Johannes Wiese


Johannes Wiese was a German Luftwaffe pilot during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 133 enemy aircraft shot down in 480 combat missions. He claimed all of his victories over the Eastern Front, including over 50 Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik ground attack aircraft.
Born in Breslau, Wiese volunteered for military service in the Reichswehr of Nazi Germany in 1934. Initially serving in the Heer, he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1936. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 in June 1941 just prior to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. He claimed his first aerial victory on 23 September 1941. On 26 June 1942, Wiese was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 2. Staffel of JG 52 and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 January 1943 following his 53rd aerial victory. On 11 May 1943, Wiese was tasked with the leadership of I. Gruppe of JG 52 and was officially appointed its Gruppenkommandeur on 13 November 1943. Following his 133rd aerial victory, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944.
In October 1944, Wiese was posted to the Geschwaderstab of Jagdgeschwader 77 in Defense of the Reich and on 7 November 1944, he was appointed its Geschwaderkommodore. After the war in 1956 he joined the Bundeswehr and worked for the Military History Research Office. He retired on 10 November 1970 holding the rank of Oberstleutnant. Wiese died on 16 August 1991 in Kirchzarten and was buried in Berlin-Nikolassee.

Early life and career

Wiese was born on 7 March 1915, in Breslau in the Kingdom of Prussia of the German Empire, present-day Wrocław in western Poland, the son of a minister. In 1934, Wiese volunteered for service in the Heer and joined Infanterie-Regiment 6 under command of Oberst Kuno-Hans von Both.
In 1936, Wiese transferred to the Luftwaffe as an Oberfähnrich. There, he was trained as an aerial observer with the Heeresaufklärer. Wiese was promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1937, and in September 1938 transferred to the Fliegerersatzabteilung 17 in Quedlinburg. He then volunteered for the Jagdwaffe and holding the rank of Oberleutnant he began fighter pilot training in October 1938.

World War II

Wiese was posted to a front-line unit in June 1941, almost two years after the start of World War II. His unit was the Geschwaderstab of Jagdgeschwader 52 where he served as an adjutant. On 22 June, the Geschwader crossed into Soviet airspace in support of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front. He claimed his first aerial victory on 23 September 1941 and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 27 September 1941 and the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Silver on 11 October 1941.

Eastern Front

Wiese received the Iron Cross 1st Class on 1 May 1942. Following his 7th aerial victory he was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 2. Staffel of JG 52 on 26 June 1942. That day, I. Gruppe, to which his 2. Staffel was subordinated, moved to Bilyi Kolodyaz, approximately southeast of Vovchansk, and fighting in support of Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia with the objective to capture the oil fields of Baku, Grozny and Maykop. He received the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold on 13 July 1942.
To support German forces fighting in the Battle of the Caucasus, I. Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Kerch, in the east of Crimea, on 2 August. At the time, the Gruppe was moved around as a kind of fire brigade, deployed in areas where the Soviet Air Forces was particular active. The Gruppe then moved to Oryol on 15 August. On 29 September 1942, Wiese he claimed his 25th aerial victory. On 25 October 1942, he became an "ace-in-a-day" for the first time, claiming victories 29 to 33. Wiese was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 6 November 1942.
On 6 December, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Rossosh. Here on 16 December, he became an "ace-in-a-day" again which took his total to 43. On 25 December, Wiese claimed his 50th aerial victory. Together with Feldwebel Wilhelm Freuwörth, Wiese was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 January 1943 following their 56th and 51st aerial victories respectively. The presentation was made by General der Flieger Günther Korten in Rossosh on the Eastern Front. Sources contradict themselves on the exact date of the presentation of the German Cross in Gold. According to Thomas, Patzwall and Scherzer, the presentation was made on 5 December 1942. According to Obermaier and Stockert, the presentation occurred on 8 February 1943.
Following a lengthy home leave, Wiese was tasked with the leadership of I. Gruppe of JG 52 on 11 May 1943. The former commander, Major Helmut Bennemann had been severely injured by an incendiary bomb the day before. Initially, Wiese led both 2. Staffel and I. Gruppe in unison until on 1 July Oberleutnant Paul-Heinrich Dähne was given command of the Staffel. On 13 November 1943, he was officially appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe and at the end of 1943, Wiese was promoted to Major. His most successful day was 5 July 1943, the first day of the Battle of Kursk, when he shot down twelve enemy aircraft in one mission, a double "ace-in-a-day" achievement. All 12 victories were over Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovikground attack aircraft and took his total to 95 victories. On 17 July 1943, Wiese was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 45th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. In end July, Wiese had fallen sick and had to go to a Bad Wiessee for treatment. During his absence, Hauptmann Gerhard Barkhorn, the commander of 4. Staffel, temporarily led I. Gruppe from 4 to 30 August.
Following his 133rd aerial victory and his last, Wiese was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944, the 418th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored. Wiese and fellow JG 52 pilots Erich Hartmann, Walter Krupinski, for the Oak Leaves presentation, and Gerhard Barkhorn, for the Swords to his Knight's Cross presentation, travelled on an overnight train from the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin to the Führerhauptquartier at the Berghof in Berchtesgaden for the award ceremony by Adolf Hitler on 4 April 1944. Also present at the award ceremony were Kurt Bühligen, Horst Ademeit, Reinhard Seiler, Hans-Joachim Jabs, Dr. Maximilian Otte, Bernhard Jope and Hansgeorg Bätcher from the bomber force, and the Flak officer Fritz Petersen, all destined to receive the Oak Leaves. On the train, all of them got drunk on cognac and champagne. Supporting each other and unable to stand, they arrived at Berchtesgaden. Major Nicolaus von Below, Hitler's Luftwaffe adjutant, was shocked. After some sobering up, they were still intoxicated. Hartmann took a German officer's hat from a stand and put it on, but it was too large. Von Below became upset, told Hartmann it was Hitler's and ordered him to put it back.
On 22 February 1944, Wiese was injured in combat when he was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery in his Bf 109 G-6. Command of I. Gruppe was temporarily assumed by Oberleutnant Paul-Heinrich Dähne before Hauptmann Adolf Borchers was given command on 11 June. Following his convalescence, he was posted to the Verbandsführerschule of the General der Jagdflieger at Königsberg in der Neumark, present-day Chojna in western Poland, on 11 June 1944. This ended his service on the Eastern Front.

Defense of the Reich and wing commander of JG 77

On 19 June 1944, Wiese participated in comparison test flights at the Luftwaffes main testing ground for new aircraft designs at Rechlin. On that day, the Luftwaffe tested and compared the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6, a Bf 109 G-6/AS, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 against a P-47 Thunderbolt and a P-51 Mustang.
In October 1944, Wiese was posted to the Geschwaderstab of Jagdgeschwader 77 in Defense of the Reich on the Western Front. On 7 November 1944, he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77, replacing Oberstleutnant Johannes Steinhoff, who was given command of Jagdgeschwader 7 "Nowotny", the first operational jet fighter wing in the world. Officially, command was handed over on 1 December 1944.
On 16 December 1944, the Wehrmacht launched its last major offensive campaign of the war. The operation codenamed Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein, or Battle of the Bulge, which failed to achieve its objectives, intended to split the British and American Allied line in half, so the Germans could then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers' favor.
Wiese led JG 77 in the opening phase of the offensive until 25 December 1944, when he was severely injured in a training exercise. Wiese and his wingman, Feldwebel Hansch, took off at 11:20 a.m. on a training flight over German held territory. The plan was to meet up with I. Gruppe but the two failed to establish contact. Instead, flying at an altitude of, they encountered a flight of Supermarine Spitfires in the vicinity of Bottrop and Essen. In the resulting aerial combat, both Bf 109 G-14s were shot down, Hansch was killed in action while Wiese bailed out. He came down near Essen-Dellwig. His parachute only opened partially, resulting in a harsh landing, and loss of consciousness. Wiese was taken to a field hospital at Bottrop where he was diagnosed with a concussion and minor skull fracture. He spent the rest of the winter in hospital, and was replaced as commander by Major Siegfried Freytag. Their victors may have been Spitfires from the Royal Canadian Air Force No. 401 Squadron which claimed two Bf 109s from the Stab of JG 77 shot down over Duisburg that day. One of these victories was credited to Flying Officer John MacKay.
Wiese surrendered to U.S. forces at the end of the war and was handed over by the Americans to the Soviet Red Army on 6 September 1945. Wiese spent over four years in Soviet prisoner of war camps and was released on 28 November 1949. He was officially credited with 133 victories claimed in 480 combat missions. Additionally, he had 25 more unconfirmed claims. Among his claims were over 50 Il-2 Sturomoviks. Soviet fighter pilots therefore greatly respected Wiese, and referred to him as the "Lion of Kuban", a name he earned during combat over the Kuban bridgehead.

Later life

After the war in 1956, Wiese joined the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, and worked for the Military History Research Office. He retired on 10 November 1970 holding the rank of Oberstleutnant. Wiese died on 16 August 1991 in Kirchzarten and was buried in Berlin-Nikolassee.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Wiese was credited with 133 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that Wiese was credited with 118 aerial victories, plus 27 further unconfirmed claims. All of his victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 49423". The Luftwaffe grid map 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. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards