16 January 1923 – 10 April 1945) was a Luftwaffe flying ace during the Second World War. The son of former Chief of the Luftwaffe General Walther Wever, Wever served during 1943 on the Eastern Front and from 19 June 1943 until 10 April 1945 he claimed 44 aerial victories in 250 combat missions. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Career

Wever was born on 16 January 1923 in Munich in the Weimar Republic, the son of ''General der Flieger'' Walther Wever. Following flight training in mid-1943 he was posted to 3. '' Staffel'' (3rd squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing).For an explanation of ''Luftwaffe'' unit designations see Organization of the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. At the time, 3. ''Staffel'' was commanded by ''Hauptmann'' Heinz Lange and was subordinated to I. '' Gruppe'' (1st group) of JG 51 headed by ''Major'' Erich Leie and stationed at an airfield named Orel-Slobodka located approximately west-southwest of Oryol on the Eastern Front. Wever claimed his first aerial victory on 19 June south of Karachev, approximately west of Oryol. Depending on source, the aircraft shot down was either a Yakovlev Yak-4 light bomber, an Yakovlev Yak-4 fighter, or a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber.

Notable landmarks during his career included his 10th kill on 1 September 1943 followed four days later by shooting down three Il-2 Sturmoviks in five minutes. On 29 March 1944 he claimed a further five aerial victories, making him an " ace-in-a-day". Then on 24 June, he claimed his 40th aerial victory.

Squadron leader

On 7 May 1944, Weaver was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 3. ''Staffel'' of JG 51, succeeding Lange who was transferred. Wever had already briefly led the ''Staffel'' from 15 to 30 August 1943 when Lange had been temporarily tasked with the leadership of I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 51. On 21 June, bombers of the Eighth Air Force on a shuttle bombing mission of Operation Frantic, attacked oil refineries south of Berlin before heading for the Poltava Air Base. The bombers were intercepted by elements of JG 51 led by ''Major'' Fritz Losigkeit. In this encounter, two of the escorting North American P-51 Mustang fighters were shot down, including one by Wever. One of the P-51 fighters crashed near the Luftwaffe airfield at Babruysk where III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 51 was based. In its cockpit, a map of the Poltava Air Base was found. The '' Gruppenkommandeur'' (group commander) of III. ''Gruppe'', ''Hauptmann'' Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber, sent the map to the headquarters of ''Luftflotte'' 6 (6th Air Fleet). This intelligence led to an attack by Luftwaffe bombers which destroyed 44 parked Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and damaged further 26. On 10 July, Wever was shot down and wounded in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 410413—factory number) by Soviet Anti-aircraft artillery. Command of 3. ''Staffel'' was then passed to ''Oberleutnant'' Günther Josten.

Although he lost a foot, Wever continued to fly and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 28 January 1945 for reaching the final total of 44 victories. He was then transferred to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing), the first jet fighter wing, where he received further training on the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. On 10 April 1945, having not scored another kill, Wever was shot down and killed in action by Allied fighters near Neuruppin. That day, the Luftwaffe lost a number of Me 262 pilots, including ''Hauptmann'' Franz Schall. The Americans dubbed this day the "great jet massacre".

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Wever was credited with 44 aerial victories all but one claimed on the Eastern Front in 250 combat missions. Matthews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 44 aerial victory claims with 43 claimed on the Eastern Front and one on the Western Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 35 Ost 43231". 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.

Awards and decorations

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'') on 17 April 1944 as ''Leutnant'' and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 20 March 1944 as ''Leutnant'' in the I./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 January 1945 as ''Leutnant'' and pilot in the 3./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 "Mölders"

Notes

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wever, Walther
German World War II flying aces
Luftwaffe pilots
Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Military personnel from Munich
1923 births
1945 deaths
Aviators killed by being shot down