Werner Thierfelder

Werner Thierfelder
Born	24 December 1915 Berlin
Died	18 July 1944 (aged 28) near Landsberg am Lech
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	?–1944
Rank	Hauptmann
Unit	ZG 26 ZG 2 Ekdo 262
Commands held	III./ZG 26 Ekdo 262
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of France Battle of Britain Balkans Campaign Battle of Crete Operation Barbarossa Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Werner Thierfelder (24 December 1915 – 18 July 1944) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Werner Thierfelder was killed on 18 July 1944. Unit commander of Erprobungskommando 262, out of Lechfeld, he was lost in crash of a Me 262A-1a under unclear circumstances. Luftwaffe records indicate that he was shot down but U.S. and British records show no comparable engagement. A possible cause is that Thierfelder exceeded the airframe's limiting Mach number in a dive, perhaps while pursuing an Allied reconnaissance aircraft, leading to an irrecoverable dive.^[1] During his career he was credited with 27 aerial victories, 6 on the Western Front and 21 on the Eastern Front.

Awards

• Flugzeugführerabzeichen
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold (3 November 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 December 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän in the II./Zerstörergeschwader 26^{[2][Note 1]}

Notes

1. According to Scherzer as Oberleutnant of the Reserves and pilot in the I./Zerstörergeschwader 26 "Horst Wessel".^[3]

References

Citations

1. Price, Dr. Alfred, "Messerschmitt Me 262: Missed Opportunity or Impossible Dream?", International Air Power Review, AIRtime Publishing Inc., Westport, Connecticut, 2007, ISBN 978-1-880588-99-4, pp.137-138.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 421.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 742.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (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] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.

External links

• Luftwaffe 1939–1945 History
• World War 2 Awards.com