# Wilhelm Philipp

Wilhelm Philipp (31 January 1916 – 10 January 1986) was a 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. During his career Wilhelm Philipp was credited with 81 aerial victories in 500+ missions.

## Career

Philipp was born on 31 January 1916 in Böhla, present-day part of Priestewitz, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony, part of the German Empire.
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. On 31 October 1939, Unteroffizier Philipp joined Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing), which had been named after Albert Leo Schlageter on 1 May 1939. On 27 May 1940 during the Battle of Dunkirk, II. Gruppe reported combat with Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire fighters over Ostend. This encounter is not matched with British records. However, the combat may have been with Hawker Hurricane fighters from No. 17 and No. 605 Squadron. That day at 17:30, Philipp claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down over Ostend.
On 7 June 1940, Philipp was forced to bail out of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 following combat with Hurricane fighters near Dieppe.

### At the Channel and over England

On 17 August 1942, his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-3 (Werknummer 5405—factory number) suffered engine fire resulting in an emergency landing at Ligescourt.
During the Dieppe Raid on 19 August, on II. Gruppe's second combat air patrol of the day, at 08:37, Philipp was credited with the destruction of a Spitfire southwest of Dieppe, the aircraft coming from either the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 31st Fighter Group or the RAF No. 350 Squadron. At 17:32, a 4. Staffel Schwarm (flight) intercepted withdrawing Allied aircraft. In this encounter, Philipp claimed a Spitfire fighter west of Dieppe for his 20th aerial victory. For his achievements to date, Philipp was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 24 August.
In November 1942, Philipp was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which was fighting on the Eastern Front.

### War against the Soviet Union

Philipp claimed his first aerial victory on the Eastern Front on 15 January 1943. He had been assigned to 3. Staffel of JG 54 which at the time was commanded by Hauptmann Gerhard Koall. The Staffel was subordinated to I. Gruppe of JG 54 headed by Hauptmann Hans Philipp and was based at Krasnogvardeysk, present-day Gatchina. The Gruppe supported German forces of Army Group North fighting against the Soviet Operation Iskra which aimed to break the Wehrmacht's siege of Leningrad. On 15 January, Philipp was credited with shooting down a Lavochkin La-5 fighter.
On 22 February, his Fw 190 A-4 suffered engine failure resulting in a forced landing at Krasnogvardeysk. On 7 September, Philipp was wounded in combat when his Fw 190 A-6 (Werknummer 550501—factory number) was shot up by Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters resulting in an emergency landing.

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Philipp was credited with 81 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 81 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. Of his 81 aerial victories, 22 were claimed during the Battle of France and Battle of Britain, 55 on the Eastern Front, and four on the Western Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that he claimed at least 79 claims. This figure includes 54 claims on the Eastern Front, and over 24 claims on the Western Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 10243". 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 ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Caldwell, Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" – Battle of France — 10 May – 25 June 1940 ||||||||||
| 1 | 27 May 1940 | 17:30 | Spitfire | Ostend | 3 | 29 May 1940 | 18:45 | Spitfire | Dover |
| 2 | 28 May 1940 | 12:30 | Spitfire | east-southeast of Dover English Channel | 4 | 7 June 1940 | 19:30 | Hurricane | east of Dieppe |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" – Action at the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 21 June 1941 ||||||||||
| 5 | 16 August 1940 | 14:06? | Spitfire | Dover west of Dover | 7 | 8 November 1940 | 17:40 | Spitfire | Tonbridge |
| 6 | 22 August 1940 | 20:05 | Spitfire | Dover north-northeast of Dover | 8 | 5 February 1941 | 14:15 | Spitfire | Neufchâtel |
| – 2. Ergänzungsjagdgruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" – Western Front — 22 June – 31 December 1941 ||||||||||
| 9 | 12 August 1941 | — | Blenheim | | 10 | 12 August 1941 | — | Blenheim | |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" – On the Western Front — 1 January – November 1942 ||||||||||
| 11 | 9 March 1942 | 16:45 | Spitfire | Boulogne-sur-Mer | 17 | 31 July 1942 | 15:13 | Spitfire | west of Berck |
| 12 | 17 May 1942 | 11:37 | Spitfire | 3 km (1.9 mi) northeast of Calais | 18 | 17 August 1942 | 19:06 | Spitfire | west of Dieppe |
| 13 | 2 June 1942 | 11:05 | Spitfire | middle of the English Channel, west of Berck Bay du Somme, Berck-sur-Mer | 19 | 19 August 1942 | 08:37 | Spitfire | southwest of Dieppe |
| 14 | 8 June 1942 | 13:58 | Spitfire | west-northwest of Dunkirk | 20 | 19 August 1942 | 17:32 | Spitfire | west of Dieppe |
| 15 | 13 July 1942 | 15:10 | Spitfire | middle of the English Channel | 21 | 24 August 1942 | 17:35 | Spitfire | northwest of Fécamp 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Fécamp |
| 16 | 26 July 1942 | 13:47 | Spitfire | off the English Coast | 22 | 29 August 1942 | 12:53 | Mosquito | southeast of Hastings 15–20 km (9.3–12.4 mi) southeast of Hastings |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — November 1942 – 3 February 1943 ||||||||||
| 23 | 15 January 1943 | 09:37 | La-5 | PQ 10243 25 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Shlisselburg | 26 | 23 January 1943 | 14:10 | Il-2 | PQ 00234 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Shlisselburg |
| 24 | 15 January 1943 | 12:40 | Yak-4 | PQ 00282 20 km (12 mi) west of Mga | 27 | 24 January 1943 | 09:15 | MiG-3 | PQ 00264 |
| 25 | 23 January 1943 | 13:51 | Il-2 | PQ 10151 southeast of Shlisselburg | 28 | 24 January 1943 | 09:40 | Yak-1 | PQ 10183 east of Mga |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 4 February – 7 September 1943 ||||||||||
| 29 | 10 February 1943 | 12:41 | LaGG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 00412 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Pushkin | 46 | 23 August 1943 | 07:39 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 40292 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Shlisselburg |
| 30 | 10 February 1943 | 15:14 | La-5 | PQ 36 Ost 00414 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Pushkin | 47 | 25 August 1943 | 05:15 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 41691 |
| 31 | 14 February 1943 | 15:10? | Il-2 | PQ 36 Ost 00254 Pushkin-Mga | 48 | 26 August 1943 | 18:20 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 51741 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Okhtyrka |
| 32 | 14 February 1943 | 15:14 | LaGG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 00283 20 km (12 mi) west of Mga | 49 | 28 August 1943 | 11:36 | Boston | PQ 35 Ost 43674 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Sevsk |
| 33 | 19 February 1943 | 07:55 | Il-2 | PQ 36 Ost 10414 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Lyuban | 50 | 29 August 1943 | 06:43 | P-39 | PQ 35 Ost 43681 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Sevsk |
| 34 | 19 February 1943 | 07:58 | LaGG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 10533 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Lyuban | 51 | 1 September 1943 | 18:08 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 25454 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Yelnya |
| 35 | 21 February 1943 | 11:45 | Il-2 | PQ 36 Ost 10473 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Lyuban | 52 | 1 September 1943 | 18:10 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 25424 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Yelnya |
| 36 | 21 February 1943 | 11:47 | Il-2 | PQ 36 Ost 10442 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Mga | 53 | 1 September 1943 | 18:12 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 25424 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Yelnya |
| 37 | 23 February 1943 | 10:02? | Il-2 | PQ 36 Ost 10144 south of Shlisselburg | 54 | 1 September 1943 | 18:14 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 25452 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Yelnya |
| 38 | 23 February 1943 | 10:05 | Il-2 | PQ 36 Ost 10142 south of Shlisselburg | 55 | 2 September 1943 | 17:20 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 25732 20 km (12 mi) south of Schatalowka |
| 39 | 7 March 1943 | 11:13? | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 18382 45 km (28 mi) north of Kholm | 56 | 4 September 1943 | 06:40 | Boston | northeast of Roslavl |
| 40 | 15 March 1943 | 09:23 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost 19734 20 km (12 mi) north of Staraya Russa | 57 | 4 September 1943 | 10:55 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 26674 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Moschna |
| 41 | 15 March 1943 | 09:24 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 19734 Lake Ilmen | 58 | 5 September 1943 | 11:18 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 25463 20 km (12 mi) west of Yelnya |
| 42 | 15 March 1943 | 09:29 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 19683 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Novgorod | 59 | 5 September 1943 | 11:20 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 35341 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Yelnya |
| 43? | 15 March 1943 | 16:13 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 18252 | 60 | 5 September 1943 | 11:21 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 25462 20 km (12 mi) west of Yelnya |
| 44 | 20 March 1943 | 09:07 | MiG-3 | PQ 36 Ost 00442 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of Slutsk | 61 | 6 September 1943 | 14:03 | Yak-9 | PQ 35 Ost 26653 40 km (25 mi) north of Yartsevo |
| 45 | 20 March 1943 | 09:10 | P-40 | PQ 36 Ost 00274 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Pushkin | | | | | |

### Awards

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 24 August 1942 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 27 October 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 26
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54