Helmut Lipfert

Helmut Lipfert
Major d. R. Helmut Lipfert served in the reserves of the Bundeswehr (large picture) post WWII.
Birth date	6 August 1916(1916-08-06)
Place of birth	Lippelsdorf, Landkreis Saalfeld, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, German Empire
Death date	10 August 1990 (aged 74)
Place of death	Einbeck, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	National Socialist Germany West Germany
Service/branch	Reich Labour Service Heer (1937–41) Luftwaffe (1941–45) Bundeswehr (Luftwaffe)
Rank	RAD-Oberfeldmeister Unteroffizier (NCO) Captain of the Reserves Major of the Reserves (Bw)
Unit	1st Panzer Division JG 52 JG 53
Commands held	4./JG 52 6./JG 52 I./JG 53
Battles/wars	World War II Poland Campaign Battle of France Eastern Front Operation Southwind Operation Spring Awakening Defense of the Reich (Reichsluftverteidigung)
Awards	Iron Cross Frontflugspange in Gold Hungarian Medal of Bravery in Gold German Cross in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other work	School teacher

Helmut Lipfert (6 August 1916 – 10 August 1990) was a German officer of the RAD, NCO of the German Army and reserve officer of the Wehrmacht, finally Captain of the Luftwaffe and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He was a flying ace (Flieger-As) with 203 confirmed aerial victories (Luftsiege) in 687 combat missions (Feindflüge). His kills also include two four-engine bombers over Romania. Another 27 kills could not be confirmed. he also sunk two torpedo boats and destroyed 30 motor vehicles of the enemy.

Lipfert, as most sources report, was shot down 13 times by Russian antiaircraft (AA) and twice by Russian fighters, but never injured. Another source although states, he was WIA on 22 April 1944, when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 belly-landed as a result of an oil tank hit in the vicinity of Kap Chersones and again on 21 July 1944, when his Bf 109 G-6 belly-landed in woods 3 km from the front line in the vicinity of Lemberg.

Life

After graduating from school, Lipfert joined the Reich Labour Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst; RAD) where he would become a NCO and then a Führer (officer), finally with the rank as RAD-Oberfeldmeister (comparable to a 1st Lieutenant). On 3 November 1937, he transferred to the Wehrmacht and served with the Signals Battalion 37 (Nachrichten-Abteilung 37) of the 1st Panzer Division. As a Unteroffizier (NCO) he took part in the Poland Campaign and later in the Western Campaign.

Luftwaffe

At the beginning of 1941, his application to the Luftwaffe was approved. He received flight and fighter pilot training, was promoted to Feldwebel (sergeant) and on 16 June 1942 was appointed war officer candidate. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves on 1 August 1942. Lipfert was posted to 6th Squadron/Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), based on the Eastern Front, on 16 December 1942. On 18 December 1942, on one of his first combat missions, Lipfert made a forced landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummber 14154—factory number) due to engine failure.

His first kill was a Lavochkin La-5, a powerful radial engined fighter, on the 30 January 1943, in Malaya-Balabinka (Southern Russia). In September 1943, Lipfert assumed command of 6th Squadron/JG 52. On 8 October 1943, he shot down five Russian aircraft (kills 30 to 34). Four more are shot down on 5 December and his score raises to 72. By the end of 1943 his victories total had reached 80. On 5 April 1944 his 90th air victory had won him the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Six days later, 11 April 1944, an "all-white Sturmovik" provided him with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 69th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.

When he went on leave on 25 January 1944, he had reached a total of 88 kills. On 1 March, other sources state 1 April 1944, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant). After his return, he scored his 90th kill on 8 April 1944. The last Germans had to evacuate from Crimea in May, retiring to Kherson. There, the Luftwaffe Gruppen were subjected to near-constant Soviet bombing raids, and Lipfert's 6./JG 52, in particular, lost a number of aircraft.[9] On 11 June 1944 he destroyed his first United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) four engined bomber, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress north-northwest of Tătăruși, his 127th aerial victory.[12] Two weeks later, on the 24 of June, he downed a Consolidated B-24 Liberator over Ștefănești in the historical Romanian region of Moldavia ("victim" number 128). His 150th claim came on 24 October 1944: a Yakovlev Yak-7 over Feherto, Hungary. At the end of 1944, already having been promoted to Hauptmann (Captain), his score had risen to 166.

Lipfert was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) on 15 February 1945. He thus replaced Captain Erich Hartmann who had briefly led the group after its former commander, Major Jürgen Harder, was transferred. Command of 6th Squadron of JG 52 was given to 2nd Lieutenant Heinz Ewald. At the time, the group was based in Veszprém and had been fighting in the siege of Budapest, where German forces had surrendered on 13 February. The wing group then supported German forces in Operation Southwind, eliminating the Soviet bridgehead on the west bank of the river Hron, predominantly fighting over Esztergom. On 20 February 1945, Lipfert was ordered to move his group to Piešťany, located approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) northeast of Vienna, where they arrived the following day. The following day, I. Group/JG 53 again flew combat air patrols over Esztergom. That day, Lipfert claimed his first two aerial victories with JG 53 when he shot down a La-5 and Yak-3 fighter, taking his total to 181. By 25 February 1945, German forces had eliminated the Soviet bridgehead west of the Hron. That day, I. Group flew combat missions to Zvolen (Altsohl). On a morning mission, Lipfert claimed a Yak-9 fighter shot down.

On 5 April 1945, I. Group moved from Fels am Wagram to Brünn (Sudetenland). Three days later, Lipfert claimed his 200th aerial victory in the vicinity of Hainburg an der Donau, west of Bratislava. He flew his last and 687th combat mission on 16 April 1945, claiming a Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter shot down, taking his total to 203 aerial victories. The next day, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He was the 837th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. The presentation was made by Generalleutnant Paul Deichmann, commanding general of I. Fliegerkorps (1st Air Corps), on 17 April. After the dissolution of I./JG 53, Lipfert was transferred to 7./JG 52, until the end of the conflict. He claimed another 27 unconfirmed victories.

Post-WWII

Helmut Lipfert was released from an American POW camp after only a relatively short spell. He became a school teacher and at some point (c. 1960) applied for reserve duty with the Bundeswehr and was accepted to the new Luftwaffe. In 1973, he published his book The Diary of Captain Lipfert in several editions. The book has been translated into several languages.

Awards and decorations

• Pilot's Badge (Flugzeugführerabzeichen)
• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 12 March 1943
  • 1st Class on 29 April 1943
• Frontflugspange for fighters in Bronze, Silver and Gold
  • Gold on 26 April 1943
  • Pennant to the Golden Front Flying Clasp (star pennant)
  • Pennant to the Golden Front Flying Clasp with Mission Number "600"
• Honorary Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg) on 3 December 1943
• Hungarian Order of Merit, Officer's Cross with Swords
• Hungarian Medal of Bravery in Gold for officers
  • Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the only other German to receive this medal
• German Cross in Gold on 28 January 1944
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 April 1944 as 2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves and Leader (Staffelführer) of the 6. Squadron/Jagdgeschwader 52
  • 837th Oak Leaves on 17 April 1945 as Captain of the Reserves and Commander (Gruppenkommandeur) of the I. Group/Jagdgeschwader 53

Gallery

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