Siegfried Lemke

Siegfried Lemke
Siegfried "Wumm" Lemke
Nickname(s)	"Wumm"
Born	7 April 1921 Schivelbein
Died	18 December 1995 (aged 74) Worfelden, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	?–1945
Rank	Hauptmann
Unit	JG 2
Commands held	III./JG 2
Battles/wars	World War II Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Siegfried "Wumm" Lemke (7 April 1921 – 18 December 1995) was a German Luftwaffe 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 recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. During his career he was credited with between 70 and 96 aerial victories.

Biography

Lemke was born on 7 April 1921 in Schivelbein, Farther Pomerania (today Świdwin, Poland).

In the autumn of 1942, Unteroffizier Lemke was posted to the first squadron (staffel) of Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG2), based on the French coast. His was to remain with JG2 throughout the rest of the war. His first victory came on 12 March 1943 when he downed an RAF Spitfire fighter near Fécamp. He was promoted to Staffelführer of his squadron on 12 September 1943.

In late January 1944, his squadron was transferred to the south of France to counter the bombing raids of the 15th Air Force, USAAF. On 9 February 1944 Lemke shot down four Spitfires southeast of Cannes to move his tally to 19 victories. His squadron were again transferred to Italy to counter the Allied landings at Anzio. In March, 1944 Lemke added sixteen further victories to his tally.

By the early summer of 1944, Lemke's squadron was again moved, this time to Creil, an airfield north of Paris. From here Lemke flew combat missions over the developing campaign in Normandy following D-Day. On 14 June 1944 Leutnant Lemke was awarded the Ritterkreuz for his then tally of 47 victories and shortly after on 23 June he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of the third squadron (staffel) of JG2 (he replaced Josef Wurmheller who had been killed the previous day). Lemke was to lead this squadron until the end of the war.

Lemke flew a total of 325 combat missions and ultimately reached 70 victories, including 25 Spitfires, eight P-47 Thunderbolts, six P-51 Mustangs and at least five four-engine bombers (B-17s).

Awards

• Aviator badge
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (31 March 1944)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold on 3 April 1944 as Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 2^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 June 1944 as Leutnant and Staffelführer of the 1./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"^[2]

References

Citations

1. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 275.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 236.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — 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.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. 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 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.