Wolfgang Thimmig (4 October 1912 – 6 November 1976)[1] was a German Luftwaffe night fighter during World War II. By the end of the war he had achieved 24 aerial victories, reached the rank of Oberstleutnant, and was Geschwaderkommodore for NJG 2, having previously been the Kommodore for NJG 4.[citation needed]
Wolfgang Thimmig | |
|---|---|
| Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force | |
| In office 24 November 1965 – 19 January 1966 | |
| Preceded by | Gerhard Kahtz |
| Succeeded by | George T Kurubo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 October 1912 Dresden, Germany |
| Died | 6 November 1976 (aged 64) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Profession | Officer |
| Nickname | Ameise |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany West Germany Nigeria |
| Branch/service | Luftwaffe German Air Force |
| Years of service | 1934–1945, 1956–1976 |
| Rank | Oberstleutnant (Luftwaffe) Oberst (Bundeswehr) |
| Unit | LG 1 ZG 76 NJG 1 NJG 2 NJG 101 |
| Commands | 2./NJG 1, III./NJG 1, III./NJG 101, NJG 4, NJG 2 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
In 1956, Thimmig joined the newly formed Bundesluftwaffe and was the Military Attache of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sweden between 1959 and 1963. In addition to that, he was the Nigerian Air Force's Chief of the Air Staff from 1965 to 1966.[2] He was the second Commander of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), and given the task of continuing the creation of an air force for Nigeria under a 1963 agreement between Nigeria and Germany. Thimmig and the German Air Force Assistance Group (GAFAG) withdrew from Nigeria in January 1966, when their mission of creating the air force was completed.
Summary of career
editAerial victory claims
editForeman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 23 nocturnal victory claims.[3] Matthews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Thimmig with 23 claims, all of which claimed in Defense of the Reich.[4]
| Chronicle of aerial victories | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
This and the ? (question mark) indicates discrepancies between Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 and Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims. | |||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Serial No./Squadron No. |
| – 2. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –[4] | |||||
| 1 | 18 June 1941 | 02:41 | Whitley[5] | 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Best, 10 km (6.2 mi) north-northeast of Eindhoven | |
| 2 | 11 July 1941 | 02:40 | Wellington | Arendonk[6] | |
| 3 | 16 July 1941?[Note 1] | 02:31 | Wellington | south-southeast of Hamont-Achel[6] | |
| 4 | 18 July 1941 | 02:41 | Whitley[8] | ||
| 5 | 17 August 1941 | 01:41 | Hampden | Winterswijk?[9][Note 2] | |
| 6 | 17 August 1941 | 02:30 | Whitley | 20 km (12 mi) west of Venlo[9] | |
| 7 | 31 August 194 | 23:39 | Hampden | 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Mönchengladbach[10] | |
| 8 | 31 May 1942 | 02:06 | Halifax | 3 km (1.9 mi) northwest of Maarheeze railway station[11] | |
| – Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –[7] | |||||
| 9 | 27 August 1942 | 23:25 | Wellington | Epe railway station[12] | |
| 10 | 27 August 1942 | 23:54 | Halifax | 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Haaksbergen[12] | |
| 11 | 3 February 1943 | 20:10 | Stirling | east of Hengelo[13] | |
| 12 | 1 May 1943 | 02:43 | Halifax | east of Stadtlohn[14] | |
| 13 | 1 May 1943 | 03:20 | Lancaster | 12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of Zwolle[14] | |
| 14 | 5 May 1943 | 00:34 | Halifax | south of Gronau[15] | |
| 15 | 5 May 1943 | 00:50 | Halifax | northwest of Schüttorf[15] | |
| 16 | 24 May 1943 | 01:08 | Wellington | 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of Enschede[16] | |
| 17 | 24 May 1943 | 01:25 | Wellington | 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Haaksbergen[16] | |
| 18 | 24 May 1943 | 01:34 | Halifax | 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Almelo[16] | |
| – Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 –[7] | |||||
| 19 | 21 April 1944 | 23:05 | Lancaster | 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Kirchheim[17] | |
| – Stab of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 –[7] | |||||
| 20 | 21 April 1944 | 00:38 | four-engined bomber | 25 km (16 mi) south of Paris[18] | |
| 21 | 8 July 1944 | 02:47 | B-26 | northwest of Amiens[19] | |
| 22 | 8 July 1944 | 02:55 | B-26 | Senarpont[19] | |
| 23 | 8 July 1944 | 02:59 | B-26 | Baie de la Seine[19] | |
Awards
edit- Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 28 September 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur[20]
- German Cross in Gold on 12 July 1944 as Hauptmann in the III./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1[21]
Notes
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ "THIMMIG, Wolfgang". TracesOfWar.com. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "History of The Nigerian Air Force: Former Chiefs of Air Staffs". The Nigerian Air Force. Nigerian Air Force. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, pp. 22–200.
- ^ a b Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1318–1319.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 22.
- ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 25.
- ^ a b c d e Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1319.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 26.
- ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 29.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 30.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 42.
- ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 56.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 66.
- ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 77.
- ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 78.
- ^ a b c Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 81.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 118.
- ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 167.
- ^ a b c Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 200.
- ^ Patzwall 2008, p. 204.
- ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 474.
Bibliography
edit- Foreman, John; Mathews, Johannes; Parry, Simon (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-0-9538061-4-0.
- Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-21-9.
- 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. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
- Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3.