page_title: Walter Adolph
section_title: Group commander and death
hierarchical_section_title: Walter Adolph / World War II / Group commander and death
caption_attribution_description: English: Grave of Walter Adolph 38-459
context_page_description: Walter Adolph was a German Luftwaffe military aviator in the Spanish Civil War and a fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 25 aerial victories, including one in Spain, achieved in 79 combat missions. All his World War II victories were claimed over the Western Front.
  Born in Fântânele, Romania, Adolph served in the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War where he claimed his first aerial victory on 30 December 1937. He was made Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1, a squadron which was later redesignated 8. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 27. In October 1940, he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 November 1940. On 16 September 1941, he was killed in action with Supermarine Spitfire fighters from No. 41 Squadron.
context_section_description: Adolph was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26–26th Fighter Wing) on 4 October 1940. JG 26 was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a martyr cultivated by the Nazi Party. On 11 October, Adolph claimed his tenth and eleventh aerial victory over two Spitfire fighters. Both Spitfires came from No. 41 Squadron and were shot down off the coast of Kent near Maidstone. Four days later, he claimed a Hurricane destroyed near London. The Hurricane either belonged to No. 46 Squadron or No. 501 Squadron. His 13th victory, a No. 603 Squadron Spitfire, was claimed on 25 October in aerial combat near Maidstone. Adolph's victim, Pilot Officer Ludwig Martel, flying P7350, lost consciousness and when he came around found he was flying upside down with a dead engine and promptly parachuted to safety.
  His next victory was claimed on 1 November over a No. 74 Squadron Spitfire, also shot down near Maidstone. On 8 November, Adolph was credited with his 15th aerial victory, a Spitfire claimed near Tonbridge. That day, II. Gruppe had claimed four Spitfires shot down while British records show that two Hurricanes were lost while further two had to make a forced landing. On 13 November 1940, Adolph was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) in parts for increasing the combat performance of II. Gruppe.
  On 17 June, the RAF flew "Circus" No. 13 targeting the Etabs Kuhlmann Chemical Works and power station at Chocques. In total, No. 2 Group sent 24 Blenheim bombers, escorted by fighters from North Weald and Biggin Hill. JG 26 claimed 15 aerial victories including a Hurricane by Adolph. The RAF flew "Circus" No. 24 on 26 June with the objective to bomb the electrical power station at Comines with 28 bombers. Adolph claimed his 18th aerial victory that day, shooting down a Spitfire. On 1 July, II. Gruppe began relocating to Moorsele Airfield where the unit was closer to the RAF "Circus" routes. The infrastructure at Moorsele was ideal for the planned transition to the then new Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft which began arriving in July. On 6 July, the RAF flew another "Circus". No. 35 targeted Lille and the Fives-Lille engineering company. In defense of this attack, Adolph shot down a Spitfire from No. 74 Squadron. On 23 July, JG 26 claimed four Blenheim bombers shot down from No. 21 Squadron off the Scheldt Estuary and Ostend, including Adolph's 21st aerial victory. On 16 August, Adolph claimed aerial victories numbering 23 and 24 of World War II while defending against "Circus" No. 75. That day, he shot down a No. 602 Squadron Spitfire 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of Boulogne and a No. 602 Squadron 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Marquise.
  On 18 September 1941, elements of JG 26 escorted a German tanker through the English Channel. The tanker came under attack by three Blenheim bombers just off the coast near Blankenberge. The bombers were escorted by Spitfire fighters from No. 41 Squadron and Hurricane fighters from No. 615 Squadron. Adolph headed a flight of eight Fw 190 from II. Gruppe in defense of the tanker. Following the attack on the tanker, one Blenheim bomber was claimed shot down by a German pilot. Adolph, while observing the crashed bomber, was shot down and killed in his Fw 190 A-1 (Werknummer 0028—factory number) 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Ostend. The British flying ace F/O Cyril Babbage of No. 41 Squadron is believed to have shot down Adolph. Adolph's Fw 190 was the first of its kind to be lost in aerial combat. Adolph's successor as Gruppenkommandeur was Hauptmann Joachim Müncheberg who took command of II. Gruppe on 19 September. On 12 October 1941, his body was washed ashore near Knokke, Belgium and was interred at the Lommel German war cemetery.
caption: Lommel German war cemetery – Walter Adolph
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