# Walther Wever (pilot)

Walther Wever (16 January 1923 – 10 April 1945) was a Luftwaffe flying ace during the Second World War. The son of former Chief of the Luftwaffe General Walther Wever, Wever served during 1943 on the Eastern Front and from 19 June 1943 until 10 April 1945 he claimed 44 aerial victories in 250 combat missions. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

## Career

Wever was born on 16 January 1923 in Munich in the Weimar Republic, the son of General der Flieger Walther Wever. Following flight training in mid-1943 he was posted to 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). At the time, 3. Staffel was commanded by Hauptmann Heinz Lange and was subordinated to I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 51 headed by Major Erich Leie and stationed at an airfield named Orel-Slobodka located approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) west-southwest of Oryol on the Eastern Front. Wever claimed his first aerial victory on 19 June south of Karachev, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Oryol. Depending on source, the aircraft shot down was either a Yakovlev Yak-4 light bomber, an Yakovlev Yak-4 fighter, or a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber.
Notable landmarks during his career included his 10th kill on 1 September 1943 followed four days later by shooting down three Il-2 Sturmoviks in five minutes. On 29 March 1944 he claimed a further five aerial victories, making him an "ace-in-a-day". Then on 24 June, he claimed his 40th aerial victory.

### Squadron leader

On 7 May 1944, Weaver was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 51, succeeding Lange who was transferred. Wever had already briefly led the Staffel from 15 to 30 August 1943 when Lange had been temporarily tasked with the leadership of I. Gruppe of JG 51. On 21 June, bombers of the Eighth Air Force on a shuttle bombing mission of Operation Frantic, attacked oil refineries south of Berlin before heading for the Poltava Air Base. The bombers were intercepted by elements of JG 51 led by Major Fritz Losigkeit. In this encounter, two of the escorting North American P-51 Mustang fighters were shot down, including one by Wever. One of the P-51 fighters crashed near the Luftwaffe airfield at Babruysk where III. Gruppe of JG 51 was based. In its cockpit, a map of the Poltava Air Base was found. The Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe, Hauptmann Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber, sent the map to the headquarters of Luftflotte 6 (6th Air Fleet). This intelligence led to an attack by Luftwaffe bombers which destroyed 44 parked Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and damaged further 26. On 10 July, Wever was shot down and wounded in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 410413—factory number) by Soviet Anti-aircraft artillery. Command of 3. Staffel was then passed to Oberleutnant Günther Josten.
Although he lost a foot, Wever continued to fly and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 28 January 1945 for reaching the final total of 44 victories. He was then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing), the first jet fighter wing, where he received further training on the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. On 10 April 1945, having not scored another kill, Wever was shot down and killed in action by Allied fighters near Neuruppin. That day, the Luftwaffe lost a number of Me 262 pilots, including Hauptmann Franz Schall. The Americans dubbed this day the "great jet massacre".

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Wever was credited with 44 aerial victories all but one claimed on the Eastern Front in 250 combat missions. Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 44 aerial victory claims with 43 claimed on the Eastern Front and one on the Western Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 35 Ost 43231". 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 Wever 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 ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Balke, Bock, Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Eastern Front — 4 February – 31 December 1943 ||||||||||
| 1 | 19 June 1943 | 07:30 | Yak-1? | PQ 35 Ost 43231 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Tschaikowka | 13 | 5 September 1943 | 17:55 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 25462 25 km (16 mi) west-northwest of Mariampol |
| 2 | 1 August 1943 | 17:10 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 54732 vicinity of Znamenskoje | 14 | 5 September 1943 | 17:59 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 25466 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Yelnya |
| 3 | 2 August 1943 | 08:08 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 53472 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Orsha | 15 | 14 September 1943 | 12:20 | Il-2 m.H. | northeast of Dukhovshchina |
| 4 | 2 August 1943 | 18:32 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 54751 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Tschaikowka | 16 | 14 September 1943 | 15:09 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 26393 vicinity of Beloi |
| 5 | 3 August 1943 | 11:46 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 54554 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Dudorovskiy | 17 | 30 September 1943 | 09:56 | Il-2 m.H. | east of Tuberizur |
| 6 | 3 August 1943 | 12:32 | Boston | PQ 35 Ost 53292 15 km (9.3 mi) north-northeast of Kromy | 18 | 30 September 1943 | 09:57 | Il-2 m.H. | east of Tuberizur |
| 7 | 14 August 1943 | 17:57 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 51852 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Bohodukhiv | 19 | 30 October 1943 | 07:15 | Il-2 m.H. | southwest of Krijewka |
| 8 | 20 August 1943 | 14:20 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 51524 vicinity of Kirkowka | 20 | 30 November 1943 | 12:40 | Yak-9 | northeast of Zhlobin |
| 9 | 30 August 1943 | 17:43 | Il-2 m.H. | west of Yelnya | 21 | 15 December 1943 | 12:45 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 25 Ost 93438 20 km (12 mi) south-southwest of Zhlobin |
| 10 | 30 August 1943 | 18:05 | Il-2 m.H. | north of Yelnya | 22 | 15 December 1943 | 13:05 | Yak-9 | PQ 35 Ost 03311 20 km (12 mi) south of Zhlobin |
| 11 | 1 September 1943 | 18:08 | Il-2 | west of Yelnya | 23 | 23 December 1943 | 13:55 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 03127 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Gorodets |
| 12 | 5 September 1943 | 17:54 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost 25465 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Yelnya | | | | | |
| – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Eastern Front — 1 January – 10 July 1944 ||||||||||
| 24 | 4 January 1944 | 12:40 | Yak-9 | PQ 25 Ost N/96693 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Vitebsk | 35♠ | 29 March 1944 | 16:39 | Yak-9 | PQ 35 Ost N/04462 20 km (12 mi) south of Chavusy |
| 25 | 6 January 1944 | 10:39 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost N/06783 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Kamary | 36 | 28 May 1944 | 07:08 | Yak-7 | PQ 25 Ost N/96366 15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Dretun |
| 26 | 6 January 1944 | 10:40 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost N/06786 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Kamary | 37 | 21 June 1944 | 12:53 | P-51 | PQ 25 Ost N/23881 vicinity of Halászi |
| 27 | 12 January 1944 | 11:54 | La-5 | PQ 25 Ost N/96962 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Vitebsk | 38 | 22 June 1944 | 07:35 | Yak-9 | PQ 25 Ost N/96599 30 km (19 mi) west of Kėdainiai |
| 28 | 14 January 1944 | 09:11 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost N/05132 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Kamary | 39 | 23 June 1944 | 14:00 | Yak-7 | PQ 35 Ost N/05896 20 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Ulla |
| 29 | 14 January 1944 | 09:12 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost N/05121 15 km (9.3 mi) west-southwest of Liozna | 40 | 24 June 1944 | 18:00 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 25 Ost N/96585 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Ulla |
| 30 | 14 January 1944 | 13:57 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost N/05133 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Kamary | 41 | 25 June 1944 | 11:55 | Yak-7 | PQ 35 Ost N/05375 |
| 31♠ | 29 March 1944 | 12:10 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost N/04481 30 km (19 mi) east of Stara Bychow | 42 | 25 June 1944 | 12:04 | Il-2 m.H. | PQ 35 Ost N/05382 |
| 32♠ | 29 March 1944 | 12:24 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost N/04451 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Chavusy | 43 | 29 June 1944 | 16:25 | La-5 | PQ 25 Ost N/94134 15 km (9.3 mi) north-northeast of Byerazino |
| 33♠ | 29 March 1944 | 16:22 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost N/04289 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Chavusy | 44 | 30 June 1944 | 13:24 | La-5 | PQ 25 Ost N/94317 15 km (9.3 mi) south-southeast of Byerazino |
| 34♠ | 29 March 1944 | 16:30 | Pe-2 | PQ 35 Ost N/04442 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Stara Bychow | | | | | |

### Awards and decorations

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 17 April 1944 as Leutnant and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 20 March 1944 as Leutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 51
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 January 1945 as Leutnant and pilot in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"