Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (14 August 1916 – 21 January 1944) was a German night fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. At the time of his death, Sayn-Wittgenstein was the highest-scoring night fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe and still the third highest by the end of World War II, with 83 aerial victories to his credit.
Born on 14 August 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn joined the cavalry of the German Wehrmacht in spring of 1937. He was accepted for flight training and transferred to the emerging Luftwaffe. He initially served as an observer and then as a pilot in Kampfgeschwader 1 (KG 1) Hindenburg and Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51) Edelweiss. He saw action with these units in the Battle of France, Battle of Britain, and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, before he transferred to the night fighter force. He claimed his first aerial victory on the night of 6/7 May 1942. By October 1942, he had accumulated 22 aerial victories, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 7 October 1942. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 31 August 1943, for 54 aerial victories.
Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was appointed to command Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2) in January 1944, and was killed in action on the night of 21 January 1944. Posthumously he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Personal life Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was born on 14 August 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark, as a member of the aristocratic family Sayn-Wittgenstein. He was the second of three sons of Prince Gustav Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (1880–1953), a diplomat at the German embassy in Copenhagen, and his wife, Walburga, Baroness von Friesen (1885–1970). His brother Ludwig was older and Alexander younger. Sayn-Wittgenstein was a descendant of German officer and Russian field marshal Prince Ludwig Adolph Peter, Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg, a prominent commander in the Imperial Russian Army during the German campaign at the Battle of Leipzig.
Sayn-Wittgenstein attended numerous schools in various locations, including a private tutor at Lake Geneva, a boarding school in Neubeuern in Upper Bavaria, a brief stay at Davos in Switzerland, and a private school in Montreux. He received his Abitur from the Realgymnasium, a higher education facility, in Freiburg im Breisgau on 17 December 1935. He joined the Hitler Youth on 12 April 1932 in Freiburg. On 15 January 1933, he became a Kameradschaftsführer (group leader). From Easter 1933 until fall of 1933 he led the group's military-sports activities as a Wehrsportleiter. He then became head of the instruction unit until May 1934. From June 1934 he led the work unit 2/1/113 and received further pre-military sports training at the different camps of the unit 113 and at the Regional Leaders' School.
Military career In April 1937, Sayn-Wittgenstein decided on a military career and joined the 17. Kavallerie-Regiment (17th Cavalry Regiment) in Bamberg. He transferred to the Luftwaffe in the summer of 1937 and, in October, he was accepted at the flight training school in Braunschweig. He received his officer's commission and was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) in June 1938. Sayn-Wittgenstein served on various air bases from where he flew the Junkers Ju 88 and the Heinkel He 111. In the winter of 1938–39 he served as a Kampfbeobachter (combat observer or navigator) in Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54—54th Bomber Wing) based at Fritzlar.For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations, see Organisation of the Luftwaffe during World War II.
With the bomber arm After the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, Sayn-Wittgenstein experienced his first combat action on the Western Front in the Battle of France and, later, during the Battle of Britain. Initially he served as an observer on the He 111 H-3 from Kampfgeschwader 1 "Hindenburg," piloted by Gerhard Baeker, with whom he flew high-altitude missions against the Royal Air Force (RAF) airfield at Biggin Hill.
In the winter of 1940–41, Sayn-Wittgenstein returned to pilot school and took his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate 2 (), also known as 'C2'-Certificate, confirming proficiency in blind-flying, a prerequisite for night duty, and returned to a combat unit in March 1941. In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, his unit moved to Eichwalde in East Prussia. In support of Heeresgruppe Nord (Army Group North), KG 1 flew its first missions against Liepāja and then Jelgava and Riga, targeting the heavily occupied enemy airfields.
In August 1941, Sayn-Wittgenstein transferred to the night fighter force. By this time, he had flown 150 combat missions and was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross (), Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe () and the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber crews in Gold ().
Night fighter operations
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, bombing missions by the RAF 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 with target 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.
Sayn-Wittgenstein had left KG 51 by January 1942, after he had volunteered for the night fighter force and been appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 9./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (9./NJG 2—9th Squadron of the 2nd Night Fighter Wing) on 1 November 1941. He claimed his first nocturnal victory—a Bristol Blenheim west of Walcheren—on the night of 6 May 1942, while serving with the Ergänzungsgruppe (Supplementary Group) of NJG 2. He shot down three aircraft in both the nights of 31 July 1942 (victories 15–17) and 10 September 1942 (victories 19–21). Sayn-Wittgenstein received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 7 October 1942, after 22 aerial victories. The award was presented by General Josef Kammhuber, after which they both inspected the personnel of 9./NJG 2.
Hauptmann (captain) Sayn-Wittgenstein was moved to the Eastern Front in February 1943 after he had been appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the IV./Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 (IV./NJG 5—4th Squadron of the 5th Night Fighter Wing) on 1 December 1942. Here Unteroffizier Herbert Kümmritz joined Sayn-Wittgenstein's crew as his radio and wireless operator (Bordfunker). Kümmritz at this time already had six months of operation experience on board a Messerschmitt Bf 110 serving with the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (II./NJG 3—2nd Squadron of the 3rd Night Fighter Wing) stationed at Stade. Kümmeritz had studied high frequency technology at the Telefunken Company in Berlin before World War II. Prior to Kümmeritz, Sayn-Wittgenstein had rejected all his previous radio operators after only a few missions. In March and April 1943, Kammhuber ordered IV./NJG 5 to relocate to Rennes, France in defense of the German U-boat bases.
Stationed at Gilze-Rijen the order was issued to convert to the Bf 110 night fighter. Sayn-Wittgenstein flew the Bf 110 for one short flight only, but on the night of 24 June 1943, the aircraft had technical problems and was considered unserviceable. Kümmeritz and Sayn-Wittgenstein took off in their usual Ju 88 C and shot down four Avro Lancaster bombers (victories 32–35). Sayn-Wittgenstein never flew another Bf 110 again, preferring his Ju 88 to the Bf 110. The group was relocated to the Eastern Front again and redesignated as I./Nachtjagdgeschwader 100 (I./NJG 100—1st Squadron of the 100th Night Fighter Wing) on 1 August 1943. While stationed at Insterburg, East Prussia, Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down seven aircraft on one day, six of them within 47 minutes (victories 36–41), in the area north-east of Oryol on 20 July 1943, making him an "ace-in-a-day".
Sayn-Wittgenstein claimed three more victories on 1 August 1943 (victories 44–46) and three more on the night of 3 August 1943 (victories 48–50). He was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of the II./NJG 3 on 15 August 1943. Sayn-Wittgenstein became the 290th recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () after 54 aerial victories on 31 August 1943. The award was presented at the Führerhauptquartier in East Prussia on 22 September 1943. Three other Luftwaffe officers were presented with awards that day by Hitler, Hauptmann Günther Rall and Hauptmann Walter Nowotny were awarded the Swords to their Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, and Major Hartmann Grasser also received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. For these achievements he also received a letter from the commanding general of the 4. Jagd-Division (4th Fighter Division) Generalleutnant (lieutenant general) Joachim-Friedrich Huth.
On 1 December 1943, Sayn-Wittgenstein was ordered to take over command of the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (II./NJG 2—2nd Group of the 2nd Night Fighter Wing). In consequence, he was replaced by Hauptmann Paul Szameitat as commander II./NJG 3. On 1 January 1944, Sayn-Wittgenstein was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of NJG 2 he had already reached 68 aerial victories. He claimed six four-engined bombers shot down on the same night (victories 69–74). In late 1943, his wireless operator Kümmeritz went on study leave and was replaced by Feldwebel (warrant officer) Friedrich Ostheimer, who flew with Sayn-Wittgenstein from October 1943 until January 1944. He was succeeded by Major Paul Semrau as command of the II./NJG 2.
On the night of 20 January 1944 Sayn-Wittgenstein claimed three enemy aircraft shot down in the Berlin area (victories 76–78). He almost collided with the third burning Lancaster which went into a dive and came very close to his own Ju 88. The Ju 88 went out of control and Sayn-Wittgenstein regained control of his just-flyable aircraft. His radio operator on this mission, Feldwebel Friedrich Ostheimer, established contact with the airfield at Erfurt. Since the aircraft began stalling after the wheels and flaps went down the crew decided to belly-land the aircraft. They discovered that about of the wing had been cut off by the Lancaster's propeller.
Death The next day, 21 January 1944, Sayn-Wittgenstein, wireless operator Ostheimer and mechanic Unteroffizier Kurt Matzuleit took off on a Zahme Sau (Tame Boar), a combination of ground controlled and airborne radar, night fighter intercept mission flying the Ju 88 R4+XM (Werknummer 750 467—factory number), which normally was assigned to the Technical Officer of NJG 2. At 22:00 contact with the first of five Lancasters was established; the aircraft was shot down, and was observed to explode at 22:05. Between 22:10 and 22:15 the second Lancaster was shot down. Observers reported the third Lancaster exploded at approximately 22:30, followed shortly by number four, which hit the ground at 22:40. During the fifth and final attack, the four-engined bomber was burning when Sayn-Wittgenstein's Ju 88 came under attack, presumably from British fighter escorts. In the attack, their left wing caught fire. Sayn-Wittgenstein ordered his crew to jump, and Ostheimer and Matzuleit parachuted to safety from the damaged aircraft.