Wolf-Udo Ettel
Wolf-Udo Ettel | |
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Wolf-Udo Ettel
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Born |
Hamburg |
26 February 1921
Died |
17 July 1943 Catania, Sicily |
(aged 22)
Allegiance |
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Service/branch |
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Years of service | 1939–43 |
Rank | Oberleutnant |
Unit | JG 3, JG 27 |
Commands held | 8./JG 27 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (posthumous) |
Wolf-Udo Ettel (26 February 1921 – 17 July 1943) was a German World War II Luftwaffe 124 victories Flying ace and a posthumous recipient of the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Ettel was credited with 124 aerial victories—that is, 124 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in over 250 missions. He was killed in action by Anti Aircraft artillery on 17 July 1943.
Contents
Career
Leutnant Ettel was posted to 4 staffel, Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) on the Eastern Front in early 1942. On 24 June, he claimed his first two victories when he shot down two Il-2 Sturmovik aircraft. He was shot down near Voronezh on 10 July, while destroying a Russian-flown Douglas Boston bomber. He bailed out of his stricken Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 "White 1" behind Russian lines, swam across the River Don to return to his unit four days later. He recorded his 20th victory on 9 August and his 30th by 7 October.
4./JG 3 was relocated to the Kuban bridgehead in February 1943, and during the months of intensive operations Ettel claimed some 28 Russian aircraft shot down in March and 36 more in April, including five shot down on 11 April. He claimed his 120th victory on 11 May but was shot down by flak and belly-landed his Bf 109 G–4 between the front lines, returning to German lines despite Russian rifle fire. That same night Ettel led a Wehrmacht patrol to his damaged aircraft to salvage important equipment. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 1 June.[1]
On 5 June 1943, Ettel was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) to 8./Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) based in Greece. He shot down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire over Sicily on 14 July. On 16 July, he shot down two United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) B-24 Liberator bombers and another Spitfire. He was shot down and killed in action on 17 July 1943, flying a ground support mission attacking British Anti Aircraft artillery position south east of Lentini.[2] Ettel was posthumously awarded the 289th Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 31 August 1943.[3]
Wolf Ettel was credited with 124 victories in over 250 missions. Of his 120 victories over the Eastern Front 21 were Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft. He recorded 4 victories over Sicily including 2 USAAF four-engine bombers.
Awards
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold (23 October 1942)
- Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (25 June 1943)[4]
- German Cross in Gold on 23 December 1942 as Leutnant in the 4./JG 3[5]
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
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Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 1 June 1943 as Leutnant and Staffelführer of the 4./JG 3 "Udet"[6][Notes 1]
- 289th Oak Leaves on 31 August 1943 (posthumously) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 8./JG 27[7][8]
Notes
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Ettel, Wolf (1997). Sie nannten ihn König der Kubanjäger — Feldpostbriefe 1941–1943 des Jagdfliegers Wolf Ettel. Frankfurt am Main: Haag + Herchen. ISBN 3-86137-579-6.
- Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1941 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann.
- Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag.
- Scutts, Jerry (1994). Bf 109 Aces of North Africa and the Mediterranean. London, UK:
- Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York:
- Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.
- Weal, John (2001). Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford, UK:
- Weal, John (2003). Jagdgeschwader 27 'Afrika'. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-841765-38-4.
External links
- Wolf-Udo Ettel @ Aces of the Luftwaffe
- Wolf-Udo Ettel @ World War 2 Awards
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- Articles containing German-language text
- CS1 German-language sources (de)
- WorldHeritage articles with VIAF identifiers
- VIAF not on Wikidata
- 1921 births
- 1943 deaths
- People from Hamburg
- Luftwaffe pilots
- German World War II flying aces
- German military personnel killed in World War II
- Recipients of the Gold German Cross
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves