Heinz Rökker | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1920-10-20)20 October 1920 Oldenburg, Germany |
| Died | 2 August 2018(2018-08-02) (aged 97) Germany |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany West Germany |
| Service | Luftwaffe German Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939–45 |
| Rank | Hauptmann (captain) |
| Unit | NJG 2 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Heinz Rökker (20 October 1920 – 2 August 2018) was a Germannight fighter pilot in theLuftwaffe duringWorld War II. He was a recipient of theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross (German:Ritterkreuz), and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces ofNazi Germany during World War II. He claimed 64 enemy aircraft (63 at night) shot down, and all were British bombers. Rökker wasthe eighth-most-successful night fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare.[1] He died in August 2018 at the age of 97.[2]
Rökker was born on 20 October 1920 inOldenburg, in theFree State of Oldenburg of theWeimar Germany. At the age of 19 he passed hisKriegsabitur (war time diploma, a school leaving certificate under accelerated conditions) at the Hindenburg School on Oldenburg and applied to join the Luftwaffe. Rökker was accepted as an officer candidate and entered the Luftwaffe on 1 October 1939, 19 days before his 19th birthday and one month after theGerman invasion of Poland and the start ofWorld War II in Europe. He was assigned to 4staffel of the 22Flieger-Ausbild Regiment (4th Squadron of the 22nd Pilot Training Regiment) atGüstrow. Rökker then moved to theFliegerhorstkompanie Wenzendorf (Airfield CompanyWenzendorf) on 13 November 1939.[3]
On 14 January 1940 Rökker was transferred to theLuft-Nachschub-Kompanie 5 (5th Aerial Replacement Company) stationed inGütersloh. From 4 July 1940, he was stationed atBerlin-Gatow with theSchülerkompanie Flugzeugführer-schule (School Company at Advanced Flying School). Rökker was promoted toGefreiter on 1 October 1940. He then completed advanced training at a flying school nearMagdeburg from 20 March—15 August 1941.[3] Rökker attendedBlindflugschule 5 inBelgrade,occupied Yugoslavia, from 15 September before completing his training atNachtjagdschule 1, nearMunich on 1 November 1941. During his advanced training, on 1 May and 1 August respectively, he was promoted to the rank ofFähnrich andOberfähnrich.[4][3]
Following the 1939 aerialBattle of the Heligoland Bight, bombing missions by theRoyal Air Force (RAF) shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating theDefence of the Reich campaign.[5] By mid-1940,Generalmajor (Brigadier General)Josef Kammhuber had established a nightair defense system dubbed theKammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped withradars andsearchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector, named aHimmelbett (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 theLichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.[6]
Rökker was then posted to 1Staffel (squadron),Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2—Night Fighter Wing 2) operating in the Mediterranean theatre on 6 May 1942. He remained with this wing until war's end.[Note 1] Carlos Nugent was also posted to 1./NJG 2 in May 1942 and became Rökker'sBordfunker (wireless/radar operator). The unit was located toCatania inSicily,Italy. From there, it transported toNorth Africa by ship and was based inLibya. After flying 25 missions Rökker was awarded theFront Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Bronze (Frontflugspange für Nachtjäger in Bronze) on 17 June 1942.[7]
On 31 May 1942 Rökker'sJunkers Ju 88 was damaged by anti-aircraft artillery from Allied shipping and he crash landed atKastelli, onCrete. 20 days later, Rökker shot down a RAFBristol Beaufort by day on 20 June 1942, near Crete.[8] The time was recorded as 17:20 local time.[9] His aircraft received several hits from return fire during the action, but he landed safely.[4][7] Rökker's victim was BeaufortDD959,No. 217 Squadron RAF piloted byFlying Officer Frank J. R. Minster and crewed bySergeant W. A. R. King, J Moschonas and J.A. Bowyer. All of these men were postedmissing in action and were never found.[10] Rökker began nightintruder missions in June and over British lines in Africa. OverMersa Matruh,Egypt, on the night of the 25/26 June 1942 he engaged aVickers Wellington southwest of the city and shot it down at 22:45. He attacked and claimed another at 00:09.[11]
On the night of the 28/29 June at 23:58 he encountered another Wellington which he claimed for fourth victory.[12] The machine wasR1029, ofNo. 108 Squadron RAF, which he damaged severely and which was destroyed in a crash-landing. Rökker's Ju 88C was severely damaged and he was also forced to crash-land.Squadron leader D. H. Jacklin,DFC and his crew, survived.[13] Rökker was awarded theIron Cross second class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) andWound Badge after the battle on 3 and 14 July 1942 respectively.[7]
On 28 July, Rökker achieved his last victory in Africa. East ofTobruk at 23:10 he shot down another Wellington for his fifth victory.[14] The aircraft was WellingtonHX364, fromNo. 70 Squadron RAF. Pilot Sergeant H. Osborne and his crew survived ditching in the sea, were rescued by an Italian ship theLino Bixo and taken prisoner. However, gunners K. Hatch, E. A. Jones, K. S. McDonald subsequently drowned when the vessel was sunk by aRoyal Navy submarine off Greece on 17 August 1942.[13]
Although 1./NJG 2 was briefly relocated toBelgium on 4 August 1942, reaching northern Europe on 5 August, theStaffel was relocated back to the Mediterranean theatre based in Sicily on 9 February 1943. During his time in Belgium Rökker was responsible for the air defence of Belgium and northernFrance. On 14 August 1942 he was awarded the Iron Cross first class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) for 50 missions and five victories but he achieved no further success in that region.[7] In that period Rökker had been appointedstaffelkapitan, on 15 December 1942.[4]
In April 1943, Rökker achieved his last victory over the southern fronts when he shot down a Wellington at 01:15 on 19 April 1943 overMarettimo,Aegadian Islands, west of Sicily.[15] The machine was certainlyHX487, ofNo. 221 Squadron RAF based atRAF Luqa onMalta. Squadron leader Michael Foulis, DFC and Bar was lost with nine other men. It was possibly on a transfer that day, explaining why so many men were aboard. Of the nine men reported killed, four had previously flown with Foulis on torpedo operations.[16]
In July 1943, 1./NJG 2 were back in Europe to undertake Defence of the Reich duties. On 2 July he flew his last operation in the south and NJG 2 relocated back northwest Europe.[7] Rökker claimed his next victories on 24 August 1943 southwest ofBerlin at 00:35 and 00:50, a Lancaster and Halifax, for his seventh and eighth.[17] On 1 December 1943 Rökker was promoted toOberleutnant. The following month he was awarded the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold (Frontflugspange für Nachtjäger in Gold) for 100 night fighter operations.[7] In February 1944 Rökker claimed two successes over Berlin as Bomber Command began afive-month campaign against the German capital. On the 24 February 1944 Rökker recorded a Short Stirling at 22:43 south ofHeilbronn. The following night he claimed a Lancaster at 21:43, west ofHagenau.[18]
Rökker claimed three victories on the night of 15/16 March 1944. At 22:26, west ofStuttgart, Rökker and his radar operator detected a Lancaster[19] with the FuG 350Naxos radar detector system, which picked up the emissions ofHS2 radar installed in RAF bombers. Using the front, rather thanSchräge Musik armament, he shot down three bombers. One was flown bySquadron leader R. Blackwell-Smith fromNo. 9 Squadron RAF. Rökker decided to repeat an attack with the frontal guns. The Ju 88 was spotted and Blackwell-Smith dived and carried out the corkscrew, a standard British bomber evasion tactic. In the turning fight that began, Rökker was assisted by his radar operator who opened fire with the hand-held defensive guns. Rear turret gunnerAustralian Flight Sergeant Eric Birrell did not fire, either because he waskilled in action or the hydraulics had been damaged and the turret would not operate. Upper turret gunner Sergeant Brian Glover returned fire but missed. Radio operator Ronald West was killed andFlying Officer Herbert Sheasby, navigatorPilot Officer Douglas Eley, theCanadian bomb-aimer, did not survive their parachute jumps.[20] The successes were recorded southwest ofStrasbourg at 22:26, west of Hagenau at 22:35, and west ofStuttgart at 22:55.[21]
On 22/23 March and 24/25 March 1944, he claimed three shot down on each night. On the first night of these operations he shot down theHandley Page Halifax flown by Richard Atkins fromNo. 578 Squadron RAF over Steinringsberg nearHerborn at 22:35. Atkins was the only pilot of the squadron to reach the last mission of his tour. This night he was joined byGroup captain Nigel Marwood-EltonDFC. Another member of the crew wasFlight sergeant, Eric Sanderson thetail gunner. Sanderson saw Rökker's Ju 88 "slide" underneath his turret and he called to the pilot to take evasive action. At one point he told the pilot to bank the bomber so the upper-mid gunner could fire down at the Ju 88 but Sanderson reported the Ju 88 remained below and behind them before firing and hitting the bomb bay and fuel tanks in the wings. All eight men parachuted clear and survived the encounter. In his combat report, Rökker mentioned Atkins by name (presumably having learned it from intelligence reports).[22]
On the latter night, he shot down the Lancaster II "D-King" flown by Flight Sergeant Jim Newman at 23:20 betweenLeipzig andBerlin.[23][Note 2] One of the crew,Nicholas Alkemade survived a free fall of 18,000 feet (5,490m) without a parachute. Engineer Edgar Warren, bomb-aimer Charles Hilder, and mid-upper gunner John McDonough were burned to death in the aircraft.[25] The three bombers reported destroyed on 22/23 March were recorded south ofAurich at 21:30, and in the vicinity ofKoblenz at 22:27 and 22:35.[26] The other two on 24/25 March claims were reported overBernburg at 23:20 and east ofKassel at 23:48 for his 20th victory.[27] Over the course of April and May 1944, Rökker achieved another seven victories over western Germany, eastern Belgium and Netherlands including three on the 12 May recorded between 00:23 and 00:49 overBrussels andZeebrugge. The last appears to have been uncredited.[28]
In June, Rökker's unit was heavily engaged over theWestern Front. On 6 June 1944, the Western Allies initiatedOperation Overlord which began theBattle of Normandy. On the first day of the landing, theBritish Army attempted to captureCaen. TheBattle of Caen lasted for two months and NJG 2 flew night fighter operations against Bomber Command intrusions. On the night of 6/7 June, Rökker claimed five RAF bombers. The first was claimed southwest of Caen at 02:42. The next four were claimed at 02:48, 02:51, 03:01 and 03:08. The final two were claimed to the west of the city and all were Lancasters. The mission inflated Rökker's claims to 32.[29]No. 5 Group RAF lost six Lancasters in the Caen area this night—10 Lancasters and one Halifax were lost and 13 were claimed by German night fighter pilots.[30] Rökker is the only pilot known to have claimed in the vicinity.[29] On 13 June 1944 Rökker was awarded theGerman Cross in Gold.[7] South ofDieppe another Lancaster was claimed at 00:16 on 25 June and two more fell on 26 July at 03:21 and 04:38, northwestChâteaudun.[31] Rökker was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 35 (or 36) night victories on 27 July 1944.[7] In the early hours of the 29 July he intercepted two Lancaster bombers overOrléans and nearChaumont, and claimed them destroyed at 00:14 and 01:17. One of these bombers belonged toNo. 514 Squadron RAF. It was flown byFlight Lieutenant Robert Jones; onlySergeants Tom Harvell (engineer) and George Robinson (navigator) survived. Harvell evaded capture but Robinson became aprisoner of war.[32]
Rökker recorded three bombers destroyed on 7/8 August between 23:20 and 00:06 northeast ofLe Havre. This included his 40th victory.[33] After Normandy, NJG 2 relocated to Germany from France and Belgium. On 4 November 1944 he claimed four bombers in theDortmund area between 19:31 and 20:06.[34] On New Year's Day 1945, Rökker downed a Lancaster nearGeldern. It was recorded at 20:07 in the evening. On the evening of 5 January he accounted for two Lancasters—one north ofNienburg at 19:19 and another northwest ofHannover at 19:29.[35] In February 1945 Rökker continued to achieve interceptions and file claims. On the night of the 1/2 February 1945 he accounted for a singleAvro Lancaster bomber near Koblenz for his 50th victory.[36] Rökker recorded three more victories on the night of 3/4 February to take his score to 53. The latter success were claimed between 19:31 and 19:56CET; the first overKrefeld and the last two victories were scored over Geldern.[37] ADouglas A-20 Havoc was shot down overEindhoven Airport on 7/8 February and another Lancaster overFulda on the evening of 14 February brought his tally to 55.[38] On the night of 21/22 February 1945, he claimed six Lancaster bombers between 20:46 and 21:19 CET. The first two Lancasters were claimed overWageningen and's-Hertogenbosch, the remaining four were shot down in the vicinity ofEindhoven. Heinz Rökker had now destroyed 61 enemy aircraft.[39] That night, the RAF lost 34 aircraft in the attack onDuisburg,Worms and theMittelland Canal, 26 of which were credited to Rökker,Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer,Günther Bahr andJohannes Hager.[40] On the night of the 3/4 March, Rökker participated inOperation Gisela, the failedintruder operation over easternEngland. He failed to shoot down any aircraft on this night.[41] For his achievements Rökker was awarded the 781stKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 12 March 1945.[42]
On the night of 15/16 March 1945, Rökker recorded four enemy aircraft shot down as his last victories of the war. Two were recorded as four-engineheavy bombers overDüsseldorf with two minutes of each other at 20:50 and 20:52. At 21:26 and 21:34, Heinz Rökker flew overSint-Truiden Air Base, formerly aLuftwaffe night fighter base, and claimed aB-25 Mitchell andde Havilland Mosquito shot down.[43]
As aLuftwaffe night fighter pilot, he mainly flew theJunkers Ju 88 G-1. Rökker was credited with 64 victories (from a total of 65 claims) in 161 missions. He recorded 63 of his victories at night, including 55 four-engine bombers. Carlos Nugent flew almost 150 missions with Rökker and, on 28 April 1945, became one of the fewBordfunker's decorated with the Knight's Cross.[42]
According to US historianDavid T. Zabecki, Rökker was credited with 64 aerial victories.[44][Note 3] This figure includes 63 nocturnal and one daytime victories claimed in 161 combat missions. His 64 aerial victory claims include 55 four-engined bombers and one Mosquito. On the night 6/7 June 1944 and 21/22 February 1945, Rökker became an "ace-in-a-day".[45][Note 4]
| Chronicle of aerial victories | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Rökker an ace-in-a-day, a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day. This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Rökker did not receive credit. | ||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Serial No./Squadron No. | |
| – 1.Staffel ofNachtjagdgeschwader 2 – | ||||||
| 1 | 20 June 1942 | 17:20 | Beaufort[9] | southCrete | DD959/No. 217 Squadron | |
| 2 | 25 June 1942 | 23:45 | Wellington[11] | 50 km (31 mi) southwestMersa Matruh | ||
| 3 | 26 June 1942 | 00:09 | Wellington[11] | 40 km (25 mi) southwest Mersa Matruh | ||
| 4 | 28 June 1942 | 23:58 | Wellington[12] | 60 km (37 mi) southeast Mersa Matruh | WellingtonR1029/No. 108 Squadron | |
| 5 | 28 July 1942 | 23:10 | Wellington[14] | eastTobruk | ||
| 6 | 19 April 1943 | 01:15 | Wellington[15] | southMarettimo | ||
| 7 | 24 August 1943 | 00:35 | Lancaster[17] | 20 km (12 mi) southwestBerlin | ||
| 8 | 24 August 1943 | 00:50 | Lancaster[17] | 15 km (9.3 mi) south-southwest Berlin | ||
| 9 | 20 December 1943 | 19:47 | Lancaster[47] | Rothenberg | ||
| – 2.Staffel ofNachtjagdgeschwader 2 – | ||||||
| 10 | 24 February 1944 | 22:43 | Stirling[48] | southHeilbronn | ||
| 11 | 25 February 1944 | 21:43 | Lancaster[48] | westHagenau | ||
| 12 | 15 March 1944 | 22:26 | Lancaster[18] | 50 km (31 mi) southwestStrasbourg | ||
| 13 | 15 March 1944 | 22:35 | Lancaster[18] | west Hagenau | ||
| 14 | 15 March 1944 | 22:55 | Lancaster[49] | west Stuttgart | ||
| 15 | 22 March 1944 | 21:30 | Lancaster[50] | south Aurich | ||
| 16 | 22 March 1944 | 22:27 | Lancaster[26] | Koblenz-Limburg | ||
| 17 | 22 March 1944 | 22:35 | Halifax[26] | north Koblenz | ||
| 18 | 24 March 1944 | 22:50 | Lancaster[27] | Berlin-Leipzig | ||
| 19 | 24 March 1944 | 23:20 | Halifax[27] | southwestBernburg | ||
| 20 | 24 March 1944 | 23:48 | Lancaster[27] | east Kassel | ||
| 21 | 26 March 1944 | 22:55 | four-engined bomber[51] | München-Gladbach[Note 5] | ||
| 22 | 23 April 1944 | 01:58 | Lancaster[52] | 50 km (31 mi) northwest Düsseldorf | ||
| 23 | 25 April 1944 | 02:05 | Lancaster[53] | 30 km (19 mi) northeast München | ||
| 24 | 28 April 1944 | 01:39 | Halifax[54] | Freiburg im Breisgau | ||
| 25 | 12 May 1944 | 00:23 | Lancaster[55] | 20–50 km (12–31 mi) northwest Brussels | ||
| 26 | 12 May 1944 | 00:35 | Lancaster[55] | offZeebrügge | LancasterLM454/No. 61 Squadron[56] | |
— | 12 May 1944 | 00:49 | Lancaster[55] | — | LancasterND919/No. 75 (NZ) Squadron[57] | |
| 27 | 28 May 1944 | 02:08 | Halifax[58] | 20–40 km (12–25 mi) northwest Eindhoven | ||
| 28♠ | 7 June 1944 | 02:42 | Lancaster[29] | 10–50 km (6.2–31.1 mi) southwest Caen | ||
| 29♠ | 7 June 1944 | 02:48 | Lancaster[29] | 10–50 km (6.2–31.1 mi) southwest Caen | ||
| 30♠ | 7 June 1944 | 02:51 | Lancaster[29] | southwest Caen | ||
| 31♠ | 7 June 1944 | 03:01 | Lancaster[29] | west Caen | ||
| 32♠ | 7 June 1944 | 03:08 | Lancaster[29] | west Caen | ||
| 33 | 25 June 1944 | 00:16 | Lancaster[59] | south Dieppe | ||
| 34 | 26 July 1944 | 03:21 | four-engined bomber[60] | northeast Romilly | ||
| 35 | 26 July 1944 | 04:38 | Lancaster[60] | northwestChâteaudun | ||
| 36 | 29 July 1944 | 00:14 | four-engined bomber[61] | Orléans | ||
| 37 | 29 July 1944 | 01:17 | Lancaster[61] | 50 km (31 mi) northeast Chaumont | ||
| 38 | 7 August 1944 | 23:29 | Lancaster[33] | northeastLe Havre | ||
| 39 | 7 August 1944 | 23:35 | Lancaster[33] | northeast Le Havre | ||
| 40 | 8 August 1944 | 00:06 | Lancaster[33] | northeast Le Havre | ||
| 41 | 19 October 1944 | 21:48 | Lancaster[62] | Pirmasens | ||
| 42 | 4 November 1944 | 19:31 | Lancaster[63] | north Dortmund | ME865/No. 101 Squadron | |
| 43 | 4 November 1944 | 19:36 | Lancaster[63] | north Dortmund | ||
| 44 | 4 November 1944 | 20:00 | Halifax[64] | north Geldern | ||
| 45 | 4 November 1944 | 20:06 | Halifax[64] | north Geldern | ||
| 46 | 1 January 1945 | 20:07 | Lancaster[35] | southeast Geldern | ||
| 47 | 5 January 1945 | 19:19 | Halifax[35] | northNienburg | ||
| 48 | 5 January 1945 | 19:29 | Lancaster[35] | northwest Hannover | ||
| 49 | 1 February 1945 | 19:46 | Lancaster[36] | north Koblenz | ||
| 50 | 3 February 1945 | 19:31 | Lancaster[37] | northeastKrefeld | ||
| 51 | 3 February 1945 | 19:51 | Lancaster[37] | north Geldern | ||
| 52 | 3 February 1945 | 19:56 | Lancaster[37] | north Geldern | ||
| 53 | 8 February 1945 | 00:21 | Boston[37] | Eindhoven airfield | ||
| 54 | 14 February 1945 | 22:03 | Lancaster[65] | south Fulda | ||
| 55♠ | 21 February 1945 | 20:46 | Lancaster[39] | southWageningen | ||
| 56♠ | 21 February 1945 | 20:56 | Lancaster[39] | southwest's-Hertogenbosch | ||
| 57♠ | 21 February 1945 | 21:06 | Lancaster[39] | southeast Eindhoven | ||
| 58♠ | 21 February 1945 | 21:12 | Lancaster[39] | southwest Eindhoven | ||
| 59♠ | 21 February 1945 | 21:13 | Lancaster[39] | southwest Eindhoven | ||
| 60♠ | 21 February 1945 | 21:19 | Lancaster[39] | southwest Eindhoven | ||
| 61 | 15 March 1945 | 20:50 | four-engined bomber[43] | northDüsseldorf | ||
| 62 | 15 March 1945 | 20:52 | four-engined bomber[43] | north Düsseldorf | ||
| 63 | 15 March 1945 | 21:26 | B-25[43] | atSt. Trond airfield | ||
| 64 | 15 March 1945 | 21:34 | Mosquito[43] | at St. Trond airfield | ||
| 1 October 1940: | Gefreiter (private)[3] |
| 1 May 1941: | Fähnrich (officer candidate)[3] |
| 1 August 1941: | Oberfähnrich (officer cadet)[3] |
| 1 November 1941: | Leutnant (second lieutenant)[3] |
| 1 December 1943: | Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)[7] |
| 1 August 1944: | Hauptmann (captain)[42] |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
