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Helmut Lent

February 11, 2023

Helmut Lent (13 June 1918 – 7 October 1944) was a German night-fighter ace in World War II. Lent shot down 110 aircraft, 102 of them at night.[1][Note 1] Born into a devoutly religious family, he showed an early passion for glider flying; against his father's wishes, he joined the Luftwaffe in 1936. After completing his training, he was assigned to the 1. Squadron, or Staffel, of Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76), a wing flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine heavy fighter. Lent claimed his first aerial victories at the outset of World War II in the invasion of Poland and over the North Sea. During the invasion of Norway he flew ground support missions before he was transferred to the newly established Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1), a night-fighter wing.[2][3][Note 2]

Helmut Lent
Helmut Lent in 1943
Born(1918-06-13)13 June 1918
Pyrehne, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died7 October 1944(1944-10-07) (aged 26)
Paderborn, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany
Buried
Military cemetery at Stade
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
Years of service1936–1944
RankOberst (posthumous)
UnitZG 76, NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 3
Commands heldIV./NJG 1, II./NJG 2, NJG 3
Battles/wars
See battles

World War II

AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

Lent claimed his first nocturnal victory on 12 May 1941 and on 30 August 1941 was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 22 victories. His steady accumulation of aerial victories resulted in regular promotions and awards. On the night of 15 June 1944, Major Lent was the first night fighter pilot to claim 100 nocturnal aerial victories, a feat which earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 31 July 1944.[2][3]

On 5 October 1944, Lent flew a Junkers Ju 88 on a routine transit flight from Stade to Nordborchen, 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Paderborn. On the landing approach one of the engines cut out and the aircraft collided with power lines. All four members of the crew were fatally wounded. Three men died shortly after the crash and Lent succumbed to his injuries two days later on 7 October 1944.[2][3]

Childhood, education and early career

Lent was born on 13 June 1918 in Pyrehne, district of Landsberg an der Warthe, Province of Brandenburg, Germany (now Pyrzany, Lubusz Province, western Poland) and christened Helmut Johannes Siegfried Lent. He was the fifth child of Johannes Lent, a Lutheran minister and Marie Elisabeth, née Braune. Helmut Lent had two older brothers, Werner and Joachim, and two older sisters, Käthe and Ursula.[4] His family was deeply religious; in addition to his father, both of his brothers and both grandfathers were also Lutheran ministers.[5]

From Easter 1924 until Easter 1928, Lent attended the local public primary school at Pyrehne. His father and oldest brother Werner then tutored him at home in preparation for the entrance examination at the public secondary school at Landsberg.[Note 3] In February 1933, Helmut joined the Jungvolk, the junior branch of the Hitler Youth. From March 1933, he acted as a youth platoon leader, or Jungzugführer (1 March 1933 – 1 April 1935) and flag-bearer, or Fähnleinführer (1 April 1935 – 9 November 1935) until he left the Jungvolk to prepare for his diploma examination.[7] Helmut passed his graduation examinations at the age of seventeen on 12 December 1935. On 2 February 1936, he began the eight-week compulsory National Labor Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst) at Mohrin.[8] He joined the military service in the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker on 1 April 1936, against the wishes of his father.[9]

His military training began on 6 April 1936 at the 2nd Air Warfare School (Luftkriegsschule 2) at Gatow, on the south-western outskirts of Berlin. He swore the National Socialist oath of allegiance on 21 April 1936.[10] Flight training began on Monday, 7 August 1936 at Gatow. His first flight was in a Heinkel He 72 Kadet D-EYZA single engine biplane. Lent logged his first solo flight on 15 September 1936 in a Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz. By this time, Lent had accumulated 63 flights in his logbook.[11] In conjunction with flight training, the students also learned to drive motorcycles and cars and during one of these training exercises, Lent was involved in a road accident, breaking his upper leg badly enough to prevent him from flying for five months.[12] This did not adversely affect his classroom training and on 1 April 1937, after taking his commission examination, he was promoted to Fähnrich.[13] On 19 October 1937 Lent completed his flight training and was awarded the A/B License. He earned his wings on 15 November 1937. On 1 February 1938, he was promoted to Oberfähnrich (first ensign), and on 1 March 1938 to Leutnant. By this time, he had made 434 flights in eight different types of aircraft and had accumulated 112 hours and 48 minutes flying time, mostly in daylight flights, in single engine training aircraft.[14]

After leaving Gatow, Helmut Lent was posted to the Heavy Bomber Crew School, or Große Kampffliegerschule at Tutow, in northeast Germany. He spent three months training as an observer (1 March 1938 – 30 May 1938). Prior to completing this course, Lent was run over by a car, resulting in a broken lower jaw, concussion, and internal bleeding. On 1 July 1938, Lent was posted to the 3rd Group of Jagdgeschwader 132 "Richthofen" (III./JG 132), flying on 19 July 1938 for the first time after his injuries.[15]

At the beginning of September, Lent's squadron, 7./JG 132, relocated to Großenhain near Dresden, in preparation and support of the annexation of Czechoslovakia. Lent flew a number of operational patrols in this conflict until his Staffel relocated again to Rangsdorf on 29 September 1938. After the tension over the occupation of the Sudeten territories eased, Lent's unit began a conversion to the Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun. On 1 November 1938 III./JG 132 moved to Fürstenwalde, between Berlin and Frankfurt an der Oder, and was renamed II./JG 141, and Lent was posted to the 6th Squadron.[16]

II./JG 141 changed its designation to I./Zerstörergeschwader 76 (I./ZG 76) on 1 May 1939 at the same time relocating to an airfield at Olmütz, Czechoslovakia. The group was being re-equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110, and Lent made his first flight in the Bf 110 on 7 June 1939. Lent was granted his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate (Erweiterter Luftwaffen-Flugzeugführerschein), also known as 'C'-Certificate, confirming proficiency on multi-engine aircraft, on 12 May 1939.[17] While converting to the Bf 110, Lent did not have a regular wireless operator (Funker) in the rear gunner's seat, but on 14 August 1939 he was accompanied in M8+AH for the first time by Gefreiter Walter Kubisch.[18] During the prelude of World War II on 25 August 1939 I./ZG 76 deployed to an airfield at Ohlau to the southeast of Breslau.[19]

World War II

World War II began at 04:45 on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces crossed the Polish border. Helmut Lent, flying a Bf 110 marked M8-DH, took off from Ohlau, at 04:44 to escort Heinkel He 111 bombers on a mission over Krakow.[19]

Invasion of Poland

 
A ZG 76 Bf 110C similar to those flown by Helmut Lent

The German plans for the invasion of Poland were conceived under the codename Fall Weiss (Case White). This operation called for simultaneous attacks on Poland from three directions, the north, the west and the south, beginning at 04:45 on the early morning of 1 September 1939. On this morning Helmut Lent, with Kubisch as his wireless operator and rear gunner, escorted a formation of Heinkel 111 bombers of I. and III./Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4) attacking the airfields at Krakow in support of the southern prong of the German attack.[20] At 16:30 on 2 September 1939, the second day of the German attack, Lent took off in the direction of Łódź and claimed his first aerial-victory of the war, shooting down a PZL P.11.[21]

At this point of the campaign the Bf 110s switched from bomber escort to ground-attack since the Polish Air Force was all but defeated. In this capacity Lent and Kubisch destroyed a twin-engined monoplane on the ground on 5 September and another aircraft, a PZL P.24, on 9 September. On 12 September 1939 he was attacked by a Polish aircraft which shot out his starboard engine. Lent made a forced landing behind German lines.[22] He flew five more missions during the Polish campaign, destroying one anti-aircraft battery. For his actions in the Polish campaign Lent was awarded one of the first Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) of World War II on 21 September 1939. I./ZG 76 relocated to the Stuttgart area on 29 September 1939 to defend the western border against the French and British, who had been at war with Germany since 3 September 1939.[23] From early October to middle December I./ZG 76 operated from a number of airfields in the Stuttgart and Ruhr areas before relocating north to Jever on 16 December 1939.[24]

Battle of the Heligoland Bight

 
Formation 1
Section 1: 1 Richard Kellett 2 Turner 3 Speirs
Section 2: 4 Kelly 5 Duguid 6 Riddlesworth
Formation 2
Section 1: 7 Harris 8 Briden 9 Bolloch
Section 2: 10 Ramshaw 11 Grant 12 Purdy
Formation 3
Section 1: 13 Guthrie 14 Petts 15 McRae
Section 2: 16 Challes 17 Allison 18 Lines
Formation 4
19 Hue-Williams 20 Lemon 21 Wimberley 22 Lewis 23 Thompson 24 Ruse[25]

During the first month of the war the Royal Air Force (RAF) mostly focused its bomber attacks against anti-shipping operations on the German Bight. RAF bombers mounted a heavy attack against shipping off Wilhelmshaven on 18 December 1939 in what became known as the Battle of the Heligoland Bight.[26] Twenty-four twin-engine Vickers Wellington from No. 9 Squadron, No. 37 Squadron and No. 149 Squadron formed up over Norfolk heading for the island of Heligoland. Two aircraft aborted the mission due to mechanical defects, but the remaining 22 pursued the attack and were spotted by a Freya radar on the East Frisian Islands.[27]

Helmut Lent was ordered to intercept and engage the attacking bomber force and after refuelling—Lent had just landed at Jever from an armed patrol—claimed three Wellingtons, two of which, shot down at 14:30 and 14:45, were later confirmed.[28] The two aircraft were both from No. 37 Squadron, captained by Flying Officer P.A. Wimberley and Flying Officer O.J.T. Lewis respectively, and both crashed in the shallow sea off Borkum. It is likely that his third claim may have been No. 37 Squadron Wellington 1A N2396, LF-J, piloted by Sergeant H. Ruse, which crash-landed on the sand dunes of Borkum.[29] Lent was refused the victory over Wimberley, as the Wellington was attacked by Lent after it had already been badly damaged and was about to crash. The Wellington was credited to pilot Carl-August Schumacher.[30]

His success as a fighter pilot over the North Sea had made him a minor national hero. Exploits such as those at Heligoland made good news stories for German propaganda machine. Consequently, he attracted fan mail—mainly from young girls and women—among them Elisabeth Petersen. Lent replied to her letter, and he and Elisabeth met on a blind date at the Reichshof hotel in Hamburg, after which they enjoyed a skiing holiday in Hirschegg in February 1940.[31]

Norwegian Campaign and Battle of Britain

 
Norwegian Gladiator 427 brought down by Lent on 9 April 1940[32]

On 8 April 1940 eight aircraft of 1./ZG 76, under the command of Staffelkapitän Werner Hansen, deployed northward from Jever to Westerland on Sylt in preparation for operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway.[33] The German plan for the attack called for an amphibious assault on the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and six major ports from Kristiansand in the south to Narvik in the north.[34] Simultaneously, Junkers 52 (Ju 52) transport aircraft would drop parachute troops to secure Oslo's Fornebu airport. Additional Ju 52s were scheduled to arrive at Fornebu twenty minutes after the parachute drop, by which time the airfield had to be in German hands. 1./ZG 76 was to provide air cover and ground-attack support for both waves. Eight Bf 110 Zerstörer of 1./ZG 76 took off at 7:00 in the morning, planning to synchronise their arrival at Fornebu with the parachute drop at 8:45. The distance from Westerland to Fornebu meant that this was a one-way operation; the Bf 110s could not hold enough fuel for the return trip. Their fuel was calculated to provide them 20 minutes flying time over Fornebu,[35] and the pilots would have to land at Fornebu once the airfield had been seized.[36]

On the early morning flight to Fornebu, Lent engaged and shot down a Norwegian Gloster Gladiator.[32] While the Ju 52s transporting the German paratroops came under heavy fire, Lent's Rotte engaged the enemy ground positions. Lent's starboard engine caught fire, forcing him to land immediately. With Kubisch manning the movable machine gun, Lent negotiated the capitulation with the Norwegian ground forces and the airfield was in German hands.[37]

 
Lent's Bf 110C ran out of fuel and was forced to land at Oslo/Fornebu airfield on 9 April 1940.[38] A troop-carrying Ju 52 flies over Lent's belly-landed Bf 110.[39]

At 18:50 the same day, Lent and his Staffelkapitän Werner Hansen took off again from Fornebu in undamaged Bf 110s. During the 40-minute flight, they came across a RAF Short Sunderland flying boat, serial number L2167, from No. 210 Squadron RAF which they shot down together; Hansen received credit for the "kill".[40] Helmut Lent was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) on 13 May 1940 before he was transferred to Trondheim on 18 May.[41] He claimed his second aerial victory of the Norwegian campaign on 27 May over a RAF Gloster Gladiator from No. 263 Squadron RAF, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Caesar Hull. On 2 June 1940 Lent and his wingman Thönes claimed a Gladiator each. The flight lasted 5 hours and 46 minutes and their opponents were again from No. 263 Squadron, aircraft serial number N5893 piloted by Pilot Officer J.L. Wilkie, and N5681 piloted by Pilot Officer L.R. Jacobsen. He claimed his seventh victory overall and final of the Norwegian theatre of operations on 15 June 1940 over a No. 254 Squadron RAF Bristol Blenheim, piloted by Pilot Officer P.C. Gaylord. On 1 July 1940 Lent was promoted to Oberleutnant and on 13 July 1./ZG 76 was relocated to Stavanger/Forus.[32]

Helmut Lent briefly participated in the Battle of Britain when on 15 August 1940 twenty-one Bf 110s from I./ZG 76 escorted He 111 bombers from Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG 26) on their attack on Yorkshire and the Newcastle/Sunderland area. I./ZG 76 lost seven aircraft on this mission and it was Helmut Lent's 98th and final mission as a Zerstörer pilot.[42]

Night fighter career

By June 1940 RAF Bomber Command penetrations of German airspace had increased to the level at which Hermann Göring decreed that a night-fighter force should be formed. The officer tasked with its creation was Wolfgang Falck, Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1).[43] The night-fighter force began to expand rapidly, with existing units being divided to form the nucleus of new units. By October 1940 Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1) comprised three Gruppen, while Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2) and Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3), were still forming.[44] It was during this period that Helmut Lent reluctantly became a member of the night-fighter force. At the end of August Lent wrote home, "We are currently converting to night fighting. We are not very enthusiastic. We would sooner head directly for England."[45]

Lent completed night fighter training at Ingolstadt in south-western Germany, and was appointed squadron leader, or Staffelkapitän, of the newly formed 6./NJG 1 on 1 October 1940. The squadron was based at Fliegerhorst Deelen, located 12.5 kilometres (8 mi) north of Arnhem in the Netherlands. On the night 11–12 May 1941, Lent claimed his first nocturnal aerial victories against two Wellington IC bombers from No. 40 Squadron RAF on a mission against Hamburg. BL-H (serial number R1330) was shot down at 01:40 near Süderstapel and BL-Z (R1461) at 02:49 near Nordstrand.[46]

On 1 July 1941, he took command of 4./NJG 1, stationed in the Netherlands at Fliegerhorst (airfield) Leeuwarden, 161 kilometres (100 mi) north of Arnheim, on the Friesland coast. From this position in the so-called German Bight, the squadron patrolled the North Sea coast, and could intercept Allied night-time bombing missions, what Nazi propaganda called terror attacks, which were conducted from England.[47] By the end of the war, the 4./NJG 1 was one of the most successful Nachtjagdstaffeln—a squadron of a night fighter wing—of the Luftwaffe. Other members included such night fighter pilots as Oberleutnant Helmut Woltersdorf, Leutnant Ludwig Becker (44 victories, KIA February 1943), Leutnant Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld (51 victories, killed in a flying accident in the Netherlands in March 1944), Leutnant Leopold Fellerer (41 victories), Oberfeldwebel Paul Gildner (46 victories, killed in a flying accident at Fliegerhorst Gilze-Rijen in the Netherlands in February 1943), and Unteroffizier Siegfried Ney (12 victories, KIA February 1943). On 30 August 1941, Lent received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for seven daytime and 14 night victories.[48]

On 1 November 1941, Lent became acting Group Commander Gruppenkommandeur of the newly formed II./NJG 2.[49] On 1 October 1942, II./NJG 2 was renamed and became IV./NJG 1.[50] Lent's first aerial victory as a Gruppenkommandeur, his 20th night-time, and his last in 1941, came during the night of Friday 7 November to Saturday 8 November. He shot down a Wellington 1C heading for Berlin, which came down near Akkrum. The six-man crew of the bomber, X9976 of No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron, was killed in action. This achievement earned Lent a reference in the Wehrmachtbericht (his first of six in total), an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht. To be singled out individually in the Wehrmachtbericht was an honour and was entered in the Orders and Decorations' section of one's Service Record Book.[51]

 
Lent (third from right) in a Nazi propaganda photograph, summer 1942, France.

Lent was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 January 1942.[52] Later that year, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 6 June 1942, at which time his total stood at 34 nocturnal victories plus seven day-time victories.[48] The award was presented at the Führerhauptquartier on 28 and 29 June, his tally standing then at 39 nocturnal and seven day-time victories.[53] Lent also held the distinction of achieving the first Lichtenstein radar-assisted air victory in a Dornier Do 215B-5 night fighter.[54] Lent flew Dornier Do 215B-5 code R4+DC regularly on Himmelbett missions because of its five-hour endurance. Lent claimed at least four victories in this machine.[55]

By the end of 1942, Lent had 56 victories and was the top German night-fighter ace. He was promoted to Major on 1 January 1943 and appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3) on 1 August 1943 at Geschwader Headquarters at Stade, west of Hamburg.[56] After 73 kills, of which 65 were claimed at night, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on 2 August 1943 and notified by telegram on 4 August.[57] The Swords were presented to him at the Führerhauptquartier at Rastenburg on 10/11 August 1943.[58]

In January 1944, Lent downed three so-called "heavies"—four-engined strategic bombers—in one night, but his aircraft was damaged by return fire, requiring a forced landing. He used only 22 cannon shells to down two bombers on the night of the 22–23 March 1944, and fired only 57 rounds in seven minutes against three Avro Lancasters on 15–16 June. Promoted to Oberstleutnant, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten) in recognition of his 110 confirmed air kills, the first of two night-fighter pilots to be awarded the decoration.[59] The second was Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, who, with 121 aerial victories, became aviation history's leading night-fighter pilot.[60]

Personal life

All German officers were required to obtain official permission to marry; however, this was usually a bureaucratic formality. When Lent decided to marry Elizabeth Petersen, his admirer from Hamburg whom he had met on a blind date, his case was more complicated. 'Elisabeth Petersen' was in fact Helene (Lena) Senokosnikova, who had been born in Moscow in April 1914. She had been afraid to reveal her true identity, since Russians were not popular in the Third Reich,[61] but after a thorough investigation into her background and racial ancestry, she received her German citizenship on 15 March 1941. They were married on 10 September 1941 in Wellingsbüttel, Hamburg.[62] The marriage produced two daughters. Christina was born on 6 June 1942; the second, Helma, was born on 6 October 1944, shortly after her father's fatal crash.[63]

Both of Helmut's older brothers, Joachim and Werner, as members of the Confessing Church (German: Bekennende Kirche), encountered trouble with the Nazi Party. The Confessing Church was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German Evangelical Church. Werner Lent, an adherent of the Confessing church, was arrested for the first time in 1937 after preaching an anti-Nazi sermon.[64] In June 1942, his brother Joachim was arrested by the Gestapo after reading the so-called Mölders letter from the pulpit. The Mölders letter was a propaganda piece conceived by Sefton Delmer, the chief of the British black propaganda in the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) to capitalise on the death of Germany's fighter ace Werner Mölders; this letter, ostensibly written by Mölders, attested to the supreme importance of his Catholic faith in his life—by implication, placing faith above his allegiance to the National Socialist Party.[65]

Death

 
Hermann Göring speaking at Lent's funeral[66]

On 5 October 1944, Lent flew his Junkers Ju-88 G–6, coded D5+AA, from Stade to Paderborn. His crew included his long-time radio operator Oberfeldwebel Walter Kubisch, the member of a Propagandakompanie (Wehrmacht Propaganda Troops) Leutnant Werner Kark in the aerial gunner position, and Oberleutnant Hermann Klöss, second radio operator. Lent was on his way to visit the Geschwaderkommodore of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, Oberstleutnant Hans-Joachim Jabs, to discuss operational matters.[67] Shortly before the arrival at Paderborn/Nordborchen, the airfield had come under attack by the United States Army Air Forces, leaving craters on the runway. An emergency makeshift runway was cleared and marked out for Lent, but an overhead electrical cable was overlooked.[68] During the landing approach, the left engine of the plane failed, causing the wing to dip. Lent was unable to keep the plane steady and it struck high-voltage cables and crashed. All four members of the crew sustained serious injuries but were rescued alive. Kubisch and Klöss succumbed to their injuries on the same day, Kark on the next morning and Lent himself died two days later on 7 October 1944.[69]

 
Lent's grave at the Garrison Cemetery (Garnisonsfriedhof) in Stade

Lent's state funeral was held in the Reich Chancellery, Berlin, on Wednesday 11 October 1944. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring took the salute at Lent's coffin, which was draped in the national flag of the Nazi Germany.[70] Ahead of the coffin, carrying Lent's honours and decorations on a velvet cushion, marched Oberstleutnant Werner Streib, the Inspector of Night Fighters. Six steel-helmeted officers, all recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, escorted the coffin on its caisson and stood as guard of honour during the ceremony: Oberstleutnant Günther Radusch, Oberstleutnant Hans-Joachim Jabs, Major Rudolf Schoenert, Hauptmann Heinz Strüning, Hauptmann Karl Hadeball and Hauptmann Paul Zorner.[71] On 12 October 1944 Lent and his crew were interred in a single grave in the military cemetery at Stade.[72]

Commemoration

A number of Helmut Lent's awards were auctioned at Sotheby's, London, on 18 July 1966. The items were bought in one lot by an anonymous bidder for the total sum of £500. The purchaser was Adolf Galland, the former General der Jagdflieger, acting on behalf of the West German Ministry of Defence. The awards were sold by Helmut Lent's elder daughter Christina after consultation with her mother, Lena, who was in urgent need for money to pay for an operation. The Federal Ministry of Defence presented the collection to the Wehrgeschichtliches Museum Rastatt, Germany.[73]

 
The former Lent Barracks in Rotenburg (Wümme).

In 1964, West German Army Aviation Corps installation in Rotenburg (Wümme), Lower Saxony was named the Lent Barracks, or Lent-Kaserne, on a recommendation of Lent's former superior.[74] In 2014, the Bundeswehr decided to rename the facility as Lent was no longer considered to be an appropriate namesake. The process, which is expected to finalise in end 2015, involves 1,500 soldiers and 250 civil employees of the site and was initiated by the commander Oberstleutnant Edmund Vogel in early 2015.[75] In September 2016 the district administrator Herrmann Luttmann, member of the moderate right-wing Party CDU stated "No substantial evidence has been found that indeed Helmut Lent was a supporter of the Nazi regime". Luttmann will therefore recommend to keep the name to the local government. Lars Klingbeil, member of the Bundestag and of the Defence Committee has signalled that the German armed forced would adhere to the decision made on local level despite all controversies.[76]

"It's long overdue to rename the last barracks named after Wehrmacht officers," Professor Johannes Tuchel, head of the German Resistance Memorial, told Bild am Sonntag. "Officers like Schulz, Lent and Marseille fought in Hitler's war and were part of Nazi propaganda." The barracks should be renamed after soldiers who resisted the Nazi regime, he said. "Those who fought for human rights and the rule of law cannot be commemorated enough."[77] Historian Wolfram Wette concurs with this opinion, citing the tradition directive of 1982. Historian Sönke Neitzel has the opinion that the Bundeswehr should keep the name of Lent, who was not a Nazi but only a value-oriented person who followed his Christian image of humankind (christlichen Menschenbild), even if no Wehrmacht soldier came out of the war completely clean. Despite this, Neitzel thinks that except for the case of Erwin Rommel, in five years no Bundeswehr barracks will retain the name of a Wehrmacht man any more, since soldiers do not want to risk their careers to defend names unwanted by the Ministry of Defence.[78]

 
The Von-Düring Barracks

On 18 March 2018, the Bundeswehr released the latest regulations on military tradition (Traditionserlass) which stipulates that "The Bundeswehr does not maintain a tradition of people, troop units and military institutions in German (military) history who, according to today's understanding, have acted in a criminal, racist or inhuman manner."[79] Based on these regulations, it was decided that the Lent Barracks would be renamed.[80] Following an inquiry submitted by the Left Party on 8 October 2019, the Cabinet of Germany responded that members of the Lent Barracks had proposed renaming the barracks after forester and Freikorps officer Johann Christian von Düring.[81] On 8 June 2020, the barracks was officially renamed the Von-Düring Barracks.[82]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Lent is officially credited with 111 victories in 507 flights. The total includes 103 victories at night, during which he destroyed 59 four-engine bombers and one Mosquito, among other types. Lent received a posthumous promotion to Oberst (Colonel).[Note 4] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 111 aerial victory claims, including seven as a Zerstörer pilot and 104 as a night fighter pilot, plus three further unconfirmed claims.[84]

The majority of his victories were claimed with detailed geographical locations. However, two of his victories were claimed in a Planquadrat (grid reference), for example "QE-PE". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2).[85]

Chronicle of aerial victories
  This and the ! (exclamation mark) indicates those aerial victories not listed by Hinchliffe.
  This and the # (hash mark) indicates those aerial victories not listed by Foreman, Mathews and Parry.
  This along with the + (plus) indicates almost certain identification.
  This along with the * (asterisk) indicates probable identification.
  This along with the ? (question mark) indicates possible identification.
Claim
(total) 		Claim
(nocturnal) 		Date Time Type Location Serial No./Squadron No.
– 1. Staffel of Zerstörergeschwader 76 –
1 3 September 1939 17:10 PZL P.24[46] Lodz region Polish Air Force+
2 18 December 1939 14:40 Wellington[46] near Borkum N2888/No. 37 Squadron RAF+[46]
3 18 December 1939 14:45 Wellington[46] near Borkum N2889/No. 37 Squadron RAF+[46]
4 9 April 1940 08:55 Gladiator[46] Bratenjordet 427/NAAS+[46]
5 27 May 1940 08:20 Gladiator[46] Bodø No. 263 Squadron RAF+[46]
6 2 June 1940 14:25 Gladiator[46] Norway N5893/No. 263 Squadron RAF+[46]
7 15 June 1940 12:45 Blenheim[46] near Trondheim L9408/No. 254 Squadron RAF+[46]
– 6. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –
8 1 12 May 1941 01:40 Wellington[86] southwest of Süderstapel R1330/No. 40 Squadron RAF*[46]
9 2 12 May 1941 02:49 Wellington[87] southwest of Nordstrand R1461/No. 40 Squadron RAF*[46]
10 3 28 June 1941 01:58 Whitley[88] 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Bremervörde T4297/No. 102 Squadron RAF+[46]
11 4 30 June 1941 01:40 Stirling[88] 10 km (6.2 mi) south Wesermünde N6001/No. 7 Squadron RAF*[46]
12 5 30 June 1941 02:05 Stirling 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Bremervörde[88] N3664/No. 7 Squadron RAF*[46]
– 4. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –
13 6 4 July 1941 00:43 Wellington[89] Exloermond, 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Assen R1492/No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron+[46]
14! 7! 4 July 1941 03:41 unknown[89]
15 8 6 July 1941 00:56 Whitley[89] 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Coevorden Z6793/No. 10 Squadron RAF+[46]
16 9 8 July 1941 00:55 Whitley[89] 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Assen Z6799/No. 77 Squadron RAF+[46]
17 10 10 July 1941 02:20 Wellington[90] 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of Meppen B1770/No. 40 Squadron RAF+[46]
18 11 13 July 1941 00:55 Hampden[90] Veendam, 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Groningen AE226/No. 50 Squadron RAF*[46]
19 12 15 July 1941 00:49 Wellington[90] Veendam, 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Groningen W5513/No. 104 Squadron RAF+[46]
20 13 25 July 1941 03:54 Wellington[91] 13 km (8.1 mi) south-southwest of Leeuwarden R1369/No. 57 Squadron RAF?[46]
21 14 15 August 1941 03:20 Whitley[92] north of Ameland Z6819/No. 51 Squadron RAF+[46]
22 15 29 August 1941 03:40 Hampden[93] south of Ameland AE126/No. 49 Squadron RAF+[94]
23 16 7 September 1941 01:25 Whitley[93] east of Leeuwarden, Bergen aan Zee Z6681/No. 78 Squadron RAF+[94]
24 17 8 September 1941 04:04 Wellington[93] Terwipsel, northeast Franeker Z8845/No. 9 Squadron RAF*[94]
25 18 8 September 1941 04:59 Wellington[93] Drachten, southeast of Leeuwarden R1798/No. 115 Squadron RAF+[94]
26 19 13 October 1941 00:06 Wellington[95] Westergeest, northeast of Leeuwarden X9822/No. 40 Squadron RAF+[94]
27 20 13 October 1941 00:33 Hampden[95] Zuiderzee AD965/No. 144 Squadron RAF+[94]
– II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 –
28 21 8 November 1941 01:21 Wellington[96] north of Akkrum X9976/No. 75 Squadron RAF+[94]
29 22 17 January 1942 21:40 Whitley[97] Terschelling Z9301/No. 51 Squadron RAF*[94]
30 23 21 January 1942 22:38 Whitley[97] 40 km (25 mi) west of Terschelling Z9311/No. 51 Squadron RAF+[94]
31 6 February 1942 15:14 Hampden[97] 70 km (43 mi) west of Terschelling AE308/No. 455 Squadron RAF+[94]
32 24 26 March 1942 00:32 Manchester[98] 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Alkmaar L7518/No. 61 Squadron RAF+[94]
33 25 27 March 1942 22:10 Hampden[98] north of Terschelling No. 408 Squadron RAF[94]
34 26 27 March 1942 22:42 Hampden[99] north of Terschelling No. 408 Squadron RAF[94]
35 27 29 March 1942 22:00 Manchester[99] north of Terschelling L7394/No. 61 Squadron RAF?[94]
36 28 11 April 1942 00:23 Wellington[100] 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Den Helder Z8838/No. 311 Squadron RAF+[94]
37 29 13 April 1942 00:32 Hampden[100] north of Terschelling P1239/No. 420 Squadron RAF*[94]
38 30 18 April 1942 01:55 Wellington[100] 25 km (16 mi) north of Tershelling Z1267/No. 300 Squadron RAF*[94]
39 31 15 May 1942 22:45 Hudson[101] north of Terschelling X3482/No. 9 Squadron RAF?[94]
40 32 3 June 1942 01:06 Hampden[102] east of Medemblik AT154/No. 408 Squadron RAF+[94]
41 33 4 June 1942 00:55 Halifax[102] west of Sint Maartensvlotbrug, north-northwest of Alkmaar R9457/No. 76 Squadron RAF+[94]
42 34 6 June 1942 00:34 Wellington[103] south of Hoorn DV812/No. 156 Squadron RAF+[94]
43 35 6 June 1942 01:16 Wellington[103] IJsselmeer, east of Amsterdam Z1331/No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron+[94]
44 36 21 June 1942 00:59 Hampden[104] north of Ameland AT185/No. 420 Squadron RAF+[94]
45 37 24 June 1942 01:12 Wellington[105] 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Tershelling T2921/No. 103 Squadron RAF+[94]
46 38 24 June 1942 01:46 Wellington[105] northwest of Vlieland DV831/No. 103 Squadron RAF+[94]
47 39 26 June 1942 02:37 Wellington[106] 6 km (3.7 mi) northwest of Enkhuizen T2612/No. 18 Operational Training Unit RAF*[94]
48 40 26 June 1942 02:56 Whitley[106] Noordwijk BD266/No. 24 Operational Training Unit RAF*[94][107]
49 41 3 July 1942 01:25 Wellington[108] southwest of Assen Z1314/No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron*[94]
50 42 9 July 1942 01:30 Wellington[109] Rottumeroog X3557/No. 75 Squadron RAF+[94]
51 43 27 July 1942 02:35 Halifax[110] northwest of Vlieland
52 44 27 July 1942 02:39 Wellington[110] northwest of Vlieland
53 45 5 September 1942 02:50 Halifax[111] 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Leeuwarden R5682/No. 61 Squadron RAF*[94]
54 46 14 September 1942 05:02 Wellington[112] northwest of Terschelling
55 47 9 November 1942 20:37 Halifax[113] Ameland W7864/No. 102 Squadron RAF*[94]
– IV. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –
56 48 17 December 1942 20:22 Lancaster[113] north of Sloten ED355/No. 44 Squadron RAF+[94]
57 49 17 December 1942 20:38 Halifax[113] east of Urk ED333/No. 44 Squadron RAF*[94]
58! 50! 2 January 1943 20:24 four-engined bomber[114]
59 51 8 January 1943 20:24 Lancaster[114] 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Texel
60 52 21 January 1943 20:11 Wellington[115] north of Schiermonnikoog
61 53 1 March 1943 21:39 Halifax[116] 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Ameland DT641/No. 419 Squadron RAF*[94][117]
62 54 5 March 1943 22:20 Halifax[118] 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Harlingen BB282/No. 76 Squadron RAF?[94]
63 55 5 March 1943 22:34 Halifax[118] 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Wieringen W4847/No. 83 Squadron RAF*[94]
64 56 29 March 1943 23:46 Wellington[119] northwest of Lemmer BJ762/No. 426 Squadron RAF+[94]
65 57 4 April 1943 00:24 Lancaster[120] 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Texel
66 58 20 April 1943 03:38 Mosquito[121] west of Stavoren DZ694/No. 410 Squadron RAF[122]
67 59 5 May 1943 00:08 Stirling[123] 8 km (5.0 mi) south of Enkhuizen BK773/No. 7 Squadron RAF+[94]
68 60 5 May 1943 00:18 Stirling[123] 1 km (0.62 mi) southeast of Hommerts EF343/No. 149 Squadron RAF+[94]
69 61 14 May 1943 02:54 Halifax[124] 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Harlingen JB924/No. 78 Squadron RAF+[94]
70 62 24 May 1943 02:16 Lancaster[125] southwest of Workum DT789/No. 10 Squadron RAF[126]
71 63 22 June 1943 03:09 Lancaster[127] 70 km (43 mi) west of Vlieland
72 64 23 June 1943 02:06 Halifax[127] 7 km (4.3 mi) west of Urk
73 65 26 June 1943 01:13 Wellington[128] west of Urk HF544/No. 466 Squadron RAF+[126]
74# 66# 28 July 1943 02:37 Lancaster[126] northwest of Terschelling
75 67 30 July 1943 02:10 Lancaster[129] 25 km (16 mi) north of Ameland
– Stab of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 –
76 68 24 August 1943 00:56 Stirling[130] Berlin-Lichtenberg
77 69 24 August 1943 01:16 Halifax[131] Berlin-Mahlsdorf
78 70 24 August 1943
—
 Halifax[131][Note 5] Berlin-Spandau
79 71 1 September 1943 00:54 Halifax[132] southwest of Berlin
80 72 1 September 1943 01:03 Halifax[133] east of Berlin
81 73 22 September 1943 22:41 Stirling[134] Krohnsberg
82 74 3 October 1943 22:27 Stirling[135] Herleshausen
83 75 2 December 1943 19:58 Lancaster[136] Magdeburg
84 76 2 December 1943 20:20 Stirling[136] southwest of Berlin
85 77 16 December 1943 19:07 Lancaster[137] Almanbrück
86# 78# 2 January 1944 02:49 Lancaster[126]
87 79 14 January 1944 18:49 Lancaster[138]
88 80 14 January 1944 19:05 Lancaster[138]
89 81 14 January 1944 19:10 Lancaster[138]
90 82 21 January 1944 22:28 Lancaster[139]
91 83 21 January 1944 22:58 Lancaster[139]
92 84 22 March 1944 21:26 Lancaster[140] near Bielefeld
93 85 22 March 1944 21:35 four-engined bomber[140] south of Bielefeld
94 86 24 March 1944 21:30 four-engined bomber[141] Berlin area
95 87 24 March 1944 22:00 four-engined bomber[141] Lübeck
96 88 31 March 1944 01:21 four-engined bomber[142] 20–40 km (12–25 mi) north of Nürnberg Halifax MZ508/No. 578 Squadron RAF?[126]
97# 89# 23 April 1944
—
 Lancaster[126]
98 90 23 May 1944 00:21 four-engined bomber[143] Osnabrück
99 91 23 May 1944 00:40 four-engined bomber[143] near Osnabrück
100 92 16 June 1944 00:52 Lancaster[144] southwest of Lille
101 93 16 June 1944 00:56 Lancaster[144] Béthune-Armentières
102 94 16 June 1944 01:00 Lancaster[144] northwest Béthune
103 95 25 June 1944 00:25 four-engined bomber[145] QE-PE
104 96 25 June 1944 00:40 four-engined bomber[145] QE-PE
105 97 28 June 1944 01:10 four-engined bomber[146] off Dunkirk
106! 98! 19 July 1944 01:36 four-engined bomber[147] southeast of Reims
107 99 19 July 1944 01:41 four-engined bomber[147] 50 km (31 mi) southeast of Reims
108 100 21 July 1944 02:07 Lancaster[147] over the sea, near Deal
109 101 25 July 1944 01:14 four-engined bomber[148] Pforzheim
110 102 29 July 1944 01:47 four-engined bomber[149] near Bouxwiller
111 103 29 July 1944 01:57 four-engined bomber[149] near Château-Salins
112# 104# 17 August 1944
—
 four-engined bomber[126]
113# 105# 12 September 1944
—
 Lancaster[126]
114# 106# 17 September 1944
—
 Lancaster[126]

Awards

 
Lent's Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on display at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden

Promotions

1 April 1936: Fahnenjunker (Cadet)[9]
1 April 1937: Fähnrich (Ensign)[13]
1 February 1938: Oberfähnrich (Senior Ensign)[161]
1 March 1938: Leutnant (Second Lieutenant)[14]
1 July 1940: Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant)[162]
1 January 1942: Hauptmann (Captain)[52]
1 January 1943: Major (Major)[56]
1 March 1944: Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)[59]
Posthumously: Oberst (Colonel)[85]

Notes

  1. ^ For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces
  2. ^ See Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II for an explanation of the Luftwaffe structure.
  3. ^ After 1933 the school was renamed Hermann Göring Hochschule.[6]
  4. ^ According to Jerry Scutts 113 victories of which 102 at night.[83]
  5. ^ According to Hincliffe, this aerial victory was over a Lancaster bomber claimed over Berlin-Tegel.[126]
  6. ^ According to Scherzer as Staffelkapitän of the 4./NJG 1[157]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.
  2. ^ a b c Fraschka 1994, pp. 185–189.
  3. ^ a b c Williamson 2006, pp. 31–41.
  4. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 2–4.
  5. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. xvi.
  6. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 6.
  7. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 8–11.
  8. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 5–12.
  9. ^ a b Fraschka 1994, p. 186.
  10. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 13.
  11. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 17–18.
  12. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 21.
  13. ^ a b Hinchliffe 2003, p. 22.
  14. ^ a b Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 24–25.
  15. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 29.
  16. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 30–31.
  17. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 32.
  18. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 33.
  19. ^ a b Hinchliffe 2003, p. 34.
  20. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 35.
  21. ^ Bekker 1994, p. 37.
  22. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 40–41.
  23. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 42.
  24. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 46.
  25. ^ Holmes 2010, p. 60.
  26. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 44.
  27. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 45.
  28. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 47–49.
  29. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 50.
  30. ^ Holmes 2010, pp. 78–81.
  31. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 54–55.
  32. ^ a b c Hinchliffe 2003, p. 61.
  33. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 57.
  34. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 58.
  35. ^ Bekker 1994, p. 84.
  36. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 59.
  37. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 62–63.
  38. ^ Weal 1999, p. 26.
  39. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 62.
  40. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 62–63, 295.
  41. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 67.
  42. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 73–74.
  43. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 79.
  44. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 84.
  45. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 85.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Hinchliffe 2003, p. 295.
  47. ^ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945. Band 3, pp. 285–286.
  48. ^ a b Fraschka 1994, p. 187.
  49. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 120.
  50. ^ Aders 1978, p. 224.
  51. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 121.
  52. ^ a b Hinchliffe 2003, p. 125.
  53. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 147, 296.
  54. ^ Aders 1978, pp. 44–45.
  55. ^ Boiten 1999, p. 46.
  56. ^ a b Hinchliffe 2003, p. 199.
  57. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 201, 297.
  58. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 204.
  59. ^ a b c Obermaier 1989, p. 23.
  60. ^ Williamson 2006, pp. 50, 51.
  61. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 56.
  62. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 116.
  63. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 143, 259.
  64. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 143.
  65. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 149–151.
  66. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 267.
  67. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 257–258.
  68. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 258.
  69. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 258–259.
  70. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 265–266.
  71. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 266–267.
  72. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, p. 268.
  73. ^ Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 287–288.
  74. ^ Schulze 2017.
  75. ^ Rotenburger Kreiszeitung & 2 March 2015.
  76. ^ Krüger 2016.
  77. ^ Huggler 2017.
  78. ^ Horn 2018.
  79. ^ The Bundeswehr Tradition.
  80. ^ Horn 2020.
  81. ^ Drucksache 19/13954.
  82. ^ Reschke 2020.
  83. ^ Scutts 1998, pp. 20, 88.
  84. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 742–744.
  85. ^ a b Hinchliffe 1999, p. 208.
  86. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 20.
  87. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 21.
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  89. ^ a b c d Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 24.
  90. ^ a b c Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 25.
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  94. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Hinchliffe 2003, p. 296.
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  100. ^ a b c Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 38.
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  104. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 46.
  105. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 47.
  106. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 48.
  107. ^ Chorley 1996, p. 492.
  108. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 49.
  109. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 50.
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  112. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 58.
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  115. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 65.
  116. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 68.
  117. ^ Chorley 1996, p. 57.
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  119. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 72.
  120. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 73.
  121. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 76.
  122. ^ Bowman 2016, p. 144.
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  124. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 80.
  125. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 82.
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  127. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 88.
  128. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 90.
  129. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 99.
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  132. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 109.
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  • Weal, John (1999). Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörer Aces World War Two. London, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-753-8.
  • Williamson, Gordon (2006). Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-644-7.
  • Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.
  • "Kasernenkommandant Edmund Vogel leitet Findungsprozess ein—Suche nach dem neuen Namen zieht sich noch hin" [Barracks commander Edmund Vogel initiated name finding process—The search for the new name still drags on]. kreiszeitung.de (in German). Rotenburger Kreiszeitung. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  • "Die Tradition der Bundeswehr" [The Bundeswehr Tradition] (PDF). www.bmvg.de (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  • Horn, Charlotte (7 February 2020). "Streit um Lent-Kaserne - Neuanfang mit von Düring" [Dispute over Lent Barracks - new Beginning with von Düring]. Norddeutscher Rundfunk (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  • "Diskussionsstand zur Umbenennung der Lent-Kaserne" [State of discussions on renaming of Lent-Barracks] (PDF). Bundestag (in German). 10 October 2019.
  • Reschke, Klaus (10 June 2020). "Neuer Name für Bundeswehr Kaserne" [New Name for Bundeswehr Barracks]. Bundeswehr (in German). Retrieved 10 September 2020.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by Commander of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3
1 August 1943 – 7 October 1944 		Succeeded by

February 11, 2023
helmut, lent, june, 1918, october, 1944, german, night, fighter, world, lent, shot, down, aircraft, them, night, note, born, into, devoutly, religious, family, showed, early, passion, glider, flying, against, father, wishes, joined, luftwaffe, 1936, after, com. Helmut Lent 13 June 1918 7 October 1944 was a German night fighter ace in World War II Lent shot down 110 aircraft 102 of them at night 1 Note 1 Born into a devoutly religious family he showed an early passion for glider flying against his father s wishes he joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 After completing his training he was assigned to the 1 Squadron or Staffel of Zerstorergeschwader 76 ZG 76 a wing flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin engine heavy fighter Lent claimed his first aerial victories at the outset of World War II in the invasion of Poland and over the North Sea During the invasion of Norway he flew ground support missions before he was transferred to the newly established Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 NJG 1 a night fighter wing 2 3 Note 2 Helmut LentHelmut Lent in 1943Born 1918 06 13 13 June 1918Pyrehne Kingdom of Prussia German EmpireDied7 October 1944 1944 10 07 aged 26 Paderborn Free State of Prussia Nazi GermanyBuriedMilitary cemetery at StadeAllegiance Nazi GermanyService wbr branch LuftwaffeYears of service1936 1944RankOberst posthumous UnitZG 76 NJG 1 NJG 2 NJG 3Commands heldIV NJG 1 II NJG 2 NJG 3Battles warsSee battlesWorld War II Invasion of Poland Battle of the Heligoland Bight 1939 Battle of Denmark Norwegian Campaign Defence of the Reich DOW AwardsKnight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and DiamondsLent claimed his first nocturnal victory on 12 May 1941 and on 30 August 1941 was awarded the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross for 22 victories His steady accumulation of aerial victories resulted in regular promotions and awards On the night of 15 June 1944 Major Lent was the first night fighter pilot to claim 100 nocturnal aerial victories a feat which earned him the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds on 31 July 1944 2 3 On 5 October 1944 Lent flew a Junkers Ju 88 on a routine transit flight from Stade to Nordborchen 5 kilometres 3 mi south of Paderborn On the landing approach one of the engines cut out and the aircraft collided with power lines All four members of the crew were fatally wounded Three men died shortly after the crash and Lent succumbed to his injuries two days later on 7 October 1944 2 3 Contents 1 Childhood education and early career 2 World War II 2 1 Invasion of Poland 2 2 Battle of the Heligoland Bight 2 3 Norwegian Campaign and Battle of Britain 2 4 Night fighter career 2 5 Personal life 2 6 Death 3 Commemoration 4 Summary of career 4 1 Aerial victory claims 4 2 Awards 4 3 Promotions 5 Notes 6 References 6 1 Citations 6 2 Bibliography 7 External linksChildhood education and early career EditLent was born on 13 June 1918 in Pyrehne district of Landsberg an der Warthe Province of Brandenburg Germany now Pyrzany Lubusz Province western Poland and christened Helmut Johannes Siegfried Lent He was the fifth child of Johannes Lent a Lutheran minister and Marie Elisabeth nee Braune Helmut Lent had two older brothers Werner and Joachim and two older sisters Kathe and Ursula 4 His family was deeply religious in addition to his father both of his brothers and both grandfathers were also Lutheran ministers 5 From Easter 1924 until Easter 1928 Lent attended the local public primary school at Pyrehne His father and oldest brother Werner then tutored him at home in preparation for the entrance examination at the public secondary school at Landsberg Note 3 In February 1933 Helmut joined the Jungvolk the junior branch of the Hitler Youth From March 1933 he acted as a youth platoon leader or Jungzugfuhrer 1 March 1933 1 April 1935 and flag bearer or Fahnleinfuhrer 1 April 1935 9 November 1935 until he left the Jungvolk to prepare for his diploma examination 7 Helmut passed his graduation examinations at the age of seventeen on 12 December 1935 On 2 February 1936 he began the eight week compulsory National Labor Service Reichsarbeitsdienst at Mohrin 8 He joined the military service in the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker on 1 April 1936 against the wishes of his father 9 His military training began on 6 April 1936 at the 2nd Air Warfare School Luftkriegsschule 2 at Gatow on the south western outskirts of Berlin He swore the National Socialist oath of allegiance on 21 April 1936 10 Flight training began on Monday 7 August 1936 at Gatow His first flight was in a Heinkel He 72 Kadet D EYZA single engine biplane Lent logged his first solo flight on 15 September 1936 in a Focke Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz By this time Lent had accumulated 63 flights in his logbook 11 In conjunction with flight training the students also learned to drive motorcycles and cars and during one of these training exercises Lent was involved in a road accident breaking his upper leg badly enough to prevent him from flying for five months 12 This did not adversely affect his classroom training and on 1 April 1937 after taking his commission examination he was promoted to Fahnrich 13 On 19 October 1937 Lent completed his flight training and was awarded the A B License He earned his wings on 15 November 1937 On 1 February 1938 he was promoted to Oberfahnrich first ensign and on 1 March 1938 to Leutnant By this time he had made 434 flights in eight different types of aircraft and had accumulated 112 hours and 48 minutes flying time mostly in daylight flights in single engine training aircraft 14 After leaving Gatow Helmut Lent was posted to the Heavy Bomber Crew School or Grosse Kampffliegerschule at Tutow in northeast Germany He spent three months training as an observer 1 March 1938 30 May 1938 Prior to completing this course Lent was run over by a car resulting in a broken lower jaw concussion and internal bleeding On 1 July 1938 Lent was posted to the 3rd Group of Jagdgeschwader 132 Richthofen III JG 132 flying on 19 July 1938 for the first time after his injuries 15 At the beginning of September Lent s squadron 7 JG 132 relocated to Grossenhain near Dresden in preparation and support of the annexation of Czechoslovakia Lent flew a number of operational patrols in this conflict until his Staffel relocated again to Rangsdorf on 29 September 1938 After the tension over the occupation of the Sudeten territories eased Lent s unit began a conversion to the Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun On 1 November 1938 III JG 132 moved to Furstenwalde between Berlin and Frankfurt an der Oder and was renamed II JG 141 and Lent was posted to the 6th Squadron 16 II JG 141 changed its designation to I Zerstorergeschwader 76 I ZG 76 on 1 May 1939 at the same time relocating to an airfield at Olmutz Czechoslovakia The group was being re equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Lent made his first flight in the Bf 110 on 7 June 1939 Lent was granted his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot s Certificate Erweiterter Luftwaffen Flugzeugfuhrerschein also known as C Certificate confirming proficiency on multi engine aircraft on 12 May 1939 17 While converting to the Bf 110 Lent did not have a regular wireless operator Funker in the rear gunner s seat but on 14 August 1939 he was accompanied in M8 AH for the first time by Gefreiter Walter Kubisch 18 During the prelude of World War II on 25 August 1939 I ZG 76 deployed to an airfield at Ohlau to the southeast of Breslau 19 World War II EditWorld War II began at 04 45 on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces crossed the Polish border Helmut Lent flying a Bf 110 marked M8 DH took off from Ohlau at 04 44 to escort Heinkel He 111 bombers on a mission over Krakow 19 Invasion of Poland Edit A ZG 76 Bf 110C similar to those flown by Helmut Lent The German plans for the invasion of Poland were conceived under the codename Fall Weiss Case White This operation called for simultaneous attacks on Poland from three directions the north the west and the south beginning at 04 45 on the early morning of 1 September 1939 On this morning Helmut Lent with Kubisch as his wireless operator and rear gunner escorted a formation of Heinkel 111 bombers of I and III Kampfgeschwader 4 KG 4 attacking the airfields at Krakow in support of the southern prong of the German attack 20 At 16 30 on 2 September 1939 the second day of the German attack Lent took off in the direction of Lodz and claimed his first aerial victory of the war shooting down a PZL P 11 21 At this point of the campaign the Bf 110s switched from bomber escort to ground attack since the Polish Air Force was all but defeated In this capacity Lent and Kubisch destroyed a twin engined monoplane on the ground on 5 September and another aircraft a PZL P 24 on 9 September On 12 September 1939 he was attacked by a Polish aircraft which shot out his starboard engine Lent made a forced landing behind German lines 22 He flew five more missions during the Polish campaign destroying one anti aircraft battery For his actions in the Polish campaign Lent was awarded one of the first Iron Cross 2nd Class Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse of World War II on 21 September 1939 I ZG 76 relocated to the Stuttgart area on 29 September 1939 to defend the western border against the French and British who had been at war with Germany since 3 September 1939 23 From early October to middle December I ZG 76 operated from a number of airfields in the Stuttgart and Ruhr areas before relocating north to Jever on 16 December 1939 24 Battle of the Heligoland Bight Edit Formation 1Section 1 1 Richard Kellett 2 Turner 3 SpeirsSection 2 4 Kelly 5 Duguid 6 Riddlesworth Formation 2Section 1 7 Harris 8 Briden 9 BollochSection 2 10 Ramshaw 11 Grant 12 PurdyFormation 3Section 1 13 Guthrie 14 Petts 15 McRaeSection 2 16 Challes 17 Allison 18 LinesFormation 419 Hue Williams 20 Lemon 21 Wimberley 22 Lewis 23 Thompson 24 Ruse 25 During the first month of the war the Royal Air Force RAF mostly focused its bomber attacks against anti shipping operations on the German Bight RAF bombers mounted a heavy attack against shipping off Wilhelmshaven on 18 December 1939 in what became known as the Battle of the Heligoland Bight 26 Twenty four twin engine Vickers Wellington from No 9 Squadron No 37 Squadron and No 149 Squadron formed up over Norfolk heading for the island of Heligoland Two aircraft aborted the mission due to mechanical defects but the remaining 22 pursued the attack and were spotted by a Freya radar on the East Frisian Islands 27 Helmut Lent was ordered to intercept and engage the attacking bomber force and after refuelling Lent had just landed at Jever from an armed patrol claimed three Wellingtons two of which shot down at 14 30 and 14 45 were later confirmed 28 The two aircraft were both from No 37 Squadron captained by Flying Officer P A Wimberley and Flying Officer O J T Lewis respectively and both crashed in the shallow sea off Borkum It is likely that his third claim may have been No 37 Squadron Wellington 1A N2396 LF J piloted by Sergeant H Ruse which crash landed on the sand dunes of Borkum 29 Lent was refused the victory over Wimberley as the Wellington was attacked by Lent after it had already been badly damaged and was about to crash The Wellington was credited to pilot Carl August Schumacher 30 His success as a fighter pilot over the North Sea had made him a minor national hero Exploits such as those at Heligoland made good news stories for German propaganda machine Consequently he attracted fan mail mainly from young girls and women among them Elisabeth Petersen Lent replied to her letter and he and Elisabeth met on a blind date at the Reichshof hotel in Hamburg after which they enjoyed a skiing holiday in Hirschegg in February 1940 31 Norwegian Campaign and Battle of Britain Edit Norwegian Gladiator 427 brought down by Lent on 9 April 1940 32 On 8 April 1940 eight aircraft of 1 ZG 76 under the command of Staffelkapitan Werner Hansen deployed northward from Jever to Westerland on Sylt in preparation for operation Weserubung the invasion of Norway 33 The German plan for the attack called for an amphibious assault on the Norwegian capital Oslo and six major ports from Kristiansand in the south to Narvik in the north 34 Simultaneously Junkers 52 Ju 52 transport aircraft would drop parachute troops to secure Oslo s Fornebu airport Additional Ju 52s were scheduled to arrive at Fornebu twenty minutes after the parachute drop by which time the airfield had to be in German hands 1 ZG 76 was to provide air cover and ground attack support for both waves Eight Bf 110 Zerstorer of 1 ZG 76 took off at 7 00 in the morning planning to synchronise their arrival at Fornebu with the parachute drop at 8 45 The distance from Westerland to Fornebu meant that this was a one way operation the Bf 110s could not hold enough fuel for the return trip Their fuel was calculated to provide them 20 minutes flying time over Fornebu 35 and the pilots would have to land at Fornebu once the airfield had been seized 36 On the early morning flight to Fornebu Lent engaged and shot down a Norwegian Gloster Gladiator 32 While the Ju 52s transporting the German paratroops came under heavy fire Lent s Rotte engaged the enemy ground positions Lent s starboard engine caught fire forcing him to land immediately With Kubisch manning the movable machine gun Lent negotiated the capitulation with the Norwegian ground forces and the airfield was in German hands 37 Lent s Bf 110C ran out of fuel and was forced to land at Oslo Fornebu airfield on 9 April 1940 38 A troop carrying Ju 52 flies over Lent s belly landed Bf 110 39 At 18 50 the same day Lent and his Staffelkapitan Werner Hansen took off again from Fornebu in undamaged Bf 110s During the 40 minute flight they came across a RAF Short Sunderland flying boat serial number L2167 from No 210 Squadron RAF which they shot down together Hansen received credit for the kill 40 Helmut Lent was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse on 13 May 1940 before he was transferred to Trondheim on 18 May 41 He claimed his second aerial victory of the Norwegian campaign on 27 May over a RAF Gloster Gladiator from No 263 Squadron RAF piloted by Flight Lieutenant Caesar Hull On 2 June 1940 Lent and his wingman Thones claimed a Gladiator each The flight lasted 5 hours and 46 minutes and their opponents were again from No 263 Squadron aircraft serial number N5893 piloted by Pilot Officer J L Wilkie and N5681 piloted by Pilot Officer L R Jacobsen He claimed his seventh victory overall and final of the Norwegian theatre of operations on 15 June 1940 over a No 254 Squadron RAF Bristol Blenheim piloted by Pilot Officer P C Gaylord On 1 July 1940 Lent was promoted to Oberleutnant and on 13 July 1 ZG 76 was relocated to Stavanger Forus 32 Helmut Lent briefly participated in the Battle of Britain when on 15 August 1940 twenty one Bf 110s from I ZG 76 escorted He 111 bombers from Kampfgeschwader 26 KG 26 on their attack on Yorkshire and the Newcastle Sunderland area I ZG 76 lost seven aircraft on this mission and it was Helmut Lent s 98th and final mission as a Zerstorer pilot 42 Night fighter career Edit By June 1940 RAF Bomber Command penetrations of German airspace had increased to the level at which Hermann Goring decreed that a night fighter force should be formed The officer tasked with its creation was Wolfgang Falck Gruppenkommandeur of the I Zerstorergeschwader 1 ZG 1 43 The night fighter force began to expand rapidly with existing units being divided to form the nucleus of new units By October 1940 Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 NJG 1 comprised three Gruppen while Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 NJG 2 and Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 NJG 3 were still forming 44 It was during this period that Helmut Lent reluctantly became a member of the night fighter force At the end of August Lent wrote home We are currently converting to night fighting We are not very enthusiastic We would sooner head directly for England 45 Lent completed night fighter training at Ingolstadt in south western Germany and was appointed squadron leader or Staffelkapitan of the newly formed 6 NJG 1 on 1 October 1940 The squadron was based at Fliegerhorst Deelen located 12 5 kilometres 8 mi north of Arnhem in the Netherlands On the night 11 12 May 1941 Lent claimed his first nocturnal aerial victories against two Wellington IC bombers from No 40 Squadron RAF on a mission against Hamburg BL H serial number R1330 was shot down at 01 40 near Suderstapel and BL Z R1461 at 02 49 near Nordstrand 46 On 1 July 1941 he took command of 4 NJG 1 stationed in the Netherlands at Fliegerhorst airfield Leeuwarden 161 kilometres 100 mi north of Arnheim on the Friesland coast From this position in the so called German Bight the squadron patrolled the North Sea coast and could intercept Allied night time bombing missions what Nazi propaganda called terror attacks which were conducted from England 47 By the end of the war the 4 NJG 1 was one of the most successful Nachtjagdstaffeln a squadron of a night fighter wing of the Luftwaffe Other members included such night fighter pilots as Oberleutnant Helmut Woltersdorf Leutnant Ludwig Becker 44 victories KIA February 1943 Leutnant Egmont Prinz zur Lippe Weissenfeld 51 victories killed in a flying accident in the Netherlands in March 1944 Leutnant Leopold Fellerer 41 victories Oberfeldwebel Paul Gildner 46 victories killed in a flying accident at Fliegerhorst Gilze Rijen in the Netherlands in February 1943 and Unteroffizier Siegfried Ney 12 victories KIA February 1943 On 30 August 1941 Lent received the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for seven daytime and 14 night victories 48 On 1 November 1941 Lent became acting Group Commander Gruppenkommandeur of the newly formed II NJG 2 49 On 1 October 1942 II NJG 2 was renamed and became IV NJG 1 50 Lent s first aerial victory as a Gruppenkommandeur his 20th night time and his last in 1941 came during the night of Friday 7 November to Saturday 8 November He shot down a Wellington 1C heading for Berlin which came down near Akkrum The six man crew of the bomber X9976 of No 75 New Zealand Squadron was killed in action This achievement earned Lent a reference in the Wehrmachtbericht his first of six in total an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht To be singled out individually in the Wehrmachtbericht was an honour and was entered in the Orders and Decorations section of one s Service Record Book 51 Lent third from right in a Nazi propaganda photograph summer 1942 France Lent was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 January 1942 52 Later that year he was awarded the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub on 6 June 1942 at which time his total stood at 34 nocturnal victories plus seven day time victories 48 The award was presented at the Fuhrerhauptquartier on 28 and 29 June his tally standing then at 39 nocturnal and seven day time victories 53 Lent also held the distinction of achieving the first Lichtenstein radar assisted air victory in a Dornier Do 215B 5 night fighter 54 Lent flew Dornier Do 215B 5 code R4 DC regularly on Himmelbett missions because of its five hour endurance Lent claimed at least four victories in this machine 55 By the end of 1942 Lent had 56 victories and was the top German night fighter ace He was promoted to Major on 1 January 1943 and appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 NJG 3 on 1 August 1943 at Geschwader Headquarters at Stade west of Hamburg 56 After 73 kills of which 65 were claimed at night he was awarded the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern on 2 August 1943 and notified by telegram on 4 August 57 The Swords were presented to him at the Fuhrerhauptquartier at Rastenburg on 10 11 August 1943 58 In January 1944 Lent downed three so called heavies four engined strategic bombers in one night but his aircraft was damaged by return fire requiring a forced landing He used only 22 cannon shells to down two bombers on the night of the 22 23 March 1944 and fired only 57 rounds in seven minutes against three Avro Lancasters on 15 16 June Promoted to Oberstleutnant he was awarded the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub Schwertern und Brillanten in recognition of his 110 confirmed air kills the first of two night fighter pilots to be awarded the decoration 59 The second was Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer who with 121 aerial victories became aviation history s leading night fighter pilot 60 Personal life Edit All German officers were required to obtain official permission to marry however this was usually a bureaucratic formality When Lent decided to marry Elizabeth Petersen his admirer from Hamburg whom he had met on a blind date his case was more complicated Elisabeth Petersen was in fact Helene Lena Senokosnikova who had been born in Moscow in April 1914 She had been afraid to reveal her true identity since Russians were not popular in the Third Reich 61 but after a thorough investigation into her background and racial ancestry she received her German citizenship on 15 March 1941 They were married on 10 September 1941 in Wellingsbuttel Hamburg 62 The marriage produced two daughters Christina was born on 6 June 1942 the second Helma was born on 6 October 1944 shortly after her father s fatal crash 63 Both of Helmut s older brothers Joachim and Werner as members of the Confessing Church German Bekennende Kirche encountered trouble with the Nazi Party The Confessing Church was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro Nazi German Evangelical Church Werner Lent an adherent of the Confessing church was arrested for the first time in 1937 after preaching an anti Nazi sermon 64 In June 1942 his brother Joachim was arrested by the Gestapo after reading the so called Molders letter from the pulpit The Molders letter was a propaganda piece conceived by Sefton Delmer the chief of the British black propaganda in the Political Warfare Executive PWE to capitalise on the death of Germany s fighter ace Werner Molders this letter ostensibly written by Molders attested to the supreme importance of his Catholic faith in his life by implication placing faith above his allegiance to the National Socialist Party 65 Death Edit Hermann Goring speaking at Lent s funeral 66 On 5 October 1944 Lent flew his Junkers Ju 88 G 6 coded D5 AA from Stade to Paderborn His crew included his long time radio operator Oberfeldwebel Walter Kubisch the member of a Propagandakompanie Wehrmacht Propaganda Troops Leutnant Werner Kark in the aerial gunner position and Oberleutnant Hermann Kloss second radio operator Lent was on his way to visit the Geschwaderkommodore of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 Oberstleutnant Hans Joachim Jabs to discuss operational matters 67 Shortly before the arrival at Paderborn Nordborchen the airfield had come under attack by the United States Army Air Forces leaving craters on the runway An emergency makeshift runway was cleared and marked out for Lent but an overhead electrical cable was overlooked 68 During the landing approach the left engine of the plane failed causing the wing to dip Lent was unable to keep the plane steady and it struck high voltage cables and crashed All four members of the crew sustained serious injuries but were rescued alive Kubisch and Kloss succumbed to their injuries on the same day Kark on the next morning and Lent himself died two days later on 7 October 1944 69 Lent s grave at the Garrison Cemetery Garnisonsfriedhof in Stade Lent s state funeral was held in the Reich Chancellery Berlin on Wednesday 11 October 1944 Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring took the salute at Lent s coffin which was draped in the national flag of the Nazi Germany 70 Ahead of the coffin carrying Lent s honours and decorations on a velvet cushion marched Oberstleutnant Werner Streib the Inspector of Night Fighters Six steel helmeted officers all recipients of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross escorted the coffin on its caisson and stood as guard of honour during the ceremony Oberstleutnant Gunther Radusch Oberstleutnant Hans Joachim Jabs Major Rudolf Schoenert Hauptmann Heinz Struning Hauptmann Karl Hadeball and Hauptmann Paul Zorner 71 On 12 October 1944 Lent and his crew were interred in a single grave in the military cemetery at Stade 72 Commemoration EditA number of Helmut Lent s awards were auctioned at Sotheby s London on 18 July 1966 The items were bought in one lot by an anonymous bidder for the total sum of 500 The purchaser was Adolf Galland the former General der Jagdflieger acting on behalf of the West German Ministry of Defence The awards were sold by Helmut Lent s elder daughter Christina after consultation with her mother Lena who was in urgent need for money to pay for an operation The Federal Ministry of Defence presented the collection to the Wehrgeschichtliches Museum Rastatt Germany 73 The former Lent Barracks in Rotenburg Wumme In 1964 West German Army Aviation Corps installation in Rotenburg Wumme Lower Saxony was named the Lent Barracks or Lent Kaserne on a recommendation of Lent s former superior 74 In 2014 the Bundeswehr decided to rename the facility as Lent was no longer considered to be an appropriate namesake The process which is expected to finalise in end 2015 involves 1 500 soldiers and 250 civil employees of the site and was initiated by the commander Oberstleutnant Edmund Vogel in early 2015 75 In September 2016 the district administrator Herrmann Luttmann member of the moderate right wing Party CDU stated No substantial evidence has been found that indeed Helmut Lent was a supporter of the Nazi regime Luttmann will therefore recommend to keep the name to the local government Lars Klingbeil member of the Bundestag and of the Defence Committee has signalled that the German armed forced would adhere to the decision made on local level despite all controversies 76 It s long overdue to rename the last barracks named after Wehrmacht officers Professor Johannes Tuchel head of the German Resistance Memorial told Bild am Sonntag Officers like Schulz Lent and Marseille fought in Hitler s war and were part of Nazi propaganda The barracks should be renamed after soldiers who resisted the Nazi regime he said Those who fought for human rights and the rule of law cannot be commemorated enough 77 Historian Wolfram Wette concurs with this opinion citing the tradition directive of 1982 Historian Sonke Neitzel has the opinion that the Bundeswehr should keep the name of Lent who was not a Nazi but only a value oriented person who followed his Christian image of humankind christlichen Menschenbild even if no Wehrmacht soldier came out of the war completely clean Despite this Neitzel thinks that except for the case of Erwin Rommel in five years no Bundeswehr barracks will retain the name of a Wehrmacht man any more since soldiers do not want to risk their careers to defend names unwanted by the Ministry of Defence 78 The Von During Barracks On 18 March 2018 the Bundeswehr released the latest regulations on military tradition Traditionserlass which stipulates that The Bundeswehr does not maintain a tradition of people troop units and military institutions in German military history who according to today s understanding have acted in a criminal racist or inhuman manner 79 Based on these regulations it was decided that the Lent Barracks would be renamed 80 Following an inquiry submitted by the Left Party on 8 October 2019 the Cabinet of Germany responded that members of the Lent Barracks had proposed renaming the barracks after forester and Freikorps officer Johann Christian von During 81 On 8 June 2020 the barracks was officially renamed the Von During Barracks 82 Summary of career EditAerial victory claims Edit Lent is officially credited with 111 victories in 507 flights The total includes 103 victories at night during which he destroyed 59 four engine bombers and one Mosquito among other types Lent received a posthumous promotion to Oberst Colonel Note 4 Mathews and Foreman authors of Luftwaffe Aces Biographies and Victory Claims researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 111 aerial victory claims including seven as a Zerstorer pilot and 104 as a night fighter pilot plus three further unconfirmed claims 84 The majority of his victories were claimed with detailed geographical locations However two of his victories were claimed in a Planquadrat grid reference for example QE PE The Luftwaffe grid map Jagermeldenetz was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude an area of about 360 square miles 930 km2 85 Chronicle of aerial victories This and the exclamation mark indicates those aerial victories not listed by Hinchliffe This and the hash mark indicates those aerial victories not listed by Foreman Mathews and Parry This along with the plus indicates almost certain identification This along with the asterisk indicates probable identification This along with the question mark indicates possible identification Claim total Claim nocturnal Date Time Type Location Serial No Squadron No 1 Staffel of Zerstorergeschwader 76 1 3 September 1939 17 10 PZL P 24 46 Lodz region Polish Air Force 2 18 December 1939 14 40 Wellington 46 near Borkum N2888 No 37 Squadron RAF 46 3 18 December 1939 14 45 Wellington 46 near Borkum N2889 No 37 Squadron RAF 46 4 9 April 1940 08 55 Gladiator 46 Bratenjordet 427 NAAS 46 5 27 May 1940 08 20 Gladiator 46 Bodo No 263 Squadron RAF 46 6 2 June 1940 14 25 Gladiator 46 Norway N5893 No 263 Squadron RAF 46 7 15 June 1940 12 45 Blenheim 46 near Trondheim L9408 No 254 Squadron RAF 46 6 Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 8 1 12 May 1941 01 40 Wellington 86 southwest of Suderstapel R1330 No 40 Squadron RAF 46 9 2 12 May 1941 02 49 Wellington 87 southwest of Nordstrand R1461 No 40 Squadron RAF 46 10 3 28 June 1941 01 58 Whitley 88 15 km 9 3 mi west of Bremervorde T4297 No 102 Squadron RAF 46 11 4 30 June 1941 01 40 Stirling 88 10 km 6 2 mi south Wesermunde N6001 No 7 Squadron RAF 46 12 5 30 June 1941 02 05 Stirling 20 km 12 mi southwest of Bremervorde 88 N3664 No 7 Squadron RAF 46 4 Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 13 6 4 July 1941 00 43 Wellington 89 Exloermond 23 km 14 mi southeast of Assen R1492 No 301 Polish Bomber Squadron 46 14 7 4 July 1941 03 41 unknown 89 15 8 6 July 1941 00 56 Whitley 89 8 km 5 0 mi west of Coevorden Z6793 No 10 Squadron RAF 46 16 9 8 July 1941 00 55 Whitley 89 20 km 12 mi southeast of Assen Z6799 No 77 Squadron RAF 46 17 10 10 July 1941 02 20 Wellington 90 10 km 6 2 mi northwest of Meppen B1770 No 40 Squadron RAF 46 18 11 13 July 1941 00 55 Hampden 90 Veendam 25 km 16 mi southeast of Groningen AE226 No 50 Squadron RAF 46 19 12 15 July 1941 00 49 Wellington 90 Veendam 25 km 16 mi southeast of Groningen W5513 No 104 Squadron RAF 46 20 13 25 July 1941 03 54 Wellington 91 13 km 8 1 mi south southwest of Leeuwarden R1369 No 57 Squadron RAF 46 21 14 15 August 1941 03 20 Whitley 92 north of Ameland Z6819 No 51 Squadron RAF 46 22 15 29 August 1941 03 40 Hampden 93 south of Ameland AE126 No 49 Squadron RAF 94 23 16 7 September 1941 01 25 Whitley 93 east of Leeuwarden Bergen aan Zee Z6681 No 78 Squadron RAF 94 24 17 8 September 1941 04 04 Wellington 93 Terwipsel northeast Franeker Z8845 No 9 Squadron RAF 94 25 18 8 September 1941 04 59 Wellington 93 Drachten southeast of Leeuwarden R1798 No 115 Squadron RAF 94 26 19 13 October 1941 00 06 Wellington 95 Westergeest northeast of Leeuwarden X9822 No 40 Squadron RAF 94 27 20 13 October 1941 00 33 Hampden 95 Zuiderzee AD965 No 144 Squadron RAF 94 II Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 28 21 8 November 1941 01 21 Wellington 96 north of Akkrum X9976 No 75 Squadron RAF 94 29 22 17 January 1942 21 40 Whitley 97 Terschelling Z9301 No 51 Squadron RAF 94 30 23 21 January 1942 22 38 Whitley 97 40 km 25 mi west of Terschelling Z9311 No 51 Squadron RAF 94 31 6 February 1942 15 14 Hampden 97 70 km 43 mi west of Terschelling AE308 No 455 Squadron RAF 94 32 24 26 March 1942 00 32 Manchester 98 10 km 6 2 mi north of Alkmaar L7518 No 61 Squadron RAF 94 33 25 27 March 1942 22 10 Hampden 98 north of Terschelling No 408 Squadron RAF 94 34 26 27 March 1942 22 42 Hampden 99 north of Terschelling No 408 Squadron RAF 94 35 27 29 March 1942 22 00 Manchester 99 north of Terschelling L7394 No 61 Squadron RAF 94 36 28 11 April 1942 00 23 Wellington 100 20 km 12 mi southeast of Den Helder Z8838 No 311 Squadron RAF 94 37 29 13 April 1942 00 32 Hampden 100 north of Terschelling P1239 No 420 Squadron RAF 94 38 30 18 April 1942 01 55 Wellington 100 25 km 16 mi north of Tershelling Z1267 No 300 Squadron RAF 94 39 31 15 May 1942 22 45 Hudson 101 north of Terschelling X3482 No 9 Squadron RAF 94 40 32 3 June 1942 01 06 Hampden 102 east of Medemblik AT154 No 408 Squadron RAF 94 41 33 4 June 1942 00 55 Halifax 102 west of Sint Maartensvlotbrug north northwest of Alkmaar R9457 No 76 Squadron RAF 94 42 34 6 June 1942 00 34 Wellington 103 south of Hoorn DV812 No 156 Squadron RAF 94 43 35 6 June 1942 01 16 Wellington 103 IJsselmeer east of Amsterdam Z1331 No 301 Polish Bomber Squadron 94 44 36 21 June 1942 00 59 Hampden 104 north of Ameland AT185 No 420 Squadron RAF 94 45 37 24 June 1942 01 12 Wellington 105 10 km 6 2 mi north of Tershelling T2921 No 103 Squadron RAF 94 46 38 24 June 1942 01 46 Wellington 105 northwest of Vlieland DV831 No 103 Squadron RAF 94 47 39 26 June 1942 02 37 Wellington 106 6 km 3 7 mi northwest of Enkhuizen T2612 No 18 Operational Training Unit RAF 94 48 40 26 June 1942 02 56 Whitley 106 Noordwijk BD266 No 24 Operational Training Unit RAF 94 107 49 41 3 July 1942 01 25 Wellington 108 southwest of Assen Z1314 No 301 Polish Bomber Squadron 94 50 42 9 July 1942 01 30 Wellington 109 Rottumeroog X3557 No 75 Squadron RAF 94 51 43 27 July 1942 02 35 Halifax 110 northwest of Vlieland52 44 27 July 1942 02 39 Wellington 110 northwest of Vlieland53 45 5 September 1942 02 50 Halifax 111 15 km 9 3 mi southeast of Leeuwarden R5682 No 61 Squadron RAF 94 54 46 14 September 1942 05 02 Wellington 112 northwest of Terschelling55 47 9 November 1942 20 37 Halifax 113 Ameland W7864 No 102 Squadron RAF 94 IV Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 56 48 17 December 1942 20 22 Lancaster 113 north of Sloten ED355 No 44 Squadron RAF 94 57 49 17 December 1942 20 38 Halifax 113 east of Urk ED333 No 44 Squadron RAF 94 58 50 2 January 1943 20 24 four engined bomber 114 59 51 8 January 1943 20 24 Lancaster 114 10 km 6 2 mi west of Texel60 52 21 January 1943 20 11 Wellington 115 north of Schiermonnikoog61 53 1 March 1943 21 39 Halifax 116 8 km 5 0 mi north of Ameland DT641 No 419 Squadron RAF 94 117 62 54 5 March 1943 22 20 Halifax 118 10 km 6 2 mi west of Harlingen BB282 No 76 Squadron RAF 94 63 55 5 March 1943 22 34 Halifax 118 10 km 6 2 mi east of Wieringen W4847 No 83 Squadron RAF 94 64 56 29 March 1943 23 46 Wellington 119 northwest of Lemmer BJ762 No 426 Squadron RAF 94 65 57 4 April 1943 00 24 Lancaster 120 15 km 9 3 mi east of Texel66 58 20 April 1943 03 38 Mosquito 121 west of Stavoren DZ694 No 410 Squadron RAF 122 67 59 5 May 1943 00 08 Stirling 123 8 km 5 0 mi south of Enkhuizen BK773 No 7 Squadron RAF 94 68 60 5 May 1943 00 18 Stirling 123 1 km 0 62 mi southeast of Hommerts EF343 No 149 Squadron RAF 94 69 61 14 May 1943 02 54 Halifax 124 4 km 2 5 mi north of Harlingen JB924 No 78 Squadron RAF 94 70 62 24 May 1943 02 16 Lancaster 125 southwest of Workum DT789 No 10 Squadron RAF 126 71 63 22 June 1943 03 09 Lancaster 127 70 km 43 mi west of Vlieland72 64 23 June 1943 02 06 Halifax 127 7 km 4 3 mi west of Urk73 65 26 June 1943 01 13 Wellington 128 west of Urk HF544 No 466 Squadron RAF 126 74 66 28 July 1943 02 37 Lancaster 126 northwest of Terschelling75 67 30 July 1943 02 10 Lancaster 129 25 km 16 mi north of Ameland Stab of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 76 68 24 August 1943 00 56 Stirling 130 Berlin Lichtenberg77 69 24 August 1943 01 16 Halifax 131 Berlin Mahlsdorf78 70 24 August 1943 Halifax 131 Note 5 Berlin Spandau79 71 1 September 1943 00 54 Halifax 132 southwest of Berlin80 72 1 September 1943 01 03 Halifax 133 east of Berlin81 73 22 September 1943 22 41 Stirling 134 Krohnsberg82 74 3 October 1943 22 27 Stirling 135 Herleshausen83 75 2 December 1943 19 58 Lancaster 136 Magdeburg84 76 2 December 1943 20 20 Stirling 136 southwest of Berlin85 77 16 December 1943 19 07 Lancaster 137 Almanbruck86 78 2 January 1944 02 49 Lancaster 126 87 79 14 January 1944 18 49 Lancaster 138 88 80 14 January 1944 19 05 Lancaster 138 89 81 14 January 1944 19 10 Lancaster 138 90 82 21 January 1944 22 28 Lancaster 139 91 83 21 January 1944 22 58 Lancaster 139 92 84 22 March 1944 21 26 Lancaster 140 near Bielefeld93 85 22 March 1944 21 35 four engined bomber 140 south of Bielefeld94 86 24 March 1944 21 30 four engined bomber 141 Berlin area95 87 24 March 1944 22 00 four engined bomber 141 Lubeck96 88 31 March 1944 01 21 four engined bomber 142 20 40 km 12 25 mi north of Nurnberg Halifax MZ508 No 578 Squadron RAF 126 97 89 23 April 1944 Lancaster 126 98 90 23 May 1944 00 21 four engined bomber 143 Osnabruck99 91 23 May 1944 00 40 four engined bomber 143 near Osnabruck100 92 16 June 1944 00 52 Lancaster 144 southwest of Lille101 93 16 June 1944 00 56 Lancaster 144 Bethune Armentieres102 94 16 June 1944 01 00 Lancaster 144 northwest Bethune103 95 25 June 1944 00 25 four engined bomber 145 QE PE104 96 25 June 1944 00 40 four engined bomber 145 QE PE105 97 28 June 1944 01 10 four engined bomber 146 off Dunkirk106 98 19 July 1944 01 36 four engined bomber 147 southeast of Reims107 99 19 July 1944 01 41 four engined bomber 147 50 km 31 mi southeast of Reims108 100 21 July 1944 02 07 Lancaster 147 over the sea near Deal109 101 25 July 1944 01 14 four engined bomber 148 Pforzheim110 102 29 July 1944 01 47 four engined bomber 149 near Bouxwiller111 103 29 July 1944 01 57 four engined bomber 149 near Chateau Salins112 104 17 August 1944 four engined bomber 126 113 105 12 September 1944 Lancaster 126 114 106 17 September 1944 Lancaster 126 Awards Edit Lent s Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds on display at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden Pilot s Badge 15 November 1937 150 Sudetenland Medal 151 Narvik Shield 30 January 1941 150 152 Wound Badge 1939 in Black 14 July 1941 153 in Silver 22 December 1943 153 Iron Cross 1939 2nd class 21 September 1939 154 1st class 11 May 1940 154 Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 26 June 1941 59 Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Destroyer Pilots in Gold 152 Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Nightfighter Pilots in Gold with Pennant 300 152 Combined Pilots Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds German Cross in Gold on 9 April 1942 as Hauptmann in the II Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 155 Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds Knight s Cross on 30 August 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitan of the 6 Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 156 Note 6 98th Oak Leaves on 6 June 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 157 158 32nd Swords on 2 August 1943 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the IV Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 157 159 15th Diamonds on 31 July 1944 as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 157 160 Promotions Edit 1 April 1936 Fahnenjunker Cadet 9 1 April 1937 Fahnrich Ensign 13 1 February 1938 Oberfahnrich Senior Ensign 161 1 March 1938 Leutnant Second Lieutenant 14 1 July 1940 Oberleutnant First Lieutenant 162 1 January 1942 Hauptmann Captain 52 1 January 1943 Major Major 56 1 March 1944 Oberstleutnant Lieutenant Colonel 59 Posthumously Oberst Colonel 85 Notes Edit For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces See Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II for an explanation of the Luftwaffe structure After 1933 the school was renamed Hermann Goring Hochschule 6 According to Jerry Scutts 113 victories of which 102 at night 83 According to Hincliffe this aerial victory was over a Lancaster bomber claimed over Berlin Tegel 126 According to Scherzer as Staffelkapitan of the 4 NJG 1 157 References EditCitations Edit Spick 1996 pp 3 4 a b c Fraschka 1994 pp 185 189 a b c Williamson 2006 pp 31 41 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 2 4 Hinchliffe 2003 p xvi Hinchliffe 2003 p 6 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 8 11 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 5 12 a b Fraschka 1994 p 186 Hinchliffe 2003 p 13 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 17 18 Hinchliffe 2003 p 21 a b Hinchliffe 2003 p 22 a b Hinchliffe 2003 pp 24 25 Hinchliffe 2003 p 29 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 30 31 Hinchliffe 2003 p 32 Hinchliffe 2003 p 33 a b Hinchliffe 2003 p 34 Hinchliffe 2003 p 35 Bekker 1994 p 37 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 40 41 Hinchliffe 2003 p 42 Hinchliffe 2003 p 46 Holmes 2010 p 60 Hinchliffe 2003 p 44 Hinchliffe 2003 p 45 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 47 49 Hinchliffe 2003 p 50 Holmes 2010 pp 78 81 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 54 55 a b c Hinchliffe 2003 p 61 Hinchliffe 2003 p 57 Hinchliffe 2003 p 58 Bekker 1994 p 84 Hinchliffe 2003 p 59 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 62 63 Weal 1999 p 26 Hinchliffe 2003 p 62 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 62 63 295 Hinchliffe 2003 p 67 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 73 74 Hinchliffe 2003 p 79 Hinchliffe 2003 p 84 Hinchliffe 2003 p 85 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Hinchliffe 2003 p 295 Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939 1945 Band 3 pp 285 286 a b Fraschka 1994 p 187 Hinchliffe 2003 p 120 Aders 1978 p 224 Hinchliffe 2003 p 121 a b Hinchliffe 2003 p 125 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 147 296 Aders 1978 pp 44 45 Boiten 1999 p 46 a b Hinchliffe 2003 p 199 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 201 297 Hinchliffe 2003 p 204 a b c Obermaier 1989 p 23 Williamson 2006 pp 50 51 Hinchliffe 2003 p 56 Hinchliffe 2003 p 116 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 143 259 Hinchliffe 2003 p 143 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 149 151 Hinchliffe 2003 p 267 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 257 258 Hinchliffe 2003 p 258 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 258 259 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 265 266 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 266 267 Hinchliffe 2003 p 268 Hinchliffe 2003 pp 287 288 Schulze 2017 Rotenburger Kreiszeitung amp 2 March 2015 Kruger 2016 Huggler 2017 Horn 2018 The Bundeswehr Tradition Horn 2020 Drucksache 19 13954 Reschke 2020 Scutts 1998 pp 20 88 Mathews amp Foreman 2015 pp 742 744 a b Hinchliffe 1999 p 208 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 20 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 21 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 23 a b c d Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 24 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 25 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 26 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 29 a b c d Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 30 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Hinchliffe 2003 p 296 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 31 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 32 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 34 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 36 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 37 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 38 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 40 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 43 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 44 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 46 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 47 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 48 Chorley 1996 p 492 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 49 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 50 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 51 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 57 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 58 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 62 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 64 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 65 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 68 Chorley 1996 p 57 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 70 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 72 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 73 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 76 Bowman 2016 p 144 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 78 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 80 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 82 a b c d e f g h i j Hinchliffe 2003 p 297 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 88 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 90 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 99 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 105 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 106 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 109 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 110 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 115 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 119 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 130 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 132 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 140 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 142 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 156 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 157 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 162 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 178 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 188 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 192 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 194 a b c Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 202 Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 204 a b Foreman Mathews amp Parry 2004 p 206 a b Hinchliffe 2003 p 298 Hinchliffe 2003 p 112 a b c Berger 1999 p 184 a b Hinchliffe 2003 p 220 a b Hagen 1998 p 142 Patzwall amp Scherzer 2001 p 275 Fellgiebel 2000 p 289 a b c d Scherzer 2007 p 502 Fellgiebel 2000 p 60 Fellgiebel 2000 p 41 Fellgiebel 2000 p 37 Hinchliffe 2003 p 24 Hinchliffe 2003 p 70 Bibliography Edit Aders Gebhard 1978 History of the German Night Fighter Force 1917 1945 London Janes Publishing ISBN 978 0 354 01247 8 Boiten Theo 1999 Night Air War Personal recollections of the conflict over Europe 1939 45 London Crowood Press ISBN 1 86126 298 1 Bowman Martin 2016 Nachtjagd Defenders of the Reich 1940 1943 Barnsley South Yorkshire Pen and Sword Books ISBN 978 1 4738 4986 0 Bekker Cajus 1994 The Luftwaffe War Diaries The German Air Force in World War II New York Da Capo Press ISBN 978 0 306 80604 9 Berger Florian 1999 Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern Die hochstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges With Oak Leaves and Swords The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War in German Vienna Austria Selbstverlag Florian Berger ISBN 978 3 9501307 0 6 Chorley William R 1996 Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War Aircraft and crew losses 1943 Midland Counties Publications ISBN 978 0 90459 790 5 Fellgiebel Walther Peer in German 2000 1986 Die Trager des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 1945 Die Inhaber der hochsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile The Bearers of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 1945 The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches in German Friedberg Germany Podzun Pallas ISBN 978 3 7909 0284 6 Foreman John Mathews Johannes Parry Simon W 2004 Luftwaffe Night Fighter Combat Claims 1939 1945 Walton on Thames Red Kite ISBN 978 0 9538061 4 0 Fraschka Gunther 1994 Knights of the Reich Atglen Pennsylvania Schiffer Military Aviation History ISBN 978 0 88740 580 8 Hagen Hans Peter 1998 Husaren des Himmels Beruhmte deutsche Jagdflieger und die Geschichte ihrer Waffe Hussars of Heaven Famous German Fighter Pilots and the History of their Weapon in German Rastatt Germany Moewig ISBN 978 3 8118 1456 1 Hinchliffe Peter 1998 Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939 1945 Air War at Night 1939 1945 in German Stuttgart Germany Motorbuch Verlag ISBN 978 3 613 01861 7 Hinchliffe Peter 1999 Schnaufer Ace of Diamonds Brimscombe Port UK Tempus ISBN 978 0 7524 1690 8 Hinchliffe Peter 2003 The Lent Papers Helmut Lent Bristol UK Cerberus Publishing ISBN 978 1 84145 105 3 Holmes Robin 2010 The Battle of the Heligoland Bight 1939 The Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe s Baptism of Fire London Grub Street ISBN 978 1 906502 56 0 Horn Charlotte 2 June 2018 Endlos Streit um Lent Kaserne Endless Dispute over Lent Barracks in German Norddeutscher Rundfunk NDR Retrieved 8 March 2019 Huggler Justin 14 May 2017 German army to drop Nazi names from barracks more than 70 years after end of World War Two The Daily Telegraph Retrieved 20 March 2019 Kruger Michael 24 September 2016 Der Name soll bleiben The Name will stay in German Rotenburger Kreiszeitung Retrieved 24 September 2016 Mathews Andrew Johannes Foreman John 2015 Luftwaffe Aces Biographies and Victory Claims Volume 2 G L Walton on Thames Red Kite ISBN 978 1 906592 19 6 Obermaier Ernst 1989 Die Ritterkreuztrager der Luftwaffe Band 1 Jagdflieger 1939 1945 The Knight s Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Volume 1 Fighter Pilots 1939 1945 in German 2nd ed Mainz Germany Verlag Dieter Hoffmann ISBN 978 3 87341 065 7 Patzwall Klaus D Scherzer Veit 2001 Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II The German Cross 1941 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2 in German Norderstedt Germany Verlag Klaus D Patzwall ISBN 978 3 931533 45 8 Scherzer Veit 2007 Die Ritterkreuztrager 1939 1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer Luftwaffe Kriegsmarine Waffen SS Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbundeter Streitkrafte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives The Knight s Cross Bearers 1939 1945 The Holders of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army Air Force Navy Waffen SS Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives in German Jena Germany Scherzers Militaer Verlag ISBN 978 3 938845 17 2 Schulze Tobias 21 May 2017 Bundeswehrkasernen mit Nazi Namen Bundeswehr Barracks with Nazi Names Die Tageszeitung in German ISSN 0931 9085 Retrieved 20 March 2019 Scutts Jerry 1998 German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2 Oxford UK Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 1 85532 696 5 Spick Mike 1996 Luftwaffe Fighter Aces New York Ivy Books ISBN 978 0 8041 1696 1 Weal John 1999 Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer Aces World War Two London UK Osprey Publishing ISBN 1 85532 753 8 Williamson Gordon 2006 Knight s Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941 45 Oxford UK Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 1 84176 644 7 Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939 1945 Band 3 1 Januar 1944 bis 9 Mai 1945 The Wehrmacht Reports 1939 1945 Volume 3 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945 in German Munchen Germany Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH amp Co KG 1985 ISBN 978 3 423 05944 2 Kasernenkommandant Edmund Vogel leitet Findungsprozess ein Suche nach dem neuen Namen zieht sich noch hin Barracks commander Edmund Vogel initiated name finding process The search for the new name still drags on kreiszeitung de in German Rotenburger Kreiszeitung 2 March 2015 Retrieved 25 August 2015 Die Tradition der Bundeswehr The Bundeswehr Tradition PDF www bmvg de in German Retrieved 20 April 2020 Horn Charlotte 7 February 2020 Streit um Lent Kaserne Neuanfang mit von During Dispute over Lent Barracks new Beginning with von During Norddeutscher Rundfunk in German Retrieved 20 April 2020 Diskussionsstand zur Umbenennung der Lent Kaserne State of discussions on renaming of Lent Barracks PDF Bundestag in German 10 October 2019 Reschke Klaus 10 June 2020 Neuer Name fur Bundeswehr Kaserne New Name for Bundeswehr Barracks Bundeswehr in German Retrieved 10 September 2020 External links EditNewspaper clippings about Helmut Lent in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBWMilitary officesPreceded byMajor Johann Schalk Commander of Nachtjagdgeschwader 31 August 1943 7 October 1944 Succeeded byOberst Gunther Radusch Portals Aviation Biography Military of Germany World War IIHelmut Lent at Wikipedia s sister projects Media from Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Helmut Lent amp oldid 1137409065, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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