Wilhelm Moritz (Luftwaffe officer)

Wilhelm Moritz

Born	(1913-06-29)29 June 1913 Altona
Died	2010 (aged 96 or 97) Ontario, Canada
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (1933–35) Luftwaffe (1935–45)
Years of service	1933–45
Rank	Major
Unit	ZG 1, JG 77, JG 1, JG 51, JG 3, JG 4
Commands held	IV./JG 3 II./JG 4
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Wilhelm Moritz (29 June 1913 – 2010) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. During his career Wilhelm Moritz was credited with 44 victories in 500+ missions.

Career

Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R8 of IV.(Sturm)/JG 3 "Udet", flown by Hauptmann Moritz

On 7 July 1944 a force of 1,129 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force set out from England to bomb aircraft factories in the Leipzig area and the synthetic oil plants at Boehlen, Leuna-Merseburg and Lützkendorf. This formation was intercepted by a German Gefechtsverband (combat formation) consisting of IV.(Sturm) Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (4th assault group of the 3rd fighter wing), led by Hauptmann Moritz, escorted by two Gruppen of Bf 109s from Jagdgeschwader 300 (300th fighter wing) led by Major Walther Dahl. Dahl and Moritz drove the attack to point-blank range behind the Liberators of the 492d Bombardment Group before opening fire. 492d Bombardment Group was temporarily without fighter cover. Within about a minute the entire squadron of twelve B-24s had been annihilated. The Germans claimed 28 USAAF 2nd Air Division B-24s that day and were credited with at least 21. The majority to the Sturmgruppe attack.^[1] This event, also known as the Luftschlacht bei Oschersleben (aerial battle at Oschersleben), earned both Dahl and Moritz a reference in the Wehrmachtbericht, an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht, on 8 July 1944. To be singled out individually in the Wehrmachtbericht was an honour and was entered in the Orders and Decorations' section of a soldier's Service Record Book.

Awards

Flugzeugführerabzeichen
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (11 October 1943)
Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
German Cross in Gold in 1945 as Major in the IV./Jagdgeschwader 3^[2]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 July 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur IV./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"^[3]^{[Note 1]}
Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 8 July 1944

Notes

↑ According to Scherzer as Gruppenkommandeur of the IV.(Sturm)/Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet".^[4]

References

Citations

↑ Weal 1996, p. 78.
↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 315.
↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 258.
↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 551.

Bibliography

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.
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.
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 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 [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.
Weal, John (1996). Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Western Front. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-595-0.
Weal, John (2005). Luftwaffe Sturmgruppen. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-908-8.
Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
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.

Military offices
Preceded by Hauptmann Heinz Lang	Commander of IV. Jagdgeschwader 3 18 April 1944 – 5 December 1944	Succeeded by Hauptmann Hubert-York Weydenhammer
Preceded by Major Rudolf Schröder	Commander of I. Jagdgeschwader 4 March 1945 – 8 May 1945	Succeeded by None

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"

¹ Oak Leaves with JG 300. ² Swords and Diamonds with JG 77. ³ Knight's Cross with JG 51. ⁴ Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves with JG 27. ⁵ Knight's Cross with JG 53.

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