Correct, deatonbt; and you are up. Welter scored more victories flying a jet aircraft than anyone else in history; and quite probably will hold that record for all time. Even is some of his victories look dubious when checked against recorded losses in British records, he still holds that record. You have the floor, Sir; and we await your question. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird ace do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His name is today at the very top of at least ace category.

(2) He scored victories at night, in addition to daylight victories.

(3) He flew fighters.

(4) Noted for scoring victories rapidly.

(5) He was a very skilled pilot. So skilled, in fact, that he spent most of his war as an instructor.

(6) He got into combat rather late in the war; but nevertheless, made his mark.

(7) He scored more than one victory per mission for his first several missions.

(8) He deliberately rammed one opponent.

(9) There is some argument about his victory claims.

(10) Over half his victories were against one single type of enemy aircraft; one very difficult to shoot down.

(11) He survived the war, but died in a rather odd accident.

(12) First 40 missions; more than 30 victories.

Answer: Kurt Welter


Kurt Welter was the German ace jet pilot of WWII. Germany was the first country to introduce a jet fighter, the Messerschmitt 262, and the Allied forces could not cope with it because it was so much faster than any of their own planes. Welter scored a total of 63 kills in only 93 combat missions. Of these, 56 victories were recorded at night, including those against 33 Mosquito aircraft, and he scored more aerial victories from a jet fighter than anyone else in WWII. To the present day he holds the record for enemy aircraft shot down by a jet fighter.



Welter was born in Cologne-Lindenthal (Köln-Lindenthal) on 25 February 1916. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe in 1934 and was trained as a pilot. He showed a strong natural ability as a pilot and was subsequently selected for flight instructor training and served many years as a flight instructor. In 1943 Welter transferred to an operational night fighter unit flying contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft. On 18 October 1944, after 40 combat mission, Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). In early 1945, Welter transferred to an experimental jet night fighter unit flying the Messerschmitt Me 262. On 11 March 1945 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) for 48 aerial victories. Welter survived the war and was killed in an accident at a railroad crossing on 7 March 1949.


On 2 September 1943, Welter was transferred to 5. Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 301 (JG 301), a night fighter squadron that experimented with the use of largely radar-less single-seat Fw 190A-5 and Fw 190A-6 fighter aircraft by night, often equipped with the FuG 350 Naxos device, used in the form of German night-fighter operations without AI radar dubbed Wilde Sau (wild boar). On his first Wilde Sau intercept mission against Allied bombers on the night of 22 September 1943, Welter shot down two Allied four-engine bombers. He shot down a further two on his third mission on the night of 3 October 1943. By the beginning of April, he had accumulated 17 victories in only 15 missions. Subsequently on 10 May 1944 Welter was awarded the German Cross in Gold. Leutnant Welter was transferred to 5. Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 300 (JG 300) on 7 July 1944.

In July, Welter claimed two United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) B-17 four-engined bombers and three P-51 fighters shot down by day. From 25 July 1944, Welter served with 1. Staffel/Nachtjagdgruppe 10 (NJGr 10) performing further Wilde Sau missions. He claimed four Royal Air Force (RAF) Lancaster four-engine bombers shot down on the night of 29 August 1944 to record his 24th through 27th victories.


Welter transferred to 10./JG 300 on 4 September 1944. 10. Staffel/JG 300 was established to counter intrusions by RAF Mosquito twin-engined bombers, flying specially optimized for speed Bf 109G-6/AS fighters. In September, Welter claimed seven Mosquitos downed, including one by ramming. It is thought that during his service with 1./NJG 10 and 10./JG 300, Welter recorded 12 victories in only 18 missions. On the night of 19 September 1944, Welter may have shot down Wing Commander Guy Gibson who was leading a 300-bomber attack on Mönchengladbach and Rheydt. Gibson's Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands. Welter was the only German pilot to have claimed a Mosquito shot down that night and Gibson's Mosquito the only Mosquito lost. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 October 1944 for 33 victories in just 40 missions.

Officially Kurt Welter was credited with 63 victories in 93 missions, of which 56 victories were achieved at night and seven by day. Among his claimed 63 victories are up to 33 Mosquitos. Thus, there remains some controversy about the exact number of victories achieved while flying the Me 262, with only three of the Mosquito kills coinciding with RAF records: Welter may have been guilty of overclaiming Welter survived the war and was killed on 7 March 1949 in Leck in Schleswig-Holstein waiting at a level crossing, when logs falling from an improperly loaded passing train crushed his car.