Walther Wever (pilot)


Walther Wever was a Luftwaffe flying ace during the Second World War. The son of former Chief of the Luftwaffe General Walther Wever, Wever served during 1943 on the Eastern Front and from 19 June 1943 until 10 April 1945 he claimed 44 aerial victories in 250 combat missions. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Early life and career

Wever was born on 16 January 1923 in Munich in the Weimar Republic, the son of Generalleutnant Walther Wever. Joining the Luftwaffe in 1942 and following flight training in mid-1943, he was posted to 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51. At the time, 3. Staffel was commanded by Hauptmann Heinz Lange and was subordinated to I. Gruppe of JG 51 headed by Major Erich Leie and stationed at an airfield named Orel-Slobodka located approximately west-southwest of Oryol on the Eastern Front.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. In June 1943, Wever fought in the offensive operations leading up to Operation Citadel, which initiated the Battle of Kursk. Here he claimed his first aerial victory on 19 June south of Karachev, approximately west of Oryol. Depending on source, the aircraft shot down was either a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter, or a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber.
On 1 August during the Battle of Kursk, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Bryansk where they stayed until 9 August. While based at Bryansk, Wever claimed five aerial victories, including four Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and a single A-20 bomber, also known as "Boston". From 15 to 30 August, Wever was temporarily placed in command of 3. Staffel, stepping in for Lange who had briefly replaced Leie as commander of I. Gruppe. On 29 August, I. Gruppe had moved to an airfield at Shatalovka, staying here until 15 September. Flying from Shatalovka, Wever took his total of aerial victories claimed to 16. For this, he had been awarded both classes of the Iron Cross..
In early February 1944, I. Gruppe was briefly withdrawn from combat operations and moved to an airfield at Dęblin-Irena, located approximately northwest of Lublin, for conversion from the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6. Elements of the Gruppe returned to Babruysk in late February. On 29 March, the Gruppe relocated to Orsha. That day, Wever became an "ace-in-a-day" when he claimed five aerial victories. On 20 March, he had been awarded the German Cross in Gold.

Squadron leader

On 7 May 1944, Weaver was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3. Staffel of JG 51, succeeding Lange who was transferred. On 21 June, bombers of the Eighth Air Force on a shuttle bombing mission of Operation Frantic, attacked oil refineries south of Berlin before heading for the Poltava Air Base. The bombers were intercepted by elements of JG 51 led by Major Fritz Losigkeit. In this encounter, two of the escorting North American P-51 Mustang fighters were shot down, including one by Wever. One of the P-51 fighters crashed near the Luftwaffe airfield at Babruysk where III. Gruppe of JG 51 was based. In its cockpit, a map of the Poltava Air Base was found. The Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe, Hauptmann Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber, sent the map to the headquarters of Luftflotte 6. This intelligence led to an attack by Luftwaffe bombers which destroyed 44 parked Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and damaged further 26. On 10 July, Wever was shot down and wounded in his Bf 109 G-6 by Soviet Anti-aircraft artillery. Command of 3. Staffel was then passed to Oberleutnant Günther Josten.
Although he lost a foot, Wever continued to fly and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 January 1945 for reaching the final total of 44 victories. He was then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 7, the first jet fighter wing, where he received further training on the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. On 10 April 1945, having not scored another kill, Wever was shot down and killed in action by Allied fighters near Neuruppin. That day, the Luftwaffe lost a number of Me 262 pilots, including Hauptmann Franz Schall. The Americans dubbed this day the "great jet massacre".

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Wever was credited with 44 aerial victories all but one claimed on the Eastern Front in 250 combat missions. Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 44 aerial victory claims with 43 claimed on the Eastern Front and one on the Western Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 35 Ost 43231". 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 and decorations