# Paul Szameitat

Paul Szameitat (19 December 1919 – 2 January 1944) was a German Luftwaffe night fighter 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. Szameitat claimed 29 victories, 28 at night.

## Night fighter career

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.
On 18 October 1943, Szameitat was shot down in his Dornier Do 217 N-1 night fighter by the defensive gunfire of an Avro Lancaster bomber from No. 101 Squadron. Hit in both engines, he and his crew bailed out near Barsinghausen.
On 14 December 1943, Szameitat was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe (1st group) of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3—3rd Night Fighter Wing), replacing Hauptmann Walter Mylius.

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

According to Spick, Szameitat was credited with 29 aerial victories, including one heavy bomber during a daytime mission, claimed in an unknown number combat missions. Obermaier also lists him with 29 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number combat missions. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 29 victory claims. Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Szameitat with 25 claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims.
Chronicle of aerial victories :
| This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 and Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims. |||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Serial No./Squadron No. |
| – 6. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 – ||||||
| 1 | 26 February 1942 | 22:15 | Wellington | Tønder | |
| 2 | 29 April 1942 | 02:30 | Wellington | north of Flensburg | |
| 3? | 30 April 1942 | 02:31 | Manchester | east of Rantum | |
| 4? | 26 June 1942 | 02:11 | Halifax | Cuxhaven | |
| 5? | 3 July 1942 | 02:53 | Wellington | | |
| 6 | 17 January 1943 | 19:33 | Stirling | 70 km (43 mi) northwest of Westerland | |
| 7 | 17 January 1943 | 21:49 | Lancaster | 90 km (56 mi) northwest of Westerland | |
| 8 | 17 January 1943 | 22:18 | Lancaster | 25 km (16 mi) west of Fanø | |
| – 5. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 – ||||||
| 9 | 30 March 1943 | 00:36 | Halifax | Süderschmedeby | Halifax HR654/408 (Goose) Squadron |
| 10 | 5 April 1943 | 00:22 | Lancaster | Hindenburgdamm | Halifax BB336/408 (Goose) Squadron |
| 11 | 29 April 1943 | 03:51 | Lancaster | northwest of Kolding | Lancaster ED733/No. 103 Squadron RAF |
| 12 | 4 July 1943 | 01:28 | Stirling | 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Terschelling | Stirling BF579/No. 15 Squadron RAF |
| 13 | 24 August 1943 | 02:03 | Lancaster | 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Kampen | |
| 14 | 22 September 1943 | 23:02 | Stirling | southwest of Hanover | |
| 15 | 8 October 1943 | 16:17 | B-24 | south of Vilsen | |
| 16 | 9 October 1943 | 01:25 | Lancaster | southwest of Stade | |
| 17 | 18 October 1943 | 20:30 | Lancaster | 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Hanover | Lancaster W4276/No. 207 Squadron RAF |
| 18 | 18 October 1943 | 20:34 | Lancaster | 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Hanover | |
| 19 | 2 December 1943 | 19:35 | Lancaster | northeast of Hanover | |
| 20 | 2 December 1943 | 19:45 | Lancaster | 30 km (19 mi) east of Celle | |
| 21 | 2 December 1943 | 20:01 | Lancaster | vicinity of Stendal | |
| 22?{ | 4 December 1943 | — | Lancaster | | |
| 23 | 4 December 1943 | 03:18 | Lancaster | north of Hanover | |
| 24 | 4 December 1943 | 03:25 | Lancaster | Hamm-Wesendorf | |
| 25 | 4 December 1943 | 03:36 | Lancaster | north of Braunschweig | |
| 26 | 4 December 1943 | 03:41 | Lancaster | vicinity of Hanover | |
| – 2. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 – ||||||
| 27 | 20 December 1943 | 20:30 | Halifax | south of Bonn | |
| 28 | 24 December 1943 | 03:06 | Lancaster | Lansenheim | |
| 29 | 29 December 1943 | 21:23 | Halifax | 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Güstrow | |

### Awards

* Flugzeugführerabzeichen
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 5 June 1943 as Oberleutnant and pilot
* German Cross in Gold on 12 December 1943 as Hauptmann in the 5./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3