| Wolfgang Thimmig | |
| Nickname: | Ameise |
| Allegiance: |  Nigeria |
| Branch: | German Air Force |
| Serviceyears: | 1934–1945, 1956–1976 |
| Rank: | Oberstleutnant (Luftwaffe) Oberst (Bundeswehr) |
| Commands: | 2./NJG 1, III./NJG 1, III./NJG 101, NJG 4, NJG 2 |
| Unit: | LG 1 ZG 76 NJG 1 NJG 2NJG 4NJG 101 |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Office: | Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force |
| Term Start: | 24 November 1965 |
| Term End: | 19 January 1966 |
| Predecessor: | Gerhard Kahtz |
| Successor: | George T Kurubo |
| Birth Date: | 4 October 1912 |
| Birth Place: | Dresden, Germany |
| Death Place: | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Nationality: | German |
| Profession: | Officer |
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.
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.
Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 23 nocturnal victory claims. 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.
| Chronicle of aerial victories | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Serial No./Squadron No. | |
| – 2. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – | ||||||
| 1 | 18 June 1941 | 02:41 | Whitley | 2km (01miles) north of Best, 10km (10miles) north-northeast of Eindhoven | ||
| 2 | 11 July 1941 | 02:40 | Wellington | Arendonk | ||
| 3 | 16 July 1941? | 02:31 | Wellington | south-southeast of Hamont-Achel | ||
| 4 | 18 July 1941 | 02:41 | Whitley | |||
| 5 | 17 August 1941 | 01:41 | Hampden | Winterswijk? | ||
| 6 | 17 August 1941 | 02:30 | Whitley | 20km (10miles) west of Venlo | ||
| 7 | 31 August 194 | 23:39 | Hampden | 15km (09miles) west of Mönchengladbach | ||
| 8 | 31 May 1942 | 02:06 | Halifax | 3km (02miles) northwest of Maarheeze railway station | ||
| – Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – | ||||||
| 9 | 27 August 1942 | 23:25 | Wellington | Epe railway station | ||
| 10 | 27 August 1942 | 23:54 | Halifax | 4km (02miles) south of Haaksbergen | ||
| 11 | 3 February 1943 | 20:10 | Stirling | east of Hengelo | ||
| 12 | 1 May 1943 | 02:43 | Halifax | east of Stadtlohn | ||
| 13 | 1 May 1943 | 03:20 | Lancaster | 12km (07miles) southeast of Zwolle | ||
| 14 | 5 May 1943 | 00:34 | Halifax | south of Gronau | ||
| 15 | 5 May 1943 | 00:50 | Halifax | northwest of Schüttorf | ||
| 16 | 24 May 1943 | 01:08 | Wellington | 9km (06miles) southwest of Enschede | ||
| 17 | 24 May 1943 | 01:25 | Wellington | 5km (03miles) east of Haaksbergen | ||
| 18 | 24 May 1943 | 01:34 | Halifax | 12km (07miles) west of Almelo | ||
| – Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 – | ||||||
| 19 | 21 April 1944 | 23:05 | Lancaster | 2km (01miles) west of Kirchheim | ||
| – Stab of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – | ||||||
| 20 | 21 April 1944 | 00:38 | four-engined bomber | 25km (16miles) south of Paris | ||
| 21 | 8 July 1944 | 02:47 | B-26 | northwest of Amiens | ||
| 22 | 8 July 1944 | 02:55 | B-26 | Senarpont | ||
| 23 | 8 July 1944 | 02:59 | B-26 | Baie de la Seine | ||