1. Theodor Weissenberger was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II and a fighter ace credited with 208 enemy aircraft shot down in 375 combat missions.
40 Facts About Theodor Weissenberger
1. 2.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed eight of these victories over the Western Allies while flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.
3.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed his first aerial victory over Norway on 24 October 1941.
4.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed 25 aerial victories in this theater, which included his 200th victory on 25 July 1944.
5.
Theodor Weissenberger was killed in a car racing accident on 11 June 1950 at the Nurburgring.
6.
Theodor Weissenberger, the son of a plant nursery owner, was born on 21 December 1914 in Muhlheim am Main in the Grand Duchy of Hesse of the German Empire.
7.
Theodor Weissenberger had a brother Otto who served as a pilot in Luftwaffe.
8.
Theodor Weissenberger joined the military service of the Luftwaffe with 2.
9.
Theodor Weissenberger was posted to a front-line unit on 27 August 1941, almost two years after the start of World War II.
10.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed his first aerial victory, a Polikarpov I-153 biplane fighter, on 24 October 1941 and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 6 November 1941.
11.
Theodor Weissenberger was promoted to Oberfeldwebel of the Reserves on 1 February 1942.
12.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed a Polikarpov I-18 shot down at 13:35, roughly 4 kilometers northwest of the railway station of Bojaskoje.
13.
Theodor Weissenberger received the Iron Cross 1st Class on 17 February 1942.
14.
Theodor Weissenberger shot down two bombers before his aircraft was hit by the defensive fire.
15.
Theodor Weissenberger transferred from the reserve force to active service and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 July 1942.
16.
The flight encountered enemy aircraft and Theodor Weissenberger filed claims over two Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Lend-Lease fighters shot down at 14:31 and 14:33.
17.
On 27 September 1942, Theodor Weissenberger claimed five victories during the course of two combat missions.
18.
On 22 October 1942, Theodor Weissenberger was tasked with fighter protection for a reconnaissance aircraft.
19.
Theodor Weissenberger managed to nurse his aircraft back to the German lines before bailing out.
20.
Theodor Weissenberger was picked up eight hours later by a Gebirgsjager patrol and brought back to his Staffel.
21.
Theodor Weissenberger returned to combat on 30 October 1942, and during two combat missions again achieved "ace-in-a-day" status.
22.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed three victories on his first mission and two P-40s at 15:00 and 15:06 on his second mission of the day.
23.
Theodor Weissenberger was picked up and returned by a Fiesler Fi 156 "Storch".
24.
Six of the enemy aircraft were credited to Theodor Weissenberger, shot down between 17:05 and 17:16.
25.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed another five victories on 8 June 1943 north of Murmansk between 17:15 and 17:23.
26.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 "Sturmovik" at 21:54, his 100th aerial victory.
27.
Theodor Weissenberger was the 43rd Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.
28.
Theodor Weissenberger alone had claimed seven victories during this mission, taking his total to 104 victories.
29.
Theodor Weissenberger achieved "ace-in-a-day" status for the fourth time on 25 July 1943, claiming aerial victories numbers 108 to 112.
30.
Between 10:50 to 10:58 on 1 February 1944, Theodor Weissenberger achieved his fifth "ace-in-a-day", taking his total to 124.
31.
Three days after Theodor Weissenberger took command, the Allied invasion of Normandy began.
32.
Theodor Weissenberger claimed two further P-47s shot down 20 minutes later.
33.
Theodor Weissenberger was credited with two of these victories, the first at 08:48 and the second at 08:49, both shot down south of Cambrai.
34.
Theodor Weissenberger received the order to take off at 10:30 and at 11:00 they spotted Spitfires in the vicinity of Rouen.
35.
Theodor Weissenberger left the Gruppe on 30 July 1944 and went on vacation to Bad Wiessee.
36.
On 23 November 1944, Theodor Weissenberger was transferred and ordered to Kaltenkirchen.
37.
On New Year's Day 1945, Theodor Weissenberger married his teenage-love Cilly Vogel in Langenselbold near Hanau.
38.
Theodor Weissenberger survived the war and was credited with a total of 208 aerial victories, including 33 over the Western Front, claimed in 375 combat missions.
39.
Theodor Weissenberger became a motor racing driver after the war, and was killed at the Nurburgring circuit on 11 June 1950, when his modified BMW 328 single seater, start number 15, crashed on the first lap of the XV Eifelrennen, a Formula Three motor race.
40.
Theodor Weissenberger was recommended for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords by Steinhoff after his 200th aerial victory.