Wolfgang Lippert (pilot)

Wolfgang Lippert (14 September 1914 – 3 December 1941) was a World War II Luftwaffe Flying ace. Lippert was credited with 30 victories, five of which were scored in the Spanish Civil War.

Wolfgang Lippert
Born	(1914-09-14)14 September 1914 Fraureuth, Kingdom of Saxony
Died	3 December 1941(1941-12-03) (aged 27) Egypt
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1932/3–1941
Rank	Hauptmann (captain)
Unit	Stab II./JG 27 and 3./JG 53
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II Battle of France Battle of Britain Operation Barbarossa North African Campaign
Awards	Spanish Cross In Gold with Swords Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Military career

Luftwaffe career

Lippert joined the Luftwaffe and after pilot training, was posted to I./Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel". In March 1937 Leutnant Lippert was transferred to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) at Wiesbaden. Lippert gained his first aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War flying with the Condor Legion with 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88. He claimed five victories from mid-1938 until March 1939, receiving the award of the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords.

On 1 May 1939, Lippert was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 53. He succeeded Hauptmann Lothar von Janson who was transferred.^[1]

He claimed his first victory of World War II on 30 September 1939, a French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 over Wissembourg. During the Battle of France he destroyed eight Allied aircraft.

Group commander

 

II./JG 27 Emblem

On 4 September 1940, Hauptmann Lippert was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). He thus succeeded Oberleutnant Ernst Düllberg who had temporarily replaced Hauptmann Werner Andres after his transfer.^[2]

During the Battle of Britain, a further seven kills were claimed. On 16 August 1940 he shot down Sgt John Lawrence Crisp of 43 Squadron A Flight, who broke his leg on landing at Bognor Regis. On 1 November 1940 he shot down Royal Air Force ace S/L Archie McKellar flying a No. 605 Squadron Hurricane Mk.I.^[3][4] He was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 September after 13 World War II victories.

In 1941 Lippert participated with II./JG 27 in Operation Barbarossa, scoring four victories against Soviet aircraft. Later that year the unit was transferred to North Africa where he destroyed a further five Allied aircraft.

Death

On 23 November 1941 Lippert was shot down over Allied lines near Bir el Gubi, probably by Flight Lieutenant Clive Caldwell of No. 250 Squadron. As Lippert bailed out of his Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 8469—factory number), he hit the tailplane. He was hospitalised in Cairo and his legs were amputated. However, his legs were infected by gangrene and he died on 3 December.^[5][6][7]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 29 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This number includes five claims during the Spanish Civil War, three on the Eastern Front and further 21 over the Western Allies of World War II.^[8]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
Spanish Civil War
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 –^[8] Spanish Civil War — July – December 1938
1	15 July 1938	—	I-15^[9]		4	4 October 1938	—	I-16^[9]
2	23 July 1938	—	I-16^[9]		5	29 December 1938	—	I-15^[9]
3	14 August 1938	—	I-16^[9]
World War II
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[8] "Phoney War" — 1 September 1939 – 9 May 1940
1	30 September 1939	14:45	M.S.406	Büdingen^[10]	2	7 April 1940	12:50	Spitfire	southwest of Diedenhofen^[11]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[8] Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940
3	10 May 1940	13:55	Curtiss	southwest of Metz^[12]	6	20 May 1940	18:35	Curtiss	Noyon^[12]
4	14 May 1940	19:30	Wellington	Sedan^[12]	7	3 June 1940	14:20	Spitfire	south of Paris^[12]
5	15 May 1940	16:13	MB.151	south of Charleville	8	9 June 1940	14:50	Curtiss	Boult^[12]
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[8] At the Channel and over England — 26 June – 3 September 1940
9	16 August 1940	18:00	Spitfire^[13]		11	2 September 1940	08:55	Hurricane^[14]
10	26 August 1940	17:35	Spitfire	Portsmouth^[14]
– Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 –^[8] At the Channel and over England — 4 September – 5 November 1940
12	7 September 1940	19:05	Spitfire	London^[15]	15	25 October 1940	13:06	Hurricane	London^[16]
13	17 September 1940	16:48	Hurricane	Maidstone^[15]	16	1 November 1940	09:15	Hurricane	Canterbury^[16]
14	25 October 1940	13:05	Hurricane	London^[16]
– Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 –^[8] Operation Barbarossa – 22 June – 19 July 1941
17	22 June 1941	04:15	I-15	south of Knyszyn^[17]	19?^[Note 1]	25 June 1941	—	SB-3	north of Njemenczin^[17]
18	22 June 1941	04:18	I-17 (MiG-1)	northeast of Wizna^[17]	20	25 June 1941	12:15	DB-3	southwest of Vilnius^[17]
– Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 –^[8] In North Africa — 22 September – 23 November 1941
21	23 October 1941	09:30	Hurricane	south of Buq Buq^[18]	24	22 November 1941	16:45	Wellington	northwest of Bir Hacheim^[19]
22	22 November 1941	10:20	P-40	southeast of Ain el Gazala airfield^[19]	25	23 November 1941	12:25	Hurricane	east of Bir Hacheim^[19]
23	22 November 1941	16:30	P-40	northwest of Bir Hacheim^[19]

Awards

• Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwerten
• Flugzeugführerabzeichen
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 September 1940 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 27^[20][21]

Notes

1. According to Mathews and Foreman this claim is unconfirmed.^[8]

References

Citations

1. Prien et al. 2000, p. 232.
2. Prien et al. 2002a, p. 398.
3. Holmes 1998, p. 106.
4. Foreman 1988, pp. 21–22.
5. Weal 2003, p. 90.
6. Weal 2003, p. 72.
7. Goss 2018, p. 114.
8. Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 762.
9. Forsyth 2011, p. 106.
10. Prien et al. 2001a, p. 368.
11. Prien et al. 2001a, p. 369.
12. Prien et al. 2001b, p. 327.
13. Prien et al. 2002b, p. 201.
14. Prien et al. 2002b, p. 203.
15. Prien et al. 2002a, p. 402.
16. Prien et al. 2002a, p. 403.
17. Prien et al. 2003, p. 168.
18. Prien et al. 2004, p. 259.
19. Prien et al. 2004, p. 260.
20. Scherzer 2007, p. 510.
21. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 294.

Bibliography

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