Paul Zorner
Paul Anton Guido Zorner, born Paul Zloch (31 March 1920 – 27 January 2014) was a German night fighter pilot, who fought in the "Luftwaffe" during World War II. Zorner is credited with aerial victories claimed in including fighter missions. Zorner was the ninth most successful fighter pilot in the "Luftwaffe" and in the history of aerial warfare. Born in 1920 to a large family, Zorner left school in 1938 to pursue a military career. He applied to join the "Luftwaffe" and was accepted as a "Fahnenjunker" (officer candidate) in October 1938. Zorner completed his training and was licensed  to fly multi-engine aircraft. He was posted to 4. "Staffel" (squadron) "Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung" 104 ("KGr. z.b.v." 104, Fighting Group for Special Use) to fly Junkers Ju 52 transports. Zorner participated in the Battle of Greece and Battle of Crete in April and May 1941. Zorner also operated in the Middle East flying supplies to Syria during the Anglo-Iraqi War. Zorner continued with the unit and from June to October 1941 flew in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. On 20 October 1941, Zorner transferred to the German night fighter arm. He completed his training  as a night fighter pilot in July 1942 and was posted to "Nachtjagdgeschwader" 2. On 3 October 1942, Zorner was posted to 10. "Staffel" (squadron) "Nachtjagdgeschwader" 3 (NJG 3, Night Fighter Wing 3). Zorner claimed his first victory on 17 January 1943 and on 3 March, achieved the five victories necessary to qualify as a night fighter ace ("Experte"). On 9 September 1943 he was appointed "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) of 8./NJG 3 after achieving 12 victories. Zorner achieved his 20th victory on 3 January 1944 and was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 20 March 1944 for 35 night  victories. On 4 April 1944, Zorner was appointed "Gruppenkommandeur" (Group Commander) of III./"Nachtjagdgeschwader" 5 (NJG 5). On 9 June, Zorner was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 48 bombers destroyed. Zorner was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 17 September 1944. Zorner was appointed "Gruppenkommandeur" of II./NJG 100 on 13 October 1944 and remained the commanding officer until May 1945. Zorner achieved his 59th, and last, a victory on 5/6 March 1945. Zorner surrendered to United States Army forces on 8 May 1945. Zorner and his unit were handed  over to the Red Army on 17 May and he remained a prisoner in the Soviet Union until December 1949. After his release he studied engineering and retired in 1981. Zorner died in January 2014 aged 93. Early life. Paul Zorner was born on 31 March 1920 in Roben, Leobschütz, Upper Silesia. He was a son of head teachers and one of eight children. Zorner expressed an interest in Glider flying in his early years but the size of the family strained his parent's financial resources and he could not take up the hobby. In the spring, 1938 aged  18, Zorner passed his "Abitur", school leaving certificate. Zorner desired a military flying career and he applied to join the "Luftwaffe" and was accepted as a "Fahnenjunker" (officer candidate) in October 1938. On 8 November 1938 Zorner began his "Flugzeugführerausbildung" (pilot training) as a learner pilot at Oschatz-Sachsen. On 14 March 1939 he was accepted as "Fähnrich" and transferred to Berlin-Gatow. There, he completed the first stage of his officer training on 31 October 1939. Zorner progressed through the A/B Schools (elementary flying schools) and trained at the "Flugzeugführerschule C" in Lönnewitz to gain his pilot license  on multi-engine aircraft from 1 November 1939 to the 30 June 1940. He was promoted to the officer rank "Leutnant" (Second Lieutenant) on 1 April 1940. From 4–30 June 1940 Zorner was based at the "Fluglehrerschule" (flight instructor school) in Brandenburg and from the 1 July 1940 – 15 January 1941 he attended the "Flugzeugführerschule" C 11 to complete his advanced training. Zorner attended the "Blindflugschule" (Blind Flying School) at Neuburg an der Donau from 23 August–16 September 1940 to qualify for night flying. World War II. Zorner was posted to 4. "Staffel" (squadron) "Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung" 104 (KGr.z.b.v . 104—Fighting Group for Special Use) to fly the Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft. The unit deployed to Athens, Greece in April 1941. It assisted in the airborne drop against Crete—"Unternehmen Merkur" (Operation Mercury). Zorner flew over 160 missions in the Mediterranean and North African theatre. The most notable action was the Anglo-Iraqi War in May 1941. KGr.z.b.v. 104 flew spare part supplies for "Zerstörergeschwader" 76 (Destroyer Wing 76) in Iraq. Zorner recorded transport flights from Athens to Aleppo. Zorner was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class on 6 June 1941 for his service. KGr.z.b.v. 104 then moved to  Romania to participate in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. It supported Army Group South in the initial assault but then disbanded in the autumn. Zorner left "KGr.z.b.v." 104 on 8 October 1941. Night fighter. Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, bombing missions by the Royal Air Force (RAF) 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. Zorner joined the German night fighter force on 20 October 1941 and was ordered to Schleißheim, Austria, to attend the "Nachtjadgschule" 1 (Night Fighter School 1) to begin conversion and night fighter training on the Messerschmitt Bf 110. At Schleißheim Zorner learned the rudiments of air combat and day fighter tactics  which he completed on 28 December 1941. From 1 January 1942 Zorner undertook night fighter training "Nachtjadgschule" 1, at the Ingolstadt base. On 1 April 1942 he was promoted to "Oberleutnant" (First Lieutenant). He graduated on 20 May 1942. The final phase of training was completed with "Ergänzungs-Nachtjagdgruppe" (Supplementary Night Hunting Group) at Stuttgart. Zorner was posted to 8. "Staffel" (squadron), II. "Gruppe" (Group) "Nachtjagdgeschwader" 2 (NJG 2—Night Fighter Wing 2) based at Gilze-Rijen Air Base in the Netherlands on 1 July 1942. On 3 October 1942 Zorner was moved again, this time to 10./"Nachtjagdgeschwader" 3 (NJG  3—Night Fighter Wing 3), at Grove, where he remained until 5 December 1942. The next day he was ordered to Wittmundhafen and appointed "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) of 2./NJG 3. Zorner held this command until 15 March 1943. The "Staffel" was equipped with the Dornier Do 217 night fighter. Zorner disliked flying the Dornier and lobbied his commanding officer, "Gruppenkommandeur" Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld to fly the Bf 110. Lippe-Weißenfeld agreed on the condition that he flies both operationally in rotation with other units. On the night of 17/18 January 1943 Air Officer Commanding (AOC) RAF Bomber Command , Arthur Harris ordered an attack on Berlin. 170 Avro Lancaster and 17 Handley-Page Halifax bombers carried out the operation. It was to be the last attack on the German capital until the H2S ground scanning radar became available. Zorner intercepted a Halifax northwest of Juist and shot it down at 21:55. Zorner achieved this success on his 14th mission as a night fighter pilot. Bomber Command attacked Wilhelmshaven with 177 aircraft—129 Lancaster, 40 Halifax and eight Short Stirlings on 11/12 February 1943. The Pathfinders found that the Wilhelmshaven area was covered by cloud. The British marked the target by  parachute flares using H2S. The naval ammunition depot at Mariensiel to the south of Wilhelmshaven blew up and caused widespread damage in the naval dockyard and in the town. Zorner engaged a Lancaster west northwest of Borkum and claimed it shot down over the North Sea. Zorner was the only pilot in the "Luftwaffe" to claim a victory on this night. One of the three crews lost in the operation flew in Lancaster I, DX-D, of No. 57 Squadron RAF. Sergeant K. T. Dutton and his six crewmembers disappeared and were listed "lost without trace." After his second victory , "Geschwaderkommodore" Johann Schalk warned Zorner for leaving the Do 217s idle. On Zorner's next flight, he operated the type. Zorner claimed his third victory on 19 February, north of Norderney at 20:34. The bomber was recorded as a Douglas A-20 Havoc. During the engagement Zorner's Dornier sustained a hit in the wing and one through the starboard engine casing causing an oil leak, necessitating a forced landing on one engine. Although Zorner claimed a probable, an anti-aircraft artillery battery had witnessed the enemy bomber flying just above the sea before it disappeared into the mist. Since its  recovery was deemed impossible, he was granted the victory. Zorner's victim was Vickers Wellington II, "BJ1919" OW-P of No. 426 Squadron RAF piloted by Sergeant J. O. R. Gauthier. Sergeants H. R. Bailey, F. Ruzycki, R. C. Ramsay, Flight Sergeant R. W. Ferrier and Pilot Officer C. A. McKinnon, all of RCAF, were posted missing in action. The aircraft has never been found, and likely crashed into the North Sea. On the night of 26 February Zorner claimed a Short Stirling northwest of Schiermonnikoog at 20:46. Ruhr and Baltic. Air Marshal Harris, AOC RAF Bomber Command escalated the  air war in 1943 and began a concerted effort to destroy the industrial German Ruhr region through area bombing. From March to July 1943 Bomber Command began the campaign, dubbed the Battle of the Ruhr. Harris had 53 squadrons, 16 of which were medium bombers equipped with H2S terrain mapping radar. Zorner's first victory in the defence of the Ruhr came on the night of the 7/8 March 1943 northeast of Norden at 20:50 when he claimed a Wellington. The only other claimant was Karl-Heinz Scherfling. Zorner's victim was probably Wellington "HE202", SE-Z, piloted by Sergeant  Derek Cecil of No. 431 Squadron RAF. The bomber was conducting "Gardening" (minelaying operations) by the Frisian Islands when it was shot down. All five crewmen became prisoners of war. Zorner claimed another Wellington on 13/14 March at 03:51, north of Norderney, one of only two claims. This machine was "BK296", PT, from No. 420 Squadron RCAF. Pilot Flight Sergeant Charles Harrison Tidy and his crew were killed. Zorner was made "Staffelkapitän" of 8./NJG 3 two days later. In April 1943 Zorner was ordered to carry out two daylight operations against the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). Zorner found  the task unsuitable for the Bf 110. A combat box of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers had eight firing positions and a formation of nine could muster over 100 guns. The Bf 110 was adjudged to be only faster and the most effective tactic, the head-on-attack, could only be executed three times for the aircraft could not position itself in front of the bomber formations quickly enough: the endurance of two hours forty-five minutes was not sufficient for these lengthy manoeuvres. On the second sortie he flew Lippe-Webenfeld's Bf 110 but was hit in both wings  and engines and force-landed without success near Cloppenburg. Zorner claimed his 7th victory on 28/29 June southeast of Antwerp, Belgium at 02:20. It was recorded as a Halifax bomber. Another Wellington was claimed southwest of Sint-Truiden at 01:09. Zorner achieved his 10th victory west of Malmedy at 01:53. Zorner's 11th victory was shot down northeast of Groningen at 03:54 on 24/25 July. His victim was Halifax "R5573" flown by Flight Sergeant Kenneth Hector Wally McLean from No. 106 Squadron RAF. Zorner saw the Halifax crash and explode which resulted in a fire-work display of green, red  and white flashes. They assumed the aircraft to be a pathfinder, and the flashes exploding flares. Soon afterwards Zorner and his crewman had to abandon the Bf 110G-4 because an engine caught fire. Zorner extinguished the fire but he could no longer calibrate the propeller pitch to a glide setting. The other power plant could not cope with the added workload and the Bf 110 began to lose height. Zorner ordered his crew to leave. Zorner struggled to exit as his parachute snagged. He managed to clamber back into the cockpit and lower the flaps which slowed the aircraft and  afforded him time to unhook the parachute from the strengthening beam in the cockpit and parachute to safety. Zorner had to wait several weeks for another successful engagement. On 18 August 1943 Bomber Command carried out Operation Hydra, an attack on the Peenemünde Army Research Center. At 01:53 over the Baltic Sea Zorner claimed a Lancaster followed by another Lancaster over Peenemünde at 02:03—his 13th victory. It was his last victory with 3./NJG 3. On 9 September 1943 he was appointed "Staffelkapitän" of 8./NJG 3. Battle of Berlin. At the beginning of November 1943 Zorner's Bf 110G  was fitted with a FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar. The new radar was not affected by "window". On the night of 18/19 November 1943 as RAF Bomber Command began their Berlin offensive and Zorner led 8. "Staffel" through his most successful period of operations. Operating from Lüneburg, Zorner scrambled to intercept 383 aircraft, 365 Lancaster, 10 Halifax and eight de Havilland Mosquito bombers which attacked Berlin on 23/24 November 1943. Zorner caught a Lancaster at 20:09 northwest of Berlin and dispatched the bomber for his 14th victory. On 2 December, Zorner accounted for two Lancaster bombers: one near Diepholz at  19:24 and southwest of Berlin at 20:29. On 20 December at 20:02 claimed a Lancaster. The location was recorded as "Hintetmeiligen". On 23/24 December 1943 Bomber Command returned to Berlin. Zorner claimed three Lancasters: one east of Giessen at 03:02, another south of Diepholz at 05:43 and a third at 06:02 over Cloppenburg. One of the bombers was Avro Lancaster III "ED999", KM-X, from No. 44 Squadron RAF, piloted by Sergeant R. L. Hands. Hands and his crew were killed in action. Zorner maintained his success in 1944. Over Luckenwalde at 03:10 on 3 January 1944 Zorner accounted for  his 21st victory. On the 6 January at 02:42 and 02:51 he claimed two Lancasters northwest of Stettin and on 20 January at 19:31 and 19:45 he claimed one Halifax (LL135) and one Lancaster (JB419) , while operating north west of Berlin. These victories were achieved with the "Schräge Musik" which had been installed on his Bf 110G-4 prior to the patrol. Four weeks later, on 15 February, Zorner filed claims for two Lancaster bombers at 20:22 and 21:11 near Berlin. The latest Lancaster bombers took his victory total to 27. On 20 February at 03:04 and 03:17 near Wesendorf, at  03:26 over Gardelegen, and at 03:41 south of Briest, Zorner claimed a Lancaster shot down to record his 28th–31st aerial victories. On 24/25 February 1944, Bomber Command turned its attention to Schweinfurt. 554 Lancaster, 169 Halifax and 11 Mosquito bombers carried out the attack. The route took the bomber stream over Stuttgart. Bomber Command lost 26 Lancaster and seven Halifax bombers (4.5 per cent). Zorner claimed five bombers shot down, becoming an ace in one sortie. The first claim was made west of Stuttgart at 22:15, southwest of the city at 22:22, southwest at 22:30, west at 00:25 and finally  north of Stuttgart at 00:51. All five were Lancasters. The latter two claims were made after midnight thus Zorner did not qualify for ace in a day status. By day-break Zorner had been officially credited with 35 enemy bombers destroyed in night operations. On 1 March 1944 Zorner was promoted to "Hauptmann" (Captain). He continued to command 8. "Staffel". He downed two Lancasters on 22 March in the Frankfurt area between 21:42 and 22:16. A solitary claim on 24 March was followed by a triple claim on 26 March. A single Lancaster was engaged and destroyed north of Oberhausen  at 22:01, west of Sint Truiden at 23:03 and then southwest of Brussels at 23:12. For his achievements in battle Zorner was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 20 March 1944. On 4 April 1944 Zorner was appointed "Gruppenkommandeur" of III./"Nachtjagdgeschwader" 5 (NJG 5), based at Mainz Finthen Airport having relinquished his command of 8. "Staffel" the day before. In the early hours of 21 April 1944 Zorner claimed a rare victory for the German night fighter arm—a de Havilland Mosquito. Southeast of Antwerp at 03:00 Zorner spotted an aircraft which appeared to be a Junkers Ju 88  flying on one engine. Zorner closed to and saw it was an enemy aircraft. He fired a burst that shattered the good engine. The British bomber dived into haze and four minutes later the crew observed an explosion on the ground. The following morning a Mosquito was confirmed shot down. The Mosquito belonged to No. 169 Squadron RAF. "DD616", was operating out of RAF Little Snoring, Norfolk. Flight Lieutenant Morgan and his navigator Flight Sergeant Bentley bailed out. Gruppenkommandeur. On the night of 27/28 April 1944, Bomber Command struck at Friedrichshafen with 322 heavy bombers. The diversion attacks confused German  defences and no bomber was lost on the inward flight. The German night fighter reorganised and 18 were shot down on the homeward route. Zorner intercepted southeast of Nancy claimed it destroyed at 01:20. After 31 minutes Zorner's radar operator Heinrich Wilke gained another contact and Zorner duly shot down a second Lancaster southwest of Strasbourg. Northwest of Friedrichshafen, he shot down another bomber at 02:10. Zorner claimed a single victory on 1 June at 02:35 over Tergnier and the 3 June northwest of Evreux. On 6 June 1944 Operation Overlord began. On that morning the D-Day landings  began in Normandy. Within twenty-four hours Zorner's "Gruppe" had relocated to Athies-sous-Laon. The night fighter force resisted the Allied air forces over France by night and the skies over France became a target-rich environment. The RAF Second Tactical Air Force and the Ninth US Tactical Air Force flew night operations alongside bomber command. For the "Luftwaffe", the night actions also produced dangers. Their bases were within easy range of No. 100 Group RAF night fighters. Two days after his deployment to France, Zorner was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 9  June for 48 victories. He received the award from Joseph Schmid, commanding 1. "Jagdkorps". On the night of the 10/11 June 1944 he shot down four bombers targeting railway installations. The victories (nos. 49–52) were recorded west and southwest of Dreux with two more Lancaster bombers falling over Verneuil-sur-Avre between 01:00 and 01:42. The first three bombers were claimed within eight minutes. Zorner achieved a double victory on 25/26 June. Bomber Command sent 739 bombers including 53 Lancaster, 165 Halifax and 39 Mosquito bombers to attack the V-1 flying bomb sites in the Pas-de-Calais. At 00:30 , east of Boulogne Zorner shot down a Lancaster with his front-firing guns and he used his "Schärge Musik" armament to down a second—his 54th victory. On the 1 July at 01:22 near Bourges Zorner shot down another Lancaster. On 24/25 July 1944 Bomber Command returned to the V-1 sites. Northwest of both Strasbourg and Saint-Dizier, between 02:35 and 02:54 Zorner claimed victory number 57 and 58. Zorner remained with NJG 5 but did not file another claim as the German front in Normandy collapsed. On 17 September 1944 Zorner became the 588th recipient of the Knight's  Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (). It was not presented to Zorner until 2 December 1944 when he was handed the medal by "Reichsmarshal" Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the "Luftwaffe" at the "Reichsluftfahrtministerium". By this time III./NJG 5 was based at Lübeck. Zorner was transferred from front-line operations and on 13 October 1944 he appointed "Gruppenkommandeur" of II./"Nachtjagdgeschwader" 100 equipped with Ju 88G night-fighters based at Nový Dvůr. On 1 December 1944 Zorner was promoted to Major. He commanded the unit in operations over Czechoslovakia and Austria until 8 May 1945. The promotion  came six days after his radar operator "Feldwebel" Heinrich Wilke, was awarded the Knight's Cross on 25 November 1944 for participating in all Zorner's 58 victories. II./NJG 100 was subordinated to the 7th "Jagddivision" (7th Fighter Division). The "Geschwader" relocated several times owing to Red Army advances, moving to Vienna, Linz, Prague and finally to Karlsbad in western Germany. The "Gruppe" was overloaded with 53 of the Ju 88G-6 models and Zorner had 630 men under his command. Only 35 were technically fit for operations and he classified only four as combat ready. On the evening of 5/6  March 1945, the group was ordered to scramble a single Ju 88. Zorner decided to fly himself, after a long period of non-operational flying. South southwest of Graz, he shot down Consolidated B-24 Liberator at 01:30. One B-24 was lost on this night to a night fighter. Liberator VI "KH150", "R", of 34 Squadron SAAF was shot down and the crew were killed. Lieutenant J. B. Masson, C. E. Park, Second Lieutenant C. D. Foord, Flying Officer F. S. A. Thomas, A. R. Thomas, M. A. Ueckermann, R. V. Wilkson and Sergeant A. Stables died. They are buried in  Udine, Italy. Later life. Zorner surrendered his "Gruppe" to United States Army forces near Karlovy Vary on 8 May 1945. Only Zorner and an interpreter were allowed through the lines. Zorner refused to abandon his men and for a week he remained with them under American guard. He was then handed over to Soviet Forces on 17 May. The men were marched without food for to Hoyerswerda north east of Dresden. Zorner was separated from his men and confined with 2,000 other officers. They survived on rations of fish soup and bread. In October 1945 he was transported to the  Caucasus Mountains, in southern Russia. Some 500 officers were sent to a camp at Tkibuli, near Kutaisi, in the Georgian region of the Soviet Union. The prisoners organised the camp themselves. They were permitted to travel within a radius around the camp as long as their work assignments were complete. The German prisoners received some form of monetary payment. Highly decorated officers were responsible for the kitchen and keeping the peace in the camp. The rooms were four by three metres in area. On the longer wall a wooden framework was mounted. Across this layered boards which measured two metres  in length were stacked with a varying gap of . Outside was a corridor that was a metre wide. In 18 of the 20 rooms 500 prisoners were housed, usually 22 per room. The prisoners had to travel some on foot every morning to a quarry were they worked for eight hours drilling out limestone and fed 600 grams of bread and half a litre of cabbage soup. Zoner worked in the camp until the end of 1946. In January 1946 Zorner was moved to a harsher environment in a coal mine. He heard a rumour that officers of Major rank  and above could not be forced to work. He refused to work anymore and was subjected to punishment by the NKVD. The following day he was locked in solitary confinement. The following morning Zorner explained that he would prefer to work as a carpenter and the NKVD officers agreed. From April 1946 the conditions slowly improved in the camp. Ill-treatment from the guards, which had been rare anyway, stopped altogether. At the end of 1947 the prisoners were allowed to send letters to Germany. In 1948 they were permitted to receive packages from their families. In March 1949, Zorner  and others planned to escape to Turkey, but events overtook them and the prisoners were repatriated to Germany. On 19 December 1949 the prisoners were deloused, given new clothes, and transported to Brest-Litovsk on 23 December. From there he was sent to Frankfurt, where he arrived on 29 December. On 1 January 1950 he was sent to Ulm and was processed on 2 January. Zorner then travelled to Kaiserslautern in the French zone of occupation to obtain his discharge certificate and was officially a civilian on 3 January 1950. Zorner studied mechanical engineering in Stuttgart and entered the field  of refrigeration engineering before he rejoined the West German Air Force (Luftwaffe) in 1956. He was not passed fit to fly jet fighters and returned to civilian life in May 1957. He was employed within the chemical industry. He retired in 1981 as a chief engineer with Hoechst near Frankfurt. In May 2006, Zorner received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany () for his voluntary services as founder of the "Silesian Partnership" (). The association, which was founded in 1995, aims to improve German-Polish relations and, among other things, has organised help during the 1997 Central European  flood. Zorner died on 27 January 2014 in Homburg. Aerial victory claims. Zorner was credited with 59 nocturnal aerial victories, claimed in 272 combat missions, 110 of which as a night fighter.