# Heinrich Klöpper

Heinrich (Heinz) Klöpper (9 January 1918 – 29 November 1943) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Heinrich Klöpper was credited with 94 victories.

## Career

Klöpper was born on 9 January 1918 in Größ Bülten, present-day part of Ilsede, at the time in the Province of Hanover within the German Empire.
In 1940 Heinrich (Heinz) Klöpper served with Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain he recorded his first two victories. On 15 May, elements of 2. Staffel of JG 77 engaged five Armée de l'air Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighters west of Dinant. During this encounter, Klöpper claimed a M.S.406 fighter shot down, which was not confirmed, but was himself shot down and had to bail out of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E. He landed safely near the advancing German tanks.
On 21 November, I. Gruppe of JG 77 was redesignated and became the IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). In consequence, Klöpper's former 2. Staffel of JG 77 became 11. Staffel of JG 51.
On the first day of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, he claimed his first victory on the Eastern Front, when he shot down a Russian SB-3 bomber. On 27 October 1941 he claimed a double Soviet victory, shooting down two LaGG-3 fighters. Another double on 5 July 1942, an Il-2 and an I-16 Rata; and five victories on 7 July 1942. Another five victories on 4 August 1942; a MiG-3, a Pe-2 and three Il-2 ground-attack aircraft.
On 4 September 1942, Klöpper was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 65 aerial victories claimed.

### Defense of the Reich

In May 1943, Klöpper was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing). He succeeded Hauptmann Günther Specht who was transferred. On the Western Front his 91st victim was a B-17 bomber on 5 November 1943. His 92nd, was a P-38 Lightning fighter on 13 November 1943. His 93rd aerial victory was the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber, "Sack-Time Sally", claimed on 26 November 1943. His 94th and final victory was a P-38 at Hasselt claimed on 29 November 1943.
On 29 November 1943, Klöpper was killed in action following aerial combat with USAAF approximately 20 to 30 Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters of the 55th Fighter Group, supported by few Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters. The combat occurred at an altitude of 9,000 meters (30,000 feet) in the area of Groningen, Leeuwarden and Meppel, ending over the Zuiderzee. Following this encounter, Klöpper crashed his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 410 106—factory number) southwest of Meppel after flying through a low cloud cover.

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

During his career, he shot down a total of 94 enemy planes in approximately 500 combat missions (18 victories were on the Western Front), of which eight were four engined bombers and seven Il-2 Sturmoviks. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 89 aerial victories, plus further one unconfirmed claim. This figure includes 80 claims on the Eastern Front and nine claims over the Western Allies, including four four-engined heavy bombers.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 05 Ost 0021". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km$^2$). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.
Chronicle of aerial victories :
| This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Klöpper an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.  This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Klöpper did not receive credit.  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
| – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Battle of France — 10 May – 1 June 1940 ||||||||||
| — | 15 May 1940 | — | M.S.406 | | | | | | |
| – 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Action at the Channel and over England — 25 August 1940 – 7 June 1941 ||||||||||
| 1 | 5 October 1940 | 18:35 | Spitfire | Dungeness | | | | | |
| – 11. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 ||||||||||
| 2 | 22 June 1941 | 16:25 | SB-3 | Mivhatki | 15 | 13 August 1941 | 09:58 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 20 km (12 mi) north of Yelnya |
| 3 | 24 June 1941 | 09:30 | SB-3 | 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Siemieczewo | 16 | 14 August 1941 | 15:30 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 4 km (2.5 mi) southeast of Yelnya |
| 4 | 26 June 1941 | 10:48 | DB-3 | | 17 | 8 September 1941 | 05:40 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Snob |
| 5 | 30 June 1941 | 13:15 | R-10 (Seversky) | 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Sauditsche | 18 | 9 September 1941 | 12:50 | R-3? | 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Krolowetz |
| 6 | 11 July 1941 | 10:32 | Pe-2 | Kraschino | 19 | 9 September 1941 | 14:40 | DB-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Kostobobr |
| 7 | 11 July 1941 | 15:35 | I-16 | Koely | 20 | 9 September 1941 | 14:55 | DB-3 | 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Novgorod |
| 8 | 16 July 1941 | 10:14 | DB-3 | 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Gusino | 21 | 6 October 1941 | 13:20 | Pe-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Spas-Demensk |
| 9 | 26 July 1941 | 09:12 | DB-3 | 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Kowali | 22 | 6 October 1941 | 17:00 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 20 km (12 mi) north of Yukhnov |
| 10 | 4 August 1941 | 08:30 | Pe-2 | 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Alekssino | 23 | 12 October 1941 | 16:05 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Kremensloje |
| 11 | 8 August 1941 | 05:10 | Pe-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Kochany | 24 | 27 October 1941 | 15:20 | Yak-1? | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Weretja |
| 12 | 9 August 1941 | 11:20 | SB-3 | 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Sacharjoskaja | 25 | 27 October 1941 | 15:23 | Yak-1? | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Weretja |
| 13 | 9 August 1941 | 18:20 | I-16 | 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Bryansk | 26 | 29 October 1941 | 13:40 | I-16 | 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Moshaisk |
| 14 | 9 August 1941 | 18:55 | Pe-2 | southern edge of Dankowo | | | | | |
| – 11. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Eastern Front — 1 May 1942 – 3 February 1943 ||||||||||
| 27 | 29 May 1942 | 13:25 | LaGG-3 | 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Batischtschewo | 55 | 5 August 1942 | 11:35 | MiG-3 | 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Zubtsov |
| 28 | 4 June 1942 | 15:10 | MiG-3 | 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Batischtschewo | 56 | 9 August 1942 | 06:00 | LaGG-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of Zubtsov |
| 29 | 13 June 1942 | 12:35 | MiG-3 | | 57 | 9 August 1942 | 12:10 | Hurricane | 15 km (9.3 mi) south-southwest of Zubtsov |
| 30 | 5 July 1942 | 11:30 | I-16? | 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of Bjeloj | 58 | 9 August 1942 | 12:12 | Hurricane | 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Zubtsov |
| 31 | 5 July 1942 | 11:45 | I-16 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Bjeloj | — | 5 August 1942 | — | LaGG-3 | 20 km (12 mi) south of Zubtsov |
| 32♠ | 7 July 1942 | 13:30 | LaGG-3 | 5 km (3.1 mi) south-southeast of Simnizy | 59 | 10 August 1942 | 07:50 | LaGG-3 | 7 km (4.3 mi) south-southeast of Zubtsov |
| 33♠ | 7 July 1942 | 13:40 | LaGG-3 | 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Simnizy | 60 | 18 August 1942 | 17:00 | LaGG-3 | 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of Wassilijeswkoje 40 km (25 mi) south-southeast of Gagarin |
| 34♠ | 7 July 1942 | 16:55 | MiG-3 | eastern edge of Kosjoslk | 61 | 19 August 1942 | 14:25 | LaGG-3 | 18 km (11 mi) northwest of Rzhev |
| 35♠ | 7 July 1942 | 17:10 | MiG-3 | 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest of Belew | 62 | 23 August 1942 | 18:00 | MiG-3 | 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Zubtsov |
| 36♠ | 7 July 1942 | 17:16 | MiG-3 | 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Belew | 63 | 23 August 1942 | 18:15 | Il-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Rzhev |
| 37 | 11 July 1942 | 05:52 | LaGG-3 | 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Simnizy | 64 | 24 August 1942 | 07:30 | Il-2 | 3 km (1.9 mi) southeast of Rzhev |
| 38 | 11 July 1942 | 05:53 | LaGG-3 | 2 km (1.2 mi) south of Simnizy | 65 | 24 August 1942 | 12:17 | P-39 | 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Zubtsov |
| 39 | 11 July 1942 | 05:57 | LaGG-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of Simnizy | 66 | 25 August 1942 | 06:40 | LaGG-3 | 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest of Rzhev |
| 40 | 11 July 1942 | 19:45 | LaGG-3 | 25 km (16 mi) north-northwest of Zhizdra | 67 | 28 October 1942 | 14:20 | MiG-3 | 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| 41 | 13 July 1942 | 16:02 | MiG-3 | 25 km (16 mi) west of Suchinitschi | 68 | 28 October 1942 | 15:03 | Yak-1 | 5 km (3.1 mi) northeast of Uswjaty |
| 42 | 27 July 1942 | 06:00 | LaGG-3 | 1 km (0.62 mi) east of Mozhaysk | 69 | 29 October 1942 | 15:15 | MiG-3 | 25 km (16 mi) east of Vitebsk southeast of Vitebsk |
| 43 | 1 August 1942 | 11:07 | LaGG-3 | 14 km (8.7 mi) northwest of Rzhev | 70 | 29 October 1942 | 15:20 | MiG-3 | 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Surazh southeast of Surazh |
| 44 | 1 August 1942 | 11:15 | Il-2 | 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Rzhev | 71 | 30 October 1942 | 10:15 | MiG-3 | 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Vitebsk southeast of Vitebsk |
| 45 | 1 August 1942 | 11:21? | U-2 | 20 km (12 mi) south of Rzhev | 72 | 30 October 1942 | 10:20 | MiG-3 | 28 km (17 mi) southeast of Vitebsk southeast of Vitebsk |
| 46 | 2 August 1942 | 14:45 | MiG-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of Rzhev | 73 | 30 October 1942 | 10:33? | MiG-3 | 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast of Surazh northeast of Surazh |
| 47 | 3 August 1942 | 09:20 | LaGG-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Rzhev | 74 | 7 November 1942 | 12:20 | MiG-3 | 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| 48 | 3 August 1942 | 10:00 | MiG-3 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Rzhev | 75♠ | 9 November 1942 | 07:32 | Pe-2 | 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Welish 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Maklok |
| 49♠ | 4 August 1942 | 05:20 | Pe-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Zubtsov | 76♠ | 9 November 1942 | 07:41 | MiG-3 | 27 km (17 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| 50♠ | 4 August 1942 | 05:25 | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Zubtsov | 77♠ | 9 November 1942 | 07:43 | MiG-3 | 39 km (24 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa 40 km (25 mi) west-southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| 51♠ | 4 August 1942 | 05:27 | Il-2 | 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Zubtsov | 78♠ | 9 November 1942 | 07:45? | MiG-3 | 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| 52♠ | 4 August 1942 | 15:25 | MiG-3 | 18 km (11 mi) east of Zubtsov | 79♠ | 9 November 1942 | 08:10 | MiG-3 | 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa 40 km (25 mi) west-southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| 53♠ | 4 August 1942 | 18:35 | Il-2 | 7 km (4.3 mi) southeast of Zubtsov | 80 | 11 November 1942 | 12:16 | MiG-3 | 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| 54 | 5 August 1942 | 11:30 | MiG-3 | 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Zubtsov | 81 | 11 November 1942 | 12:18 | MiG-3 | 11 km (6.8 mi) southwest of Staraya Toropa 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Staraya Toropa |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" – Western Front — 1 January – April 1943 ||||||||||
| 82? | 17 January 1943 | 15:32 | Spitfire | PQ 05 Ost 0021 | 84 | 13 March 1943? | 15:30 | Spitfire | 30 km (19 mi) west of Baie de Somme 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Abbeville |
| 83 | 10 February 1943 | 11:21 | Spitfire | Orne estuary | 85 | 28 March 1943 | 12:31 | Spitfire | south of Beachy Head 100 km (62 mi) northeast of Dieppe |
| – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1 – Western Front — May – 29 November 1943 ||||||||||
| According to Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock, Klöpper claimed one undocumented aerial victory in the timeframe 16 August to 30 September 1943. This claim is not listed by Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| 87 | 10 October 1943 | 15:19 | B-17 | 22 km (14 mi) northeast of Münster | | | | | |
| According to Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock, Klöpper claimed one undocumented aerial victory in the timeframe 11 to 31 October 1943. This claim is not listed by Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| 89 | 3 November 1943 | 13:10 | B-17 | Mellum | 91 | 26 November 1943 | 13:10 | B-24 | PQ 05 Ost S/DN-4 vicinity of Hasselt |
| 90 | 5 November 1943 | 13:54 | B-17 | PQ 05 Ost S/KH-1 vicinity of Haamstede | 92 | 29 November 1943 | 14:15 | P-38 | PQ 05 Ost S/FN-4/5 |

### Awards

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Wound Badge in Black (25 June 1943)
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 20 October 1941 as Feldwebel in a Jagdgeschwader
* German Cross in Gold on 21 August 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the VI./Jagdgeschwader 51
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 September 1942 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 11./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"