| Wolfgang Lippert | |
| Birth Date: | 14 September 1914 |
| Birth Place: | Fraureuth, Kingdom of Saxony |
| Death Place: | Egypt |
| Serviceyears: | 1932/3–1941 |
| Rank: | Hauptmann (captain) |
| Unit: | Stab II./JG 27 and 3./JG 53 |
| Battles: | Spanish Civil War World War II |
| Awards: | Spanish Cross In Gold with Swords Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Wolfgang Lippert (14 September 1914 – 3 December 1941) was a World War II Luftwaffe Flying ace. Lippert was credited with 30 victories, five of which were scored in the Spanish Civil War.
Lippert joined the Luftwaffe and after pilot training, was posted to I./Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel". In March 1937 Leutnant Lippert was transferred to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) at Wiesbaden. Lippert gained his first aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War flying with the Condor Legion with 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88. He claimed five victories from mid-1938 until March 1939, receiving the award of the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords.
On 1 May 1939, Lippert was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 53. He succeeded Hauptmann Lothar von Janson who was transferred.
He claimed his first victory of World War II on 30 September 1939, a French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 over Wissembourg. During the Battle of France he destroyed eight Allied aircraft.
On 4 September 1940, Hauptmann Lippert was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). He thus succeeded Oberleutnant Ernst Düllberg who had temporarily replaced Hauptmann Werner Andres after his transfer.
During the Battle of Britain, a further seven kills were claimed. On 16 August 1940 he shot down Sgt John Lawrence Crisp of 43 Squadron A Flight, who broke his leg on landing at Bognor Regis. On 1 November 1940 he shot down Royal Air Force ace S/L Archie McKellar flying a No. 605 Squadron Hurricane Mk.I. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 September after 13 World War II victories.
In 1941 Lippert participated with II./JG 27 in Operation Barbarossa, scoring four victories against Soviet aircraft. Later that year the unit was transferred to North Africa where he destroyed a further five Allied aircraft.
On 23 November 1941 Lippert was shot down over Allied lines near Bir el Gubi, probably by Flight Lieutenant Clive Caldwell of No. 250 Squadron. As Lippert bailed out of his Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 8469—factory number), he hit the tailplane. He was hospitalised in Cairo and his legs were amputated. However, his legs were infected by gangrene and he died on 3 December.
Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 29 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. This number includes five claims during the Spanish Civil War, three on the Eastern Front and further 21 over the Western Allies of World War II.
| Chronicle of aerial victories | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | |
| Spanish Civil War | ||||||||||
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 – Spanish Civil War — July – December 1938 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 15 July 1938 | I-15 | 4 | 4 October 1938 | I-16 | |||||
| 2 | 23 July 1938 | I-16 | 5 | 29 December 1938 | I-15 | |||||
| 3 | 14 August 1938 | I-16 | ||||||||
| World War II | ||||||||||
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 – "Phoney War" — 1 September 1939 – 9 May 1940 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 30 September 1939 | 14:45 | M.S.406 | Büdingen | 2 | 7 April 1940 | 12:50 | Spitfire | southwest of Diedenhofen | |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 – Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940 | ||||||||||
| 3 | 10 May 1940 | 13:55 | Curtiss | southwest of Metz | 6 | 20 May 1940 | 18:35 | Curtiss | Noyon | |
| 4 | 14 May 1940 | 19:30 | Wellington | Sedan | 7 | 3 June 1940 | 14:20 | Spitfire | south of Paris | |
| 5 | 15 May 1940 | 16:13 | MB.151 | south of Charleville | 8 | 9 June 1940 | 14:50 | Curtiss | Boult | |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 – At the Channel and over England — 26 June – 3 September 1940 | ||||||||||
| 9 | 16 August 1940 | 18:00 | Spitfire | 11 | 2 September 1940 | 08:55 | Hurricane | |||
| 10 | 26 August 1940 | 17:35 | Spitfire | Portsmouth | ||||||
| – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – At the Channel and over England — 4 September – 5 November 1940 | ||||||||||
| 12 | 7 September 1940 | 19:05 | Spitfire | London | 15 | 25 October 1940 | 13:06 | Hurricane | London | |
| 13 | 17 September 1940 | 16:48 | Hurricane | Maidstone | 16 | 1 November 1940 | 09:15 | Hurricane | Canterbury | |
| 14 | 25 October 1940 | 13:05 | Hurricane | London | ||||||
| – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – Operation Barbarossa – 22 June – 19 July 1941 | ||||||||||
| 17 | 22 June 1941 | 04:15 | I-15 | south of Knyszyn | 19? | 25 June 1941 | SB-3 | north of Njemenczin | ||
| 18 | 22 June 1941 | 04:18 | I-17 (MiG-1) | northeast of Wizna | 20 | 25 June 1941 | 12:15 | DB-3 | southwest of Vilnius | |
| – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 27 – In North Africa — 22 September – 23 November 1941 | ||||||||||
| 21 | 23 October 1941 | 09:30 | Hurricane | south of Buq Buq | 24 | 22 November 1941 | 16:45 | Wellington | northwest of Bir Hacheim | |
| 22 | 22 November 1941 | 10:20 | P-40 | southeast of Ain el Gazala airfield | 25 | 23 November 1941 | 12:25 | Hurricane | east of Bir Hacheim | |
| 23 | 22 November 1941 | 16:30 | P-40 | northwest of Bir Hacheim | ||||||
de:Walther-Peer Fellgiebel
. 2000 . 1986 . Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile . The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches . de . Friedberg, Germany . Podzun-Pallas . 978-3-7909-0284-6.