Walter Ehle
German fighter ace and Knight's Cross recipient
title: "Walter Ehle" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1913-births", "1943-deaths", "people-from-windhoek", "condor-legion-personnel", "german-world-war-ii-flying-aces", "recipients-of-the-gold-german-cross", "recipients-of-the-knight's-cross-of-the-iron-cross", "white-namibian-people", "colonial-people-of-german-south-west-africa", "aviators-killed-in-aviation-accidents-or-incidents-in-belgium", "luftwaffe-personnel-killed-in-world-war-ii", "burials-at-lommel-german-war-cemetery", "victims-of-aviation-accidents-or-incidents-in-1943"] description: "German fighter ace and Knight's Cross recipient" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Ehle" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary German fighter ace and Knight's Cross recipient ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Walter Ehle |
| birth_date | 28 April 1913 |
| death_date | |
| birth_place | Windhuk, German South West Africa |
| death_place | St. Trond, German-occupied Belgium |
| placeofburial | Lommel, Belgium |
| image | File:Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Lommel - Walter Ehle.jpg |
| caption | Grave 21-42 |
| allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| branch | |
| serviceyears | 1935–1943 |
| rank | Major (major) |
| commands | II./ NJG 1 |
| unit | Condor Legion |
| ZG 1 | |
| NJG 1 | |
| battles | {{hidden |
| awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| headerstyle | background:#dbdbdb |
| style | text-align:center; |
| :: |
|name=Walter Ehle |birth_date=28 April 1913 |death_date= |birth_place=Windhuk, German South West Africa |death_place=St. Trond, German-occupied Belgium |placeofburial=Lommel, Belgium |image=File:Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Lommel - Walter Ehle.jpg |caption=Grave 21-42 |nickname= |allegiance=Nazi Germany |branch= |serviceyears=1935–1943 |rank=Major (major) |commands=II./ NJG 1 |unit=Condor Legion ZG 1 NJG 1 |battles={{hidden |See battles |Spanish Civil War World War II Land campaigns:
- Invasion of Poland
- Battle of France Air campaigns:
- European air campaign
- Battle of Britain
- Defense of the Reich |awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |- |headerstyle=background:#dbdbdb |style=text-align:center; |laterwork=}}
Walter Ehle (28 April 1913 – 18 November 1943) was a Luftwaffe night fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Walter Ehle claimed 39 aerial victories, 35 of them at night.For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces.
Early life and career
Ehle was born on 28 April 1913 in Windhuk in German South West Africa, present-day Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia.
World War II
At the start of the war Ehle flew with 3./ZG 1 and was credited with three daylight kills before the unit was redesignated 3./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1) and he became a night fighter.
Night fighter career
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Kammhuber_Line_Map_-_Agent_Tegal.png" caption="A map of part of the Kammhuber Line. The 'belt' and night fighter 'boxes' are shown."] ::
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.
Group commander
Ehle was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of NJG 1 on 6 October 1940, succeeding Hauptmann Heinrich Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz. His sixth night victory was a Bristol Blenheim shot down on 2 June 1942, and he had 16 victories in total by the end of 1942.
On 18 November 1943 Walter Ehle's Messerschmitt Bf 110 crashed near St. Trond, Belgium. As he was landing his airfield lights were extinguished; his aircraft crashed and he and his crew, Ofw. Leidenbach (Bordfunker—radio/wireless operator) and Uffz. Derlitzky (Bordschütze—aerial gunner), perished. He was succeeded by Major Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin as commander of II. Gruppe of NJG 1.
Major Ehle was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 29 August after 31 victories and at the time of his death he was credited with 39. He shot down a total of 38 enemy aircraft of which 35 were at night.
Summary of career
Aerial victory claims
According to Obermaier, Ehle was credited with 39—four daytime and 35 nighttime—aerial victories. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 34 nocturnal victory claims. Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Ehle with 34 claims, including three as a Zerstörer pilot, plus three further unconfirmed claims.
::data[format=table] | Chronicle of aerial victories | Claim (total) | Claim (nocturnal) | Date | Time | Type | Location | Serial No./Squadron No. | – 3. Staffel of Zerstörergeschwader 1 – | – 3. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – | – Stab II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | 6 September 1939 | 05:15 | PZL P.11 | Warsaw | | | | | | | 2 | | 8 September 1939 | | PZL.37 Łoś | Radzymin | | | | | | | 3 | | 1 June 1940 | | Spitfire | vicinity of Dunkirk | | | | | | | 4 | 1 | 21 July 1940 | 01:38 | Wellington | 12 km northwest of Munster | | | | | | | 5 | 2 | 9 February 1941 | 23:35 | Wellington | 15 km west of Nunspeet | Wellington T2702/No. 15 Squadron RAF | | | | | | 6 | 3 | 11 May 1941 | 00:57 | Wellington | 5 km west of Westerhever | | | | | | | 7 | 4 | 30 June 1941 | 01:52 | Wellington | 40 km northeast of Bremen | | | | | | | 8 | 5 | 30 June 1941 | 02:45 | Stirling | 2 km northwest of Ellerbeck | | | | | | | 9 | 6 | 2 June 1942 | 02:34 | Blenheim | north-northeast of Brussels | Wellington DV763/No. 16 Operational Training Unit | | | | | | 10 | 7 | 7 August 1942 | 02:40 | Halifax | 2 km southwest of Gruitrode | | | | | | | 11 | 8 | 12 August 1942 | 03:12 | Wellington | northwest of Leuven | | | | | | | 12 | 9 | 28 August 1942 | 23:02 | Wellington | east of Wihogne | | | | | | | 13 | 10 | 28 August 1942 | 23:51 | Wellington | northeast of Liège | | | | | | | 14 | 11 | 29 August 1942 | 02:52 | Wellington | Grez-Doiceau | | | | | | | 15 | 12 | 2 September 1942 | 04:13 | Stirling | Nossegem (incorrectly spelled "Osseghem" in the reference book) | Stirling N3714/No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF | | | | | | 16 | 13 | 3 September 1942 | 01:59 | Lancaster | 22 km southwest of Liège | | | | | | | 17 | 14 | 7 September 1942 | 04:55 | Wellington | 7 km south of Tilburg | | | | | | | 18 | 15 | 17 September 1942 | 01:08 | Stirling | south of Tirlemont | | | | | | | 19 | 16 | 11 April 1943 | 03:45 | Stirling | 1 km south of Tongerlo | Stirling BK760/No. 7 Squadron RAF | | | | | | 20 | 17 | 13 May 1943 | 02:44 | Lancaster | 3 km north of Roermond | | | | | | | 21♠ | 18 | 26 May 1943 | 01:51 | Halifax | 1 km south of Jülich | Halifax JB837/No. 77 Squadron RAF | | | | | | 22♠ | 19 | 26 May 1943 | 01:52 | Stirling | 2 km south of Jülich | Stirling EF361/No. 7 Squadron RAF | | | | | | 23♠ | 20 | 26 May 1943 | 01:52 | Stirling | 6 km south of Jülich | Stirling BF534/No. 15 Squadron RAF | | | | | | 24♠ | 21 | 26 May 1943 | 01:55 | Stirling | 8 km south of Jülich | Stirling EH887/No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF | | | | | | 25♠ | 22 | 26 May 1943 | 02:35 | Wellington | 3 km north of Nederweert | Wellington HE699/No. 166 Squadron RAF | | | | | | 26 | 23 | 30 May 1943 | 00:37 | Halifax | 9 km southeast of Aachen | | | | | | | 27 | 24 | 30 May 1943 | 01:05 | Halifax | 6 km northeast of Jülich | | | | | | | 28 | 25 | 17 June 1943 | 01:18 | Lancaster | south-southwest of Jülich | | | | | | | 29 | 26 | 22 June 1943 | 02:39 | Halifax | 4 km northwest of Bortel | | | | | | | 30 | 27 | 29 June 1943 | 02:33 | Stirling | 40 km west-southwest of Diest | Stirling EE880/No. 149 Squadron RAF | | | | | | 31 | 28 | 28 July 1943 | 01:26 | Lancaster | west-southwest of Bremervörde | | | | | | | 32 | 29 | 18 August 1943 | 01:44 | Lancaster | north-northwest of Peenemünde | | | | | | | 33 | 30 | 18 August 1943 | 01:46 | Lancaster | north-northwest of Peenemünde | | | | | | | | 31? | 28 August 1943 | 02:00 | Stirling | northwest of Nuremberg | | | | | | | 34 | 32 | 31 August 1943 | 03:45 | Lancaster | Giesenkirchen | | | | | | | | 33? | 3 November 1943 | 14:25 | B-17 | | | | | | | | | 34? | 3 November 1943 | 19:40 | Lancaster | 30 km west-northwest of Cologne | | | | | | ::
Awards
- Aviator badge
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
- Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (14 April 1939)
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold on 20 October 1942 as Hauptmann in the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 August 1943 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
- {{Cite book |last1=Aders |first1=Gebhard |year=1978 |title=History of the German Night Fighter Force, 1917–1945 |location=London |publisher=Janes |isbn=978-0-354-01247-8
- {{Cite book |last=Bond |first=Steve |year=2014 |title=Wimpy: A Detailed History of the Vickers Wellington in service, 1938-1953 |publisher=Grub Street Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-1-90980-814-0
- {{Cite book |last=Bowman |first=Martin |year=2016 |title=Nachtjagd, Defenders of the Reich 1940–1943 |location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire |publisher=Pen and Sword Books |isbn=978-1-4738-4986-0
- {{Cite book |last=Fellgiebel |first=Walther-Peer |author-link=:de:Walther-Peer Fellgiebel |year=2000 |orig-year=1986 |title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile |trans-title=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 |language=de |location=Friedberg, Germany |publisher=Podzun-Pallas |isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6
- {{Cite book |last1=Foreman |first1=John |last2=Parry |first2=Simon |last3=Mathews |first3=Johannes |year=2004 |title=Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945 |language=en |location=Walton on Thames |publisher=Red Kite |isbn=978-0-9538061-4-0
- {{Cite book |last1=Mathews |first1=Andrew Johannes |last2=Foreman |first2=John |year=2014 |title=Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 1 A–F |location=Walton on Thames |publisher=Red Kite |isbn=978-1-906592-18-9
- {{Cite book |last=Obermaier |first=Ernst |year=1989 |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945 |language=de |location=Mainz, Germany |publisher=Verlag Dieter Hoffmann |isbn=978-3-87341-065-7
- {{Cite book |last1=Patzwall |first1=Klaus D. |last2=Scherzer |first2=Veit |year=2001 |title=Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II |trans-title=The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2 |language=de |location=Norderstedt, Germany |publisher=Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall |isbn=978-3-931533-45-8
- {{Cite book |last=Scherzer |first=Veit |year=2007 |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives |trans-title=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 |language=de |location=Jena, Germany |publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag |isbn=978-3-938845-17-2
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