Herbert Ihlefeld

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Herbert Ihlefeld
1 June 1914 – 8 August 1995
Place of birth	Pinnow, Pommern
Place of death	Wenningsen, Niedersachsen
Allegiance	Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1933-1945
Rank	Oberst
Unit	Lehrgeschwader 2, JG 77, JG 52, JG 103, JG 25, JG 11, JG 1
Commands	I./JG 77, JG 52, JG 103, JG 25, JG 11, JG 1
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War Battle of France Battle of Britain Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Spanish Cross in Gold Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Herbert Ihlefeld (born 1 June 1914 in Pinnow, Pommern, died 8 August 1995 in Wenningsen, Niedersachsen) was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1936 until the end of World War II in 1945. He claimed 132 enemy aircraft shot down, among them 9 in the Spanish Civil War 67 on the Russian front and 56 on the Western Front including 15 four-motor planes and 26 Spitfires. He survived being shot down 8 times during his 1000 combat missions.

Contents 1 World War II 2 Awards 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] World War II

In August 1938, he was assigned to the I(J)/LG2 (Lehrgeschwader 2), an operational training unit. He flew in the battles of Poland, France and Britain. In July 1940 "Ihle" was now Staffelkapitän of 1.(J)/LG2, leading it during the Battle of Britain. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz during September 1940, for 24 claimed kills.

In April 1941, the unit was transferred to the Balkans to take part of the invasion of Yugoslavia. During one of his first missions - strafing of an airfield near Niš, Ihlefeld was shot down by anti aircraft machine-gun fire and captured by Yugoslavian soldiers. While in Yugoslavian captivity, he was allegedly severely beaten and was threatened with execution by firing-squad. Ihlefeld was rescued by German troops after eight days of arrest and returned to Germany to recover. After a few weeks, "Ihle" returned to participate in the assault on Crete, claiming a Hurricane shot down for his 36th claim. Soon after, LG 2 was reamed and remustered as I/JG 77 (Jagdgeschwader 77) in time for Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, Ihlefeld retaining the command of I/JG 77.

In the spring of 1942 a series of multiple victories (five aircraft on 24 March, seven on 30 March and seven on 20 April) saw Herbert Ihlefeld become the fifth pilot to reach 100 victories. During the period of Ihlefeld's leadership, I./JG 77 was credited with the destuction of 323 enemy planes and lost only 17 Bf 109s.

In June 1942 Ihlefeld became Kommodore of the famed Jagdgeschwader 52 but serious injuries after a landing accident took him out of the front line until July 1943 when he joined the newly formed Jagdgruppe 25 as Geschwaderkommodore, leading the group's high altitude Me 109s in operations against the RAF Mosquito and in defense of the Reich.

In May 1944, he became Kommodore of JG 11 briefly before switching to Kommodore of JG 1, involved in the Defence of the Reich.

In 1945 he took command of Jagdgeschwader 1, the group being equipped with the Heinkel 162 people's fighter jet.

After a period as Geschwaderkommodore in JG 51, JG 52 and the training-unit JG 103, he was ordered to lead the Mosquito hunting unit JG 25, as of July, 1943.

[edit] Awards

• Iron Cross 2. and 1. class
• Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross (13 September 1940)
  • Oak Leaves (27 June 1941)
  • Swords (24 April 1942)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

Preceded by Major Heinrich Bär	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 1 Oesau May 20, 1944-May 8, 1945	Succeeded by none
Preceded by Major Anton Hackl	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 11 May 1, 1944-May, 1944	Succeeded by Major Günther Specht
Preceded by none	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 25 July, 1943-December, 1943	Succeeded by none
Preceded by Oberstleutnant Friedrich Beckh	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 52 June 22, 1942-October 28, 1942	Succeeded by Oberstleutnant Dietrich Hrabak
Preceded by none	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 103 December 7, 1942-July 20, 1943	Succeeded by Major Hans von Hahn