page_title: Helmut Wick
section_title: Battle of Britain
hierarchical_section_title: Helmut Wick / World War II / Battle of Britain
caption_attribution_description: Helmut Wick's Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe, Luftfahrtmuseum Hannover-Laatzen
context_page_description: Helmut Paul Emil Wick was a German flying ace of World War II. He was a wing commander in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany, and the fourth recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, the nation's highest military decoration at the time.
  Born in Mannheim, Wick joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was trained as a fighter pilot. He was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen", and saw combat in the Battles of France and Britain. In October 1940, he was given the position of wing commander of JG 2—the youngest in the Luftwaffe to hold this position. Wick was shot down in the vicinity of the Isle of Wight on 28 November 1940, most likely by the British ace John Dundas, who was himself shot down by Wick's wingman. Wick was posted as missing in action, presumed dead. By then he had been credited with the destruction of 56 enemy aircraft in aerial combat, making him the leading German ace at the time. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109, he claimed all of his victories against the Western Allies.
context_section_description: During the Battle of Britain against the Royal Air Force (RAF) in mid-1940, Wick rose quickly in rank and in profile, both in the battle zone and as a propaganda hero back in Germany where the authorities began an unsurpassed media campaign on his behalf. Wick became the most famous German pilot of the Battle of Britain because of it, surpassing Galland and Mölders. In the Kanalkampf phase of the battle, Wick claimed a Supermarine Spitfire on 17 July in the vicinity of the Isle of Wight. According to RAF Fighter Command records only two fighters were lost on this date. Flying Officer D. M. Taylor, No. 64 Squadron was shot down by Bf 109s and force-landed at Hailsham. The action was reported in the Beachy Head vicinity and no member of the squadron saw their assailants. Flying Officer C. D. Peel, No. 603 Squadron disappeared over the English Channel and was posted missing in action.
  On 22 June 1940, before his promotion to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant), Wick became leader of 3. Staffel, succeeding Major Henning Stümpell. Wick claimed three RAF fighters on 11 August. JG 2 was involved in the large fighter escort operations against Portland. Fighter Command lost 30 fighters on 11 August defending the port and Channel convoys. JG 2 lost eight Bf 109s, four pilots killed, two missing and one wounded during the day's fighting. The fighter wing was known to have engaged No. 87 and No. 64 Squadron. No. 64 Squadron suffered a single Spitfire damaged, while No. 87 lost two Hurricanes destroyed and one damaged—one pilot, Flight Lieutenant R. V. Jeff was killed. No. 238 Squadron were involved in this particular battle; three of the Bf 109s lost in this engagement came from I./JG 2. Wick's claims inflated his tally to 17.
  Wick recorded his 20th victory on 25 August and added two more fighters a day later. In so doing, JG 2 surpassed the 250-mark. Achieving 20 aerial victories made Wick eligible for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), a higher grade of the Iron Cross. Wick was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 August 1940 at Karinhall by Hermann Göring.  He was also interviewed by an Der Adler (Eagle—the Luftwaffe's weekly magazine) journalist prior to the presentation. Several articles about Wick appeared at the time. Wick appeared on the front page of Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung on 19 September. The combat on 25 August was fought against No. 609 Squadron. JG 2 lost two Bf 109s and a further one damaged. One Spitfire from 609 was damaged, and a further piloted by Flying Officer P. Ostaszewski was written-off when it crashed on returning to base. 13 RAF fighters were shot down or crash-landed during the evening air battles on 25 August. The following day Wick claimed two Hurricanes near Portsmouth at 17:30 and 17:35, CET. No. 43's Pilot Officer H. L. North parachuted from his Hurricane in the vicinity at 16:25. No. 234 Squadron suffered two Spitfires force-landed, one a wheels-up landing, after combat with Bf 109s near Portsmouth at approximately 16:30 to 16:40. 27 RAF fighters were destroyed this day with five more damaged.
  Upon his return to France, Wick was promoted to Hauptmann and on 9 September was named Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of JG 2. During September he continued adding to his score. On 8 September Wick claimed three fighters destroyed. Fighter Command reported only the loss of four in combat the entire day; all in dogfights with Bf 109s. The casualties were from 41, 605 and two from 46 Squadron. The losses were recorded from 12:05 through to 12:30 GMT. On the final day of the month Wick claimed two Spitfires near Portland at 12:30 and 12:35.  No RAF fighters were recorded lost at the time and place of the claims, though 36 British fighters were destroyed or damaged [18 of each] during the fighting and several combats took place near Portland.
  Wick began October with two Spitfires shot down on day one. JG 2 and Zerstörergeschwader 26 (ZG 26—26th Destroyer Wing) claimed six each. In reality four Hurricanes were lost; at least two were downed by Z
caption: Wick's received this Fliegerpokal on account of his 50th victory. On display at the Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen.
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