Ernst Börngen Explained

Ernst Börngen
Birth Date:	7 February 1916
Birth Place:	Meuselwitz, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Death Place:	Mering, Bavaria, West Germany
Serviceyears:	1937–1945
Rank:	Hauptmann (captain)
Unit:	JG 27
Commands:	I./JG 27
Awards:	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ernst Börngen (7 February 1916 – 30 June 1989) 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 was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Börngen claimed 41 victories in 450 missions.

Career

In November 1937, Börngen joined the military service of the Luftwaffe as a Fähnrich (cadet).

On 20 May 1942, Börngen officially replaced Hauptmann (captain) Ernst Düllberg as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel. Düllberg had been wounded in action on 22 November 1941 and Börngen had already acted as intermittent Staffelführer for some weeks. On 11 July 1942, Börngen's Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 trop (Werknummer 10 203—factory number) was damaged in aerial combat with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, resulting in a forced landing east of El Dabaa

Börngen led 5. Staffel until 16 July 1943. That day, he had claimed his 28th aerial victory over a Consolidated B-24 Liberator. During the attack, his Bf 109 G-6  (Werknummer 18 371) took a cabin hit from the defensive fire of the bomber, wounding him severely. Despite being wounded, he crash landed the aircraft at San Vito dei Normanni.

In May 1944, the Allies initiated the Oil Campaign of World War II, targeting various facilities supplying Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products. On 12 May, the Eighth Air Force sent an attack force of 886 heavy bombers, protected by 980 escort fighters, against the German refineries in central Germany at Leuna, Merseburg, Böhlen and Zeitz. In defense of this attack, I. Gruppe engaged a formation of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers shortly past 12:30 just east of Eschborn. In this encounter, the Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe, Major Ludwig Franzisket was severely wounded. The next day, Börngen succeeded Franzisket as commander of I. Gruppe and surrendered his command of 2. Staffel to Leutnant Karl Wünsch.

On 19 May 1944, the Eighth Air Force targeted Berlin and Braunschweig with 888 heavy bombers, protected by 964 escort fighters. The German aerial defenses under the command Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark ordered I. Gruppe, led by Börngen and at the time based at Fels am Wagram, to take off at 11:43. Börngen's group was ordered to meet up with III. and VI. Gruppe to form a larger combat formation. This formation was then vectored to Magdeburg where at 13:00 they encountered the escort fighters of a formation of Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers northwest of the city. While III. and VI. Gruppe engaged the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and North American P-51 Mustang fighters, the Stabsschwarm and I. Gruppe managed to attack the B-24 bombers. Following the encounter, JG 27 claimed 17 aerial victories, including Herausschüsse (separation shots)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from his combat box which was counted as an aerial victory. In return, JG 27 suffered five aircraft lost, two pilots killed in action and one pilot severely wounded. At 13:15, Börngen had shot down a B-24 near Helmstedt and then at 13:20 engaged another bomber by ramming it with his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 441 101—factory number), sustaining severe injuries. He managed to bail out and was immediately taken to the Luftwaffen hospital at Helmstedt where his right arm had to be amputated. Börngen was then replaced by Major Wolfgang Redlich as commander of I. Gruppe.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Börngen was credited with 41 enemy aircraft shot down in over 450 combat missions, the majority of which on the Western Front and two on the Eastern Front. This figure includes 16 four-engined bombers. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 35 aerial victory claims, plus four further unconfirmed claims. This figure includes two aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 33 over the Western Allies, including 14 four-engined bombers.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 15 Ost S/OT-2/3". The Luftwaffe grid map (German: Jägermeldenetz) 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 360sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3x in size.

Chronicle of aerial victories
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Unit	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Unit
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – On the Channel Front – August – November 1940
1	18 August 1940	15:30	Spitfire	Selsey Bill	4./JG 27	2	18 August 1940	15:40	Spitfire	Selsey Bill	4./JG 27
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – During the Balkan Campaign – April 1940
3	15 April 1941	07:01	Gladiator	west Trikkala	4./JG 27
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – On the Eastern Front – June 1941
4	25 June 1941	11:02	SB-3	Usmana-Holszany	4./JG 27	5	25 June 1941		DB		4./JG 27
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – In North Africa – April 1941 – December 1942
6	21 December 1941	15:02	Blenheim	3km (02miles) southwest El Agheila	5./JG 27	13	15 September 1942	17:02	P-40	south El Alamein	5./JG 27
7	30 May 1942	17:05	P-40	southeast Fort Acroma	5./JG 27	14	9 October 1942	12:20	Spitfire	north Sanyet Quotaifiya	5./JG 27
8	5 June 1942	11:51	P-40	20km (10miles) northeast Mteifl Chebir	5./JG 27	15	20 October 1942	09:20	P-40	east-northeast El Dabaa	5./JG 27
9	26 June 1942	19:03	P-40	southeast Mersa Matruh	5./JG 27	16	27 October 1942	15:03	Spitfire	north Turbiya	5./JG 27
10	3 July 1942	18:12	P-40	west El Alamein	5./JG 27	17	27 October 1942	15:32	Hurricane	northwest El Alamein	5./JG 27
11	11 July 1942	16:07	Spitfire	southwest El Alamein	5./JG 27	18	11 November 1942	09:27	P-40	south Sollum	5./JG 27
12	20 July 1942	18:23	P-40	El Alamein	5./JG 27
– Claims with II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – Sicily, Tunisia and Italy – April – July 1943
19	29 April 1943	11:27	P-38	10km (10miles) southwest Marettimo	5./JG 27	24	2 July 1943	11:15	B-24	30km (20miles) east-southeast Lecce	5./JG 27
20	22 May 1943	16:15	P-38	south-southwest Marettimo	5./JG 27	25	2 July 1943	11:25	B-24	20km (10miles) southwest San Cesario di Lecce	5./JG 27
21	25 May 1943	11:32	B-17	northwest Marettimo	5./JG 27	26	10 July 1943	16:07	Spitfire	30km (20miles) southeast Syracuse	5./JG 27
22	28 May 1943	18:02	B-24	south Castelvetrano	5./JG 27	27	12 July 1943		Spitfire		5./JG 27
23	28 May 1943	18:06	B-25	southwest Marsala	5./JG 27	28	16 July 1943	13:10	B-24	25km (16miles) east-northeast Bari	5./JG 27
– Claims with Stab of Jagdgeschwader 27 – Defense of the Reich – April 1944
29	3 April 1944	10:46	B-17*	50km (30miles) south Budapest	Stab/JG 27
– Claims with III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – Defense of the Reich – April 1944
30	6 April 1944	16:23	B-17	30km (20miles) southeast Marburg	Stab III./JG 27	32	12 April 1944	12:12	B-17*	west Lake Neusiedl	Stab III./JG 27
31	12 April 1944	12:10	B-24	southwest Lake Neusiedl	Stab III./JG 27	33	13 April 1944	11:48	B-17	10km (10miles) east-southeast Raab	Stab III./JG 27
– Claims with I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – Defense of the Reich – April 1944
34	23 April 1944	14:50	B-17	west Willendorf, west of Wiener Neustadt	2./JG 27
– Claims with Stab of Jagdgeschwader 27 – Defense of the Reich – May 1944
35	12 May 1944	12:37	B-17	PQ 15 Ost S/OT-2/3, northwest Bamberg	Stab/JG 27	36	12 May 1944	12:57	B-17	PQ 05 Ost S/QB-4/5, Bad Orb	Stab/JG 27
– Claims with I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – Defense of the Reich – May 1944
37	19 May 1944	13:15	B-24	6km (04miles) east Helmstedt	Stab I./JG 27	38	19 May 1944	13:20	B-24	north Helmstedt	Stab I./JG 27

Awards

• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold (6 May 1941)
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Black
  • in Silver
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 25 January 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän
• German Cross in Gold on 31 August 1943 as Hauptmann in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 27
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 August 1944 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 5./Jagdgeschwader 27

References

Bibliography

• Web site: Bergström . Christer .

  sv:Christer Bergström

  . Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat . Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website . 30 October 2023 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20181222042030/http://www.bergstrombooks.elknet.pl/bc-rs/planquadrat.htm . 22 December 2018 . dead.
• Book: Dixon , Jeremy . 2023 . Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe: Knight's Cross Holders 1943–1945 . Barnsley . . 978-1-39903-073-1.
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• Book: Mathews . Andrew Johannes . Foreman . John . 2014 . Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 1 A–F . Walton on Thames . Red Kite . 978-1-906592-18-9.
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• Book: Prien . Jochen . Rodeike . Peter . Stemmer . Gerhard . 1995 . Messerschmitt Bf 109 im Einsatz bei der III. und IV./Jagdgeschwader 27, 1938 – 1945 . Messerschmitt Bf 109 in Action with the III. and IV./Jagdgeschwader 27, 1938 – 1945 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-30-4.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Rodeike . Peter . Stemmer . Gerhard . 1997 . Messerschmitt Bf 109 im Einsatz bei II./Jagdgeschwader 27, 1940 – 1945 . Messerschmitt Bf 109 in Action with I./Jagdgeschwader 27, 1940 – 1945 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-42-7.
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• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2002 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 4/I—Einsatz am Kanal und über England—26 June 1940 bis 21 June 1941 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 4/I—Action at the Channel and over England—26 June 1940 to 21 June 1941 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-63-2.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2003a . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 5—Heimatverteidigung—10. Mai 1940 bis 31 Dezember 1941—Einsatz im Mittelmeerraum—Oktober 1940 bis November 1941—Einsatz im Westen—22. Juni bis 31. Dezember 1941—Die Ergänzungsjagdgruppen—Einsatz 1941 bis zur Auflösung Anfang 1942 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 5—Defense of the Reich—10 May 1940 to 31 December 1941—Action in the Mediterranean Theater—October 1940 to November 1941—Action in the West—22 June to 31 December 1941—The Supplementary Fighter Groups—Action from 1941 until their Breakup in Early 1942 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-68-7.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2003b . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/I—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/I—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-69-4.
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• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2010 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 11/I—Einsatz im Mittelmeerraum—1.1. bis 31.12.1943 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 11/I—Action in the Mediterranean Theater—1 January to 31 December 1943 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-923457-95-3.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Balke . Ulf . Stemmer . Gerhard . Bock . Winfried . 2019 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 13/V—Einsatz im Reichsverteidigung und im Westen—1.1. bis 31.12.1944 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 13/V—Action in the Defense of the Reich and in the West—1 January to 31 December 1944 . de . Eutin, Germany . Struve-Druck . 978-3-942943-21-5.
• Book: 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 . de . Jena, Germany . Scherzers Militaer-Verlag . 978-3-938845-17-2.