Herbert Ihlefeld (1 June 1914 – 8 August 1995) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, a fighter ace listed with 130 enemy aircraft shot down in over 1,000 combat missions. Depending on source, he claimed seven to nine aerial victories in the Spanish Civil War, and during World War II, 67 on the Eastern Front and 56 on the Western Front, including 15 four-engined bombers and 26 Supermarine Spitfires. He survived being shot down eight times during his 1,000 combat missions.
Born in Pinnow, Ihlefeld volunteered for military service in the Reichswehr of Nazi Germany in 1933. Initially serving in the Heer (Army), he transferred to the Luftwaffe (Air Force) in 1935. Following flight training, he volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War where he was assigned to Jagdgruppe 88 (J/88—88th Fighter Group). From February–July 1938, he claimed nine aerial victories, two remained unconfirmed. For his service in Spain he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords.
Following service in Spain, Ihlefeld was posted to Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing. With this unit, he participated in the Invasion of Poland and Battle of France. During the height of the Battle of Britain on 13 September 1940, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after 21 aerial victories in World War II. Ihlefeld, who had been appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) in September 1940, fought in the aerial battles of the Balkan Campaign. During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 27 June 1941. Ten months later, following his 101st aerial victory of the war, Ihlefeld was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 24 April 1942.
On 22 June 1942, Ihlefeld was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). He was injured in combat on 22 July 1942 and after convalescence, he was given command of Jagdfliegerschule 3 (3rd Fighter Pilot School). On 21 July 1943, he was tasked with leadership of a high flying de Havilland Mosquito intercept unit called Jagdgeschwader 25 (JG 25—25th Fighter Wing) in Defense of the Reich. This unit failed to achieve its objective and Ihlefeld was assigned to the Stab (headquarters unit) of the 30th Fighter Division. On 20 May 1944, he took command of Jagdgeschwader 1 "Oesau" (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) and participated in Operation Bodenplatte. Ihlefeld died on 8 August 1995 in Wennigsen, Lower Saxony.
Early life and career Ihlefeld was born on 1 June 1914 in Pinnow, at the time in the Province of Pomerania, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia, the son of a farm laborer. Following a machinist vocational education, he volunteered for military service in the Reichsheer on 1 April 1933. As a Grenadier, he was first posted to Infanterie-Regiment 5 (5th Infantry Regiment) based in Stettin and in 1934 was posted to the aviation technical school at Jüterbog. In March 1937, he was assigned to the I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 132 "Richthofen" (JG 32—132nd Fighter Wing).For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II.
With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, Germany supported the Nationalists and asked for volunteers which organized in the Condor Legion (). Unteroffizier (Staff Sergeant) Ihlefeld joined 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Jagdgruppe 88 (J/88—88th Fighter Group) in late 1937. Flying with this unit until July 1938, he claimed nine and was credited with seven aerial victories over Spain and was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern). There, he was issued one of the first Messerschmitt Bf 109 B-1's sent to the Condor Legion. A Polikarpov I-16 fighter aircraft shot down on 21 February 1938 was his first aerial victory of the war. On 13 March 1938, Ihlefeld was credited with his second victory, a Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighter aircraft followed by his third, an I-16, on 11 May 1938. A week later, on 18 May, he claimed another I-16, the victory was unconfirmed. A Tupolev SB-2 bomber from a force attacking La Sénia, shot down on 2 June 1938, became his fifth victim. He claimed another unconfirmed victory on 25 June 1938 over an I-16. On 12 July 1938, he was credited with a victory over an I-15. Two I-15s shot down on 15 July 1938 were his last victories in Spain.
On 1 August 1938, he was assigned to I. (Jäger) Gruppe (I.(J)—1st fighter group) of Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing), an operational training unit tasked with the evaluation of new types of aircraft and tactics. The unit was later redesignated to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). On 20 August 1938, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant).
World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. Ihlefeld flew his first combat missions over Poland and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 26 September 1939. On 10 May 1940, the Battle of France, the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, began and Ihlefeld claimed his first victory of the war on 29 May. The combat took place at an altitude of near Saint-Quentin during the Battle of Dunkirk (26 May – 4 June 1940), the defense and evacuation of British and allied forces from France to England, on a combat air patrol. On this mission, 11 Messerschmitt Bf 109s encountered two Armée de l'air (French Air Force) Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter aircraft. Ihlefeld was credited with shooting one of them down at 20:15, the other Morane was credited to Hauptmann (Captain) Hanns Trübenbach. On 30 June, he was credited with two victories over Bristol Blenheim light bombers shot down at 12:45 and 15:30, his second and third of the war. Although Ihlefeld was unhurt, damage to his Bf 109 E sustained in one of these encounters, resulted in a forced landing near Saint-Omer.
Ihlefeld received an early promotion to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 June 1940 followed by his appointment to Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel in I.(J)/LG 2. He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class () on 4 July 1940. On 9 July, I.(J)/LG 2 was tasked with flying escort fighter missions for Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2—2nd Bomber Wing) attacking British shipping in the English Channel. These types of missions were referred to as Kanalkampf by the Germans and resulted in a series of air battles between the Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force (RAF). On the third mission of the day (16:25 – 17:20), escorting a flight of Dornier Do 17 bombers to their targets, Ihlefeld claimed his fourth victory of the war, a Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft shot down at 16:30.
Battle of Britain and Channel Front On 10 July 1940, seven RAF bombers attacked the Amiens – Glisy Aerodrome, all of which were shot down by the Luftwaffe. On this day, 47 Do 17 bombers from I. and III. Gruppe of KG 2, supported by one Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter and two single-engined fighter Gruppen attacked British shipping in the English Channel. In the resulting aerial combat, Luftwaffe pilots initially claimed 23 victories, 10 of these were later confirmed by the Luftwaffe. Actual RAF losses that day were three aircraft shot down, further seven made forced landings and were severely damaged. RAF pilots claimed the destruction of 16 German aircraft, actual losses were four Do 17s and three Bf 110s shot down plus further four damaged aircraft. These events marked the beginning of the Battle of Britain (10 July – 31 October 1940).
On 11 July 1940, I.(J)/LG 2 was ordered to relocate to Jever in northern Germany. In the following four weeks, the Gruppe received a period of rest and the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul prior to moving back to the Channel Front, to an airfield at Marck, east of Calais, on 8 August. Adolf Hitler had issued Führer Directive no. 17 (Weisung Nr. 17) on 1 August 1940; the strategic objective was to engage and defeat the RAF so as to achieve air superiority in preparation for Operation Sea Lion (Unternehmen Seelöwe), the proposed amphibious invasion of Great Britain. On 13 August 1940, during Operation Eagle Attack (code name Adlertag), I.(J)/LG 2 was tasked with providing fighter escort for Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers from IV. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1—1st Demonstration Wing) and II. Gruppe of Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1—1st Dive Bomber Wing), destined to attack the RAF airfields at Rochford and Detling. During this mission (16:25 – 17:35),All times used in this section are Central European Time unless otherwise noted. Ihlefeld claimed his fifth victory, a Hurricane. British losses from 16:15 to 16:36 GMT amounted to one Hurricane from No. 43 Squadron whose pilot, Pilot Officer C.A Woods-Scawen bailed out unhurt. Four Hurricanes from No. 56 Squadron were lost—Pilot Officer C.C.O Joubert was slightly wounded, Flying Officer P.F.Mc Davies was badly burned, Flying Officer R.E.P Brooker bailed out unhurt while Sergeant P. Hillwood bailed out and swam to shore. The first two men were shot down over Rochfort.
On 22 August 1940, I.(J)/LG 2 flew a combat air patrol over Southern England. Taking his total to seven victories, Ihlefeld had claimed two Supermarine Spitfire fighters shot down in the vicinity of Dover. Five Spitfires were lost by Fighter Command on this day. Weather conditions improved over Southern England on 24 August 1940 and I.(J)/LG 2 was ordered to fly a combat air patrol over Kent. The Gruppe flew three missions that day and claimed ten aerial victories, all of which over Spitfires, two of which were credited to Ihlefeld. Ihlefeld's first victory was claimed at 12:30 and the second at 17:00. Fighter Command lost five Spitfires and one damaged on 24 August. Two losses roughly match Ihlefeld's claim. No. 54 Squadron lost one; Pilot Officer C. Stewart bailed out in the afternoon, the time unknown. Pilot Officer D. Mc Gray was shot down at 11:15 GMT and bailed out of the No. 610 Squadron Spitfire X4067. Both men were shot down near Dover.
On 30 August 1940, Ihlefeld claimed his tenth victory of the war, another Spitfire probably shot down over the English Channel near Calais. On this day, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I.(J)/LG 2, Hauptmann Bernhard Mielke, was killed in action. Later that day, Ihlefeld was appointed his successor as Gruppenkommandeur. In consequence, command of 2.(J)/LG 2 then went to Oberleutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm Strakeljahn. The next day, I.(J)/LG 2 flew fighter escort missions for II.(S)/LG 2, the ground attack Gruppe of LG 2. On two separate missions they attacked the airfield at Biggin Hill on their first mission (10:25 – 11:20), and in the evening Croydon airfield. The German flight believed they encountered Hurricanes from No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron on the second mission. The Germans claimed four victories, one of which by Ihlefeld, for the loss of two in combat. 303 Squadron, if engaged during this day, suffered no fighters damaged or destroyed on this day. Their likely opponents were from No. 17 Squadron which lost one Hurricane. The pilot Sergeant G.A Steward was unhurt. I./LG 2 lost one Bf 109 destroyed and one sixty percent damaged. Oberleutnant von Perthes was shot down and killed by Flying Officer T. Bird-Wilson.