Helmut Lipfert

Lipfert was born on 6 August 1916 in Lippelsdorf, present-day a borough of Gräfenthal, at the time in Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, as part of the German Empire. Following the compulsory labour service (Reichsarbeitsdienst), Lipfert joined the military service with Nachrichten-Abteilung 37 (37th Signals Battalion), a unit of 1st Panzer Division on 3 November 1937.^[2]

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. Lipfert, who held the rank of Unteroffizier (sergeant), participated in the Invasion of Poland and in the Battle of France as a member of the 1st Panzer Division. In early 1941, he transferred to the Luftwaffe where he trained as a fighter pilot.^{[Note 1]} He was promoted to Fahnenjunker-Feldwebel (officer cadet) on 16 June 1942 and to Leutnant (second lientenant) on 1 August 1942.^[2]

Lipfert was then posted to the Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group, East) based at Saint-Jean-d'Angély, France and then via the Frontleitstelle Krakau, front dispatch center based at Krakau, to 6. Staffel (6th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 16 December 1942.^{[Note 2]} At the time, JG 52 was based on the southern sector of the Eastern Front in the vicinity of Stalingrad.^[2] His 6. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Rudolf Resch and subordinated to II. Gruppe (4th group) of JG 52 headed by Hauptmann Johannes Steinhoff.^[4] The Gruppe was based at an airfield near Morozovsk and fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad.^[5]

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.^[6] He is remembered by contemporaries as a consistent, professional pilot and leader. He withdrew often from squadron mates into long periods of contemplation.^[1] On 22 January 1943, III. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Rostov-on-Don.^[7] There, Lipfert claimed his first aerial victory over a Lavochkin La-5, a radial engined fighter aircraft, on the 30 January, near Malaya Balabinka, approximately 80 km (50 mi) east of Rostov-on-Don.^[8]

On 20 March 1943, Lipfert was appointed acting Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of JG 52. He replaced Leutnant Wolf-Dieter von Coester in this capacity who had been killed in action that day. Following the death of Oberleutnant Karl Ritzenberger on 24 May, Lipfert was transferred to take command of 6. Staffel (4th squadron) of JG 52. He was succeeded by Leutnant Heinrich Sturm as commander of 4. Staffel.^[9]

On 8 October, 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, making him the fourth most successful active fighter pilot of II. Gruppe.^[10] On 28 January 1944, Lipfert was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold).^[11] On 5 April, his 90th air victory had won him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Six days later, 11 April 1944, an "all-white Sturmovik" provided him with his 100th aerial victory.^[12][13] He was the 69th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.^[14]

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.^[12] 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.^[15] Two weeks later, on the 24 of June, he downed a Consolidated B-24 Liberator over Ștefănești in the historical Romanian region of Moldavia, his 128th claim. His 150th claim was filed on 24 October 1944, a Yakovlev Yak-7 over Feherto, Hungary.^[16]

Lipfert was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) on 15 February 1945.^[17] He thus replaced Hauptmann Erich Hartmann who had briefly led the Gruppe after its former commander, Major Jürgen Harder, was transferred.^[18] Command of 6. Staffel of JG 52 was given to Leutnant Heinz Ewald.^[19] At the time, the Gruppe was based in Veszprém and had been fighting in the siege of Budapest, where German forces had surrendered on 13 February. The Gruppe then supported German forces in Operation Southwind, eliminating the Soviet bridgehead on the west bank of the river Hron, predominantly fighting over Esztergom.^[20] On 20 February, Lipfert was ordered to move the Gruppe to Piešťany, located approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) northeast of Vienna, where they arrived the following day.^[21] The following day, I. Gruppe 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.^[17][22] By 25 February, German forces had eliminated the Soviet bridgehead west of the Hron. That day, I. Gruppe flew combat missions to Zvolen (Altsohl). On a morning mission, Lipfert claimed a Yak-9 fighter shot down.^[23]

On 26 February, water from the Váh started flooding the airfield at Piešťany. The airfield had to be abandoned and I. Gruppe first moved to Pápa before returning to Veszprém on 28 February. ^[24] Lipfert claimed his 183rd aerial victory, an Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, on 8 March. The following day, German forces attacked Soviet positions on both sides of Lake Balaton during Operation Spring Awakening.^[25] Supporting this operation, I. Gruppe flew many missions to the combat areas near Zvolen and Székesfehérvár (Stuhlweißenburg). On 11 March, Lipfert shot down a Yak-3 fighter near Sárbogárd and another Yak-3 near Siófok. From 12 to 17 March, I. Gruppe continued fighting in the vicinity of Székesfehérvár. In this timeframe, Lipfert claimed his 186th aerial victory on 13 March, his 187th and 188th on 14 March, and his 189th on 17 March.^[26] On 20 March, with Soviet forces advancing, ground combat shifted to the area north of Lake Velence and to Székesfehérvár. Flying his second mission of the day, Lipfert shot down two Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, the first near Székesfehérvár, the second near Várpalota.^[27] On 22 March, the airfield Veszprém was taken by Soviet forces and the Gruppe relocated to Pápa where they were joined by the Stab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 76 (JG 76—76th Fighter Wing).^[28]

On 5 April, I. Gruppe moved from Fels am Wagram to Brno.^[29] Three days later, Lipfert claimed his 200th aerial victory in the vicinity of Hainburg an der Donau, west of Bratislava.^[30] He flew his last and 687th combat mission on 16 April, 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 (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). 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.^[31][32]

After the war, Lipfert became a school teacher, and was seldom seen by his war comrades. He died on 10 August 1990 at the age of 74 in Einbeck.^[31] He was buried at the local cemetery in Einbeck.^[33]

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Lipfert was credited with 203 aerial victories.^[34] According to Spick, Lipfert was credited with 203 aerial victories claimed in approximately 700 combat missions. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front and includes two USAAF four-engine bombers claimed over Romania.^[35] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 200 aerial victory claims, plus six further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 198 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and two on the Western Front, including one four-engined bomber.^[36] The authors Daniel and Gabor Horvath compared Soviet enemy loss reports to Lipfert's claims over Hungary. In the timeframe 17 October 1944 to 21 March 1945, Lipfert claimed 52 aerial victories, while the authors found 48 matching Soviet losses, a corroboration of 92%.^[37]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 08693". 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 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[38]

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (12 March 1943)^[71][72]
  • 1st Class (29 April 1943)^[71][72]
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for fighter pilots in Gold (26 April 1943)^[71]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 December 1943 as Leutnant and pilot^{[73][Note 9]}
• German Cross in Gold on 28 January 1944 as Leutnant in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 52^[75]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 April 1944 as Leutnant of the Reserves and Staffelführer of the 6./Jagdgeschwader 52^{[76][Note 10]}
  • 837th Oak Leaves on 17 April 1945 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 53^{[78][Note 11]}