Bernhard Vechtel

Bernhard Vechtel (31 July 1920 – 21 August 1975) was a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Vechtel was credited with 108 aerial victories in a total of 860 combat missions, all on the Eastern Front.[1]

Bernhard Vechtel
Bernhard Vechtel in World War 2
Born(1920-07-31)31 July 1920
Vohren near Warendorf
Died21 August 1975(1975-08-21) (aged 55)
Speyer
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
RankOberleutnant (first lieutenant)
UnitJG 51
Commands held14./JG 51
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Vechtel was born on 31 July 1920 in Vohren, present-day part of Warendorf, at the time in the Province of Westphalia in the Weimar Republic. Following flight training,[Note 1] he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) on 2 May 1942.[3] There, he was assigned to the 10. Staffel (10th squadron) which was subordinated to the IV. Gruppe (4th group) of JG 51. At the time, 10. Staffel was headed by Leutnant Horst Haase while IV. Gruppe was commanded by Hauptmann Johann Knauth and based at an airfield in Vyazma on the Eastern Front.[4] During May, the Gruppe was briefly withdrawn from combat for a period of maintenance and equipment overhaul at Smolensk. They were then sent to Dugino where it was tasked with providing fighter cover over the left flank of Army Group Center in vicinity of the 9th Army.[5]

Attack on the Rzhev salient in August 1942

On 30 July 1942, the Soviet Kalinin Front launched the First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation with the objective to crush the Rzhev salient held by the 9th Army.[6] Vechtel claimed his first aerial victory on 2 August 1942 over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft northeast of Rzhev.[7][8]

He claimed JG 51s 8000th aerial victory of the war on 1 May 1944. He was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 3 January 1944, the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 28 January 1944, and later received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 27 July 1944.[9]

Squadron leader

On 11 December 1944, Vechtel was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 14. Staffel of JG 51, also a squadron of IV. Gruppe. He replaced Oberleutnant Horst Walther who was transferred. At the time, the Gruppe was commanded by Major Heinz Lange and was based at Modlin.[10] Soviet forces launched the Vistula–Oder Offensive on 12 January 1945. Two days later, Soviet forces reached Modlin, forcing VI. Gruppe to move to Danzig-Langfuhr, present-day Wrzeszcz, Poland.[11] On 25 March 1945, Vechtel was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 99th Luftwaffe pilot to have shot down 100 aircraft.[12] On 1 May, JG 51 received the order to relocate to Flensburg in northern Germany. Some of the pilots decided for themselves that the war was lost and deserted, including Vechtel. On 2 May, he refused to fly to Flensburg and led a Schwarm close to his hometown Warendorf near Münster. There, he arrived with two other pilots, a third pilot was shot down and captured by British forces.[13]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Spick, Vechtel was credited with 108 aerial victories in 860 combat missions, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.[1] Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and also state that he claimed 108 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front. However, not all of his claims can be verified through the archives.[14]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 47682". 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.[15]

Awards

Notes
  1. 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.[2]
  2. The "m.H." refers to an Ilyushin Il-2 with rear gunner (mit Heckschütze).

References

Citations
  1. Spick 1996, p. 232.
  2. Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 17.
  3. Obermaier 1989, p. 217.
  4. Prien et al. 2006, p. 350.
  5. Prien et al. 2006, p. 340.
  6. Prien et al. 2006, p. 342.
  7. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1348.
  8. Prien et al. 2006, p. 355.
  9. Aders & Held 1993, p. 163.
  10. Aders & Held 1993, pp. 167, 251.
  11. Aders & Held 1993, p. 168.
  12. Obermaier 1989, p. 244.
  13. Aders & Held 1993, p. 183.
  14. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1348–1350.
  15. Planquadrat.
  16. Prien et al. 2006, p. 357.
  17. Prien et al. 2006, p. 356.
  18. Prien et al. 2006, p. 358.
  19. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1349.
  20. Prien et al. 2012, p. 147.
  21. Prien et al. 2012, p. 154.
  22. Prien et al. 2012, p. 148.
  23. Prien et al. 2012, p. 151.
  24. Prien et al. 2012, p. 152.
  25. Prien et al. 2012, p. 153.
  26. Prien et al. 2012, p. 155.
  27. Prien et al. 2012, p. 156.
  28. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1349–1350.
  29. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1350.
  30. Patzwall 2008, p. 208.
  31. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 485.
  32. Scherzer 2007, p. 756.
  33. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 429.

Bibliography
  • Aders, Gebhard; Held, Werner (1993). Jagdgeschwader 51 'Mölders' Eine Chronik – Berichte – Erlebnisse – Dokumente [Fighter Wing 51 'Mölders' A Chronicle – Reports – Experiences – Documents] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-01045-1.
  • Bergström, Christer. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  • Bergström, Christer; Antipov, Vlad; Sundin, Claes (2003). Graf & Grislawski – A Pair of Aces. Hamilton MT: Eagle Editions. ISBN 978-0-9721060-4-7.
  • 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.
  • Matthews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-21-9.
  • 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.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2006). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 9/II—Vom Sommerfeldzug 1942 bis zur Niederlage von Stalingrad—1.5.1942 bis 3.2.1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 9/II—From the 1942 Summer Campaign to the Defeat at Stalingrad—1 May 1942 to 3 February 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-77-9.
  • Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2012). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 12/II—Einsatz im Osten—4.2. bis 31.12.1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 12/II—Action in the East—4 February to 31 December 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Buchverlag Rogge. ISBN 978-3-942943-05-5.
  • 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.
  • Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.


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