Wolfgang Thimmig

Wolfgang Thimmig (4 October 1912 – 6 November 1976)[1] was a German Luftwaffe night fighter ace during World War II. By the end of the war he had achieved 24 aerial victories, reached the rank of Oberstleutnant, and was Geschwaderkommodore for NJG 2, having previously been the Kommodore for NJG 4.

Wolfgang Thimmig
Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force
In office November 1965 – January 1966
Preceded by	Gerhard Kahtz
Succeeded by	George T Kurubo
Personal details
Born	4 October 1912 Dresden, Germany
Died	11 June 1976 (aged 63) Stockholm, Sweden
Nationality	German
Profession	Officer
Military service
Nickname(s)	Ameise
Allegiance	Nazi Germany  West Germany  Nigeria
Branch/service	Luftwaffe  German Air Force
Years of service	1934–1945, 1956–1976
Rank	Oberstleutnant (Luftwaffe) Oberst (Bundeswehr)
Unit	LG 1 ZG 76 NJG 1 NJG 2 NJG 4 NJG 101
Commands	2./NJG 1, III./NJG 1, III./NJG 101, NJG 4, NJG 2
Battles/wars	World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Defense of the Reich

In 1956, Thimmig joined the newly-formed Bundesluftwaffe and was the Military Attache of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sweden between 1959 and 1963. In addition to that he was the Nigerian Air Force's Chief of the Air Staff from 1965 to 1966.[2] He was the second Commander of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), and given the task of continuing the creation of an air force for Nigeria under a 1963 agreement between Nigeria and Germany. Thimmig and the German Air Force Assistance Group (GAFAG) withdrew from Nigeria in January 1966, when their mission of creating the air force was completed.

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 23 nocturnal victory claims.[3] Matthews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Thimmig with 23 claims, all of which claimed in Defense of the Reich.[4]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ? (question mark) indicates discrepancies between Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 and Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Serial No./Squadron No.
– 2. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –[4]
1	18 June 1941	02:41	Whitley[5]	2 km (1.2 mi) north of Best, 10 km (6.2 mi) north-northeast of Eindhoven
2	11 July 1941	02:40	Wellington	Arendonk[6]
3	16 July 1941?[Note 1]	02:31	Wellington	south-southeast of Hamont-Achel[6]
4	18 July 1941	02:41	Whitley[8]
5	17 August 1941	01:41	Hampden	Winterswijk[9]?[Note 2]
6	17 August 1941	02:30	Whitley	20 km (12 mi) west of Venlo[9]
7	31 August 194	23:39	Hampden	15 km (9.3 mi) west of Mönchengladbach[10]
8	31 May 1942	02:06	Halifax	3 km (1.9 mi) northwest of Maarheeze railway station[11]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –[7]
9	27 August 1942	23:25	Wellington	Epe railway station[12]
10	27 August 1942	23:54	Halifax	4 km (2.5 mi) south of Haaksbergen[12]
11	3 February 1943	20:10	Stirling	east of Hengelo[13]
12	1 May 1943	02:43	Halifax	east of Stadtlohn[14]
13	1 May 1943	03:20	Lancaster	12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of Zwolle[14]
14	5 May 1943	00:34	Halifax	south of Gronau[15]
15	5 May 1943	00:50	Halifax	northwest of Schüttorf[15]
16	24 May 1943	01:08	Wellington	9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of Enschede[16]
17	24 May 1943	01:25	Wellington	5 km (3.1 mi) east of Haaksbergen[16]
18	24 May 1943	01:34	Halifax	12 km (7.5 mi) west of Almelo[16]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 –[7]
19	21 April 1944	23:05	Lancaster	2 km (1.2 mi) west of Kirchheim[17]
– Stab of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 –[7]
20	21 April 1944	00:38	four-engined bomber	25 km (16 mi) south of Paris[18]
21	8 July 1944	02:47	B-26	northwest of Amiens[19]
22	8 July 1944	02:55	B-26	Senarpont[19]
23	8 July 1944	02:59	B-26	Baie de la Seine[19]

Awards

• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 28 September 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur[20]
• German Cross in Gold on 12 July 1944 as Hauptmann in the III./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1[21]

Notes

1. According to Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims on 26 July 1941.[7]
2. According to Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims at Waterwijk.[7]

References

Citations

1. "THIMMIG, Wolfgang". en.ww2awards.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
2. "History of The Nigerian Air Force: Former Chiefs of Air Staffs". The Nigerian Air Force. Nigerian Air Force. Archived from the original on 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
3. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, pp. 22–200.
4. Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1318–1319.
5. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 22.
6. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 25.
7. Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1319.
8. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 26.
9. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 29.
10. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 30.
11. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 42.
12. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 56.
13. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 66.
14. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 77.
15. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 78.
16. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 81.
17. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 118.
18. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 167.
19. Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 200.
20. Patzwall 2008, p. 204.
21. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 474.

Bibliography

• Foreman, John; Matthews, Johannes; Parry, Simon (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-0-9538061-4-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)