1. Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 174 enemy aircraft shot down in 715 combat missions.
48 Facts About Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert
1. 2.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was "ace-in-a-day" four times, shooting down five or more aircraft on a single day.
3.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert fought in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and claimed his first aerial victory on 8 August 1941.
4.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross following his 53rd aerial victory.
5.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert then received conversion training to the then new Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 7, an all-jet fighter wing.
6.
In 1956, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert joined the newly established German Air Force of West Germany.
7.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert retired in 1972, his final rank was Oberstleutnant, and died on 5 September 2007 in Bad Pyrmont.
8.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was born 2 February 1919 in Cologne-Lindenthal, at the time in the Rhine Province of the Free State of Prussia.
9.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was the son of an executive secretary with the Deutsche Reichsbahn.
10.
On 14 April 1939, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was called back into the Luftwaffe, at first serving with a Fliegerausbildungsregiment, and received three months of recruit training.
11.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was then trained as a fighter pilot at various flight and fighter pilot schools.
12.
On 1 December 1940, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was promoted to Unteroffizier.
13.
On 7 February 1942, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe for 24 victories.
14.
Shortly after this, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was transferred west in support of Operation Donnerkeil.
15.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was promoted to Feldwebel on 1 May 1942 and after 44 aerial victories, he received the German Cross in Gold on 18 May 1942.
16.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert engaged the 3rd OAG ChF and 6 GIAP ChF.
17.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed a Polikarpov I-16 for his 49th victory.
18.
On 1 July 1942, after 53 aerial victories, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross which was presented to him by II.
19.
On 3 October 1942, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert passed the century mark with four claims.
20.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was the 27th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.
21.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert managed to shoot down two further aircraft, two MiG-3s claimed at 14:17 and 14:20.
22.
At the time, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was credited with the destruction of 14 aircraft on the ground in addition to the 103 aerial victories.
23.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was only the second Feldwebel in the Luftwaffe to receive the award, after Gerhard Koppen.
24.
On 2 January 1943 Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed two P-40s from No 250 Squadron RAF while escorting Tactical Reconnaissance Hurricanes from 40 Squadron SAAF.
25.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert misidentified his first three opponents who were all P-40s from the 64th and 65th Fighter Squadrons of the US 57th Fighter Group.
26.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert shot down the P-38 flown by Lieutenant Burton Weil.
27.
On 20 January 1943 Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert shot down a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk piloted by Lieutenant Richard Kimball of the 65th Fighter Squadron who was taken prisoner of war.
28.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert attacked a formation of No 112 Squadron RAF P-40s and claimed two as they attacked artillery and motor transport near Ras Agadir.
29.
Heinrich Bar claimed five and Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was credited with four in one mission.
30.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed one Marauder and two of the escorting P-38s.
31.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert evaded capture by swimming undercover of darkness and reaching British lines.
32.
On this sortie, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed four victories, after Muncheberg ordered them to attack some low-flying United States Army Air Force P-39 Airacobras while returning to base.
33.
Three days later, on 29 March 1943, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed two USAAF P-40s and his wingman Unteroffizier Funke claimed another.
34.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed two bombers before the P-40s claimed two German fighters.
35.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert became an officer when he was promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1943.
36.
Steinhoff and Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed one and three respectively: Steinhoff's claim was against a Spitfire in the afternoon.
37.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert's opponents were P-40s from the US 33rd Fighter Group.
38.
Vb coded IR-G and Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert mistook the unusual Spitfire for a Mustang.
39.
On this day Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert led an attack on USAAF P-39s from the 350th Fighter Group.
40.
At 10:55 Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert claimed his 153rd victory over a Spitfire.
41.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert served in this position until 1 December 1943, when he was officially appointed as Staffelkapitan of 3.
42.
On 13 May 1944, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was appointed Staffelkapitan of 12.
43.
On 5 January 1945, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert succeeded Dudeck as Gruppenkommandeur of VI.
44.
On 23 March 1945, Reinert had been transferred to I Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 7 for conversion training to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.
45.
In September 1945, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was released from US captivity and pursued a career in business as an industrial sales representative.
46.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert's final posting was to the Luftflottenkommando at Koln-Wahn where he served as a staff officer.
47.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert then became a certified Heilpraktiker, a healing practitioner, in Bad Pyrmont.
48.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert died on 5 September 2007 in Bad Pyrmont.