# List of German World War II night fighter aces

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. German day and night fighter pilots claimed roughly 70,000 aerial victories during World War II, 25,000 over British or American and 45,000 over Soviet flown aircraft. 103 German fighter pilots shot down more than 100 enemy aircraft for a total of roughly 15,400 aerial victories. Roughly a further 360 pilots claimed between 40 and 100 aerial victories for round about 21,000 victories. Another 500 fighter pilots claimed between 20 and 40 victories for a total of 15,000 victories. According to Obermeier, it is relatively certain, that 2,500 German fighter pilots attained ace status, having achieved at least 5 aerial victories. 453 German day and Zerstörer (destroyer) pilots received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 85 night fighter pilots, including 14 crew members, were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The list is sorted by the number of aerial victories claimed at night.
Due to the worsening war situation for Germany and Luftwaffe policies, night fighter aces remained in frontline roles until they were killed or wounded in combat or no longer capable of flying due to exhaustion.

## German night fighter aces

This along with the * (asterisk), indicates that the pilot was either killed in action, missing in action or killed in a flying accident.  This and the / (slash) indicates information discrepancies listed by Aders, Obermaier, Scutts, Spick, Mathews and Foreman.
| Name | Rank | Night victories claimed | Day victories claimed | Total wartime victories claimed | Unit | Notes | |
| Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer | Major | 121/119 | 0 | 121 | NJG 1, NJG 4 | Nicknamed "The Spook of St. Trond", | |
| Helmut Lent* | Oberst | 102 | 8 | 110/112 | ZG 76, NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 3 | killed in flying accident 7 October 1944 | |
| Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein* | Major | 83/79 | 0 | 83 | NJG 2 | killed in action 21 January 1944 | |
| Werner Streib | Oberst | 67 | 1 | 68 | ZG 1, NJG 1 | — | — |
| Manfred Meurer* | Hauptmann | 65 | 0 | 65 | NJG 1, NJG 5 | killed in action 21 January 1944 | — |
| Günther Radusch | Oberst | 64 | 1 | 65 | ZG 1, NJG 1, NJG 3, NJG 2 | — | — |
| Rudolf Schoenert | Major | 64 | 0 | 64 | NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 3, NJG 100, NJGr 10, NJG 5 | — | — |
| Heinz Rökker | Hauptmann | 63 | 1 | 64 | NJG 2 | — | — |
| Paul Zorner | Major | 59 | 0 | 59 | NJG 2, NJG 3, NJG 100, NJG 5 | — | — |
| Martin Becker | Hauptmann | 58 | 0 | 58 | NJG 4, NJG 6 | — | — |
| Gerhard Raht | Hauptmann | 58/59 | 0 | 58/59 | NJG 3, NJG 2 | — | — |
| Wilhelm Herget | Major | 57 | 16 | 73 | ZG 76, NJG 3, NJG 1, NJG 4, JV 44 | — | — |
| Kurt Welter | Oberleutnant | 56 | 7 | 63 | JG 301, Kdo Welter, NJG 11 | — | — |
| Gustav Francsi | Oberleutnant | 56 | 0 | 56 | NJG 100 | — | — |
| Josef Kraft | Hauptmann | 56 | 0 | 56 | NJG 4, NJG 5, NJG 6, NJG 1 | — | — |
| Heinz Strüning* | Hauptmann | 56 | 0 | 56 | ZG 26, NJG 2, NJG 1 | killed in action 25 December 1944 | |
| Hans-Dieter Frank* | Hauptmann | 55 | 0 | 55 | ZG 1, NJG 1 | killed in action 27 September 1943 | — |
| Heinz Vinke* | Oberfeldwebel | 54 | 0 | 54 | NJG 1 | killed in action 26 February 1944 | |
| August Geiger* | Hauptmann | 53 | 0 | 53 | NJG 1 | killed in action 29 September 1943 | — |
| Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld* | Major | 51 | 0 | 51 | ZG 76, NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 5 | killed in flying accident 22 March 1944 | |
| Werner Hoffmann | Major | 50 | 1 | 51 | ZG 52, ZG 2, NJG 3, NJG 5 | — | — |
| Reinhard Kollak | Stabsfeldwebel | 49 | 0 | 49 | NJG 1, NJG 4 | — | — |
| Hermann Greiner | Hauptmann | 47 | 4 | 51 | NJG 1 | — | — |
| Herbert Lütje | Oberstleutnant | 47 | 3 | 50 | NJG 1, NJG 6 | — | |
| Johannes Hager | Hauptmann | 47 | 1 | 48 | NJG 1 | — | — |
| Paul Gildner* | Oberleutnant | 46 | 2 | 48 | ZG 1, NJG 1 | killed in action 24 February 1943 | — |
| Hans-Heinz Augenstein* | Hauptmann | 46 | 0 | 46 | NJG 1 | killed in action 7 December 1944 | — |
| Paul Semrau* | Major | 46 | 0 | 46 | NJG 2 | killed in action 8 February 1945 | |
| Ernst-Georg Drünkler | Hauptmann | 45 | 2 | 47 | ZG 2, NJG 1, NJG 5 | — | — |
| Rudolf Frank* | Leutnant | 45 | 0 | 45 | NJG 3 | killed in action 27 April 1944 | — |
| Alois Lechner* | Major | 45 | 0 | 45 | NJG 2, NJG 100 | missing in action 23 February 1944 | — |
| Ludwig Becker* | Hauptmann | 44 | 0 | 46 | NJG 1, NJG 2 | killed in action 26 February 1943 | — |
| Reinhold Knacke* | Hauptmann | 44 | 0 | 44 | ZG 1, NJG 1 | killed in action 3 February 1943 | — |
| Walter Borchers* | Oberstleutnant | 43 | 16 | 59 | NJG 5 | killed in action 6 March 1945 | — |
| Martin Drewes | Major | 43 | 6 | 49 | ZG 76, NJG 1 | — | — |
| Werner Baake | Hauptmann | 41 | 0 | 41 | NJG 1 | — | — |
| Dietrich Schmidt | Hauptmann | 40 | 0 | 40 | NJG 1 | — | — |
| Leopold Fellerer | Hauptmann | 39 | 2 | 41 | NJG 1, NJG 5, NJG 6 | — | — |
| Ludwig Meister | Hauptmann | 38 | 1 | 39 | NJG 1, NJG 4 | — | — |
| Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin | Major | 37 | 2 | 39 | NJG 1, NJG 102 | — | — |
| Walter Ehle* | Major | 35 | 4 | 39 | ZG 1, NJG 1 | killed in flying accident 18 November 1943 | — |
| Wilhelm Beier | Oberleutnant | 38 | 0 | 38 | NJG 2, NJG 1, NJG 3 | — | — |
| Helmut Bergmann* | Hauptmann | 36 | 0 | 36 | NJG 4, NJG 1 | killed in action 6 August 1944 | — |
| Günther Bertram | Oberleutnant | 35 | 0 | 35 | NJG 100 | — | — |
| Günther Bahr | Oberfeldwebel | 34 | 3 | 37 | SKG 210, NJG 4, NJG 6 | — | — |
| Heinz-Horst Hißbach* | Hauptmann | 34 | 0 | 34 | NJG 2 | killed in action 14 April 1945 | — |
| Werner Husemann | Major | 34 | 0 | 34 | NJG 1, NJG 3 | — | — |
| Wilhelm Johnen | Hauptmann | 34 | 0 | 34 | NJG 1, NJG 5, NJG 6 | — | — |
| Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow | Hauptmann | 34 | 0 | 34 | NJG 1 | — | — |
| Heinz-Martin Hadeball | Hauptmann | 33 | 0 | 33 | NJG 1, NJG 4, NJG 6, NJGr 10 | — | — |
| Karl-Heinz Scherfling* | Oberfeldwebel | 33 | 0 | 33 | NJG 1 | killed in action 21 July 1944 | — |
| Paul-Hubert Rauh | Major | 31 | 0 | 31 | NJG 1, NJG 4 | — | — |
| Gerhard Friedrich* | Major | 30 | 0 | 30 | NJG 4, NJG 6 | killed in action 16 March 1945 | — |
| Heinz Ferger* | Hauptmann | 30 | 0 | 30 | NJG 2, NJG 3 | killed in action 10 April 1945 | — |
| Hans Leickhardt* | Major | 30 | 0 | 30 | NJG 3, NJG 1, NJG 5 | missing in action 5 March 1945 | — |
| Friedrich-Karl Müller | Major | 30 | 0 | 30 | JG 300, NJGr 10 | — | — |
| Heinrich Wohlers* | Major | 29 | 0 | 29 | NJG 1, NJG 4, NJG 6 | killed in flying accident 15 March 1944 | — |
| Paul Szameitat* | Hauptmann | 28 | 1 | 29 | NJG 1, NJG 5, NJG 3 | killed in action 2 January 1944 | — |
| Hans-Joachim Jabs | Oberstleutnant | 28 | 22 | 50 | ZG 76, NJG 1 | — | |
| Fritz Lau | Hauptmann | 28 | 0 | 28 | NJG 1 | — | — |
| Johannes Krause | Hauptmann | 28 | 0 | 28 | NJG 3, NJG 4, NJG 101 | — | — |
| Rudolf Sigmund* | Hauptmann | 27 | 2 | 28 | NJG 1 | killed in action 4 October 1943 | — |
| Heinz Grimm* | Leutnant | 26 | 1 | 27 | NJG 1 | died of wounds 13 October 1943 | — |
| Alfons Köster* | Hauptmann | 25 | 1 | 26 | NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 3 | killed in action 6 January 1945 | — |
| Helmuth Schulte | Hauptmann | 25 | 0 | 25 | NJG 5, NJG 6 | — | — |
| Lothar Linke* | Oberleutnant | 24 | 3 | 27 | ZG 76, NJG 1, NJG 2 | killed in action 14 May 1943 | — |
| Peter Spoden | Hauptmann | 24/23 | 0 | 0 | NJG 5, NJG 6 | — | — |
| Wolfgang Thimmig | Oberstleutnant | 23 | 0 | 23 | NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 4 | — | — |
| Hans Autenrieth | Hauptmann | 23/22 | 0 | 23 | NJG 1, NJG 4 | — | — |
| Horst Patuschka* | Hauptmann | 23 | 0 | 23 | NJG 2 | killed in flying accident 6 March 1943 | — |
| Rudolf Altendorf | Hauptmann | 22+ | 2 | 29/24 | ZG 2, LG 1, NJG 3, NJG 4, NJG 5 | — | — |
| Josef Kociok* | Oberfeldwebel | 21 | 12 | 33 | ZG 76, SKG 210, 10(NJ)/ZG 1, NJG 200 | killed in action 26 September 1943 | |
| Robert Wolf* | Leutnant | 21 | 0 | 21 | NJG 5 | killed in action 23 April 1944 | — |
| Hans Berschwinger* | Oberfeldwebel | 20 | 0 | 20 | NJG 1, NJG 2 | killed in action 15 February 1944 | — |
| Reinhold Eckardt* | Oberleutnant | 19 | 3 | 22 | NJG 1, NJG 3 | killed in action 30 July 1942 | — |
| Adolf Breves | Hauptmann | 18 | 0 | 18 | NJG 1 | — | — |
| Wolfgang Schneeweis* | Hauptmann | 17 | 0 | 17 | NJG 200 | missing in action 28/29 July 1943 | — |
| Helmut Woltersdorf* | Oberleutnant | 16 | 8 | 24 | ZG 141, ZG 76, NJG 1 | killed in action 2 June 1942 | — |
| Hermann Wischnewski | Oberfähnrich | 16 | 2 | 18 | JG 300 | — | — |
| Joachim Wandel* | Hauptmann | 16 | 59 | 75 | JG 54 | killed in action 7 October 1942 | — |
| Georg Kraft* | Feldwebel | 15 | 0 | 15 | NJG 1 | killed in action 18 August 1943 | — |
| Klaus Bretschneider* | Oberleutnant | 14 | 20 | 34 | JG 300 | killed in action 24 December 1944 | — |
| Hans Hahn* | Leutnant | 13 | 0 | 13 | NJG 2 | killed in flying accident 11 October 1941 | — |
| Engelbert Heiner* | Oberfeldwebel | 11 | 0 | 11 | NJG 6 | killed in action 19 March 1945 | — |
| Ernst Zechlin | Hauptmann | 10 | 0 | 10 | NJG 2, NJG 5 | — | — |
| Heinz Oberheide* | Feldwebel | 10/7 | 0 | 10/7 | NJG 3 | killed in action 8 February 1945 | — |
| Hajo Herrmann | Oberst | 9 | 0 | 9 | JG 300 | — | |
| Ernst-Erich Hirschfeld* | Oberleutnant | 8 | 16 | 24 | JG 300 | killed in action 28 July 1944 | — |
| Ulrich Wulff* | Oberleutnant | 8 | 0 | 8 | NJG 5 | killed in action 16 December 1943 | — |
| Karl-Heinz Becker | Hauptmann | 7 | 0 | 7 | NJG 11 | — | — |
| Robert Plewa* | Oberleutnant | 6 | 0 | 6 | JG 300 | Killed when plane ran out of fuel 29/30 September | — |
| Horst Henning | Hauptmann | 6 | 0 | 6 | NJG 3 | — | — |