Ulrich Wernitz Explained

Ulrich Wernitz
Birth Date:	21 January 1921
Birth Place:	Schweinitz/Herzberg
Death Place:	Fürstenfeldbruck
Nickname:	Pipifax
Allegiance:	(to 1945)
Branch:	German Air Force
Rank:	Leutnant (Wehrmacht) Oberstleutnant (Bundeswehr)
Unit:	JG 54
Commands:	3./JG 54
Awards:	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ulrich Wernitz (21 January 1921 – 23 December 1980) was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II. He was credited with 101 aerial victories—that is, 101 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in roughly 240 combat missions. He served in the post World War II German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany, retiring with the rank of Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel).

Career

Wernitz was born in Schweinitz/Herzberg in the district of Wittenberg, a Province of Saxony, on 21 January 1921. Following flight training, he was posted to 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in April 1943.^[1] At the time, JG 54 was based on the northern sector of the Eastern Front.

Nicknamed Pipifax by his comrades, he claimed his first aerial victory on 2 May 1943 over a Lavochkin La-5 fighter aircraft near Pushkin during the Siege of Leningrad. On combat missions, he frequently flew as wingman to Otto Kittel, Hermann Schleinhege and Günther Scheel.Wernitz claimed his 82nd aerial victory, a Petlyakov Pe-2 shot down on 28 August 1944. He then fell ill in September. During his convalescence, Feldwebel (Sergeant) Wernitz, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 29 October 1944, and the German Cross in Gold (German: Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 1 January 1945. He returned to his unit in early February 1945, which at the time was fighting in the Courland Pocket. He was then appointed Staffelführer (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 54 and claimed 19 further aerial victories, including eight on 8 March 1945. On 26 March 1945, Wernitz was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 100th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.

Following World War II, Wernitz served in the German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany, retiring with the rank of Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel). He died on 23 December 1980.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Wernitz was credited with 101 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that Wernitz was credited with 101 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 36 Ost 00333". 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	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –
1	2 May 1943	16:56	La-5	PQ 36 Ost 00333 vicinity of Pushkin	3	24 May 1943	18:53	P-40	PQ 36 Ost 10184 east of Mga
2	21 May 1943	19:07	La-5	PQ 36 Ost 10464 45km (28miles) northeast of Luban
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 54 –
4	1 June 1943	04:58	Yak-1	PQ 36 Ost 10293 30km (20miles) southwest of Volkhov	8	17 July 1943	03:55	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 54121 20km (10miles) south-southwest of Sukhinichi
5	18 June 1943	06:28	LaGG-3	PQ 36 Ost 21753 20km (10miles) north-northwest of Volkhov	9	23 July 1943	08:55	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 54333 45km (28miles) east-southeast of Zhizdra
6	16 July 1943	07:54	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 54487 20km (10miles) northwest of Bolkhov	10	1 August 1943	11:22	La-5	PQ 36 Ost 10183 east of Mga
7	16 July 1943	08:03	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 54498 25km (16miles) west-northwest of Bolkhov
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –
11?	15 September 1943	16:15	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 35341, Satki	52	17 July 1944	17:11	Pe-2	PQ OP-7/4
12	9 October 1943	06:55	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 07743 10km (10miles) northeast of Nevel	53	17 July 1944	17:14	Pe-2	PQ OP-5/7
13	9 October 1943	06:59	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 07751 10km (10miles) northeast of Nevel	54	21 July 1944	14:40	Yak-9	PQ ON-5/5
14	9 October 1943	07:00	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 07753 10km (10miles) northeast of Nevel	55	21 July 1944	19:15	Yak-9	PQ NM-4/6
15	12 October 1943	10:55	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 15943	56	21 July 1944	19:17	Yak-9	PQ OM-2/4
16	13 October 1943	08:43	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 15561 20km (10miles) south of Krassnji	57	21 July 1944	19:21	Yak-9	PQ OM-5/2
17	20 October 1943	09:14	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 06163, Lake Ssennitza	58	27 July 1944	14:50	La-5	PQ NL-8/2
18	22 October 1943	08:15	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 15342, north of Gorki	59	27 July 1944	14:52	La-5	PQ NL-8/3
19	15 December 1943	09:08	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 06167	60	27 July 1944	14:53	La-5	PQ NL-8/9
20	1 January 1944	12:55	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 06794	61	1 August 1944	11:01	La-5	PQ KH-2/8
21	6 January 1944	10:43	Yak-9	PQ 35 Ost 05151	62	1 August 1944	11:06	La-5	PQ KH-7/9
22	8 January 1944	09:30	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 96684 25km (16miles) southwest of Gorodok	63	1 August 1944	11:10	La-5	PQ LH-4/5
23	15 January 1944	12:26	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 05161	64	1 August 1944	19:45	La-5	PQ KG-9/5
24	7 February 1944	07:50	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 06784	65	5 August 1944	14:42	Il-2	PQ LN-2/3
25	30 March 1944	12:32	Yak-9	PQ 26 Ost 70694 15km (09miles) southwest of Narva	66	5 August 1944	14:47	Il-2	PQ LN-3/7
26	30 March 1944	15:26?	La-5	PQ 26 Ost 70352 Baltic Sea, 35km (22miles) northeast of Kunda	67	7 August 1944	16:11	P-39	PQ KN-4/1
27	2 April 1944	11:45	Il-2	PQ 26 Ost 60462 northeast of Kunda	68	15 August 1944	09:11	Yak-9	PQ LJ-9/3
28	4 April 1944	09:52	Yak-9	PQ 26 Ost 6044 northeast of Kunda	69	15 August 1944	09:13	Yak-9	PQ LJ-7/4
29	19 April 1944	09:25	Il-2	PQ 26 Ost 70693 15km (09miles) southwest of Narva	70	15 August 1944	09:22	Yak-9	PQ LJ-3/4
30	8 May 1944	14:01	P-40	PQ 26 Ost 70313 Baltic Sea, 35km (22miles) east-northeast of Kunda	71	15 August 1944	13:32	P-39	PQ LK-4/5
31	8 May 1944	14:03	Yak-9	PQ 26 Ost 70331 Gulf of Finland, north of Hungerburg	72	16 August 1944	10:11	Il-2	PQ LK-5/8
32	16 May 1944	10:20	Yak-9	PQ 26 Ost 70523 Baltic Sea, 45km (28miles) west of Hungerburg	73	16 August 1944	10:13	Il-2	PQ LK-8/2
33	28 May 1944	08:42	LaGG-3	PQ 26 Ost 70693 15km (09miles) southwest of Narva	74	23 August 1944	11:09	Il-2	PQ JN-5/3
34	29 May 1944	10:06	La-5	PQ 26 Ost 60412 In Gulf of Finland	75	24 August 1944	17:41	La-5	PQ JG-6/5
35	29 May 1944	10:11	Yak-9	PQ 26 Ost 60432 northeast of Kunda	76	25 August 1944	12:46	Yak-9	PQ LG-7/1
36	29 May 1944	10:18	Yak-9	PQ 26 Ost 70452 Baltic Sea, 25km (16miles) northwest of Hungerburg	77	25 August 1944	12:47	La-5	PQ LG-4/9
37	30 May 1944	21:11	Yak-9	PQ 26 Ost 70433 Baltic Sea, 25km (16miles) north-northwest of Hungerburg	78	25 August 1944	12:49	Yak-9	PQ KG-4/5
38	15 June 1944	07:10	Yak-9	PQ SP-3/3	79	28 August 1944	11:26?	Yak-9	PQ JM-5/4 40km (30miles) north-northwest of Kreuzburg
39	15 June 1944	07:15	Yak-9	PQ RP-9/4	80	28 August 1944	11:28?	Pe-2	PQ JM-9/1 30km (20miles) north of Kreuzburg
40	15 June 1944	07:18	La-5	PQ RP-7/2	81	28 August 1944	15:50?	P-39	PQ LG-6/1
41	15 June 1944	07:25	Il-2	PQ SP-6/2	82	28 August 1944	16:12?	P-39	PQ LG-2/2
42	28 June 1944	12:10	LaGG-3	PQ QT-8/4		28 August 1944		Yak-9
43	28 June 1944	19:22	P-39	PQ QT-3/2	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
44♠	30 June 1944	15:02	Yak-9	PQ PS-7/3	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
45♠	30 June 1944	16:01?	Yak-9	PQ OS-5/3	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
46♠	30 June 1944	16:10	Il-2	PQ OT-1/4	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
47♠	30 June 1944	16:14	P-39	PQ OT-2/1	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
48♠	30 June 1944	19:48	Il-2	PQ PS-5/8	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
49	3 July 1944	11:38	P-39	PQ OS-7/7	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
50	3 July 1944	11:46	P-39	PQ OS-5/7	♠	5 March 1945		unknown
51	16 July 1944	05:13	P-39	PQ OO-3/4	100	26 March 1945		unknown

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 17 April 1944 as Feldwebel and pilot
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 October 1944 as Feldwebel in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 54
• German Cross in Gold on 1 January 1945 as Feldwebel in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54

References

Bibliography

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  sv:Christer Bergström

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Notes and References

1. For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations, see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II.