Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke (11 March 1913 – 23 March 1944) was a German Luftwaffe pilot during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 162 enemy aircraft shot down in 732 combat missions. He claimed most of his victories over the Eastern Front, and 25 over the Western Front, including four four-engined bombers.
Born in Schrimm in the Province of Posen, Wilcke volunteered for military service in the Reichswehr of Nazi Germany in 1934. Initially serving in the Heer (Army), he transferred to the Luftwaffe (Air Force) in 1935. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader "Richthofen" (Fighter Wing "Richthofen") in April 1936. After an assignment as a fighter pilot instructor, he volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War in early 1939. After his return from Spain, he was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing). Following the outbreak of World War II, he claimed his first aerial victory on 7 November 1939. On 18 May 1940, during the Battle of France, he was shot down and taken prisoner of war. After the armistice with France, he returned from captivity and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 53 during the Battle of Britain, claiming 10 victories over England.
Wilcke then fought in the aerial battles of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. There, after 25 aerial victories, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 August 1941. In September 1941, he relocated with his group to the Mediterranean Theater, where he claimed further victories. At the end of May 1942, he was transferred to the Stab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) "Udet", and in August he was appointed its Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander). Following his 100th aerial victory on 6 September, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. During the Battle of Stalingrad, on 17 December, he claimed his 150th aerial victory. On 23 December 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, his total now 155 aerial victories.
After the presentation of the Swords to his Knight's Cross, he was officially banned from operational flying. Occasionally he still flew combat missions and on 23 March 1944, flying in defense of the Reich, he claimed his 162nd and last aerial victory and was killed in action by United States Army Air Forces long-range P-51 Mustang fighters near Schöppenstedt, in Lower Saxony.
Early life and career Wilcke was born on 11 March 1913 at Schrimm in the Province of Posen, part of the Kingdom of Prussia at the time, now Śrem in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland. He was the son of a Hauptmann (captain) of Infanterie-Regiment 47 (47th Infantry Regiment), Hans Wilcke, who died of pneumonia when Wilcke was just four weeks old. His mother, Hertha von Schuckmann, married again on 14 June 1919. In 1931, Wilcke was arrested for attending a then-illegal demonstration of the Nazi Party. Although his loyalty to the Nazi cause is emphasized multiple times in his personal military files, according to biographers Prien and Stemmer, he was a firm opponent of the National Socialist regime; later in his career, for a time after taking command of III. Gruppe (3rd group) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing),For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II. he had the Swastikas on his unit's aircraft painted over. He volunteered for military service in the Reichswehr after receiving his Abitur (diploma). He joined Artillerie-Regiment 6 (6th Artillery Regiment) in Minden as a Fahnenjunker (officer cadet) on 1 April 1934. His legal guardian and stepfather, Friedrich von Scotti, also served in this regiment.
As a Fähnrich (officer candidate), Wilcke was posted to the Kriegsschule (war school) in Dresden on 1 October 1934. On 1 November 1935, he was transferred to the newly emerging Luftwaffe holding the rank of Oberfähnrich (senior officer candidate). On 20 April 1936, while serving at the flight school in Perleberg, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant). On 15 October he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader "Richthofen" (Fighter Wing "Richthofen"), also known as Jagdgeschwader 132 (JG 132—132nd Fighter Wing), named after the World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen and forerunner of Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) "Richthofen". There he excelled as a pilot and showed exceptional leadership ability, and was sent as a fighter pilot instructor to the Jagdfliegerschule (fighter pilot school) in Werneuchen in the second half of 1937.
In March 1939, Wilcke volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. For a few weeks, he flew with 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of Jagdgruppe 88 (J/88—88th Fighter Group) claiming no aerial victories. He was awarded the Spanish Cross in Bronze with Swords () for his service in Spain. In Spain he became friends with Werner Mölders, and when Mölders was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the newly created III. Gruppe of JG 53, he selected Wilcke as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of JG 53.
World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. Wilcke, who at the time was still a member of 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of JG 53, flew missions over Poland. He claimed his first aerial victory on 7 November 1939, over the Western Front when he shot down an Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) Potez 630, a twin-engined fighter, near Völklingen during the Phoney War. For this achievement he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 25 November 1939.
From 2–16 January 1940, Wilcke and other pilots from III. Gruppe went on a ski vacation to the Vorarlberg. On 11 March 1940, he shot down another Potez at an altitude of near the "three-nations-corner" north of Metz. He claimed his third victory at 2:55 p.m. on 25 March. 7. Staffel engaged a flight of Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 at . In the resulting aerial battle, Wilcke shot down one of the Moranes over Diedenhofen.
Battle of France and Britain The Battle of France, the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, began on 10 May 1940. On 18 May 1940, he engaged in aerial combat with eight French Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter aircraft and was shot down west of Rethel. His victor may have been sous lieutenant Camille Plubeau. Wilcke bailed out and was taken prisoner of war. Following the armistice with France, he and Mölders, who had also been a prisoner of war, returned to the unit on 30 June 1940. Wilcke was promoted to Hauptmann the next day and again took command of 7. Staffel. On 11 July 1940, he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (). III. Gruppe had moved to Rennes Airfield on 22 June where they patrolled the costal area of Brittany. On 10 July, the Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Lanvéoc-Poulmic, sometimes referred to as Brest-South airfield. Here, they flew their first combat missions during the Battle of Britain on 11 August, escorting Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers attacking British shipping.
On 13 August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Wilcke replaced Hauptmann Harro Harder as Gruppenkommandeur of the III. Gruppe.Harro Harder was the brother of Jürgen Harder. Harder had last been seen at 1:35 p.m. on 12 August and was reported as missing in action following combat east of the Isle of Wight. On the day of his appointment, Wilcke almost lost his life as well, when he was forced to bail out after engine failure over the English Channel. He was rescued that night by a Dornier Do 18 flying boat. On 24 August, III. Gruppe began its relocation from Brest to Le Touquet Airfield, near Étaples and Le Touquet in the Pas-de-Calais on the English Channel. The Gruppe stayed here until 19 December. III. Gruppe flew a bomber escort mission targeting London on 30 August. Wilcke destroyed a barrage balloon on the morning mission and claimed his fourth victory, a Supermarine Spitfire near Dover during his second mission of the day. On 1 September 1940, on another bomber escort mission that started at 11:20 a.m., Wilcke claimed his fifth victory, a Hawker Hurricane, south of London. He claimed his sixth victory, probably a Fairey Swordfish biplane, on 11 September over the Channel between Dover and Calais.
On 15 September 1940, also known as Battle of Britain Day, III. Gruppe engaged 20 to 30 Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters south of London. In the resulting combat, Wilcke claimed the destruction of his second Hurricane. Two days later, on a mission that began at 4:35 p.m., Wilcke achieved his ninth victory, another Hurricane. He claimed his tenth victory, again a Hurricane, on a mission targeting the London area that took off at 11:15 a.m. on 20 September. On the last day of September 1940, he claimed two more victories to bring his total to 12; the action took place during his second mission of the day, which began at 1:45 p.m., escorting Dornier Do 17s to London. In combat with RAF Spitfires, Wilcke claimed his 13th victory at 11:45 a.m. on 10 October 1940, his final of the Battle of Britain. In recognition of these achievements, he was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe () on 1 April 1941.
Operation Barbarossa On 8 June 1941, the bulk of JG 53's air elements moved via Jever, in northern Germany, to Mannheim-Sandhofen. There the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul prior to moving east. On 12 June, III. Gruppe was ordered to transfer to a forward airfield at Sobolewo. On 21 June, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 53 and its Gruppenkommandeure were summoned to nearby Suwałki, where Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) Albert Kesselring gave the final instructions for the upcoming attack. Wilcke briefed his pilots that evening.
On 22 June, the Geschwader crossed into Soviet airspace to support Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front. III. Gruppe took off on its first mission at 3:20 a.m. with the Gruppenstab (headquarters unit) and 7. Staffel targeting Soviet airfields at Alytus and Oranji. Wilcke shot down three Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighter aircraft. The second mission of the day by III. Gruppe was a Stuka escort mission to Grodno at 6:00 a.m., during which Wilcke claimed another victory. He led another attack at 4:10 p.m.; while strafing airfields, he claimed his fifth aerial victory of the day, an "ace-in-a-day" achievement, taking his total to 18.
On 25 June 1941, JG 53 was relocated with III. Gruppe arriving at Vilnius at 8:30 am. The same day, Wilcke was slightly injured when he collided with another aircraft during takeoff. He claimed his 19th victory on the evening of 30 June 1941, flying a combat air patrol into the Barysaw area. Wilcke was ordered to form "Gefechtsverband Wilcke" ("Battle Group Wilcke") on 1 July 1941. He commanded his III. Gruppe and II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) to counter-attack Soviet bombers. On 9 July, Wilcke destroyed a Petlyakov Pe-2 ground-attack aircraft. He claimed a victory on 25 July during fighter escort missions in the Vyazma area. On 29 July 1941, III. Gruppe provided fighter cover for the German armored spearheads in the Dukhovshchina area. During this mission, Wilcke claimed another victory. The next day, over the spearheads at Yartsevo-Bely, Wilcke shot down a Polikarpov I-180 fighter. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 6 August 1941 for 25 victories. Both Wilcke and Leutnant Herbert Schramm were decorated by Kesselring on 9 August 1941.