Ulrich Wernitz (21 January 1921 â 23 December 1980) was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II. He was credited with 101 aerial victoriesâÂÂthat is, 101 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraftâÂÂclaimed in roughly 240 combat missions. He served in the post World War II German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany, retiring with the rank of Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel).
Wernitz, nicknamed Pipifax (nonsense), was born on 21 January 1921 in Schweinitz/Herzberg in the district of Wittenberg, a Province of Saxony. He joined the Luftwaffe in late 1941 and following flight training, he was posted to 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54âÂÂ54th Fighter Wing) in April 1943. The Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Franz Eisenach and subordinated to I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 54 under command of Major Reinhard Seiler, flying the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Seiler had just replaced Hauptmann Gerhard Koall who temporarily led the Gruppe after Major Hans Philipp was transferred to take command of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1âÂÂ1st Fighter Wing) fighting in Defence of the Reich.
World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In June 1941, German forces had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. In April 1943, I. Gruppe of JG 54 was based at Krasnogvardeysk, present-day Gatchina, located approximately south-south-west of Leningrad on the northern sector of the Eastern Front. Here on 2 May, Wernitz claimed his first aerial victory on his second combat mission to date. In support of 18th Army during the Siege of Leningrad, a Rotte, a flight of two aircraft, from 3. Staffel was scrambled shortly before 17:00 and intercepted a formation of Lavochkin La-5 fighter aircraft near Pushkin. In this encounter, Wernitz claimed a La-5 shot down. At the time, he flew as wingman of Günther Scheel.
In early June 1943, Wernitz was transferred the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of JG 54, where he served on the staff of the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander), initially und command of Oberstleutnant Hannes Trautloft and then Major Hubertus von Bonin. Based at Ziverskaya, Wernitz claimed his first aerial victory while flying with the Geschwaderstab on 1 June when he shot down a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter. During this assignment, Wernitz frequently flew combat missions as wingman to Hermann Schleinhege.
On 5 July, German forces had launched Operation Citadel, the failed attempt to eliminate the Kursk salient that initiated the Battle of Kursk. In support of this offensive, JG 54 moved to Oryol on 9 July, fighting on the northern pincer of Generaloberst Walter Model's 9th Army. Here Wernitz claimed two Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters shot down on 16 July and another Yak-9 the following day. On 23 July, he was credited with the destruction of an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. The air element of the Geschwaderstab returned to Ziverskaya on 25 July. Wernitz claimed his last aerial victory, and tenth in total, while flying with the Geschwaderstab on 1 August. By October, he had been awarded both classes of the Iron Cross.().
In September 1943, Wernitz was transferred again to 3. Staffel, which was still under command of Eisenach. Command of I. Gruppe had been transferred to Hauptmann Walter Nowotny which was then based at the airbase Schatalowka, present-day Shatalovo air base, southeast of Smolensk. Here, Wernitz claimed a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter shot down on 15 September. Two days later, the Gruppe moved to Vitebsk. On combat missions, he frequently flew as wingman to Otto Kittel.
On 22 June 1940, Soviet forces launched Operation Bagration, the offensive which shattered the German front line on the Eastern Front, leading to the subsequent isolation of 300,000 German soldiers in the Courland Pocket. In consequence, I. Gruppe relocated to Polotsk, located approximately northwest of Vitebsk. Here, the Gruppe supported the German forces fighting on the left wing of Army Group Centre. Two days later, Wernitz became an "ace-in-a-day" for the first time when he claimed two Yak-9 fighters, two Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and a single Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter shot down.
On 2 August, I. Gruppe moved to an makeshift airfield at à  Ã·irotava, located approximately southeast of Riga. Here on 28 August, Wernitz claimed his 82nd aerial victory, a Petlyakov Pe-2 shot down. He then fell ill in September. During his convalescence, Wernitz, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 29 October 1944 for 82 aerial victories claimed. On 1 January 1945, Wernitz also received the German Cross in Gold ().
He returned to his unit in early February 1945, which at the time was fighting in the Courland Pocket. He was then appointed Staffelführer (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 54 and claimed 19 further aerial victories, including eight on 8 March 1945. On 26 March 1945, Wernitz was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 100th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.
Following World War II, Wernitz served in the German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany, retiring with the rank of Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel). He died on 23 December 1980.
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Wernitz was credited with 101 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces â Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that Wernitz was credited with 101 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 36 Ost 00333". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.