1. Wilhelm Balthasar was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and wing commander during World War II.
19 Facts About Wilhelm Balthasar
1. 2.
Wilhelm Balthasar flew about 300 combat missions during World War II in addition to 465 in Spain.
3.
Wilhelm Balthasar emerged as Germany's leading fighter pilot of the Battle of France and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 June 1940.
4.
The next day, Wilhelm Balthasar was killed in action near Saint-Omer, France.
5.
Wilhelm Balthasar was born on 2 February 1914 in Fulda, Hesse-Kassel.
6.
Wilhelm Balthasar was the son of forester August Balthasar who on 25 October 1914 was killed in action as a Hauptmann on the Western Front of World War I In 1933, Balthasar joined the Reichswehr with Artillerie Regiment 3, an artillery regiment of the 3rd Division.
7.
Wilhelm Balthasar flew 465 missions in Spain and returned to Germany on 23 March 1938.
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Wilhelm Balthasar then served at the Jagdfliegerschule in Werneuchen.
9.
On 1 August 1938, Wilhelm Balthasar was appointed Staffelkapitan of 1.
10.
On 23 September 1939, Wilhelm Balthasar received the Iron Cross 2nd Class.
11.
Wilhelm Balthasar was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 December 1939.
12.
Three days later, on the final day of the Siege of Calais, Wilhelm Balthasar claimed two Spitfires over the port.
13.
On 1 September 1940, Wilhelm Balthasar was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III.
14.
Wilhelm Balthasar claimed a Sptifire north of Cap Gris-Nez that same day.
15.
In November 1940, Wilhelm Balthasar had to be submitted to a hospital as his injury sustained on 4 September had still not fully healed.
16.
The marriage produced their son Wolff Wilhelm Balthasar born on 10 April 1941.
17.
On 16 February 1941, Wilhelm Balthasar was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen", named after the World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen.
18.
Wilhelm Balthasar was the 17th member of the German armed forces to be so honored.
19.
Wilhelm Balthasar was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major and buried at a World War I cemetery in Flanders alongside his father at Illies.