Wolfgang Ewald


Wolfgang Ewald was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Early life and career

Ewald was born on 26 March 1911 in Hamburg, at the time a sovereign state of the German Empire. In 1938, Ewald volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. Flying with 2. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88, Ewald claimed a Polikarpov I-16 fighter shot down on 13 June. He was later awarded the Spanish Cross with Swords on 14 April 1939 for his service in the Spanish Civil War.
On 1 November 1938, I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 433 was formed at the Ingolstadt-Manching Airfield, north of Munich. Initially the Gruppe was placed under the command of Hauptmann Dietrich Graf von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth and equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 D-1 fighter aircraft. That day, Ewald was appointed Staffelkapitän of the Gruppes 2. Staffel. On 1 May 1939, the Gruppe was renamed and became I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52.

World War II

On 18 August 1940, known as The Hardest Day, twelve Bf 109s from 2. Staffel of JG 52, led by Ewald, attacked RAF fighters out in the open at RAF Manston. After two passes, the Germans claimed ten fighters and three Bristol Blenheim bombers destroyed. In fact, just two No. 266 Squadron Supermarine Spitfire fighters were destroyed with another six Hawker Hurricane fighters damaged but repairable. A single Hurricane was also destroyed. On 26 August, Ewald was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of JG 52. He succeeded Hauptmann Siegfried von Eschwege who was transferred. On 24 May 1941, Ewald was posted to the staff of Jagdfliegerführer 2. Command of I. Gruppe of JG 52 was passed on to Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Leesmann.
In late June 1942, Ewald was transferred to the Gruppenstab of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet". At the time, III. Gruppe was based at Shchigry, located approximately east-northeast of Kursk. On 28 June, German forces had launched Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. That day, Ewald claimed two aerial victories with the Gruppenstab, a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter and a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber.
On 23 July 1942, Ewald was given command as Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe of JG 3. He replaced Major Karl-Heinz Greisert who was killed in action the day before. Ewald was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 December 1942.
On 14 July 1943 during the Battle of Kursk, Ewald was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 by Soviet flak northeast of Belgorod. He was temporarily replaced by Hauptmann Leo Eggers and Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Langer before command of III. Gruppe was officially given to Hauptmann Walther Dahl on 20 July. Ewald was taken prisoner of war and was held until 1949.

Later life and death

Following World War II, Ewald joined the post-war German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe, attaining the rank of Oberstleutnant. He died on 24 February 1995 at the age of in Sindelfingen, Germany.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Ewald was credited with 78 aerial victories.
Spick also lists him with 78 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number combat missions. This figure includes one aerial victory during the Spanish Civil War, two during the Battle of France and Britain and further 75 aerial victories on the Eastern Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 65 aerial victory claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims. This number includes one claim during the Spanish Civil War, one over the Western Allies, and 63 on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 4932". 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