Helmut Lent Oberst Helmut Lent ( 13 June 1918 – 7 October 1944 ) was a German night - fighter ace in World War II . Lent shot down 110 aircraft , 102 of them at night , far more than the minimum of five enemy aircraft required for the title of " ace " . Born into a devoutly religious family , he showed an early passion for glider flying ; against his father ' s wishes , he joined the " Luftwaffe " in 1936 . After completing his training , he was assigned to the 1 . Squadron , or " Staffel " , of Zerstörergeschwader 76 ( ZG 76 ) , a wing flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin - engine heavy fighter . Lent claimed his first aerial victories at the outset of World War II in the invasion of Poland and over the North Sea . During the invasion of Norway he flew ground support missions before he was transferred to the newly established Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 ( NJG 1 ) , a night - fighter wing . Lent claimed his first nocturnal victory on 12 May 1941 and on 30 August 1941 was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) for 22 victories . His steady accumulation of aerial victories resulted in regular promotions and awards . On the night of 15 June 1944 , " Major " Lent was the first night fighter pilot to claim 100 nocturnal aerial victories , a feat which earned him the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub , Schwertern und Brillanten " ) on 31 July 1944 . On 5 October 1944 , Lent flew a Junkers Ju 88 on a routine transit flight from Stade to Nordborchen , south of Paderborn . On the landing approach one of the engines cut out and the aircraft collided with power lines . All four members of the crew were mortally injured . Three men died shortly after the crash and Lent succumbed to his injuries two days later on 7 October 1944 . Childhood , education and early career . Helmut Lent was born on 13 June 1918 in Pyrehne , district of Landsberg an der Warthe , Province of Brandenburg , Germany ( now Pyrzany , Lubusz Province , western Poland ) , and christened Helmut Johannes Siegfried Lent . He was the fifth child of Johannes Lent , a Lutheran minister and Marie Elisabeth , née Braune . Helmut Lent had two older brothers , Werner and Joachim , and two older sisters , Käthe and Ursula . His family was deeply religious ; in addition to his father , both of his brothers and both grandfathers were also Lutheran ministers . From Easter 1924 until Easter 1928 , Lent attended the local public primary school at Pyrehne . His father and oldest brother Werner then tutored him at home in preparation for the entrance examination at the public secondary school at Landsberg . In February 1933 , Helmut joined the " Jungvolk " , the junior branch of the Hitler Youth . From March 1933 , he acted as a youth platoon leader , or " Jungzugführer " ( 1 March 1933 – 1 April 1935 ) and flag - bearer , or " Fähnleinführer " ( 1 April 1935 – 9 November 1935 ) until he left the " Jungvolk " to prepare for his " diploma " examination . Helmut passed his graduation examinations at the age of seventeen on 12 December 1935 . On 2 February 1936 , he began the eight - week compulsory National Labor Service ( Reichsarbeitsdienst ) at Mohrin . He joined the military service in the " Luftwaffe " as a " Fahnenjunker " on 1 April 1936 , against the wishes of his father . His military training began on 6 April 1936 at the Air Warfare School ( " Luftkriegsschule " ) at Gatow , on the south - western outskirts of Berlin . He swore the National Socialist oath of allegiance on 21 April 1936 . Flight training began on Monday , 7 August 1936 at Gatow . His first flight was in a Heinkel He 72 " Kadet " D - EYZA single engine biplane . Lent logged his first solo flight on 15 September 1936 in a Focke - Wulf Fw 44 " Stieglitz " . By this time , Lent had accumulated 63 flights in his logbook . In conjunction with flight training , the students also learned to drive motorcycles and cars , and during one of these training exercises , Lent was involved in a road accident , breaking his upper leg badly enough to prevent him from flying for five months . This did not adversely affect his classroom training and on 1 April 1937 , after taking his commission examination , he was promoted to " Fähnrich " . On 19 October 1937 Lent completed his flight training and was awarded the A / B License . He earned his wings on 15 November 1937 . On 1 February 1938 , he was promoted to " Oberfähnrich " ( first ensign ) , and on 1 March 1938 to " Leutnant " . By this time , he had made 434 flights in eight different types of aircraft and had accumulated 112 hours and 48 minutes flying time , mostly in daylight flights , in single engine training aircraft . After leaving Gatow , Helmut Lent was posted to the Heavy Bomber Crew School , or " Große Kampffliegerschule " at Tutow , in northeast Germany . He spent three months training as an observer ( 1 March 1938 – 30 May 1938 ) . Prior to completing this course , Lent was run over by a car , resulting in a broken lower jaw , concussion , and internal bleeding . On 1 July 1938 , Lent was posted to the 3rd Group of Jagdgeschwader 132 " Richthofen " ( III . / JG 132 ) , flying on 19 July 1938 for the first time after his injuries . At the beginning of September , Lent ' s squadron , 7 . / JG 132 , relocated to Großenhain near Dresden , in preparation and support of the annexation of Czechoslovakia . Lent flew a number of operational patrols in this conflict until his " Staffel " relocated again to Rangsdorf on 29 September 1938 . After the tension over the occupation of the Sudeten territories eased , Lent ' s unit began a conversion to the Messerschmitt Bf 108 " Taifun " . On 1 November 1938 III . / JG 132 moved to Fürstenwalde , between Berlin and Frankfurt an der Oder , and was renamed II . / JG 141 , and Lent was posted to the 6th Squadron . II . / JG 141 changed its designation to I . / Zerstörergeschwader 76 ( I . / ZG 76 ) on 1 May 1939 at the same time relocating to an airfield at Olmütz , Czechoslovakia . The group was being re - equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 , and Lent made his first flight in the Bf 110 on 7 June 1939 . Lent was granted his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot ' s Certificate ( " Erweiterter Luftwaffen - Flugzeugführerschein " ) , also known as ' C ' - Certificate , confirming proficiency on multi - engine aircraft , on 12 May 1939 . While converting to the Bf 110 , Lent did not have a regular wireless operator ( " Funker " ) in the rear gunner ' s seat , but on 14 August 1939 he was accompanied in M8 + AH for the first time by " Gefreiter " Walter Kubisch . During the prelude of World War II on 25 August 1939 I . / ZG 76 deployed to an airfield at Ohlau to the southeast of Breslau . World War II . World War II began at 04 : 45 on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces crossed the Polish border . Helmut Lent , flying a Bf 110 marked M8 - DH , took off from Ohlau , at 04 : 44 to escort Heinkel He 111 bombers on a mission over Krakow . Invasion of Poland . The German plans for the invasion of Poland were conceived under the codename " Fall Weiss " ( Case White ) . This operation called for simultaneous attacks on Poland from three directions , the north , the west and the south , beginning at 04 : 45 on the early morning of 1 September 1939 . On this morning Helmut Lent , with Kubisch as his wireless operator and rear gunner , escorted a formation of Heinkel 111 bombers of I . and III . / Kampfgeschwader 4 ( KG 4 ) attacking the airfields at Krakow in support of the southern prong of the German attack . At 16 : 30 on 2 September 1939 , the second day of the German attack , Lent took off in the direction of Lódz and claimed his first aerial - victory of the war , shooting down a PZL P . 11 . At this point of the campaign the Bf 110s switched from bomber escort to ground - attack since the Polish Air Force was all but defeated . In this capacity Lent and Kubisch destroyed a twin - engined monoplane on the ground on 5 September and another aircraft , a PZL P . 24 , on 9 September . On 12 September 1939 he was attacked by a Polish aircraft which shot out his starboard engine . Lent made a forced landing behind German lines . He flew five more missions during the Polish campaign , destroying one anti - aircraft battery . For his actions in the Polish campaign Lent was awarded one of the first Iron Cross 2nd class of World War II on 21 September 1939 . I . / ZG 76 relocated to the Stuttgart area on 29 September 1939 to defend the western border against the French and British , who had been at war with Germany since 3 September 1939 . From early October to middle December I . / ZG 76 operated from a number of airfields in the Stuttgart and Ruhr areas before relocating north to Jever on 16 December 1939 . Battle of the Heligoland Bight . During the first month of the war the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) mostly focused its bomber attacks against anti - shipping operations on the German Bight . RAF bombers mounted a heavy attack against shipping off Wilhelmshaven on 18 December 1939 in what became to be known as the Battle of the Heligoland Bight . Twenty - four twin - engine Vickers Wellington from No . 9 Squadron , No . 37 Squadron and No . 149 Squadron formed up over Norfolk heading for the island of Heligoland . Two aircraft aborted the mission due to mechanical defects , but the remaining 22 pursued the attack and were spotted by a Freya radar on the East Frisian Islands . Helmut Lent was ordered to intercept and engage the attacking bomber force and after refuelling — Lent had just landed at Jever from an armed patrol — claimed three Wellingtons , two of which , shot down at 14 : 30 and 14 : 45 , were later confirmed . The two aircraft were both from No . 37 Squadron , captained by Flying Officer P . A . Wimberley and Flying Officer O . J . T . Lewis respectively , and both crashed in the shallow sea off Borkum . It is likely that his third claim may have been No . 37 Squadron Wellington 1A N2396 , LF - J , piloted by Sergeant H . Ruse , which crash - landed on the sand dunes of Borkum . Lent was refused the victory over Wimberley , as the Wellington was attacked by Lent after it had already been badly damaged and was about to crash . The Wellington was credited to pilot Carl - August Schumacher His success as a fighter pilot over the North Sea had made him a minor national hero . Exploits such as those at Heligoland made good news stories for German propaganda machine . Consequently , he attracted fan mail — mainly from young girls and women — among them Elisabeth Petersen . Lent replied to her letter , and he and Elisabeth met on a blind date at the " Reichshof " hotel in Hamburg , after which they enjoyed a skiing holiday in Hirschegg in February 1940 . Norwegian Campaign and Battle of Britain . On 8 April 1940 eight aircraft of 1 . / ZG 76 , under the command of " Staffelkapitän " Werner Hansen , deployed northward from Jever to Westerland on Sylt in preparation for operation " Weserübung " , the invasion of Norway . The German plan for the attack called for an amphibious assault on the Norwegian capital , Oslo , and six major ports from Kristiansand in the south to Narvik in the north . Simultaneously , Junkers 52 ( Ju 52 ) transport aircraft would drop parachute troops to secure Oslo ' s Fornebu airport . Additional Ju 52s were scheduled to arrive at Fornebu twenty minutes after the parachute drop , by which time the airfield had to be in German hands . 1 . / ZG 76 provided air cover and ground - attack support for both waves . Eight Bf 110 " Zerstörer " of 1 . / JG 76 took off at 7 : 00 in the morning , planning to synchronize their arrival at Fornebu with the parachute drop at 8 : 45 . The distance from Westerland to Fornebu meant that this was a one - way operation ; the Bf 110s could not hold enough fuel for the return trip . Their fuel was calculated to provide them 20 minutes flying time over Fornebu , and the pilots would have to land at Fornebu once the airfield had been seized . On the early morning flight to Fornebu , Lent engaged and shot down a Norwegian Gloster Gladiator . While the Ju 52s transporting the German paratroops came under heavy fire , Lent ' s " Rotte " engaged the enemy ground positions . Lent ' s starboard engine caught fire , forcing him to land immediately . With Kubisch manning the movable machine gun , Lent negotiated the capitulation with the Norwegian ground forces and the airfield was in German hands . At 18 : 50 the same day , Lent and his " Staffelkapitän " Werner Hansen took off again from Fornebu in undamaged Bf 110s . During the 40 - minute flight , they came across a RAF Short Sunderland flying boat , serial number L2167 , from No . 210 Squadron RAF which they shot down together ; Hansen received credit for the " kill " . Helmut Lent was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on 13 May 1940 before he was transferred to Trondheim on 18 May . He claimed his second aerial victory of the Norwegian campaign on 27 May over a RAF Gloster Gladiator from No . 263 Squadron RAF , piloted by Flight Lieutenant Caesar Hull . On 2 June 1940 Lent and his wingman Thönes claimed a Gladiator each . The flight lasted 5 hours and 46 minutes and their opponents were again from No . 263 Squadron , aircraft serial number N5893 piloted by Pilot Officer J . L . Wilkie , and N5681 piloted by Pilot Officer L . R . Jacobsen . He claimed his seventh victory overall and final of the Norwegian theatre of operations on 15 June 1940 over a No . 254 Squadron RAF Bristol Blenheim , piloted by Pilot Officer P . C . Gaylord . On 1 July 1940 Lent was promoted to " Oberleutnant " and on 13 July 1 . / ZG 76 was relocated to Stavanger / Forus . Helmut Lent briefly participated in the Battle of Britain when on 15 August 1940 twenty - one Bf 110s from I . / ZG 76 escorted He 111 bombers from Kampfgeschwader 26 ( KG 26 ) on their attack on Yorkshire and the Newcastle / Sunderland area . I . / ZG 76 lost seven aircraft on this mission and it was Helmut Lent ' s 98th and final mission as a " Zerstörer " pilot . Night fighter career . By June 1940 RAF Bomber Command penetrations of German airspace had increased to the level that Hermann Göring decreed that a night - fighter force should be formed . The officer tasked with its creation was Wolfgang Falck , " Gruppenkommandeur " of the I . / Zerstörergeschwader 1 ( ZG 1 ) . The night - fighter force began to expand rapidly , with existing units being divided to form the nucleus of new units . By October 1940 Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 ( NJG 1 ) comprised three " Gruppen " , while Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 ( NJG 2 ) and Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 ( NJG 3 ) , were still forming . It was during this period that Helmut Lent reluctantly became a member of the night - fighter force . At the end of August Lent wrote home , " We are currently converting to night fighting . We are not very enthusiastic . We would sooner head directly for England . " Lent completed night fighter training at Ingolstadt in south - western Germany , and was appointed squadron leader , or " Staffelkapitän " , of the newly formed 6 . / NJG 1 on 1 October 1940 . The squadron was based at Fliegerhorst Deelen , located north of Arnhem in the Netherlands . On the night 11 – 12 May 1941 , Lent claimed his first nocturnal aerial victories against two Wellington IC bombers from No . 40 Squadron RAF on a mission against Hamburg . BL - H ( serial number R1330 ) was shot down at 01 : 40 near Süderstapel and BL - Z ( R1461 ) at 02 : 49 near Nordstrand . On 1 July 1941 , he took command of 4 . / NJG 1 , stationed in the Netherlands at " Fliegerhorst " ( airfield ) Leeuwarden , north of Arnheim , on the Friesland coast , where he remained until his death . From this position in the so - called German Bight , the squadron patrolled the North Sea coast , and could intercept Allied night - time bombing missions , what the Luftwaffe called terror attacks , based out of England . By the end of the war , the 4 . / NJG 1 was one of the most successful " Nachtjagdstaffel " — a squadron of a night fighter wing — of the Luftwaffe . Other members included such night fighter pilots as " Oberleutnant " Helmut Woltersdorf , " Leutnant " Ludwig Becker ( 44 victories , KIA February 1943 ) , " Leutnant " Egmont Prinz zur Lippe - Weißenfeld ( 51 victories , killed in a flying accident in the Netherlands in March 1944 ) , " Leutnant " Leopold Fellerer ( 41 victories ) , " Oberfeldwebel " Paul Gildner ( 46 victories , killed in a flying accident at Fliegerhorst Gilze - Rijen in the Netherlands in February 1943 ) , and " Unteroffizier " Siegfried Ney ( 12 victories , KIA February 1943 ) . On 30 August 1941 , Lent received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) for seven daytime and 14 night victories . On 1 November 1941 , Lent became acting Group Commander " Gruppenkommandeur " of the newly formed II . / NJG 2 . Lent ' s first aerial victory as a " Gruppenkommandeur " , his 20th night - time , and his last in 1941 , came during the night of Friday 7 November to Saturday 8 November . He shot down a Wellington 1C heading for Berlin , which came down near Akkrum . The six - man crew of the bomber , " X9976 " of No . 75 ( New Zealand ) Squadron , was killed in action . This achievement earned Lent a reference in the Wehrmachtbericht ( his first of six in total ) , an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht . To be singled out individually in the " Wehrmachtbericht " was an honour and was entered in the Orders and Decorations ' section of one ' s Service Record Book . He was promoted to " Hauptmann " on 1 January 1942 . Later that year , he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) on 6 June 1942 , at which time his total stood at 34 nocturnal victories plus seven day - time victories . The award was presented at the " Führerhauptquartier " on 28 and 29 June , his tally standing then at 39 nocturnal and seven day - time victories . Lent also held the distinction of achieving the first Lichtenstein radar - assisted air victory in a Dornier Do 215 B - 5 night fighter . By the end of 1942 , Lent had 56 victories and was the top German night - fighter ace . He was promoted to " Major " on 1 January 1943 and appointed " Geschwaderkommodore " of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 ( NJG 3 ) on 1 August 1943 . After 73 kills , of which 65 were claimed at night , he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) on 2 August 1943 and notified by telegram on 4 August . The Swords were presented to him at the " Führerhauptquartier " at Rastenburg on 10 / 11 August 1943 . In January 1944 , Lent downed three so - called " heavies " — four - engined strategic bomber s — in one night , but his aircraft was damaged by return fire , requiring a forced landing . He used only 22 cannon shells to down two bombers on the night of the 22 – 23 March 1944 , and fired only 57 rounds in seven minutes against three Avro Lancaster s on 15 – 16 June . Promoted to " Oberstleutnant " , he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub , Schwertern und Brillanten " ) in recognition of his 110 confirmed air kills , the first of two night - fighter pilots to be awarded the decoration . The second was Heinz - Wolfgang Schnaufer , who , with 121 aerial victories , became aviation history ' s leading night - fighter pilot . Personal life . All German officers were required to obtain official permission to marry ; however , this was usually a bureaucratic formality . When Lent decided to marry Elizabeth Petersen , his admirer from Hamburg whom he had met on a blind date , his case was more complicated . ' Elisabeth Petersen ' was in fact Helene ( Lena ) Senokosnikova , born in Moscow in April 1914 . She had been afraid to reveal her true identity , since Russians were not popular in the Third Reich , but after a thorough investigation into her background and racial ancestry , she received her German citizenship on 15 March 1941 . They were married on 10 September 1941 in Wellingsbüttel , Hamburg . The marriage produced two daughters . Christina was born on 6 June 1942 ; the second , Helma , was born on 6 October 1944 , shortly after her father ' s fatal crash . Both of Helmut ' s older brothers , Joachim and Werner , as members of the Confessing Church ( German : " Bekennende Kirche " ) , encountered trouble with the Nazi party . The Confessing Church , led by Pastor Martin Niemöller , was a schismatic Protestant church which opposed the Reich ' s efforts to " Nazify " Germany ' s Protestant churches . It stood in outspoken opposition to National Socialist principles , particularly those embodied in the Aryan Paragraph . Through the Barmen Declaration , the church condemned the national German Evangelical Church as heretical . Werner Lent , an adherent to the Confessing church , was arrested for the first time in 1937 after preaching an anti - Nazi sermon . In June 1942 , his brother Joachim was arrested by the Gestapo after reading the so - called Mölders letter from the pulpit . The Mölders letter was a propaganda piece conceived by Sefton Delmer , the chief of the British black propaganda in the Political Warfare Executive ( PWE ) to capitalize on the death of Germany ' s fighter ace Werner Mölders ; this letter , ostensibly written by Mölders , attested to the supreme importance of his Catholic faith in his life — by implication , placing faith above his allegiance to the National Socialist Party . Death . On 5 October 1944 , Lent flew his Junkers Ju - 88 G – 6 , coded D5 + AA , from Stade to Paderborn . His crew included his long - time radio operator " Oberfeldwebel " Walter Kubisch , the war correspondent " Leutnant " Werner Kark in the aerial gunner position , and " Oberleutnant " Hermann Klöss , second radio operator . Lent was on his way to visit the " Geschwaderkommodore " of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 , " Oberstleutnant " Hans - Joachim Jabs , to discuss operational matters . During the landing approach , the left engine of the plane failed , causing the wing to dip . Lent was unable to keep the plane steady and it struck high - voltage cables and crashed . All four members of the crew sustained serious injuries but were rescued alive . Kubisch and Klöss succumbed to their injuries on the same day , Kark on the next morning and Lent himself died two days later on 7 October 1944 . Helmut Lent ' s state funeral was held in the Reich Chancellery , Berlin , on Wednesday 11 October 1944 . " Reichsmarschall " Hermann Göring took the salute at Lent ' s coffin , which was draped in the national flag of the Third Reich . Ahead of the coffin , carrying Lent ' s honours and decorations on a velvet cushion , marched " Oberstleutnant " Werner Streib , the Inspector of Night Fighters . Six steel - helmeted officers , all recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , escorted the coffin on its caisson and stood as guard of honour during the ceremony : " Oberstleutnant " Günther Radusch , " Oberstleutnant " Hans - Joachim Jabs , " Major " Rudolf Schoenert , " Hauptmann " Heinz Strüning , " Hauptmann " Karl Hadeball and " Hauptmann " Paul Zorner . On 12 October 1944 Lent and his crew were interred in a single grave in the military cemetery at Stade . Legacy . On 18 July 1964 , a German Armed Forces Heeresflieger installation in Rotenburg ( Wümme ) ( Lower Saxony ) was renamed the Lent Barracks , or " Lent - Kaserne " , in his honour . A number of Helmut Lent ' s awards were auctioned at Sotheby ' s , London , on 18 July 1966 . The items were bought in one lot by an anonymous bidder for the total sum of £500 . The purchaser was Adolf Galland , the former " General der Jagdflieger " , acting on behalf of the Federal German Ministry of Defence . The awards were sold by Helmut Lent ' s elder daughter Christina after consultation with her mother , Lena , who was in urgent need for money to pay for an operation . The Federal Ministry of Defence presented the collection to the Museum of Defence History ( " Wehrgeschichtliches Museum " ) in Rastatt , Germany . Summary of career . Helmut Lent is officially credited with 110 victories in 507 flights . The total includes 103 victories at night , during which he destroyed 59 four - engine bombers and one Mosquito , among other types . Lent received a posthumous promotion to " Oberst " ( Colonel ) .