# Wilhelm Beier

Wilhelm Beier (18 November 1913 – 12 July 1977) was a 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 recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Depending on source, Beier claimed 38 nocturnal aerial victories, including 14 of which flying intruder missions, intercepting bombers on their return flight to England.

## Career

Beier was born on 18 November 1913 in Homberg, present-day part of Duisburg, at the time in the Rhine Province within the German Empire.

### Night fighter career

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defense 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 10 April 1941, Beier claimed his second aerial victory, a Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber shot down near Chelmsford on an intruder mission over England.
Beier was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 10 October 1941 for 14 nocturnal aerial victories. The presentation was made by Kammhuber, at the time commanding general of XII. Fliegerkorps (12th Air Corps), at Gilze-Rijen Airfield. On the night of 29/30 May 1943, the RAF attacked Wuppertal with 719 bombers. Defending against this attack, Beier claimed the Handley Page Halifax bomber HR793 from No. XXXV (Madras Presidency) Squadron shot down which crashed near Limbricht.

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

According to Aders, Beier was credited with 36 nocturnal aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 36 aerial victories while Obermaier lists him with 38 aerial victories. Both Obermaier and Spick state that Beier flew about 250 combat missions. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 37 nocturnal victory claims, numerically ranging from 1 to 31, and 33 to 38. Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, also listing Beier with 37 claims.
Chronicle of aerial victories :
| This and the ? (question mark) indicates discrepancies between Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 and Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims. ||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Serial No./Squadron No. |
| – 3. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – ||||||
| 1 | 7 December 1940 | 06:36 | Hurricane | 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Spilsby | |
| 2 | 10 April 1941 | 02:35 | Whitley | Chelmsford | |
| 3 | 8 May 1941 | 02:50 | Wellington | Wells-next-the-Sea | |
| 4 | 11 May 1941 | 03:46 | Blenheim | 50 km (31 mi) east of Scarborough | |
| 5 | 4 June 1941 | 01:35 | Blenheim | 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Lowestoft | |
| 6 | 13 June 1941 | 00:44 | Defiant | vicinity of Thornby | |
| 7 | 6 July 1941 | 03:08 | Wellington | 110 km (68 mi) north-northwest of Texel | |
| 8 | 6 July 1941 | 03:36 | Blenheim | 100 km (62 mi) west of Texel | |
| 9 | 6 July 1941 | 23:54 | Whitley | 60 km (37 mi) northeast of Bacton | |
| 10 | 6 July 1941 | 23:58 | Whitley | 60 km (37 mi) northeast of Bacton | |
| 11 | 18 July 1941 | 03:02 | Blenheim | 120 km (75 mi) northeast of Great Yarmouth | |
| 12 | 8 August 1941 | 03:20 | Blenheim | East Dereham | |
| 13 | 8 August 1941 | 03:44 | Halifax | 200 km (120 mi) east of Withernsea | |
| 14 | 8 August 1941 | 03:48 | Wellington | 200 km (120 mi) east of Flamborough Head | |
| – Ergänzungsgruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – ||||||
| 15 | 23 April 1942 | 01:15 | Boston | | |
| 16 | 31 May 1942 | 02:07 | Wellington | | |
| 17 | 31 May 1942 | 02:25 | Wellington | | |
| 18 | 23 June 1942 | 03:01 | Stirling | | |
| – 9. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – ||||||
| 19 | 27 July 1942 | 01:32 | Havoc | 24 km (15 mi) northeast of Eindhoven | |
| 20 | 29 July 1942 | 03:20 | Wellington | 20 km (12 mi) north of Enschede | Wellington X3710/No. 156 Squadron RAF |
| 21 | 28 August 1942 | 00:25 | Boston | 40 km (25 mi) west of IJmuiden | |
| 22 | 29 August 1942 | 03:16 | Manchester | northeast of Moerbeke | |
| 23 | 3 September 1942 | 03:08 | Stirling | 40 km (25 mi) west of Den Haag | |
| 24 | 7 September 1942 | 04:49 | Manchester | | |
| 25 | 7 September 1942 | 05:03 | Halifax | | |
| 26 | 7 September 1942 | 05:11 | Wellington | | |
| 27 | 11 September 1942 | 01:19 | Wellington | 50 km (31 mi) west of Katwijk-an-See | |
| 28 | 17 September 1942 | 01:12 | Boston | | |
| 29 | 17 September 1942 | 01:13 | Boston | | |
| 30 | 17 September 1942 | 01:37 | Stirling | | |
| – 8. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – ||||||
| 31 | 30 September 1942 | 00:19 | Beaufighter | | |
| – 10. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 – ||||||
| 32? | 15 October 1942 | 22:13 | B-24 | 50 km (31 mi) west of Den Haag |
| 33 | 15 October 1942 | 22:16 | Stirling | 70 km (43 mi) west of Den Haag | |
| 34 | 15 October 1942 | 22:19 | Stirling | 50 km (31 mi) west of Den Haag | |
| 35 | 15 October 1942 | 22:52 | Manchester | 50 km (31 mi) west of Leiden | Lancaster W4130/No. 57 Squadron RAF |
| 36 | 13 May 1943 | 02:30 | Halifax | 16 km (9.9 mi) north-northwest of Amsterdam | |
| 37 | 30 May 1943 | 00:27 | Halifax | 20 km (12 mi) north-northwest of Maastricht | Halifax HR793/No. XXXV (Madras Presidency) Squadron |

### Awards

* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 October 1941 as Oberfeldwebel and Flugzeugführer (pilot) in the 3./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2
* German Cross in Gold on 19 September 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the 3./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2
* Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 23 April 1942