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This list of German World War II jet aces has a sortable table of notable German jet ace pilots during World War II.

Background

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat (The Germans traditionally set the threshold at 10 victories.). During World War II, hundreds of German Luftwaffe fighter pilots achieved this feat flying contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft. However, only 28 pilots are credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft while flying a jet-powered aircraft.

Jet aircraft first engaged in air combat on 26 July 1944, when Leutnant Alfred Schreiber, flying Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a W.Nr. 130 017 (German language: Werknummer – factory serial number), attacked an unarmed photo-reconnaissance De Havilland Mosquito PR Mk XVI, of No. 540 Squadron RAF, over the Alps. Some sources refer to this as the first victory in air combat by a pilot of a jet fighter, although the crew of the damaged Mosquito managed to return to an Allied airfield in Italy.

The first confirmed destruction of an enemy aircraft by an Me 262 pilot occurred on 8 August 1944, when Leutnant Joachim Weber shot down a Mosquito PR XVI from No. 540 Squadron, over Ohlstadt, in Bavaria.

On 15 August 1944, Schreiber took off to intercept a Mosquito PR XVI (NS520) of 60 Squadron, South African Air Force crewed by Captain S. Pienaar and Lieutenant A. Lockhart-Ross, who were tasked with photographing airfields in the Black Forest area. Schreiber caused severe damage in his first attack and made more than 10 passes at the Mosquito before low fuel levels cause him to break off. Pienaar and Lockhart-Ross survived a crash landing at San Severo in Italy; their reconnaissance film and debriefing provided the Allies with valuable intelligence on the Me 262.

During 1944–45, the Luftwaffe committed two other jet- or rocket-powered fighters to combat operations. In addition to the Me 262, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and the Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger both become operational. Few claims were made by pilots of the Me 163 and He 162, and none achieved ace status on either of these types.

German jet aces

  This along with the * (asterisk), indicates that the pilot was either killed in action or killed in a flying accident.
  This and the ! (exclamation mark) indicates those aerial victories listed by Hinchliffe, Morgan, and Weal.
  This and the # (hash mark) indicates those aerial victories listed by Mathews and Foreman.
The list is initially sorted by the number of jet victories claimed.

Notes

1. According to Hinchliffe, Kurt Welter is credited in excess of 20 aerial victories while flying the Me 262, but the exact number is disputed.

References

Citations

1. Spick 1996, pp. 2–3.
2. Radinger & Schick 1993, p. 51.
3. Morgan & Weal 1998, pp. 16–17.
4. Spick 1996, p. 204.
5. ^ Morgan & Weal 1998, p. 88.
6. Hinchliffe 1998, pp. 210, 294.
7. ^ Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1541.
8. Samuel 2004, p. 46.
9. Morgan & Weal 1998, p. 17.
10. Weal 2003, p. 92.
11. Radinger & Schick 1993, p. 60.
12. Foreman & Harvey 1995, p. 81.

Bibliography

• Boehme, Manfred (1992). JG 7 The World's First Jet Fighter Unit 1944/1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-395-8.
• Boyne, Walter J. (1980). Messerschmitt Me 262 Arrow to the Future. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 978-0-87474-275-6.
• Foreman, John; Harvey, S.E. (1995). Messerschmitt Combat Diary Me.262. Crecy Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-871187-30-4.
• Hinchliffe, Peter (1998). Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939–1945 [Air War at Night]. Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-01861-7.
• Mathews, 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.
• Morgan, Hugh; Weal, John (1998). German Jet Aces of World War II. Osprey Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 17. London: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-85532-634-7.
• Radinger, Willy; Schick, Walther (1993). Messerschmitt Me 262 Development Testing Production. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-516-7.
• Samuel, Wolfgang W.E. (2004). American Raiders – The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-649-0.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
• Weal, John (2003). Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 37. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-084-1.

• Aviation

• Lists of World War II flying aces
• Lists of German military personnel
• German World War II flying aces
• Germany in World War II-related lists