Reinhold Knacke

Reinhold Knacke (1 January 1919 – 3 February 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 44 aerial victories, plus one further unconfirmed claim by day, achieved in approximately 160 combat missions making him one of the more successful night fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe.[Note 1] All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in Defense of the Reich missions against the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Bomber Command.

Reinhold Knacke
Born1 January 1919
Strelitz Alt, Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German Empire
Died3 February 1943(1943-02-03) (aged 24)
Achterveld, German-occupied Netherlands
Buried
Ysselsteyn, Netherlands
(Block M—Row 4—Grave 80)
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
Years of service1937–43
RankHauptmann (captain)
UnitNJG 1
Commands held1./NJG 1
Battles/wars
See battles

World War II

AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Born in Strelitz, Knacke grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He joined the military service of Luftwaffe in 1937 and was trained as a pilot. He served with Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing), flying a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter, at the start of World War II. He claimed his first aerial victory during the Battle of France which was not confirmed. In June 1940, the Luftwaffe created its first night fighter wing, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing), and Knacke transferred to this unit. There, he claimed his first nocturnal aerial victory on the night of 9 March 1940. Knacke was appointed squadron leader of 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of NJG 1 in April 1942. On 1 July 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after his 23rd aerial victory. At the end of 1942, Knacke was one of the leading night fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe.

On 2/3 February 1943, he shot down a H2S airborne ground scanning radar system equipped bomber, the first such radar system to be recovered and analyzed by German technicians. Later that night, he was killed in action following combat with another RAF bomber. Posthumously, Knacke was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 5 February 1943.

Early life and career

Knacke was born on 1 January 1919 in Strelitz, present-day Strelitz-Alt, a borough of Neustrelitz, at the time in the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz of the Weimar Republic. He was the son of an employee of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Knacke volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe on 1 November 1937 and was trained as a pilot.[Note 2] On 1 September 1939, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) and was posted to I. Gruppe (1st group) of Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing).[2]

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In February 1940, I./ZG 1 was placed under the command of Hauptmann (Captain) Wolfgang Falck. With the start of the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940, I./ZG 1 was moved to Aalborg airfield. There, the airfield came under night attacks by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command, leading Falck to conduct his first experiments of nocturnal aerial combat.[3] During the Battle of France, Knacke claimed an unconfirmed aerial victory on 10 May 1940 over a Bristol Blenheim bomber in the vicinity of Waalhaven.[4] Flying numerous combat missions during this campaign, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse), which was presented to him on 15 July 1940 and was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lientenant) on 1 October 1940.[2]

Night fighter career
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.[5] 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.[6]

Following the Battle of France, Falck was tasked with the creation of the Luftwaffe's first night fighter wing, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing). His former unit, I./ZG 1 formed the nucleus of I. Gruppe of NJG 1 which was placed under the command of Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Werner Streib.[7] Now flying in the 2. Staffel of NJG 1, sources vary with respect to when Knacke claimed his first nocturnal aerial victory. According to Foreman, Parry and Matthews, he claimed a Vickers Wellington bomber shot down on 9 March 1941.[8] According to Obermaier and Stockert, Knacke was credited with his first aerial victory on the night of 2/3 May 1941.[9][2] He received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 14 April 1942, after his 18th claim.[2]

Squadron leader and death

Knacke was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of NJG 1 on 1 April 1942.[9] On 25/26 June 1942, RAF Bomber Command launched the third thousand-bomber raid and bombed Bremen. That night, Knacke, assisted by his radio operator Unteroffizier Günther Heu, claimed three aerial victories.[10] On the night of 25/26 July 1942, Knacke shot down the Bristol Blenheim bomber R3837 from No. 114 Squadron on its intruder bombing mission to Venlo airfield.[11] Three nights later, Knacke became the first German night fighter pilot to claim a de Havilland Mosquito destroyed. The aircraft, Mosquito DD677 from No. 23 Squadron, was shot down near Haps.[12]

On 16/17 September 1942, 369 British bombers attack Germany, losing 39 of their number, a very high 10.6 percent loss rate. Knacke, shot down five bombers during that night, which would make him an "ace-in-a-day".[13][Note 3] At the end of 1942, Knacke was one of the leading night fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe, which at the time included Lent (49 nocturnal claims), Ludwig Becker (40 nocturnal claims), Werner Streib (39 nocturnal claims) and Paul Gildner (37 nocturnal claims).[15] He was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 January 1943.[16]

German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn - Reinhold Knacke

On the night of 2/3 February 1943, Knacke shot down a Short Stirling bomber on its mission to bomb Cologne. The Stirling I R9264 MG-L from No. 7 Squadron was a Pathfinder aircraft equipped with the then new H2S airborne ground scanning radar system. The radar was recovered by German forces and sent to Berlin where it was examined by Telefunken. Knacke then attacked a Halifax bomber near Achterveld which he shot down but his aircraft was also hit by the bomber's air gunner.[17] His radio operator, Unteroffizier Kurt Bundrock, managed to bail out from the burning aircraft. Knacke was found dead next to his crashed Bf 110 F-4 (Werksnummer 4683—factory number) "G9+DK" 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of Achterveld.[9] Knacke was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 5 February 1943. He was the 190th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. Originally buried near Deelen airfield, he was reinterred at the German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn (Block M—Row 4—Grave 80) at Venray.[16]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Foreman, Parry and Matthews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 45 nocturnal victory claims.[18] Matthews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Knacke with 43 nocturnal aerial victories claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim as a destroyer pilot during daytime operations.[4]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 6255". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.[19]

Awards

Notes
  1. For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces.
  2. Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations. For pilots destined to fly multi-engine aircraft, the training was completed with the Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate (Erweiterter Luftwaffen-Flugzeugführerschein), also known as the C-Certificate.[1]
  3. These five aerial victories are not documented by Foreman, Parry and Matthews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945.[14]
  4. This claim is not listed in Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.[4]
  5. According to Scherzer on 5 February 1943.[45]

References

Citations
  1. Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 17.
  2. Stockert 2012, p. 356.
  3. Hinchliffe 1998, p. 27.
  4. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 650.
  5. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 9.
  6. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 27.
  7. Hinchliffe 1998, pp. 33–34.
  8. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 16.
  9. Obermaier 1989, p. 55.
  10. Hinchliffe 1998, p. 100.
  11. Warner 2005, p. 392.
  12. Bowman 2016, p. 99.
  13. Hinchliffe 2001, p. 98.
  14. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 59.
  15. Obermaier 1989, p. 56.
  16. Stockert 2012, p. 357.
  17. Bowman 2016, pp. 123–124.
  18. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, pp. 16–66.
  19. Planquadrat.
  20. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 17.
  21. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 20.
  22. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 21.
  23. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 22.
  24. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 24.
  25. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 32.
  26. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 33.
  27. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 35.
  28. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 36.
  29. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 37.
  30. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1289.
  31. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 42.
  32. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 46.
  33. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 50.
  34. Bowman 2015, p. 46.
  35. Bowman 2016, p. 90.
  36. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 51.
  37. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 54.
  38. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 60.
  39. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 63.
  40. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 64.
  41. Foreman, Parry & Matthews 2004, p. 66.
  42. Thomas 1997, p. 379.
  43. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 236.
  44. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 215.
  45. Scherzer 2007, p. 452.
  46. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 58.

Bibliography
  • Bergström, Christer. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  • Bergström, Christer; Antipov, Vlad; Sundin, Claes (2003). Graf & Grislawski – A Pair of Aces. Hamilton MT: Eagle Editions. ISBN 978-0-9721060-4-7.
  • Bowman, Martin (2015). The Heavy Bomber Offensive of WWII. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-4738-6114-5.
  • Bowman, Martin (2016). Nachtjagd, Defenders of the Reich 1940–1943. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-4738-4986-0.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten 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; Parry, Simon; Matthews, Johannes (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-0-9538061-4-0.
  • 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 (2001) [1996]. The Other Battle: Luftwaffe Night Aces Versus Bomber Command. Edison, New Jersey: Castle Books. ISBN 978-0-7858-1418-4.
  • Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
  • Matthews, 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.
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  • Stockert, Peter (2012) [1997]. Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2] (in German) (4th ed.). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. ISBN 978-3-9802222-9-7.
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  • Warner, Graham (2005). The Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History (2nd ed.). London: Crécy Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85979-101-4.
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