Wilhelm Beier

Wilhelm Beier (18 November 1913 – 12 July 1977) was a Luftwaffe night fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Depending on source, Beier claimed 38 nocturnal aerial victories, including 14 of which flying intruder missions, intercepting bombers on their return flight to England.

Career

Beier was born on 18 November 1913 in Homberg, present-day part of Duisburg, at the time in the Rhine Province within the German Empire.

Night fighter career

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defense 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.

On 10 April 1941, Beier claimed his second aerial victory, a Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber shot down near Chelmsford on an intruder mission over England.

Beier was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 10 October 1941 for 14 nocturnal aerial victories. The presentation was made by Kammhuber, at the time commanding general of XII. ''Fliegerkorps'' (12th Air Corps), at Gilze-Rijen Airfield. On the night of 29/30 May 1943, the RAF attacked Wuppertal with 719 bombers. Defending against this attack, Beier claimed the Handley Page Halifax bomber ''HR793'' from No. XXXV (Madras Presidency) Squadron shot down which crashed near Limbricht.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Aders, Beier was credited with 36 nocturnal aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 36 aerial victories while Obermaier lists him with 38 aerial victories. Both Obermaier and Spick state that Beier flew about 250 combat missions. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of ''Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945'', researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 37 nocturnal victory claims, numerically ranging from 1 to 31, and 33 to 38. Mathews and Foreman also published ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', also listing Beier with 37 claims.

Awards

* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 October 1941 as ''Oberfeldwebel'' and ''Flugzeugführer'' (pilot) in the 3./''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 2
* German Cross in Gold on 19 September 1942 as '' Oberfeldwebel'' in the 3./''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 2
* Mentioned in the ''Wehrmachtbericht'' on 23 April 1942

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beier, Wilhelm
1913 births
1977 deaths
People from Duisburg
People from the Rhine Province
German World War II flying aces
Luftwaffe pilots
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross