Ernst-Georg Drünkler (8 July 1920 – 12 March 1997) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 47 aerial victories, including two by day, claimed in 102 combat missions making him the thirtieth most successful night fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in Defense of the Reich missions against Royal Air Force Bomber Command.
Born in Bernburg, Drünkler grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Following flight training in 1942, he was posted to Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) on the Eastern Front, flying a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter. In October 1942, Drünkler transferred to Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing), and later to Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 (NJG 5—5th Night Fighter Wing), where he was trained as a night fighter pilot. Flying with NJG 1, he claimed his first night victory on 13 June 1943. Following his 40th aerial victory, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 March 1945 as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of NJG 5. Following the war, he became a teacher for marine navigation and died aged 76 in Sottrum.
Early life and career Drünkler was born on 8 July 1920 in Bernburg, at the time in the Weimar Republic. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe and following flight training, he was posted to the II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) on 16 May 1942. The Gruppe had just been formed at Landsberg-Lech and Wien-Aspern Airfield and was then deployed on the Eastern Front of World War II.
World War II World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Following its deployment to the Eastern Front, II. Gruppe of ZG 2 fought in the area of Poltava, Kharkov, Kursk and Izium. During these battles, Drünkler flew nine ground attack sorties and was credited with the destruction of an armored train, five locomotives, two freight cars and five trucks. His most frequent employment was in courier flights. In late-July, II. Gruppe was withdrawn from combat operations and the remaining aircraft were transferred to Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing). The Gruppe then relocated to Wiener Neustadt Airfield in Wiener Neustadt where the Gruppe was converted to the I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 (NJG 5—5th Night Fighter Wing) and placed under the command of Hauptmann Siegfried Wandam. On 1 October, Drünkler assigned to the 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of NJG 5 where he completed his training as a night fighter pilot.
Night fighter career
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector, named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range of the bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.
On 24 May 1943, Drünkler was transferred to IV. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing) based at Leeuwarden Airfield and under the command of Major Helmut Lent. On 12/13 June, RAF Bomber Command committed 503 aircraft—323 Lancasters and 167 Halifaxes with support from 11 de Havilland Mosquitos to Bochum, as it continued the British Battle of the Ruhr operation; 14 Lancaster and 10 Halifax bombers were lost, 4.8 per cent of the attacking force. Drünkler claimed his first two aerial victories; in the early hours of 13 June 1943, north of Schagen, he claimed a Lancaster bomber shot down at 02:20 and a further Lancaster at 02:51 approximately west of Alkmaar. German pilots claimed 19 Lancasters and 9 Halifax bombers shot down. During this mission, his Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 (Werknummer 5427—factory number) sustained combat damage, resulting in a forced landing at Bergervaart, near Bergen op Zoom, which destroyed the aircraft.
On the night of the 21/22 June, 705 RAF bombers—262 Lancasters, 209 Halifaxes, 117 Stirlings, 105 Wellingtons— and 12 Mosquitos attacked Krefeld; 17 Halifaxes, 9 Lancasters, 9 Wellingtons and 9 Stirlings were lost on the operation. This represented 6.2 per cent of the force. The raid was carried out before the full moon period was over and the severe casualties were mostly caused by night fighters. Twelve of the aircraft lost were from the Pathfinders; 35 Squadron lost 6 of 19 Halifaxes. The raid took place in good visibility and the Pathfinders produced an almost perfect marking effort, ground-markers dropped by Oboe-equipped Mosquitos were supplemented by the Pathfinder heavies. 619 aircraft bombed struck the area within of the centre of the target. Drünkler intercepted the bomber stream west of Makkum and claimed a Stirling at 02:39.
On the 23/24 July, Air Marshall Arthur Harris, Air Officer Commanding, Bomber Command, initiated Operation Gomorrah to destroy Hamburg and step up the area bombing of German industrial cities. The RAF mustered 791 aircraft—347 Lancasters, 246 Halifaxes, 125 Stirlings and 73 Wellingtons— for the operation. The British lost 12 aircraft—four Halifaxes, four Lancasters, three Stirlings and a Wellington which amounted to 1.5 per cent of the force. The raid was very successful, window helped confuse German radar defences and H2S radar was used to map and bomb the target. Over the Bay of Kiel in the early hours of 24 July, Drünkler claimed a Halifax shot down at 00:54. It was one of only 12 claims made by the German night fighter pilots that night because of the effectiveness of "window". Six Halifaxes, a Wellington, two Stirlings and three Lancasters were claimed.
In support of Bomber Command the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Eighth Air Force also attacked Hamburg, bombing the shipyards. The USAAF referred to the attacks as Blitz Week. Three hundred B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from the 1st Bombardment Wing were to attack Hamburg, while a small force was to bomb the U-boat yards at Kiel. The 4th Bombardment Wing was to attack the Focke-Wulf plant at Warnemünde, near Rostock. Drünkler's night fighter unit was used for a day mission. At 18:22, the same day, 25 July, northwest of Vlieland, he claimed a B-17 shot down. The 1st Bomb Wing lost 15 B-17s in the operation and the 4th lost four. It is believed most fell after being damaged by Flak. Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) and Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) intercepted but were not successful. JG 26 claimed three for the loss of two fighters and JG 1 claimed three for the loss of four pilots wounded in action. This mission highlighted the need for more armament on the Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190. A notable loss was Karl-Heinz Leesmann, who was killed in action and a night fighter crew that came down in the North Sea and were captured by a Royal Navy vessel. Drünkler's claim qualified him as an ace with four night and one day victory.
On 15 August, Drünkler served as an instructor with 13./NJG 5, he became Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1./NJG 5 on 16 February 1944. Drünkler arrived back as the RAF Berlin offensive was coming to an end. He achieved his 6th victory on 24 March 1944 near Langen at 22:23. Another heavy bomber, type unknown, was claimed at 23:10. Thirty minutes later he shot down another near Langensalza. On the night of the 30/31 March 1944, Bomber Command suffered its heaviest loss of the war in an operation to bomb Nürnberg. Bomber Command dispatched 795 aircraft, including 572 Lancasters, 214 Halifaxes and nine Mosquitos. A further 49 Halifax aircraft were sent on minelaying operations in the Heligoland area, 13 Mosquito night fighters were sent to German night-fighter airfields, 34 Mosquitos flew on diversions to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel; 95 bombers were lost, 64 Lancasters and 31 Halifaxes which amounted to 11.9 per cent of the force. Drünkler claimed a Halifax northeast of Frankfurt-am-Main at 00:55. His 10th victory over another Halifax was recorded at 01:06 east of Oberndorf.
Normandy 1./NJG 5 was transferred to France in the spring of 1944. Bomber Command attacked the rail networks in Belgium and France as a prelude to Operation Overlord, scheduled to begin on 6 June 1944. On one such operation, Bomber Command sent 219 aircraft (125 Lancaster and 86 Halifax bombers supported by 8 Mosquitos) to attack the railway yards at Trappes to the west of Paris in two waves. Four Lancasters lost on the operation. Another 82 Lancasters and four Mosquitos of 5 Group attacked and destroyed a railway junction at Saumur without loss. Drünkler attacked and shot down a Lancaster at 02:05 southwest of Rambouillet. On 2/3 June 1944 Bomber Command sent 128 aircraft—105 Halifaxes, 19 Lancasters and four Mosquitos—of 1, 4 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards at Trappes again. Fifteen Halifaxes and one Lancaster were lost, 12.5 per cent of the force. Drünkler claimed a heavy bomber (type unknown) over Trappes at 01:00 for his 13th victory. Bomber Command lost 17 aircraft in total this night on operations. German night fighter units claimed 19 aircraft.
Drünkler had another successful night on the 12/13 June 1944, six days after D-Day, when he accounted for two heavy bombers. One fell north of Arques at 00:43 and the other northwest of Dunkirk at 00:56. Drünkler's victims were from 671 aircraft (348 Halifaxes and 285 Lancasters, 38 Mosquitos) of 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups, sent to attack communications at Amiens, Longueau, Arras, Caen, Cambrai and Poitiers; 23 bombers including 17 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters from 4 and 6 Groups were lost. On 24/25 June 1944 535 Lancasters, 165 Halifaxes and 39 Mosquito intruders from all RAF groups attacked seven V-1 flying bomb sites and 23 bombers were lost—all Lancasters. Drünkler erroneously claimed a Stirling near Berck-sur-Mer at 03:45. German pilots claimed 38 bombers that night. A 17th claim made at 28/29 June over Château-Thierry at 01:08 was his last of the month. At 02:18 on 13 July Dunkler scored his 18th victory at "Chaumont"; which Chaumont this refers to was not reported. Drünkler continued his success in France on the 14/15 July when he destroyed two Lancasters west of Chaumont (02:08) and southeast of Bar-sur-Seine (02:17) to reach a total of 20. The victim may have been Lancaster III ND994, UL-F2, of 576 Squadron. Flying Officer Raymond Linklater (service number J/25837) and his crew were killed.
Drünkler and his crew scored another double on 18/19 July at 01:37 and 01:45 northwest of Sommevoire and northwest of Condé-en-Barrois, respectively. Drünkler accounted for his last successes on 28/29 July and 4/5 August. On the former night a Lancaster was shot down northwest of Mirecourt at 01:09 and an unknown location at 01:04 on the latter night. On 8/9 August the grid position "PQ GJ" (PQ = ) he claimed a Lancaster at 03:10, before sunrise for his 25th victory. It was his last claim in Normandy.
Defence of the Reich