Ludwig Becker (pilot)

This article is about the German World War II night leader) in 12./NJG 1. By the end of the year, Becker had
ghter pilot. For other uses, see Ludwig Becker (disam- some 40 victories to his credit.
biguation).
Becker and his Radar Operator Oberfeldwebel Josef
Straub (who had taken part in 40 victories) were posted
Ludwig Becker (22 August 1911 26 February 1943) missing in action on 26 February 1943 in a Bf 110Gwas a Luftwae ghter ace and recipient of the Knights 4 while on a daylight mission intercepting a Boeing BCross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritter- 17 formation over the North Sea, and crashing north of
kreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) during World Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands.
War II. The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross and its All his 46 victories were at night.
higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battleeld bravery or successful military leadership. Becker claimed 46 aerial victories.[Note 1]

2 Awards

Ehrenpokal der Luftwae (2 March 1942)[2]

Career

Iron Cross (1939)

2nd Class (3 July 1940)[3][4]

Ludwig Becker was born on 22 August 1911 in

Dortmund-Aplerbeck in the Province of Westphalia, a
province of the Kingdom of Prussia. Joining the Luftwae volunteers in 1934, by 1939 he was a test pilot and a Leutnant in the Luftwae reserve. Serving with Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 11st Night
Fighter Wing), he crashed a Messerschmitt Bf 110 near
Winterswijk on 30 August 1940.[Note 2]

German Cross in Gold on 24 April 1942 as

Oberleutnant in the 6./NJG 2[5][Note 3]

He was awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross in

July 1942, he then served as a Staelkapitn (squadron

[4] According to Scherzer as Oberleutnant of the Reserves

and Staelkapitn of the 6./NJG 1.[7]

1st Class (23 December 1940)[3][4]

Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Knights Cross on 1 July 1942 as Oberleutnant

His rst victory was a Vickers Wellington on the night
and Staelkapitn of the 12./NJG 1[6][Note 4]
of 16/17 October 1940. Becker was ying a Dornier
198th Oak Leaves on 26 February 1943 as
Do 17Z-10 equipped with a gun-camera. The victory
Hauptmann and Staelkapitn of the 12./NJG
recorded the demise of the No. 311 Squadron RAF air1[8][Note 4]
craft piloted by Pilot Ocer Bohumil Landa and three
of his Czech crew. It was also the rst radar-controlled
Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 21 January
"Dunkle Nachtjagd" (DuNaJadark night ghting, with1942, 26 March 1942, 7 June 1942 and on 26 June
out search lights) victory of the war. He was later
1942
equipped with the Dornier Do 215B night ghter (code
G9+OM) equipped with Lichtenstein radar. He achieved
six victories between 10 August and 30 September 1941 2.1 Wehrmachtbericht references
in this machine. Becker developed his own tactics for attacking a bomber. He would trail the aircraft from the
stern, just below the height shown on the radar. After 3 Notes
sighting the bomber, he dived and accelerated to avoid
being spotted by the tail gunner. Once underneath the en- [1] For a list of Luftwae night ghter aces see List of German
World War II night ghter aces.
emy, Becker reduced the throttle and matched the speed
of the unsuspecting pilot. Becker then climbed steadily [2] For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwae unit desto 50 ft (164 m) from the target before he pulled up and
ignation see Organization of the Luftwae during World
opened re. Because the Do 215 lost speed the bomber
War II.
would y ahead and the through the stream of shells. With
[3] According to Obermaier on 4 May 1942.[2]
this method, the gun sight was rarely needed.[1]

References

4.1

Citations

[1] Aders 1978, p. 40.

[2] Obermaier 1989, p. 56.
[3] MacLean 2007, p. 51.
[4] Thomas 1997, p. 33.
[5] Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 31.
[6] Fellgiebel 2000, p. 126.
[7] Scherzer 2007, p. 209.
[8] Fellgiebel 2000, p. 66.
[9] Die Wehrmachtberichte 19391945 Band 2, p. 16.

EXTERNAL LINKS

The Holders of the Knights Cross of the Iron

Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waen-SS,
Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives]
(in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers MiltaerVerlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubtrger 1939
1945 Band 1: AK [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939
1945 Volume 1: AK] (in German). Osnabrck,
Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-22996.
Die Wehrmachtberichte 19391945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943 [The Wehrmacht
Reports 19391945 Volume 2, 1 January 1942 to 31
December 1943] (in German). Mnchen, Germany:
Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG.
1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.

[10] Die Wehrmachtberichte 19391945 Band 2, p. 67.

[11] Die Wehrmachtberichte 19391945 Band 2, p. 153.
[12] Die Wehrmachtberichte 19391945 Band 2, p. 176.

4.2

Bibliography

Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Trger

des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 19391945
Die Inhaber der hchsten Auszeichnung des
Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross 19391945
The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second
World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN
978-3-7909-0284-6.
MacLean, French L. (2007). Luftwae Eciency
& Promotion Reports For the Knights Cross
Winners. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schier Military
History. ISBN 978-0-7643-2657-8.
Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuztrger der
Luftwae Jagdieger 1939 1945 [The Knights
Cross Bearers of the Luftwae Fighter Force 1939
1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Homann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das
Deutsche Kreuz 1941 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber
Band II [The German Cross 1941 1945 History
and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt,
Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3931533-45-8.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuztrger 1939
1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen
Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwae, Kriegsmarine,
Waen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbndeter Streitkrfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knights Cross Bearers 19391945

5 External links
Ludwig Becker @ Ritterkreuztrger 193945 (German)

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