Kurt Welter

Infobox Military Person
name=Kurt Welter
born=birth date|1916|2|25|df=y
died=dda|1949|3|7|1916|2|25|df=y
placeofbirth=Köln-Lindenthal
placeofdeath=Leck in Schleswig-Holstein


caption=Kurt Welter
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=Luftwaffe
serviceyears=1934-1945
rank=Oberleutnant
commands=Kdo Welter, 10./NJG 11
unit=JG 301, JG 300 , NJG 10, Kdo Stamp , Kdo Welter and NJG 11
battles=World War II
*Defense of the Reich
awards="Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves"
laterwork=

Kurt Welter (25 February 1916 – 7 March 1949) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and the most successful "Jet Expert" of World War II. [For a list of Luftwaffe jet aces see "List of German World War II jet aces"] He had a total of 63 victories achieved in only 93 combat missions. He recorded 56 victories at night [For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see "List of German World War II night fighter aces"] , including 33 Mosquitos.

Early life

Welter was born in Köln-Lindenthal. He joined the Luftwaffe on 1 October 1934 and was trained as a pilot. Because of his skill as a pilot he was trained as a flight instructor.

World War II

During World War II, Welter was promoted to Feldwebel on 1 August 1940 and transferred to flight training school Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 63 and later on to the flight instructor school at Quedlinburg.

Here Welter served as a flight instructor until 10 August 1943 when he was transferred to Blindflugschule 10 (school for instrumental flight training) with the rank of Oberfeldwebel as a night fighter instructor.

On 2 September 1943, Welter was transferred to 5./JG 301, a night fighter unit that experimented with use of largely radar-less single-seat Fw 190A-5 and Fw 190A-6 fighter aircraft by night which was referred to as "Wilde Sau" (wild boar). On his first "Wilde Sau" intercept mission against Allied bombers on the night of 22 September 1943, Welter shot down two Allied four-engine bombers.

He shot down a further two on his third mission on the night of 3 October 1943. By the beginning of April, he had accumulated 17 victories in only 15 missions. Subsequently on 10 May 1944 Welter was awarded the German Cross in Gold. Leutnant Welter was transferred to 5./JG 300 on 7 July 1944.

In July, Welter claimed two USAAF B-17 four-engined bombers and three P-51 fighters shot down by day.

From 25 July 1944, Welter served with 1./NJG 10 performing further "Wilde Sau" missions. He claimed four Royal Air Force (RAF) Lancaster four-engine bombers shot down on the night of 29 August 1944 to record his 24th through 27th victories.

Welter transferred to 10./JG 300 on 4 September 1944. 10./JG 300 was established to counter intrusions by RAF Mosquito twin-engined bombers, flying "hot-rodded" Bf 109G-6/AS fighters. In September, Welter claimed seven Mosquitos downed, including one by ramming. It is thought that during his service with 1./NJG 10 and 10./JG 300, Welter recorded 12 victories in only 18 missions. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 October 1944Fellgiebel] for 33 victories in just 40 missions. [Hugh Morgan and John Weal, Mike Spick and Edward Sims are presenting the same data here]

On 2 November 1944, Welter was transferred to II./NJG 11, a reformation of his former unit. Here he was given command of the unit, set up on 11 November 1944, dedicated to the interception of RAF Mosquitos by night at Burg near Magdeburg. Now operating out of Rechlin-Lärz, Oberleutnant Welter added a Lancaster to his growing list of Mosquitos on the night of 12 December 1944.

On 28 January 1945, the unit initially known as Sonderkommando Stamp, named after its founder and then Sonderkommando Welter, was re-designated 10./NJG 11. The unit was equipped with Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters. Welter claimed 25 Mosquitos and two four-engine bombers shot down by night and two further Mosquitos by day while flying the Me 262. Welter tested a prototype Me 262 fitted with SN-2 Lichtenstein radar, however the majority of Welter’s 20+ jet victories were achieved in standard radarless Me 262 aircraft. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 11 March 1945Fellgiebel] for 48 victories.

Officially Kurt Welter was credited with 63 victories in 93 missions, of which 56 victories were achieved at night and 7 by day. Among his claimed 63 victories are up to 33 Mosquitos. There remains some controversy about the exact number victories achieved while flying the Me 262, with only 3 of the Mosquito kills coinciding with RAF records. [see Peter Hinchliffe, "Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939-1945" Pages 210 and 294 ]

After the war

Having survived the war, Welter was killed on 7 March 1949 in Leck in Schleswig-Holstein waiting at a level crossing, when logs falling from an improperly loaded passing train crushed his car.

Awards

* Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (20 March 1944)
* German Cross in Gold (10 May 1944)
* Eisernes Kreuz 2. and 1. Klasse
* Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross (18 October 1944)
** Oak Leaves (11 March 1945)

References

----
* Hugh Morgan & John Weal (1998), "German Jet Aces of World War 2". Orsprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-85532-634-5
* Mike Sprick (1996), "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces: The Jagdflieger and their combat tactics and techniques". Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2
* Edward H. Sims (1982), "Jagdflieger;Die großen Gegner von einst;1939-1945; Luftwaffe, RAF und USAAF im kritischen Vergleich ". Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-115-9
* Peter Hinchliffe (1998), "Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939-1945". Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-613-01861-6
* Walther-Peer Fellgiebel (2000), "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5
* Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. "Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II". Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.

External links

* [http://www.luftwaffe.cz/welter.html Kurt Welter @ Aces of the Luftwaffe]